Chandigarh Increases Electric Vehicle Incentives, Targets 18% EV Penetration by 2024, ETAuto

<p>The administration has set a target of achieving 18 per cent EV penetration by the end of the current financial year. </p>
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In a bid to jumpstart the city’s sluggish EV adoption, the UT administration has rolled out fresh initiatives to reignite public interest. As part of the renewed push for e-mobility, the incentive framework under the Chandigarh Electric Vehicle Policy-2022 has been expanded, following a sharp decline in e-car registrations after the initial incentive quota was exhausted.

Under the original policy, the first 2,000 electric four-wheelers registered in the city were eligible for incentives of up to ₹1.5 lakh, calculated at ₹5,000 per kWh of fixed battery capacity. This quota was exhausted in Nov 2023, after which the number of e-cars being registered dropped significantly. From Nov to March 2024, only around 200 e-cars were registered. In the first quarter of the current financial year, it is learnt that not a single e-car was registered out of the 1,188 EVs recorded.

To address this, the UT Electric Vehicle Advisory Committeein its meeting held on Thursday, decided to increase the quota by another 1,500 e-cars, making them eligible for incentives under the policy. The administration also confirmed that incentives for the 200 e-cars registered after the original quota was exhausted (applications for which were pending) will be released within 15 days. So far, around ₹32 crore has been disbursed under the policy.

The committee also approved new measures to promote two-wheelers and e-cycles. A new insurance incentive of up to ₹5,000 will be introduced for e-bikes priced under ₹1.5 lakh. For e-cycles, the upper limit of the monetary incentive is being increased from ₹4,000 to ₹6,000. As per the policy, the first 25,000 e-cycles purchased during the policy period are eligible for a 25 per cent subsidy on the cost of the bicycle, subject to the cap.

The meeting, chaired by UT chief secretary Rajeev Verma, also reviewed the progress of EV charging infrastructure and discussed expansion. The final decision on the revised incentives and related measures will be submitted to the UT administrator for approval before implementation.

The administration has set a target of achieving 18 per cent EV penetration by the end of the current financial year. In FY 2024–25, Chandigarh had already reached 13.5 per cent EV penetration, ranking third in the country, only behind Tripura and Delhi.