With EV policy in focus, Delhi to get 18,000 new charging stations by 2024

Delhi government's Department of Transport released the charging/swapping infrastructure action plan for Delhi 2022-25 on Monday, making the announcement

Delhi is expected to get 18,000 vehicle charging points by 2024. Five battery swapping docks will be considered as one charging point, according to a report by Mint. The Delhi government has set the target based on electric vehicles (EV) sales projection for 2024.

According to the projection, 25 per cent of all vehicle registrations by 2024 will be EVs. The Department of Transport released the charging/swapping infrastructure action plan for Delhi 2022-25 on Monday, making the announcement.

The plan also said that currently, Delhi has 2,452 charging points across 1,919 locations. It aims to provide one charging point for every 15 EVs by 2024. The station will be accessible within 3 km from anywhere in the city, the Mint report stated.

"The need for public charging varies by segment and use case. Taking into account the EV penetration and public charging needs of different vehicle segments and use cases, a charger to EV ratio of 1:15 translates to around 18,000 charging points would be required to cater for the need for electric vehicles in the horizon year of 2024," the plan stated.

Under the plan, charge point operators, battery swapping operators, advanced chemistry battery manufacturers, delivery service providers, fleet owners and power distribution companies (discoms) are expected to be brought together by the Delhi government.

The government notified the Delhi EV Policy on August 7, 2020. Currently, the state transport department is the nodal department for implementing the policy.

"There has since been a steady uptake in the deployment of EV charging and swapping infrastructure in the NCT of Delhi. This steady uptake has been made possible by rigorous implementation of the mandates in the Delhi EV policy," the department was quoted as saying by Mint.

Among the major segments that are aimed to accelerate are passenger auto rickshaws. In 2021, the government approved 4,200 new permits for such autos. The drivers are also being offered education and financial assistance.