Delhi witnesses decline in sale of electric vehicles

New Delhi:  Even as Delhi’s air quality oscilates between “very poor” and “severe category”, with vehicular emissions being a big source of pollution, the national capital, which was at number one spot in the list of cities using electric vehicles, dropped to number seven in the year 2016-17.

This was revealed in a recent survey conducted by the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV). According to the report, Gujarat, with a sale of 4,330 e-vehicles, was the topmost state in the country in the use of e-vehicles followed by West Bengal at 2,846 units.

States like Uttar Pradesh with 2,47 electric vehicles and Rajasthan and Maharashtra with a sale of around 2,338 and 1,926 units were the other frontrunners. 

However, the national capital, which initially used to top this chart, now surprisingly ranks 7th with only 1,072 e-vehicles sold during the same period. “It’s good to see so many people supporting this transition and adapting to electric vehicles to curb the alarming pollution levels and aiming to reduce emission levels of the greenhouse gases. However, this is not enough for India. Delhi, being the national capital, unfortunately lags in comparison to these states,” said SMEV’s corporate affairs’ director, Sohinder Gill.

In the second week of November, Delhi’s air quality deteriorated to a record low with toxic smog choking the city as the residents were left gasping for breath, following which emergency measures like closing down of schools, banning of entry of trucks and construction activity were enforced by the authorities.

Elaborating on the reasons for the bumpy ride to switch to e-cars and scooters, Mr Gill said, “Challenges such as delay in subsidies and weak infrastructure need to be addressed.”

In a recent move, the Central government had decided to advance the implementation of Bharat Standard (BS)-VI compliant fuel in Delhi by two years — from the earlier deadline of April 2020 to April 2018.