New Delhi: Delhi govt is preparing to roll out an ambitious Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy 2.0, proposing a significantly expanded incentive framework to accelerate the city’s shift to clean mobility and meet aggressive electrification targets. The recommendations, currently under consideration, signal a clear intent to revive consumer subsidies, boost local manufacturing and strengthen the power infrastructure to support the EV ecosystem.
The existing EV policy, due to expire this year, has been extended till March 2026, or until the revised policy is notified. The new policy is likely to be unveiled in the first quarter of 2026 following public consultations.
According to the ‘Delhi EV Policy 2.0 Recommendation’ documents accessed by TOI, the major focus is electric two-wheelers (e2Ws). The incentive proposed is ₹21,000 per vehicle, while women buyers are likely to receive a higher subsidy of ₹30,000, aimed at encouraging greater adoption. The number of vehicles that would receive the benefit might be capped at one lakh. Govt also plans to sharply raise its adoption target for e2Ws from the existing five lakh to 12 lakh vehicles.
In a first-of-its-kind move, the policy proposes an incentive of ₹50,000 for retrofitting petrol or diesel cars into electric vehicles, limited to the first 1,000 cars. Retrofitting involves converting existing petrol or diesel vehicles into electric ones by replacing their internal combustion engines and related components with an electric powertrain. A transport department official said in the coming days, govt will invest more in research and development and engage specialists to study the retrofitting sector.
Due to the relatively high costs of retrofitting, govt is exploring subsidy schemes to make the conversion more affordable for vehicle owners. The proposal also includes a scrapping incentive for old two-wheelers, three-wheelers and light commercial vehicles, linking EV adoption with the phasing out of polluting vehicles.
For four-wheelers, govt plans to reintroduce subsidies with tighter eligibility norms. “We are planning that private electric cars priced below ₹25 lakh should qualify for incentives,” said an official. An incentive of ₹10,000 per kWh, capped at ₹1 lakh per vehicle, is proposed for the first 27,000 private electric cars. Officials said this is aimed at boosting demand in the mass-market segment, rather than premium EVs. To address financing hurdles, the policy recommends an interest subvention scheme, under which govt would bear 5% of the loan interest for eligible buyers.
Under the current policy, two-wheelers receive a subsidy of ₹5,000 per kWh of battery capacity, capped at Rs 30,000, while three-wheelers get a flat ₹30,000. Subsidies for four-wheelers are no longer available, having been exhausted after the first 1,000 registrations.
On the supply side, EV Policy 2.0 places strong emphasis on domestic manufacturing. Companies manufacturing EV components locally could receive financial incentives, aligning the policy with the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ push and helping create jobs within the capital’s extended industrial ecosystem, as per the document. Govt is also proposing a massive increase in the research and development corpus, from the current ₹5 crore to ₹100 crore, to support innovation in batteries, charging solutions and EV technologies.
An official said the proposal was tabled at a high-level meeting earlier this week. “There may be some changes in the final policy, but the structure will be in the same direction.”
