Now, buyers of 1,500 more e-cars eligible for incentive in Chandigarh

The buyers of 1,500 more electric cars will now get incentive in the city.

The incentive, given on the purchase of electric cars to encourage people to switch to green mobility, was discontinued after the quota of first 2,000 cars fixed in the Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy exhausted in May this year.

The decision was taken during the fourth review meeting of the EV Policy held here yesterday under the chairmanship of UT Chief Secretary Rajeev Verma. It will be applicable retrospectively and will benefit those who had purchased the vehicle even after the quota was fully utilised. The buyers of the first 2,000 electric cars had availed of financial benefit in the range of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh each.

During the meeting, discussions focused on accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles, strengthening the existing policy framework and achieving the EV penetration target of 18% for the financial year 2025–26 in the city.

On proposals made by the UT Electric Vehicle Advisory Committee, various decisions related to several key amendments to the EV Policy were taken, including enhancing the cap on the number of electric four-wheelers eligible for incentives under the policy from 2,000 to 3,500 units. On insurance support for electric two-wheelers, the committee decided that the buyers of electric two-wheelers would be eligible for insurance assistance of up to Rs 5,000 for the first year, helping to reduce the upfront cost of ownership.

The committee also decided to increase the subsidy for electric two-wheelers. The incentive for electric two-wheelers has been revised from Rs 5,000/kWh to Rs 10,000/kWh, subject to a maximum of Rs 30,000 per vehicle. To promote greater participation of women in EV adoption, women buyers of electric two-wheelers will now be eligible for an enhanced subsidy of Rs 12,500/kWh, capped at Rs 37,500 per vehicle. To encourage non-motorised, sustainable mobility, the incentive for electric bicycles to be increased from 25% of the cost, up to Rs 4,000 to up to Rs 6,000.

In the policy, rolled out in September 2022, the UT Administration had offered incentives in the range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 2 lakh for the first 42,000 buyers of e-vehicles of all categories for a period of five years.