Delhi: You can soon convert old diesel, petrol vehicles into electric vehicles

Good news for Delhiites! Vehicle owners in Delhi would soon get an option to convert their old diesel and petrol vehicles into electric vehicles. The Transport Department of the Delhi government has started the registration process for centres for retrofitting of old diesel and petrol vehicles with electric kits to convert them into e-vehicles.

According to officials, 10 manufacturers of electric kits have been empanelled to convert old petrol and diesel vehicles into electrical vehicles that can not ply on the city roads.

The guidelines for the installers of electric kits state that they will be authorized by the kit manufacturer or supplier to fit the kit on their behalf.

Stating that the installer should have trained technicians, the guidelines also said the supplier should impart extensive training to the technicians. The record of vehicles installed with electric kits needs to be maintained by the installer and be made available to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, whenever required.

The installer is required to conduct fitness test of the vehicle at least once in a year and has to maintain the records of the parameters audited. The installer should assess the fitness of the vehicle for kit installation, explain the same to the vehicle owner and seek their written consent.

The retrofitters empanelled by the Transport Department are approved by International Centre for Automotive Technology(ICAT) that is a leading testing certification, research and development agency.

According to official estimates, there around 1.5 lakh diesel vehicles in the city that have completed 10 years. The number of petrol vehicles older than 15 years is much larger at over 28 lakh.

In compliance of National Green Tribunal(NGT) direction, the Delhi government will deregister all diesel vehicles that would complete 10 years, on January 1, 2022, and issue no objection certificates (NOC) to such vehicles to be re-registered in other states.

The NGT has issued directions relating to restrictions on registration and plying of diesel vehicles more than 10 years old and petrol vehicles more than 15 years old in Delhi NCR.

Automobile experts said that retrofitting of old diesel and petrol cars and four-wheelers costs ₹3-5 lakh depending on battery capacity and range. The retrofitting of two and three wheelers costs lesser depending on type of battery and manufacturers, they said.