EV Charging in Shopping Malls Now; DDC launched guide book to simplify

New Delhi: To encourage shopping malls based in Delhi to join hands with Delhi Government in promoting electric vehicles by installing EV chargers in their malls, Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDC) and World Resources Institute, India (WRI India) launched the ‘EV Charging Guidebook for Shopping Malls in Delhi’ on 4th February 2022 to simplify and enable the adoption of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging in the parking space of shopping malls in Delhi.

 

The document guides shopping mall owners in understanding the importance of EV charging, assessing the scope for EV charging, details the processes involved for effective decision-making and sets out the way forward for the planning and implementation of EV charging stations in the parking areas of the malls.

Jasmine Shah, Vice-Chairperson, Dialogue and Development Commission, Delhi said “Mall owners are crucial stakeholders in the development of Delhi, and therefore, by setting up EV charging points, malls will be contributing towards ensuring a clean and pollution-free Delhi. We want shopping malls in Delhi to set the benchmark for malls across India. Availability of EV charging infrastructure at shopping malls will go a long way in making people feel more confident to adopt EVs and will create an enabling environment for the transition towards EV.” :

“Apart from the availability of chargers, one of the major issues surrounding charging of electric vehicles is their charging time. Therefore, multitasking vehicle charging with other activities can be a win-win proposition and one way to do it would be while shopping. Studies show that on average, a customer spends around 90 minutes inside a shopping mall in Delhi. So, having an extensive EV charging infrastructure in shopping malls would help customers in charging their vehicles without wasting any additional time. As the impact of coronavirus reduces, shopping malls will rebound in traffic. Therefore, this is the perfect time to include EV charging as part of the overall shopping experience. While the customers can get their vehicle charged during shopping, the malls can get additional demand that will put them in a premium category.” : Amit Bhatt, Executive Director (Integrated Transport), WRI India

Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy 2020

The guidebook has been developed in line with the vision of the Delhi Government’s Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy announced in August 2020 with the aim to promote the adoption of electric vehicles in the city and to make Delhi the EV Capital of India. The policy aims to improve Delhi’s air quality by driving the transition to electric vehicles so that they can reach 25% of all new vehicle registrations by 2024.

In line with this vision, Delhi Government has taken several steps, including the provision of subsidies on the purchase of EVs, directing all commercial establishments with a parking capacity of 100 or more vehicles to reserve 5% of their parking space for EVs with suitable EV chargers, and the launch of a single-window facility to enable the installation of EV charging points in private and semi-public spaces in the city. The single-window facility has made the installation of EV charging points in Delhi very convenient and charging points can be installed in malls or any commercial area for as low as INR 2,495 for slow chargers (inclusive of installation and maintenance charges for 3 years).

Owing to these progressive decisions, Delhi is witnessing a rapid transition to electric vehicles. Between September and November 2021, EVs accounted for 9% of the vehicle sales in Delhi, while the national average was 1.6%.

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