Delhi’s Drive Towards Zero-Emissions Deliveries

The briefing highlights how the Delhi government, in collaboration with RMI and the Dialogue Development Commission of Delhi, accelerated the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) for final-mile deliveries. Through a combination of fiscal incentives, a technology-agnostic charging infrastructure strategy, and the Deliver Electric Delhi pilot, EV sales in Delhi rose from 3.3% to 10% of new vehicle registrations within just over a year. The program demonstrates that electrifying delivery fleets can significantly reduce PM and NOx emissions and lower fuel costs for operators.

• Electrifying final-mile delivery vehicles in Delhi can reduce particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by more than 28 per cent, while current EVs emit 25 per cent less CO2 than internal combustion engine (ICE) equivalents.
• The transition to electric vehicles offers substantial fuel cost savings in Delhi: electric two-wheelers save 96 per cent, three-wheelers save 69 per cent, and four-wheelers save 74 per cent compared to ICE vehicles.
• The Delhi government's EV policy, notified in August 2020, set a target for 25 per cent of new vehicles registered in 2024 to be electric.
• Following the implementation of the Delhi EV policy and the Deliver Electric Delhi pilot, the share of new vehicle registrations that were electric tripled, increasing from 3.3 per cent to 10 per cent in just over a year.
• To scale infrastructure, the Delhi government used a technology-agnostic approach supporting both battery swapping and plug-in charging, implementing a subsidy for private charging, a specific tariff schedule for charging, and a public tender for 100 concessional charging locations.

APA

RMI (2022). Delhi’s Drive Towards Zero-Emissions Deliveries. https://rmi.org/resources/delhis-drive-towards-zero-emissions-deliveries/

Chicago

RMI. Delhi’s Drive Towards Zero-Emissions Deliveries. 2022. https://rmi.org/resources/delhis-drive-towards-zero-emissions-deliveries/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Delhi’s Drive Towards Zero-Emissions Deliveries |date=12 August 2022 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/delhis-drive-towards-zero-emissions-deliveries/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2022delhis, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Delhi’s Drive Towards Zero-Emissions Deliveries}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/delhis-drive-towards-zero-emissions-deliveries/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }