Air quality is now a large part of my work, so I read Delhi’s EV Policy 2026 closely when it took effect on 1 July. The government’s case for it is simple. Citing a Commission for Air Quality Management report, it says vehicles are the single largest source of the city’s air pollution, at nearly 23%, especially in winter.
Three months in, there is data worth reading. Not as a verdict, but as a first look at who the policy actually reaches.
What the first 83 days show
Between 1 July and 21 September, the subsidy portal received 5,678 claims, according to Delhi Transport Department figures reported by The Tribune. Of these, 5,621 were for electric two-wheelers, which is over 99%. Every other category the policy covers, taken together, makes up the remaining 57.
Money followed the claims. By late September, Rs 4.8 crore had been released, and Rs 4.6 crore of it went to two-wheeler owners. Only 41 buyers had received the scrappage incentive for giving up an older vehicle, according to Business Standard.
Is that a problem?
Not on its face. Two-wheelers are about 67% of the vehicles registered in Delhi, so they were always going to dominate. A large pending count also does not show delay by itself. The policy allows a verification window, and The Tribune says as much. I would resist reading either number as a verdict this early.
The part that interests me
The policy names three-wheelers, commercial cars and goods carriers as priority segments, not only scooters. All of them sit inside that count of 57. An auto or a delivery vehicle typically covers far more kilometres in a day than a private scooter, so each one converted tends to do more for the air.
So the first quarter tells us the subsidy has found its easiest buyer. The harder buyers may matter more per vehicle.
What I would watch next
This is my reading, not a finding. Three things would tell us a lot:
- Segment-wise reporting. Claims and processing times published monthly for each vehicle type. If a segment cannot be seen, it cannot be fixed.
- Help at the point of purchase. Whether commercial buyers get the same hand-holding that a scooter buyer gets at a dealership.
- Scrappage. Whether the incentive picks up beyond the 41 buyers paid so far.
My takeaway
A policy’s first quarter does not tell you whether it works. It tells you who it reaches first. Delivery is the work of widening that circle on purpose.
It is the same pattern I saw in the fields earlier this month, when I wrote about why farmers stay with wheat and rice: incentives travel the path of least resistance unless someone designs the path for everyone else. If you work on EVs, air quality or government program delivery and see this differently, I would like to hear from you on the contact page. You can also read more about my background.