Delhi Govt Launches Step-By-Step Guidebook For EV Charging In Malls

As per the Delhi government's guidebook, providing EV charging facility can benefit shopping malls through increased footfall, increased time spent by customers, improved visibility, boost to the mall’s ‘green’ image, improved customer loyalty and a potential revenue stream for the mall owners.

New Delhi: In a move aimed at promoting clean energy, the Delhi government has launched a step-by-step guidebook a step-by-step guide to help shopping malls set up charging points for electric vehicles in their parking lots. According to reports, the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi (DDC), released the guidebook in partnership with World Resources Institute, India, for Shopping Malls in Delhi on Friday. Delhi is the first state in the country to come up with a guide like this.

Quoting a government think tank, the Hindustan Times reported that the Delhi government also plans to provide hand-holding support through the state EV Cell to all malls that commit to achieving the target of installing EV chargers, the DDC.

As per the Delhi government’s guidebook, providing EV charging facility can benefit shopping malls through increased footfall, increased time spent by customers, improved visibility, boost to the mall’s ‘green’ image, improved customer loyalty and a potential revenue stream for the mall owners.

“Every city in the world that has taken a huge jump in e-mobility, did so at the back of strong charging infrastructure. Besides this, we need to ensure that every place that a vehicle stops at has a charging point – be it offices, residences or malls. Such a radical shift has been envisioned in Delhi government’s EV policy that is aimed at making Delhi the EV capital of India,” said DDC vice chairperson Jasmine Shah.

The Delhi government had announced the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy 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 per cent of all new vehicle registrations by 2024.

“Apart from the availability of chargers for EVs, one of the major issues is the long charging time. Therefore, vehicle charging with other activities can be a win-win proposition and one way to do it would be during shopping. That is because an average customer spends around 90 minutes in a Delhi shopping mall. So, having an extensive EV charging infrastructure in shopping malls would help customers in charging their vehicles without wasting any additional time,” said Amit Bhatt, Executive Director (Integrated Transport), WRI said, according to Hindustan Times report.