Noida: Noida Registration of electric vehicles (EVs) has been witnessing a slow but gradual rise over the past few years, data from 2016-2024 showed. Currently, there are 1,505 electric cars in the city, which is about 0.15% of the total 1 million registered vehicles in the district. In addition, there are 5,410 electric bikes and 21,254 e-rickshaws, with EVs together accounting for 2.7% of Noida’s total vehicle registrations.
However, one of the major challenges is the inadequate public and private charging infrastructure in the city. The government’s EV30@30 target aims for 30% of new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030, but in Noida, EV Registration This number is still relatively low compared to conventional fuel vehicles.
Data analysis shows that no e-cars were registered in Noida in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The first electric bike was registered in 2016, followed by none in 2017 and 118 in 2018. Registrations started picking up in 2019, with 12 e-cars and 140 e-bikes. In subsequent years, registrations fluctuated due to the COVID period: 62 cars and 65 bikes in 2020, 13 cars and 505 bikes in 2021 and 26 cars and 1,520 bikes in 2022. The most notable increase was in 2023, with 863 cars and 1,912 bikes registered, thanks to the 100% registration tax waiver by the government.
In the first eight months of 2024, 530 cars and 1,149 e-bikes were registered in Noida. Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO Administration) Siyaram Verma said, “In March 2023, the UP government had issued a notification for 100% tax exemption in the registration of electric vehicles in the state. The aim is to make Uttar Pradesh a global hub for electric mobility development and manufacturing and enable the transition to an eco-friendly transport system, especially in cities. Earlier, 8-10% was charged as registration tax on electric vehicles in UP. This means that earlier an EV costing Rs 10 lakh had to pay a tax of Rs 1 lakh. Now the government has waived this tax for electric vehicles. Due to tax exemption, the number of EVs has started increasing.”
However, EV charging remains a major challenge in Noida. In 2022, the Noida Authority installed 69 charging stations at 54 locations. But many of these stations have not been used or maintained for a long time.
Gaurav Kaul, a resident of ATS One Hamlet Sector 104 and an EV user, said the biggest hurdle in the use of electric vehicles is the lack of robust charging infrastructure. “Last month, I bought an EV and sought an NOC from the RWA for setting up a personal EV home charging point in my designated car parking. But they have refused to give the NOC. In this situation, I am facing problems in charging the EV.”
Kaul said the RWA of his society has engaged Tata Power, which has set up a community charging station for EVs with four charging slots in Tower 4. “However, this arrangement brought with it a number of problems. There are around 20 EV owners in the society and sometimes there are no slots available. I have to park my car at the EV station and then come back home. Even when the car is fully charged, it remains plugged in as there is no attendant. Moreover, they charge Rs 15 per kWh, while the domestic electricity rate is around Rs 5.90 per kWh,” he said. Some residents prefer to charge their EVs at their offices, factories, companies and other places, he added.
Col Deepak Malhotra (retired), facility manager at ATS One Hamlet, elaborated on the concerns from the society’s perspective: “The society has over 1,000 flats across 12 towers. This is not just a resident’s issue. If we allow one person, other residents will also demand to install individual charging points in their parking lots. This will compromise fire safety. Also, there will be haphazard wires in the parking lots, posing a safety risk. We have already installed a four-point charging station, and we are in the process of installing another EV charging station with two charging slots near Tower 7,” he said. In the past, a resident had installed a charging point for his EV, but the RWA removed it.
In 2022, the UP government introduced the Uttar Pradesh Electric Vehicle Manufacturing and Mobility Policy to promote adoption and creation of charging infrastructure. However, it lacked specific guidelines related to charging in group housing societies.
The Ministry of Power, Government of India has issued revised guidelines for setting up and operating EV charging infrastructure in the country on September 17, 2024. It recommends setting up of EV charging stations in semi-restricted locations such as private parking, office buildings, educational institutions, hospitals, group housing societies, e-bus depots, commercial complexes, railway stations, petrol pumps, airports, metro stations, municipal parking, highways and expressways, etc. with the aim to promote EV adoption by making charging stations safe, reliable and accessible.
With regard to residential charging, the guidelines state that EV owners can request a separate meter connection with a dedicated EV charging tariff from the distribution licensee, with domestic electricity rates applicable to domestic EV charging. For group housing societies, it states that RWAs can set up EV charging stations on their premises in consultation with the distribution licensee.
