Delhi EV Policy 2026: No Petrol 2-Wheelers From 2028

On April 12, 2026, the Delhi government released the draft Delhi EV Policy 2026 for public consultation. Its headline provision: no new petrol or diesel two-wheeler registrations will be permitted in Delhi from April 1, 2028. If finalised, this would make Delhi the first Indian state to set a hard date for phasing out ICE two-wheelers — a move with significant implications for how India's other states approach clean mobility and one that will reshape the used vehicle market in the capital for years to come.

Building on a Pioneering Track Record

Delhi's relationship with EV policy goes back further than most other Indian states. In August 2020, the Kejriwal government launched India's first state-level electric vehicle policy — the Delhi EV Policy 2020. At the time it was a landmark document: it offered purchase incentives, waived road tax and registration fees for EVs, and set targets for charging infrastructure across the city.

The 2020 policy achieved meaningful results. Delhi consistently ranks among India's top states for EV adoption as a share of total vehicle registrations. Electric two-wheelers, e-autos, and electric buses all received targeted push under that policy framework. The subsidies under the earlier policy — including incentives you can read about in our coverage of Delhi's scrappage-linked EV subsidies — were among the most aggressive offered by any state government.

The 2026 draft is the successor to that 2020 framework and reflects a shift in ambition. Where the 2020 policy was about incentives to nudge buyers toward EVs, the 2026 draft introduces a prohibition — using a hard deadline to accelerate the transition rather than simply rewarding it.

What the Draft Policy Proposes — Key Provisions

The Delhi EV Policy 2026 draft covers several areas beyond just the registration ban. Here is a structured breakdown of its major proposals:

Together, these provisions form what the government calls a "carrot and stick" approach — subsidies and infrastructure to make EVs genuinely accessible, and a registration ban to eliminate the future demand for ICE two-wheelers regardless of buyer preference.

The 2028 Two-Wheeler Ban — What It Means in Practice

The April 1, 2028 deadline is the most consequential element of the draft. Understanding exactly what it covers — and what it does not — matters for every two-wheeler buyer and seller in Delhi.

Two years may seem like a short runway, but industry observers note that the two-wheeler EV segment in India has grown rapidly. Models from Ola Electric, Ather Energy, TVS iQube, Bajaj Chetak, and Hero Vida are already commercially available across Delhi at price points that are increasingly competitive with mid-range petrol two-wheelers — particularly when accounting for central government EV incentives and state subsidies.

The timeline also aligns with India's broader EV momentum. As our FY2026 EV sales report showed, two-wheeler EVs were the single largest driver of India's 84 percent EV sales surge — a sign that consumer acceptance of electric two-wheelers has already crossed a meaningful threshold.

EV Subsidies and Incentives in the Draft

The registration ban only works if buying an EV is a genuinely viable option for Delhi residents at every income level. The draft policy acknowledges this and proposes a layered incentive structure.

The scrappage-linked incentive is particularly significant. This mechanism — also being pursued at the national level as covered in our India vehicle scrappage policy overview — creates a direct financial bridge between old ICE ownership and new EV adoption. A Delhi resident who owns a 2015-era petrol scooter could receive both a scrappage certificate value and a state EV subsidy when purchasing an electric replacement, substantially reducing the out-of-pocket cost.

Charging Infrastructure Plans

A ban on ICE two-wheelers is only credible if the charging infrastructure is ready to support an all-electric fleet. The draft policy sets out infrastructure targets that — if met — would make Delhi's charging network one of the densest in the country.

As of March 2026, India had approximately 27,700 public EV charging stations, as detailed in our state-wise EV charging station breakdown. Delhi is one of the better-served cities, but the density of chargers relative to the projected EV fleet size post-2028 remains a concern flagged by stakeholders in their feedback submissions.

The draft calls for charging infrastructure to be mandated in:

The draft also proposes a real-time public charger map and booking system, addressing one of the most common frustrations among existing EV owners: not knowing whether a nearby charger is occupied or functional before making a trip.

How This Affects Car Buyers — Precedent for 4-Wheeler Mandates

The draft's explicit scope is two-wheelers. Cars, SUVs, and other four-wheelers are not subject to any registration ban under the current draft. But anyone buying a car in Delhi today — especially a petrol or diesel car — should think carefully about the direction of travel this policy signals.

The pattern across global EV transitions has been consistent: two-wheelers and commercial fleets go first (lower price differential, simpler charging), then smaller passenger cars, then larger ones. The UK, Norway, and several EU countries followed this sequencing. India — and Delhi in particular — appears to be moving along the same trajectory, just at a compressed pace driven by air quality urgency.

The car segment is also indirectly affected through the used market. As two-wheeler owners transition to EVs, many in the middle-income segment may also reassess their four-wheeler choices, particularly as used EV prices become more competitive and charging infrastructure matures.

Delhi vs Other States — How Does It Compare?

No other Indian state has proposed a hard registration ban for petrol two-wheelers with a specific year attached. Here is how Delhi's draft stacks up against the most active state EV policies in India:

Karnataka's April 2026 EV tax restructuring is a meaningful shift but operates through price signals rather than prohibition. Delhi's draft is categorically more aggressive — it removes consumer choice for new two-wheeler purchases after the deadline rather than nudging buyers with cost incentives.

The divergence matters because it reflects different political and geographic contexts. Delhi's air quality crisis — the city regularly records PM2.5 levels 15 to 20 times WHO safe limits in winter — gives its government a strong justification for prohibition that states with less acute pollution problems may not have. But Delhi's approach is being watched closely as a potential template for other cities facing similar air quality emergencies: Lucknow, Kolkata, and Patna among them.

What This Means for Used Car and Two-Wheeler Buyers in Delhi

For anyone active in the Delhi used vehicle market — whether buying, selling, or just watching prices — the draft policy creates both near-term opportunities and longer-term uncertainties worth thinking through carefully.

For sellers of ICE two-wheelers: The window of maximum value for petrol scooters and motorcycles in Delhi is now. As the 2028 deadline approaches and becomes more certain — particularly if it survives public consultation without major revisions — demand in the used petrol two-wheeler segment is likely to soften. Buyers will increasingly factor in resale uncertainty when valuing a petrol two-wheeler. Sellers who want to extract maximum value from an older petrol scooter or bike should plan their exit before the policy is officially notified and the market begins pricing in the deadline.

For buyers of ICE two-wheelers: Buying a petrol two-wheeler in Delhi today means buying an asset whose future resale pool will shrink — not because anyone is forcing existing owners off the road, but because fewer new petrol two-wheelers will exist to compete with yours in the used market. That is actually a nuanced point: in the short term, used petrol two-wheelers may hold value reasonably well because new petrol supply is restricted. But in the medium term (2029–2032), as Delhi's fleet progressively tilts electric, attitudes toward petrol two-wheelers in the used market may shift more sharply.

For used car buyers in Delhi: The near-term impact on four-wheeler prices is limited — the ban does not cover cars. But there is a compositional shift beginning in the market. As Delhi residents buying new two-wheelers are steered toward EVs, a portion of them will over time extend that EV preference to their four-wheeler purchase — particularly younger buyers in their 30s making their first car purchase after years of riding electric two-wheelers. This gradually builds a larger used EV car supply in Delhi over the next five to seven years, which is good news for buyers looking at the segment.

The scrappage incentive element of the draft also deserves attention from used vehicle participants. If Delhi implements an active scrappage scheme that offers meaningful cash for surrendering older ICE two-wheelers, it could pull older petrol vehicles out of the second-hand market, slightly tightening used ICE supply and creating short-term upward price pressure on the vehicles that remain. The national scrappage framework provides context here — see our overview of India's vehicle scrappage policy targets for 2026.

Timeline: What Happens Next

Understanding where this policy is in its lifecycle matters for anyone trying to make decisions based on it.

It is worth noting that Delhi's EV ambitions have sometimes faced implementation gaps between policy announcement and ground reality. The 2020 EV Policy's charging infrastructure targets were only partially met, and subsidy disbursals experienced delays in some phases. The 2026 draft will be scrutinised not just for its headline provisions but for the implementation mechanisms and accountability structures attached to them.

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