Delhi Vehicle Policy: Know How To Add Electric Kit Into Old Diesel Car
As per the recently introduced law in Delhi, no diesel vehicle older than 10 years is allowed to run on public roads.
Owners of diesel cars of more than 10 years have had some sort of relief with the Delhi Government allowing these cars to run after having an electric kit installed. But, the question is, what is the cost of such a kit, and how easy/difficult it is? Well as of now the kit conversions will start once these kit makers are empaneled by the transport department. Also with different cars, there is a lengthy process in terms of certifying the kit for use for different cars. But for the owner, does it make sense? We will investigate with a basic example of an electric car conversion available. For eg, Northway Motorsport is a Pune-based electric kit conversion maker and it offers kits for popular cars like the Dzire.
But the question is, how easy is it getting the kit installed? The EV kit conversion makers say it is easier to just plug in the kit after removing the engine. Some of the essential components are also remaining which means it is not a complex job. Further, on the various parts of the car like the instrument cluster or the gearbox stays unchanged too. That said, getting EV-specific information like range like in EVs might be a question with these EV kit cars.
The other question is the range of cost. Typically, the kits will be expected to give a decent range of 200 km plus or 250km- which is enough for city use and similar to ground-up EVs like the Tata Tigor EV. In that way, the range is quite good and practical. Of course, there is the question of cost and typically the kits cost around Rs 5 lakh or more which means the car buyers would have to make a decision to spend this amount on an old car or sell this and get a new one. The other questions include charging networks for these cars with the EV conversion kits or even servicing since post EV conversion the service factor could be a potential issue. That said, there is indeed a way to keep old cars on the road in Delhi although with electric power.
More details on this would bring further clarity in the coming days so stay tuned for more on this topic.