New Delhi, 05 January 2026 – The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) cautions that the Delhi government’s proposal to extend a green cess to petrol and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles risks burdening consumers with higher upfront costs while doing little to meaningfully accelerate the shift to electric mobility.
Under the draft electric vehicle policy, the government is considering a 1 – 2% levy on new petrol and CNG vehicles, while potentially doubling the existing cess on diesel cars. While framed as a push toward cleaner transport, CCC warns that marginal price penalties on conventional vehicles fail to address the real barriers preventing wider EV adoption.
Shrey Madaan, Indian Policy Associate at the Consumer Choice Center, said:
“Making conventional vehicles more expensive does not suddenly make EVs affordable. For most consumers, the biggest obstacle isn’t ideology, it is cost, charging access, and practicality. A green cess risks becoming a revenue tool that punishes choice without delivering cleaner outcomes.”
Electric vehicles currently account for just 12–14% of new registrations in Delhi, despite generous subsidies and tax waivers under the existing EV policy. Industry experts have repeatedly pointed out that high upfront prices, limited charging infrastructure, and range concerns remain the primary deterrents for buyers, not the absence of penalties on petrol or CNG cars.
CCC warns that layering additional levies onto vehicle purchases may disproportionately impact middle and lower-income households who rely on affordable mobility options and cannot easily absorb higher on-road costs or switch to EVs overnight.
Rather than nudging behaviour, such measures risk distorting the market by narrowing consumer choice without fixing structural gaps in the EV ecosystem.
Madaan added:
“Policy should make cleaner options genuinely easier to choose, not force consumers into them by making alternatives more expensive. Penalising buyers before the ecosystem is ready risks public backlash, slower adoption, and misplaced blame on consumers rather than policy design.”
The Consumer Choice Center urges policymakers to prioritise reforms that directly tackle real-world constraints, including improving charging availability through private participation, enforcing existing pollution norms on high-emission vehicles, and enabling competition and innovation in mobility services.
“A successful transition to electric mobility depends on trust, affordability, and convenience,” Madaan concluded. “If EVs work better for consumers, people will choose them willingly, no green surcharge required.”
