The vehicle population in the Capital grew by more than 643,000 in 2025-26 – the largest single-year increase in nine years – even as authorities continued phasing out older vehicles, according to the Economic Survey of Delhi 2025-26 tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Monday.
The total number of motor vehicles in the national capital stood at 8.76 million as of March 19, 2026, registering a 7.9% year-on-year increase over 2024-25 – the highest percentage growth since 2015-16, when it went up 9.9%, according to the Economic Survey.
To be sure, total vehicle registrations fell by 4.3 million in 2021-22, when diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years were deregistered in large numbers as part of pollution control measures. The survey adds that 6.6 million (6,620,160) such vehicles have been deregistered up to March 2026.
Two-wheelers continue to dominate Delhi’s vehicle mix, accounting for over two-thirds of total registered vehicles, followed by cars and jeeps at around one-fourth.
The total number of two-wheelers on Delhi’s streets rose to 5.92 million in 2025–26 from 5.48 million a year earlier, accounting for the bulk of the overall increase. Four-wheelers, meanwhile, have shown a modest recovery, climbing back to 2.12 million from the 1.99 million in 2024-25.
Electric vehicle (EV) adoption has gained momentum, with 470,104 EVs registered as of March 19, 2026. Officials said Delhi now has over 3,100 charging stations and 893 battery swapping stations, with subsidies disbursed to more than 91,000 beneficiaries under EV incentive schemes.
The budget allocation for the transport sector, the highest among all sectors, was ₹12,111 crore for 2025-26, of which ₹10,341 crore (85.38%) had been utilised until March 20, 2026.
The latest numbers suggest that while Delhi’s vehicle population is expanding again from a lower base after the 2021-22 regulatory curbs, both conventional and electric vehicle segments are now growing in parallel.
Experts said the GST benefits for cars will only add to the trend. “To actually reduce vehicular emissions for a ‘green Delhi’, the government needs to augment public transport and should try to ensure that the increase in vehicles is recorded in the EV segment, which can be made possible with the planned EV Policy mandates,” said Pawan Mulukutla, executive program director – Integrated Transport, Clean Air and Hydrogen, WRI India.
