The prevalence of vehicles with green number plates on Indian roads has been rising. Not just in Metros, but in smaller cities as well. Take Lucknow, for example, where hundreds of CNG auto-rickshaws have been replaced by electric ones. In Mumbai, the iconic double-decker buses operated by BEST are now electric. And companies like Ather Energy in the two-wheeler space are developing pathbreaking technology, ensuring India is a global leader in electric two-wheelers.
But the fact of the matter is that the gold standard for EV adoption is the passenger car market. In August 2025, according to data released by the Federation of Automotive Dealers Associations (FADA) collated from the Ministry of Road Transportation and Highways (MoRTH) VAHAN data, sales of EVs crossed the important five per cent of total sales mark. Across the world, this barrier has been a critical one and signals that adoption will only growl going forward.
One major reason for the growth in adoption has been the launch of several new models since World EV Day last year. From the Mahindra XEV 9e and BE 6, to the new Tata Harrier.ev as well as electric versions of the extremely popular Hyundai Creta and Kia Carens, the Indian customer today has an unprecedented choice of electric cars. It may not be as attractive as the choices in front of Chinese consumers where over a hundred companies vie for dominance, the arrival of players like Vietnamese firm VinFast as well as the country’s largest carmaker Maruti-Suzuki’s e-Vitara coming soon, will present options to consumers.
With the GST rate on electric vehicles remaining at five per cent across the board, the government has ensured that this new wave of electric passenger vehicles will see demand. In cities like New Delhi and elsewhere in North India, where air pollution is a problem in winter months, electric vehicles are immune from any vehicular restrictions. Charging infrastructure is also improving rapidly, especially in urban areas, with incentives such as the PM eDRIVE scheme and those from various states encouraging new charger installation.
However, hurdles in EV adoption remain across the country and in manufacturing. While charger infrastructure is improving for all types of electric vehicles, including battery swapping infrastructure in urban areas — it is still lacking on highways. More problematically, chargers in India are also frightfully slow — a vast majority of DC fast chargers for passenger vehicles are 60 kilowatt capable while the world is rapidly moving to 400 kilowatt charging and over one megawatt charging in China. This means that while chargers exist, rapid five-ten minute charging solutions do not, and with many electric vehicles featuring older 400V electric architecture, Indian manufacturers have been slow to adopt the latest 800V technology.
But the really big problem with electric vehicles remains China. Indian manufacturers have been slow to start cell manufacturing in India and Chinese firms like CATL and BYD have taken a huge lead. This coupled with China’s control of rare-earth metals, particularly Neodymium which is vital for the permanent magnets in EV motors and a recent export ban could have hobbled the Indian EV ecosystem. There have been certain advancements by Indian companies in the recent weeks following Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with President Xi Jinping, but India and Indian firms will need to step up to prevent any supply chain crisis going forward. This doesn’t just involve mining for rare earths and manufacturing Lithium batteries but also developing our own intellectual property and technology.