Early EV adopters pull ahead in sales; post twice the sales of latecomers

In FY25 alone, India recorded 1.96 million EV sales, with a penetration rate of 7 per cent, says Gagan Sidhu

Way back in 2017, India’s technology capital, Karnataka, became the first state to introduce a dedicated electric vehicle (EV) policy. By January 2021, at least 15 states had EV policies in some form, which increased to 25 states by April 2025.

 

As Maharashtra’s new EV policy grabbed headlines on Tuesday, industry experts indicate that states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu are reaping the most from their early-mover advantage, posting twofold sales compared to states that rolled out policies later.

 

Take the case of Karnataka: the penetration of electric two-wheelers (e2Ws) was just 0.01 per cent, four-wheelers (e4Ws) 0.16 per cent, and three-wheelers (e3Ws) 0.35 per cent in 2018–19, a year after the policy was introduced. This increased to 11.25 per cent, 4.42 per cent, and 12.73 per cent, respectively, by 2024–25.

 

The state fine-tuned its policy from time to time, with the latest update in February 2025 targeting ₹50,000 crore in investments, 100,000 jobs, and 2,600 EV charging stations. This comes at a time when the country’s EV market has seen a fourteenfold rise in volume and a ninefold growth in penetration over the past five years, according to data by CEEW Green Finance Centre (CEEW-GFC).

 

“In 2024–25 alone, India recorded 1.96 million EV sales, with a penetration rate of 7 per cent. A previous CEEW-GFC study found that states with EV policies have achieved nearly double the sales of those without. Presently, around 25 states and Union Territories have notified dedicated EV policies, with Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu leading the charge with the highest sales volumes," said Gagan Sidhu, director, CEEW-GFC.

 

The states that announced their policies between 2017 and 2020 included Delhi, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana. In addition, Bihar, Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Assam, and Himachal Pradesh had their draft EV policies in place as early as January 2021.

 

“India, much like Europe, is following a policy-driven path to electrification, where systemic pushes — ranging from tax incentives and loan concessions to relaxed parking norms — are actively enabling EV adoption,” said Dhriti Kharbanda, lead — strategic partnerships and collaborations in the climate change and sustainability practice at IPE Global.

 

Take the case of Maharashtra, for instance. The state’s new policy not only offers purchase incentives for consumers but also extends financial incentives aggregating ₹11,373 crore over five years to encourage EV manufacturing, adoption, and the development of charging infrastructure. This even includes toll exemptions. The state unveiled its previous EV policy in September 2021, and since then, penetration of e3Ws has increased to 10.41 per cent (from 1.91 per cent), e2Ws to 10.17 per cent (from 3.19 per cent), and e4Ws (personal) to 3.46 per cent (from 1.84 per cent), according to CEEW-GFC data. 

 

“Studies infer that mainstreaming EVs into both public and private fleets is gaining traction across these states due to strong policy backing. e3Ws have seen the highest EV penetration so far. While policy, political, and financial pushes are encouraging, India needs to pull a few more strings — providing land at subsidised rates for charging stations and leveraging public-private partnership models as a practical and scalable way to bridge the infrastructure gap, which remains one of the last major barriers to widespread EV adoption,” Kharbanda added.

TaMo plugs into Maha’s EV vision

 

Welcoming the new EV policy by the Maharashtra government, Girish Wagh, executive director, Tata Motors, said the policy is “progressive and future-focused”.

 

“The policy’s holistic approach to extending support to electric trucks and private electric buses is a welcome step, as it will accelerate the adoption of electric mobility across commercial vehicle segments. Further, the policy’s focus on expanding charging infrastructure and offering toll waivers for all categories of electric vehicles will help address key pain points and stimulate the transition to electric mobility,” he said, adding that Tata Motors is fully aligned with the state’s vision and remains committed to driving adoption of electric commercial vehicles.