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