Data | E-rickshaws to two-wheelers: The shift in the share of electric vehicles

The number of electric vehicles has surged, but the share in the total number of vehicles still remains below 1%

The number of electric vehicles in India has surged from just 2,400 a decade ago to over 27.4 lakh as of July 2023. However, given the concurrent rise in the number of non-electric vehicles, the overall share of electric vehicles has still not crossed the 1% mark. Notably, there is also a wide inter-State disparity in the penetration of electric vehicles.

There has also been a dramatic shift in the class of electric vehicles over time. In the initial years, between FY2015 and FY2020, when the number of electric vehicles was growing at a relatively slow pace, the share of e-rickshaws in the mix was much higher than the share of electric bikes. However, in the last four fiscal years, as the absolute number of electric vehicles has increased at a quicker pace, the share of electric bikes has surged and surpassed the share of e-rickshaws.

Chart 1 | The chart shows the cumulative number of electric vehicles in India over time.

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As of July 14, 2023, India had 0.27 crore electric vehicles, 5 crore diesel vehicles, and 28 crore petrol vehicles. The share of electric vehicles was just 0.79%, with petrol vehicles forming over 80% and diesel motors contributing about 14.5%. The share of petrol/CNG hybrid (1.4%) was also higher than the share of electric vehicles, while with a 0.6% share, the petrol/LPG variant came close.

Chart 2 | The chart shows electric vehicles as a share of all vehicles registered in a State as of July 14, 2023.

Assam ranked first with a share of 2.2% electric vehicles, followed by Tripura (about 2%). Delhi, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Goa had a share of over 1%. Among the major States, Himachal Pradesh had the lowest share with 0.11%, followed by Punjab (0.26%), Andhra Pradesh (0.40%), West Bengal (0.44%), and Madhya Pradesh (0.47%).