India's electric passenger vehicle sales tripled last year as demand for affordable, compact sports utility vehicles surged. As per a BloombergNEF report, the rise of ride sharing startups which operate all electric vehicles such as BluSmart Mobility, Lithium Urban Technologies and Evera have also boosted the EV sales.
Electric vehicle sales in India stood at 49,800 last year, accounting for just 1.3% of 3.8 million passenger vehicles sold. The report also observed that smaller SUVs are becoming popular as they easily maneuver through India’s potholed roads and bad traffic, while offering aspirational buyers a status symbol.
However, India is still lagging behind nations like China and the U.S. in adopting electric vehicles. In India, most carmakers are hesitant to make the switch because electric cars are costlier than internal combustion engines. Similarly, lack of public charging stations also prevent customers from buying.
Warren Buffett-backed BYD Co. seeks to capture 40% of India’s EV market by 2030, while SAIC Motor Corp. is planning to launch three EVs by the end of 2024. Domestic manufacturer, Tata Motors Ltd., is planning to invest $2.2 billion, while the nation’s biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. has committed $1.2 billion.
To address the lack of chargers issue, many state-run companies and government departments floated tenders for building 593 charging stations on highways and expressways last year, said the report.