PM eDrive delivers 1.13 million EVs with reduced subsidy: CEEW

The CEEW-GFC analysis also shows that India’s EV market has structurally evolved. While early EV adoption (FY20–FY21) was dominated by e-rickshaws, the growth engine has since shifted: Electric two-wheelers (E2Ws) surged from FY22 onwards and became the largest EV segment by FY25, with over 1.15 million units sold. This transition signals a move from informal and commercial use towards broader household and enterprise uptake. The EV mix is also broadening—commercial electric four-wheelers saw a clear uptick by FY25, pointing to growing fleet electrification in urban logistics and shared mobility. Further, electric buses, though still a small share, show steady growth, signalling early institutional adoption.

Karthik Ganesan, Fellow and Director – Strategic Partnerships, CEEW, said: “The shift from FAME II to PM eDrive marks an important inflexion in India’s EV policy. Delivering 1.13 million electric vehicles with lower per-unit incentives suggests that parts of the market are beginning to stand on their own. At the same time, the variation in outcomes across vehicle categories and states underscores why the next phase must focus on policy coherence, infrastructure readiness, and targeted interventions—rather than assuming uniform EV adoption across the country.”

PM eDrive doubles the outlay for charging infrastructure to INR 20 billion, expands coverage to e-trucks and e-ambulances, strengthens localisation through Aadhaar-enabled e-vouchers, and introduces scrappage-linked incentives for electric buses and trucks.

Uneven uptake across states and vehicle categories

Despite strong national performance, adoption remains uneven. Higher-income states and UTs such as Delhi, Goa, and Karnataka show diversified EV adoption across E2Ws, E4Ws, and e-buses, with E2W penetration nearly five times higher than in lower-income states. Lower-income states, including Bihar and Tripura, remain heavily reliant on electric three-wheelers (E3Ws), which account for over 52 per cent of EV penetration in these regions.

Further, PM eDrive’s outcomes reveal a clear category-level skew, according to the CEEW-GFC study. Commercial E3Ws (L5 category - not including e-rickshaws and e-carts) overshot FY25 targets at 153 per cent, E2Ws met 95 per cent, while electric rickshaws and e-carts reached just 5 per cent of their target.

Apoorv Minocha, Research Analyst, CEEW, said: “With demand firmly established, India’s EV transition now depends on the clarity and consistency of policy signals to sustain and broaden adoption. Formalising the 2030 EV target, aligning state-level ambitions, improving data transparency, and recalibrating incentives based on real-world uptake will be critical to ensure that electrification spreads beyond a few segments and states to reach MSMEs, public fleets, rural markets, and informal transport operators.”

To sustain momentum and ensure an equitable transition, the CEEW-GFC study recommends formally embedding India’s 30 per cent EV adoption target for 2030 in a national policy framework with clear, category-wise sub-targets, supported by a joint roadmap from the Ministry of Heavy Industries and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to strengthen long-term market signals. It also calls for clearer and better-aligned state-level EV targets to reduce regional disparities, alongside greater transparency in EV and charging infrastructure data through an expanded PM eDrive dashboard and a unified national dataset to enable monitoring and mid-course corrections. Finally, the study highlights the need to dynamically recalibrate PM eDrive budgets—redirecting resources towards high-demand segments while revisiting incentive structures where adoption lags—so that India’s EV transition is not only fast, but also fair, reaching MSMEs, public fleets, rural markets, and informal transport operators.