NEW DELHI: The federal policy think tank Niti Aayog may advocate raising the share of electric vehicles in India’s privately owned cars and two-wheelers to 90% by 2047 from nearly 6% now as part of the nation’s energy transition, according to three people aware of the development.
This plan will be part of the long-term decarbonization roadmap to be launched shortly by the think tank for transport, industrial, buildings, agriculture, and power sectors, said the people, asking not to be identified as the details are not public yet. It will also lay out a pathway to increase the share of rail and air travel, with the target of India becoming a net-zero emitter by 2070, they said.
India’s EV adoption has been rising, accounting for 5.9% of all vehicle registrations in 2025, according to data from the government’s Vahan registry. However, the penetration lags China and countries in Europe. India’s road transport and highways minister, Nitin Gadkari, said at a conference in September 2024 that all automakers will eventually have to launch electric models or risk losing market share.
To achieve high levels of EV adoption in personal vehicles, India needs more models that cater to different commuting requirements, according to Shyamasis Das, research fellow and head of electric mobility research at Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP).
“...while automakers have come out with multiple electric models of the compact sports utility vehicles (SUVs), there are still very few models which cater to smaller commutes,” Das said. “And it is critical to note that smaller EVs are more affordable than larger ones due to the smaller battery size, which will potentially be more interesting to the price-sensitive mid-economic class of the population.”
Das also highlighted the need for timely, effective after-sales service and a robust charging network at home and in workplaces for everyday EV users. “Ease of EV servicing and charging will be crucial – only having vehicle sales and public chargers will not be enough.”
India’s long-term strategic roadmap for the automobile sector will also include mapping the life-cycle carbon emissions of every vehicle segment to help settle any future debate over emission norms, Mint reported earlier.
Clean energy transition
The Niti Aayog created working groups in April 2024 with a broad mandate to analyze how transport sector demand improves with GDP growth; examine the impact of existing policies on electric vehicles, clean fuels, including green hydrogen, ethanol, and methanol; and study the impact of the phased adoption of cleaner fuels on emissions and energy consumption. The working group’s mandate also included an analysis of financing mechanisms to boost EV adoption in India.
Niti Aayog also called for India to move from an incentive-based regime for EV adoption to clear mandates and even disincentives for other fossil fuel vehicles to speed up electrification.
“There was also some work done on how we can move more people towards public transport to decongest roads. Also, consultations with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) were done for this study,” said the first person cited above. “The report is also likely to present various scenarios; for instance, one where India continues with a business-as-usual approach, and another where India implements all policies aligned with its net-zero by 2070 target.”
Queries emailed to the spokespersons of Niti Aayog, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Kia, MG Motor, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Ather Energy, and Ola Electric on 27 January remained unanswered.
Still, to reach high levels of electrification, India needs to overcome hurdles, according to Sharif Qamar, associate director of transport and urban mobility at The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri). “Charging infrastructure needs to become more viable and widespread.”
India had 29,151 public EV chargers as of December, according to a Lok Sabha disclosure on 16 December.
“There is also a need to invest in research and development, especially for using green hydrogen technologies in freight transport and buses in the future,” Qamar said. “The biggest challenge, however, for India in the long run is the affordability of new technologies. Making electric vehicles more affordable is the most straightforward way to boost adoption.”
Qamar also underscored the need to shift freight and passenger transport from roads to railways by augmenting infrastructure through dedicated freight corridors and multi-modal parks.