The West Asia war-triggered energy supply shocks are pushing India to speed up its shift to electric mobility to cut its oil import dependence and cushion the economy from volatility. Towards this, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) started consultations with electric two-wheeler makers on 2 April, as it looks to rev up its five-year-old 'Go Electric' campaign, eyeing a micro-level awareness on EV benefits, two people aware of the matter said.
Two-wheelers are central to India's green energy push as they use a bulk of the country's petrol. Two-wheelers guzzled nearly two-third of India’s total petrol consumption of 38.8 million tonnes in fiscal year 2026 (FY26).
Amid the war uncertainties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on 27 March exhorted state governments to promote alternative fuels and electric mobility.
India is world's third largest energy buyer after the US and China. The US-Israel’s war, going on since over a month, has disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 30% of India's oil imports come in. In this light, BEE, India's apex energy efficiency agency, will lead the effort to leverage and revive the government's ‘Go Electric’ campaign.
The campaign was first launched amid the pandemic-led disruptions in February 2021 to promote charging infrastructure and adoption of zero-emission battery-driven vehicles.
The Centre's push to assist states in raising awareness about electric mobility comes in the backdrop of pressure on state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs). Indian Oil Corp Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd have hiked prices of premium petrol and diesel on global cues, but have kept prices of regular petrol and diesel unchanged. Private OMCs—Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy and Shell—that account for about 10% of India’s 100,000 petrol pumps have hiked fuel prices.
“There was a meeting on 2 April, wherein two-wheeler industry stakeholders were called by the BEE to discuss the campaign. The meeting was attended by Ather Energy, Ola Electric and Hero MotoCorp, among others.
The meeting did not include carmakers, as these EVs "are sold at a higher price point, making immediate adoption a challenge,” said the first person cited above, requesting anonymity.
India's top five electric two-wheeler makers are Ather, Ola, TVS, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp. Together, they garner 85-90% of the segment's sales.
“The meeting involved consultations with electric two-wheelers manufacturers, on how to promote electric mobility in the country in a bid to shift away from crude oil dependence,” said the second person cited above, who also did not want to be named. The discussion centered around ways to reduce people’s apprehension around EVs, especially those related to safety and the uncertainty around new technology, the person said.
“There were discussions around reaching out to resident welfare associations (RWAs) to run awareness campaigns and offer test rides to promote electric vehicles. A digital as well as billboard marketing approach could be taken under the new Go Electric campaign,” said this second person cited above.
Queries on the development emailed to the spokespersons of the BEE and the power ministry on 2 April, and to Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor, Ather Energy and Ola Electric on 3 April remained unanswered until press time.
Meanwhile, India’s adoption of electric mobility is on the rise and its costs are coming down. A December 2025 report by KPMG said India has almost achieved price parity between the total cost of buying and operating an electric two-wheeler and a petrol-powered one.
The country's petrol two-wheeler sales topped 11 million units in FY26, but were still lower than the FY22 level of 13.2 million. Electric two-wheeler sales, on the other hand, jumped to 1.4 million in FY26 from 252,787 in FY22, as per the government’s Vahan portal.
The ‘Go Electric’ campaign had been launched by the road transport and highways, power, and new and renewable energy ministries to reduce the country’s dependence on crude oil imports by promoting electric mobility and electric cookstoves or cooktops, according to a power ministry statement of 19 February 2021.
Mint reported on 3 April that the government was looking to push the output of induction stoves to promote electricity-based cooking amid the ongoing West Asia energy crisis.
Energy security experts said it is important to move towards electric mobility and reduce the dependence on oil.
“There may be range anxiety (fear that an EV would run out of battery charge) or concerns that the initial cost would be high because of charging infrastructure and battery prices. But those concerns can be addressed, battery prices which have already come down, will fall significantly going ahead,” said Kirit Parikh, former member (energy) of the erstwhile Planning Commission of India. “Concerns over lack of infrastructure will have to be addressed and charging technology would also evolve, as people cannot spend hours charging their vehicle... An accelerated move towards electrification of mobility must come now, rather than later.”
India sold over 2.45 million EVs (including two-wheelers) in FY26, compared to 1.96 million units in FY25. About 8.2% of the 29.74 million new vehicles sold in FY26 were electric, compared with 7.5% in the previous year, Vahan data showed.
India imported $109 billion worth of crude oil in FY26, down from $137 billion in the previous year, as per government's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).
Simultaneously, India’s public EV charging network rose to 29,200 units as of December 2025, with the union heavy industries ministry looking to support installation of at least 72,000 more by FY28. This expansion will entail funds from a ₹2,000 crore corpus under the Centre’s flagship PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme.