India

With estimates predicting millions of EVs in daily use, the current infra is inadequate to support such growth.

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Mumbai: India’s electric mobility transition is increasingly signified by two divergent strands-while the demand is accelerating rapidly, the supporting charging ecosystem is struggling to keep pace.

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country, comprising two-wheelers, passenger cars and commercial fleets, crossed 2.3 million units in 2025, taking the total number of EVs on Indian roads to nearly 5.9 million. However, with roughly 26,000 public chargers nationwide, the country has just about one charger for every 225 EVs, far behind global benchmarks such as China, where the ratio is closer to one charger for every seven vehicles. The disparity underscores a structural dilemma. Charging infrastructure depends on EV adoption for viability, even as adoption itself hinges on the availability of reliable charging. Industry executives, however, argue that the issue is no longer just about adding chargers but deploying them intelligently.

Source: The Economic Times

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Vivek Srivatsa, chief commercial officer at Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, described the ecosystem as being in a “constant evolution stage”, where rollout is increasingly guided by data and collaboration between automobile manufacturers and charge point operators to identify demand clusters. There are early signs of this shift. Key highway corridors are steadily being equipped with chargers, enabling long-distance EV travel that was once seen as impractical. Data from Tata Motors indicates its EVs have covered 95 per cent of India’s road network, with nearly half the customers undertaking journeys exceeding 500 km, suggesting that range anxiety is gradually easing.Yet, the challenge is evolving rather than disappearing. Increasingly, the focus is shifting from the presence of chargers to their performance and reliability.

A significant portion of India’s charging network still operates at 25-30 kW, while newer EVs can handle 60 kW or more. This mismatch limits charging speeds, particularly on highways where quick turnaround times are critical. Early infrastructure, often limited to one or two charging points per station, has also led to downtime and queues. The emergence of multi-bay charging hubs is beginning to address this issue, improving uptime and throughput.

For Tata Power, one of India’s largest EV charging network operators, the next phase hinges on utilisation as much as expansion. “While EV adoption is growing at an encouraging pace, average charger utilisation remains modest at around 4-5 per cent nationally. The challenge is not just building infrastructure, but ensuring it is deployed where it is most needed and most viable,” said Vijender Goyal, head of business development for EV charging.The company has built more than 5,600 public and captive charging points across more than 630 cities, including 450-plus highway locations, along with more than 200,000 home chargers. Its strategy is increasingly anchored in demand-led deployment backed by analytics and partnerships.High-capacity chargers are central to this approach. For instance, 180 kW chargers deployed along corridors such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route can enable a 20-80 per cent charge in 15-30 minutes, improving both user experience and asset utilisation.Even so, utilisation remains uneven across the ecosystem. Maxson Lewis, CEO of Magenta Mobility, said that several stations remain underused due to suboptimal location planning and the continued dominance of home and workplace charging. Similarly, Kartikey Hariyani, founder and CEO of ChargeZone, said utilisation rates range between 5-35 per cent, averaging around 12 per cent, raising concerns over long-term financial viability.Cost economics further complicates the picture. A 60 kW DC fast charger can cost upwards of ₹8 lakh, with supporting infrastructure adding another ₹5–15 lakh. Large installations can run into crores, making efficient deployment critical.

The path forward is unlikely to be uniform. Urban markets will continue to rely heavily on slower AC chargers due to home charging dominance, while highways will require dense networks of high-speed DC chargers, said Lewis.

Location will also play a role. In cities like Mumbai, where on-street parking is common, public charging is essential, unlike in markets such as Norway.

“The next phase will require a combination of policy momentum, private participation and innovative partnerships to scale efficiently and sustainably,” said Goyal.

As India’s EV market matures, the focus is shifting from scale to precision, placing the right chargers in the right locations at the right speed.

“Getting that balance right could allow India to leapfrog into a robust, future-ready charging ecosystem. Getting it wrong risks leaving infrastructure lagging where it matters most,” said Hariyani.