An Intelsense analysis released recently found that India’s electric vehicle (EV) growth is substantially slower than that of the top 10 global standouts.
India’s EV growth, according to the FY24 data, was 27% (YoY), much slower than the top 10 global contenders. India’s electric vehicle market share in 2024 was between two and three percent of new car sales, far less than the average of five percent for the top ten countries.
However, the report also notes that India is the largest and fastest-growing market, even though it does not rank in the top 10 globally in terms of growth.
India is currently ranked 11th or 12th in the world, behind rising powers like Vietnam, Thailand, and Mexico.
The country’s goal of reaching a 30% EV market share by 2030 may be hampered by the fact that EV penetration is still much lower than in the top ten countries.
But the papers also note that India is moving closer to its 2030 target, as seen by a steady rise in EV registrations and infrastructure for charging them.
In India, EV sales increased 27% to 1.94 million units in 2024, with two-wheelers and three-wheelers accounting for the majority of the market.
The leading companies in the Indian market are Tata Motors, Hyundai, Mahindra, and MG in the four-wheeler and passenger car segments. But when it comes to a larger market share of new four-wheelers and EV infrastructure like batteries and charging stations, they have fallen short of expectations.
The two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments of the EV market are dominated by Hero, Ola, and TVS.
According to the analysis, India’s EV sector is still growing at a good rate in absolute terms, but additional acceleration is required to hit tipping points.
India’s 95–100% reliance on China and other East Asian nations, such as South Korea and Japan, for essential EV battery materials is one of its biggest issues.
India is attempting to find lithium reserves in order to address this. Reasi, J&K, currently has 5.9 million tonnes of inferred lithium, ranking among the top 10 worldwide reserves in terms of amount. Other geological discoveries can also be found in Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka.
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There are also a number of domestic refinery projects. For example, in March 2025, Lohum put India’s first battery-grade lithium refinery (1,000 tpa) into service. In addition, Vardhaan Lithium is working with the Maharashtra government to construct a refinery with a capacity of 60,000 tpa close to Nagpur (Butibori).
