India's Electric Vehicle Boom: 123 Million EVs by 2032 and Rapid Charging Infrastructure Expansion

India is on the brink of a significant electric vehicle (EV) revolution, with projections indicating the presence of 123 million EVs on its roads by 2032, bolstered by National EV Targets incentives. A report from the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) and Customized Energy Solutions (CES) highlights a twelvefold increase in EV numbers between 2019 and 2024.

The rapid growth is underpinned by supportive government initiatives, such as the FAME-II scheme, which provides demand incentives for electric vehicles across various categories and subsidizes public charging infrastructure. In 2024, electric two- and three-wheelers made up the majority, at 93% of the EV stock, while four-wheelers, buses, and trucks comprised smaller percentages.

The burgeoning personal electric four-wheeler (E4W) segment is pivotal in expanding the home and private charging ecosystem. By 2024, around 220,000 E4Ws hit the roads, largely relying on residential Type-2 AC chargers. India had 320,000 such private chargers with varying capacities, alongside 76,000 public and captive charging points.

AC-001 chargers are prevalent, yet the capacity is dominated by the demand for CCS2 chargers, revealing a preference for high-power DC fast charging. IESA's President Debmalya Sen expects charging points to increase 12 to 28 times by 2032, significantly boosting installed capacity from 1.3 GW to as high as 23 GW.

Customized Energy Solutions India's Managing Director Vinayak Walimbe suggests that the NEV scenario foresees varying EV adoption rates by 2032 across different vehicle categories, fully supporting NITI Aayog's electrification vision. Projections include 4.3 to 10 million electric four-wheelers and substantial growth in electric buses and trucks.

(With inputs from agencies.)