India Hits 1 Crore EV Sales, But Charging and Battery Repairs Lag

India has sold 1 crore electric vehicles. That's 10 million. The milestone, reported by ET Auto and others, marks a shift for a market long seen as a laggard in the global EV race.

But the number hides a bigger problem. Most of those sales are two- and three-wheelers, not cars. Electric scooters, rickshaws, and small commercial vehicles dominate. Passenger electric cars remain a tiny slice of total car sales.

"The challenge is not selling EVs anymore," said one industry analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It's keeping them running."

Charging network still thin

Public charging stations are scarce outside major cities. Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and a few other metros have clusters of chargers. Elsewhere, drivers rely on home plugs or office points. For commercial fleets, that's a dealbreaker.

Deccan Herald reported that India's EV push now faces the "bigger challenge" of after-sales support. Battery repairs, spare parts, and trained mechanics are hard to find in smaller towns. A broken electric scooter can sit idle for weeks.

CleanTechnica, in a piece on India's transition, noted that policy support has helped sales but infrastructure hasn't kept pace. The gap is widest in states with high EV adoption like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.

What's working

Government schemes like FAME and state-level subsidies cut upfront costs. That drove early adoption. Electric two-wheeler makers such as Ola Electric, TVS, and Bajaj have ramped up production. Tata Motors leads the passenger EV segment with the Nexon EV.

Battery prices have fallen globally, making EVs more affordable. India's own battery manufacturing is still small but growing. Several gigafactory plans are in the works.

What's missing

• Fast chargers on highways: few and far between.
• Skilled technicians: most mechanics can't service EV motors or batteries.
• Battery recycling: almost nonexistent, raising environmental concerns.
• Grid reliability: power cuts in some regions make charging unpredictable.

The global picture puts India in a tricky spot. China dominates EV production and sales. Europe and the US have deeper charging networks. India's strength is in small EVs, not cars. That's a different market.

"We are not competing with Tesla," said an executive at an Indian EV startup. "We are competing with diesel autos and petrol scooters."

That competition is being won on price. But price alone won't keep 10 million vehicles moving. Service networks, charging points, and reliable batteries will decide whether India's EV boom lasts or stalls.

For now, the 1 crore mark is a milestone. The next one million will be harder.