Can Middle East war-driven oil pressure boost India’s electric vehicle journey?

A few days ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi instructed the induction of electric vehicles (EVs) into his convoy, to the extent possible without purchasing new cars, once again spotlighting a vehicle segment serving at least two key constituencies.

The immediate context of Modi's instruction is his call for austerity measures, including reducing gold purchases, avoiding unnecessary foreign travel for a year, cutting private car use and shifting to public transport to ease pressure on fossil fuels amid the Middle East war.

The move addresses two concerns at once, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cutting petrol consumption, a large portion of which India imports and which has been affected by the conflict.

India's EV transition is already underway as part of its shift toward green mobility.

Registered EVs in India rose to 19.68 lakh in 2024-25 from 1.43 lakh in 2020-21, according to the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

Over the past five years, the government has launched at least six schemes to promote EV manufacturing and adoption.

However, India's transition to electric mobility had a slow start, according to an August report by NITI Aayog, the country's official policy think tank.

India's EV penetration was about one-fifth of the global level in 2020 but rose to more than two-fifths in 2024.

The report said the trend remains upward, though relatively slow.

It estimates India's EV market at $200 billion and says the country aims to achieve a 30% EV share in total vehicle sales by 2030.

EV sales in India increased from 50,000 in 2016 to 2.08 million in 2024, while global EV sales rose from 918,000 to 18.78 million during the same period, the report said, adding that stronger measures are needed to accelerate the transition.

One of the biggest obstacles to EV market expansion remains inadequate charging infrastructure.

Setting up EV charging stations, considered essential for large-scale EV adoption, is an unlicensed activity in which private entrepreneurs can also participate.

Under a government scheme, Rs2,000 crore has been allocated for public charging stations.

So far, proposals worth ₹503.86 crore have been approved for installing 4,874 EV chargers across various states.

The Indian government has also approved a total outlay of Rs10,900 crore to promote electric mobility and support EV ecosystem development across multiple segments, including demand incentives and infrastructure support.

The scheme proposes support for around 24.79 lakh electric two-wheelers and nearly 3.16 lakh electric three-wheelers, including e-rickshaws and e-carts.

It also includes Rs4,391 crore for deploying more than 14,028 electric buses, alongside dedicated support for e-ambulances and e-trucks to encourage adoption in commercial and public service sectors.

Out of the total allocation, Rs3,679 crore has been earmarked for demand incentives for electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, e-ambulances, e-trucks and other emerging EV categories.