By Admin 
The month of June 2026 was historic for the Indian automobile industry. According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), a total of 25,57,234 vehicles were retailed across the country, which is 21.83 percent more than in June last year. This is the biggest figure for the month of June so far, but the real surprise is in the EV segment. Total EV retail sales of two-wheeler, three-wheeler, passenger and commercial vehicles reached 3,06,220 units. This is the largest figure of any month and the total penetration of EV has reached 12.5 percent. But the question is where will so many EV vehicles be charged…
What do the record sales figures in June say?
According to FADA, retail sales of EV cars in the passenger vehicle (car and SUV) segment stood at a record 31,823 units. But what is more important is that for the first time the total share of CNG, hybrid and electric vehicles reached 40.35 percent. This means that two out of every five cars sold in June were either CNG, hybrid or fully electric.
The share of CNG was 24.33 percent, hybrid was 8.27 percent and EV was 7.75 percent. In June last year, this figure was 33.3 percent. The share of petrol and diesel vehicles fell below 60 percent for the first time.
The share of EV two-wheeler reached 10.60 percent for the first time. In June last year it was 7.34 percent. The three-wheeler segment was already inclined towards EV, but now the share of EV has reached 64.08 percent. EV penetration in commercial vehicles also reached a record 3.5 percent.
FADA President CS Vigneshwar said that be it city or village, demand is increasing everywhere. The rural market is growing faster than the urban market. Rural sales increased by 35.1 percent in June, while urban sales increased by 24.7 percent.
The Mathematics of Charging Stations: Statistics, State and Reality
The government presented figures in the Rajya Sabha till March 1, 2026. 27,737 public EV charging stations have been installed across the country. But out of these only 22,753 are operational. This means that about 5,000 charging stations are either broken or have not been operational.
Apart from this, 9,332 charging stations were sanctioned under the FAME-II scheme. As of March 1, 2026, only 6,645 of these were operational. That means even under FAME-II, about 2,700 stations are still lying on paper or closed.
State wise figures are also interesting. Maximum 957 chargers were installed in Tamil Nadu under FAME-II. After this there are Uttar Pradesh (937) and Maharashtra (670). But if we talk about being operational, Maharashtra made 615 out of 670 operational, while Uttar Pradesh made only 456 out of 937.
According to the report of JMK Research, by December 2025 there were 29,151 public charging stations across the country. Of these, Karnataka alone has 20.91 percent share with 6,096 stations. Maharashtra is at second place with 4,166 stations (14.29 percent), followed by Tamil Nadu with 1,780 and Telangana with 1,062 stations. That is, the three southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana together control more than 30 percent of the public charging stations in the country.
Actually, it is not just about numbers. Lack of fast charger is a big problem. There are less than 20 percent fast chargers of 50kW+ in the country. This means that most of the chargers are slow and it takes hours for the car to be fully charged. 235 EV vehicles come on one fast charger. In the rest of the EV markets in the world, this ratio ranges between 6:1 to 20:1, that is, there are 6 to 20 vehicles on one charger, whereas in India it is 235 vehicles on one charger.
To reach NITI Aayog’s target of 30 percent EV penetration, about 13 lakh charging stations are needed by 2030. Currently there are 29,000-30,000, which means by 2030, 40 times more chargers will have to be made. At this pace it doesn’t seem to be happening.
Not just numbers, there are other real problems with charging
First problem: The charger is made, but why doesn’t it work?
This is not a new thing. Same is the situation everywhere including Delhi, Goa and Karnataka. One-third of EV charging stations in Goa have become non-functional or decommissioned. BESCOM installed charging stations in Tumkuru, Karnataka, but due to lack of power supply, they are lying idle. About 25,000 electric vehicles are registered in Faridabad, but there is not a single government public charging station. More than half of the EV charging stations allotted under MCD have not yet become operational.
Second problem: hassle of charging at home
About 45 percent of Indian homes require electrical upgrades for EV charging. The report of Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) and Kazam states that residential charging can become the biggest obstacle to electric vehicles. That means old wiring, parking problems and the ability to handle the electrical load are all hindrances.
Third problem: How will the electricity grid handle it?
Fast charger (350kW) draws electricity equivalent to 50-70 houses at a time. Old transformers cannot handle this load. The National Smart Grid Mission has already warned that uncontrolled EV charging can put pressure on the grid and affect the electricity supply. Voltage fluctuations, poor earthing and informal connections pose safety risks to EV charging in small towns.
However, it is also a matter of relief that the annual electricity demand of all EVs across the country is 20.07 terawatt-hour, which is only about 1.1 percent of India’s annual electricity production. That means there is no overall power shortage, but the challenge of load management at the local level is big.
Fourth difficulty: urban prejudice and the loneliness of the highway
About 77 percent of chargers are concentrated in cities (Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai). Highways and tier-2 cities have been left deprived. E-trucks and e-buses are most needed on the highways, but there are no chargers there. That means EV is still a vehicle for cities, not for long distance travel.
What are the government and industry doing?
PM E-DRIVE Scheme is the biggest weapon of the government, which has a total budget of Rs 10,900 crore. Out of this, Rs 2,000 crore is only for charging infrastructure. 14,028 electric buses will also be deployed under this scheme. Recently, approval of Rs 503.86 crore has been given, through which 4,874 new EV chargers will be installed.
These chargers will be installed in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Of these, Karnataka alone will get 1,243 chargers. Government oil companies HPCL, IOCL and BPCL will install them.
The central government is also building a ‘Unified Bharat e-Charge (UBC)’ app, which will allow EV users to find, access and pay for all charging networks on a single platform. It is being described as ‘UPI’ for EV.
Under the FAME-II scheme, Rs 912.50 crore was allocated for EV charging infrastructure, of which Rs 655.43 crore has been spent.
Private sector is also not behind. Tata Power has installed more than 5,500 charging stations in more than 700 cities and towns. Bolt.Earth has deployed more than 1,00,000 chargers. Indofast Energy deployed 1,600 battery swap stations across 23 cities by the end of FY26 and onboarded more than 90,000 vehicles. Energy in Motion launches country’s largest battery swapping and charging hub for heavy EVs at JNPT Port.
Battery Swapping: Is This the Way Out?
Apart from charging, there is another way – battery swapping. Especially for two-wheelers and three-wheelers. TDB-DST has supported InfinityX Innovations for automated, IoT-enabled battery swapping stations that can change an entire battery in less than 40 seconds. This can make a big difference, especially for commercial fleets and last-mile delivery segments.
What is the solution to this matter?
Experts say that the solution to the problem of charging infrastructure does not lie only in increasing the number of stations. Four things need to be worked on:
- Strengthening the Grid: Old transformers and distribution systems will have to be upgraded. Measures like smart charging solutions and time-of-use tariffs (i.e. cheaper electricity at night) are being worked on.
- Eliminating urban bias: Charging stations will have to be increased on highways and in Tier-2, Tier-3 cities. Solar-hybrid stations can reduce grid dependence by up to 40 percent with panels and batteries. Can be a good option for remote highways.
- Standardization: Connector standards like CCS2 and Bharat DC-001 should be the same across countries, so that every charger will work on every vehicle. Bureau of Indian Standards has issued standards related to connectors, communication protocols and battery swapping systems.
- Increase investment: A charging station (50-120kW) costs Rs 20-45 lakh. Investors fear that they will not get returns. It takes 3-6 months for the permit. Here the government will have to help by providing subsidy and land.