EV Charging Infra in India: What Changed in 2025, What's in Store for 2026

While India’s charging infrastructure has grown fourfold between early 2023 and mid-2025, a lot needs to be done when it comes to uneven distribution of chargers.

India's electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem has been a focal point of the country's push toward sustainable mobility, with charging infrastructure playing a pivotal role. In 2025, the sector saw notable advancements driven by government policies, private investments, and technological integrations. However, persistent challenges like uneven distribution and low utilisation prevent the country’s EV ecosystem to scale new heights.

Let us look at how India’s EV charging infrastructure has evolved over time, what has led to these changes, where it currently stands, and the areas that need to be addressed in the coming year. 

Growth in Charging Stations

India’s public EV charging network has expanded rapidly in recent years, with official government data indicating a fourfold increase in charging infrastructure between early 2023 and mid-2025.

This growth has been fueled by multiple factors:

• Policy and Regulatory Advancements: India’s EV charging rollout has been supported by coordinated national and state policies aimed at scale and standardisation. The PM E-Drive scheme allocated ₹2,000 crore for 72,000 public chargers, mandating dense urban coverage, regular highway intervals and fast chargers for heavy vehicles by 2030, while the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2025 improved grid access through cost-reflective tariffs. At the state level, Madhya Pradesh issued India’s first dedicated public charging guidelines, Delhi proposed subsidies and dense fast-charging networks, Uttar Pradesh targeted 300 new stations with tax incentives, and Kerala accelerated deployment alongside rising EV adoption. These measures are reinforced by the Ministry of Power’s January 2025 guidelines, which focus on compliance, interoperability and renewable-powered charging infrastructure.

• Participation of private players: India’s public EV charging network crossed 26,000 stations by mid-2025, including over 4,500 highway chargers, with Maharashtra, Delhi and Karnataka leading deployment and total installations projected at 25,000–30,000 by year-end. Growth has been driven largely by the private sector, with Tata Power expanding India’s largest network through solar-integrated chargers, Tesla inaugurating its first stations in Gurugram, Mumbai and Delhi, and Tata Motors targeting 100,000 public chargers by 2030, including 30,000 fast chargers by CY27 through partnerships. At the same time, companies such as EVamp and Schwing Stetter have introduced compact AC/DC and specialised charging solutions, while technological advances have focused on faster mid-range chargers, integrated digital platforms like Tata’s E for Me, and ambitious plans from OEMs such as Maruti Suzuki to deploy one lakh chargers nationwide by 2030.

• Charging Technology and Models: India’s EV charging landscape is being shaped by greater standardisation, faster charging and alternative models. The government has mandated Bharat AC-001 and DC-001 standards alongside CCS and CHAdeMO to ensure interoperability, with charging capacities ranging from 3.3 kW AC to 60–120 kW DC at public stations. Although DC fast chargers still account for only 20–35 percent of total points, their share is rising rapidly, driven by OEMs and PSUs, with 91 percent of highways now having a fast charger within 50 km. Battery swapping has become central to two- and three-wheelers, backed by the Ministry of Power’s January 2025 guidelines, with about 3,500 swap stations managing 350,000 batteries nationwide. In parallel, India is piloting portable and renewable-powered chargers while moving toward unified apps and interoperable payment systems to reduce fragmentation.

EV Charging Infrastructure Coverage & Gaps

The surge in India’s EV charging infrastructure has been led largely by urban centers and highways. By April 2025, about 9,702 chargers were in Tier‑1 cities, 4,625 in Tier‑2 cities, and 12,040 in Tier‑3/smaller towns – showing that deployment has spread beyond big cities. 

According to a report by Bolt.Earth, public EV charging is far more concentrated in urban areas and along major corridors than in remote regions. By April 2025, Tier-1 cities accounted for about 9,700 public chargers, compared with 4,600 in Tier-2 towns and around 12,000 across Tier-3 cities and rural areas, with smaller cities collectively overtaking Tier-1 centres by late 2024. 

Despite this, large rural stretches still lack nearby charging access. Weak power infrastructure in semi-urban and rural areas — characterised by low capacity and fragile grids — continues to limit deployment of even 50 kW chargers in 2025. As a result, rural e-rickshaw and e-bus operators largely depend on battery swapping networks or depot-based charging rather than public roadside chargers.

What needs to change?

Despite progress, several structural issues persisted, hindering widespread adoption and efficiency. According to a report by Institute for Transportation & Development Policy, India's EV-to-charger ratio remained poor at 1:235 in July 2025, far from the global 6:20 average. Here are some of the key stagnations that need to be addressed:

• Uneven distribution of chargers: India’s EV charging expansion remains uneven, with growth concentrated in metros such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, while highways, small towns and inter-city routes continue to lag, fuelling range anxiety. Despite having roughly 25,000–30,000 public charging stations, the network falls far short of the scale needed to meet 2030 targets, which require over 400,000 chargers annually to support an estimated 106 million EVs. Compounding this challenge is low utilisation, with most public chargers operating below 25 percent capacity, creating revenue and profitability concerns driven by grid constraints, limited universal charging options across vehicle types, and high installation costs.

• Grid and Operational Hurdles: India’s EV charging rollout continues to face structural constraints, with grid upgrades lagging at many sites—particularly in residential areas—limiting reliable power supply for EV loads. Power scarcity and indirect policy pressures, such as emissions-related restrictions, further affect charger uptime in some regions. Despite progress on standards and policy, the lack of truly universal chargers persists, forcing operators to install multiple systems for different vehicle types and leading to queueing challenges similar to alternative fuels. While EV service and support networks are expanding, including Tata’s 1,300 EV-ready centres, scalability and consistency remain key hurdles.

What to expect in 2026?

2025 marked a year of foundational progress, positioning India toward a target of one million charging points by FY2030. However, persistent challenges such as grid resilience and uneven deployment remain critical bottlenecks. With rising power demand from AI and data centres and the emergence of green hydrogen, 2026 could deliver meaningful breakthroughs if reforms like the Electricity Bill unlock greater private participation. Overall, despite faster adoption, gaps in charging accessibility continue to weigh on India’s EV transition.