EV Penetration in India at 8.19% — Madhya Pradesh, Bihar Emerge as Growth Markets

India's EV market has grown by 50.6 percent over the last four years, according to a new research report by JMK Research and Analytics. As per VAHAN data, 25,24,819 lakh new EVs were registered in India in FY 2026, which is a 25 percent year-on-year increase over FY 2025. Cumulative EV registrations across all vehicle categories have reached 80.48 lakh units as of FY 2026, taking penetration to 8.19 percent in total, up from 2.55 percent in FY2022. This shows increasing customer acceptance and confidence, largely due to more and better options in the market, improving infrastructure, and policy-level government support.

Interestingly, that growth is not even across the country, with 71 percent of new EV registrations coming from just 10 states. Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of new registrations in FY 2026 at 16.2 percent, with Maharashtra in second place at 11 percent and Karnataka following, at 8.5 percent. However, the highest growth came from Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, showing that there is strong demand for electric vehicles in cities and towns beyond India’s big metros.

The report, titled Statewise EV Market Dynamics in India, attributes this to differences in state government policies, charging infrastructure, general demand for vehicles, and market maturity. Southern and western states, particularly Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, showed an increasing appetite for electric passenger cars and bikes, whereas Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, and Delhi in the north and east were the biggest markets for commercial passenger and cargo three-wheelers.

The product mix shows that electric bikes are still the most popular EV format, while passenger cars aren’t in as much demand.

Uttar Pradesh also leads in terms of cumulative EV registrations since FY 2022, at 13,59,919. Maharashtra is in second place overall with 9,44,719 units, and Karnataka follows in third place with 7,16,917.

India is now the world's largest market for electric three-wheelers and the second-largest for electric bikes. China, Europe, and the United States continue to lead in terms of electric car adoption.

In India, Delhi had the highest share of new electric car registrations, at 8.41 percent.

In FY2026, Uttar Pradesh led the charts for electric cargo and passenger three-wheelers, at 43,207 and 2,30,834 respectively. Maharashtra led in the bike and car categories with 2,24,432 and 33,286 units sold respectively.

As for electric buses, the study found that adoption happened largely in states with government policies aimed specifically at promoting them, mostly due to tenders being issued. Delhi had the highest share at 58.97 percent, with Maharashtra coming in a distant second at 8.93 percent and Tamil Nadu in third place with 6.24 percent.

The report also named the best-selling brands in each category in each state. TVS was the most popular electric bike maker in Uttar Pradesh, while Bajaj led in Maharashtra and Ather took the top spot in Karnataka. Tata Motors was the most popular electric car brand in nine out of the top ten states, losing only to MG Motor in Delhi, in 10th place.

Government support was also examined in the report. All the top ten states have policies to promote EV charging infrastructure, and nearly all waive registration fees. Road tax exemption, purchase incentives, and recycling support are popular, but not universal. Only Madhya Pradesh and Delhi have policies that support scrappage. While purchase incentives in the form of subsidies or exemptions are common, better end-of-life management could also encourage more EV adoption. There is no clear pan-India model, reflecting each state’s own priorities and conditions.