Understanding Regional Variations in Electric Vehicle Adoption in India: Evidence from Indian States

Abstract

The transition toward electric mobility has emerged as a key strategy for reducing transport-sector emissions and promoting sustainable development. Despite the rapid growth of electric vehicle (EV) registrations in India, the pace of adoption remains uneven across states and union territories. This study examines the macro-level determinants associated with regional disparities in EV adoption across 29 Indian states and union territories during FY2024–2025. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression with heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors is used to estimate the empirical model, while an extended specification incorporating urbanization is estimated to assess the robustness of the baseline findings. The results indicate that public charging infrastructure and population density are positively associated with EV adoption, with population density emerging as the strongest determinant among the variables examined. In contrast, per capita power availability does not exhibit a statistically significant association with EV adoption. Although per capita NSDP shows a negative and marginally significant association in the baseline model, this relationship is not robust across alternative model specifications. The robustness analysis further reveals that urbanization is not significantly associated with EV adoption, while the principal findings regarding charging infrastructure and population density remain unchanged. The findings highlight the importance of strengthening charging infrastructure and considering regional demographic characteristics while formulating state-specific EV promotion strategies. JEL Classification: Q42, Q56, R41