Despite pushes, electric vehicle sales yet to pick up

NEW DELHI: It has been nearly three years since India started pushing automakers to go green. However, electric vehicle penetration in India remains one of the lowest in the world, and whatever limited progress it had seen last year has now been disrupted by Covid-19 pandemic.

Most EVs in India are two-wheelers and e-rickshaws. According to official figures, over 1,52,000 units of electric two-wheelers were sold in India in 2019-20 as against 1.74 crore traditional two-wheelers sold during the year. In the electric four-wheeler segment, only 3,400 units were sold compared to over 27 lakh ICE-powered vehicles sold during the period.