Rs 2.23 lakh crore invested in India’s EV sector 2020-2025: IEEFA

Mumbai: India’s electric vehicle (EV) sector attracted a whopping 2.23 lakh crore in investment from 2020 to 2025, according to a report by the  Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

However, this is 18 per cent of the estimated total investment needed in the sector by 2030.

By 2030, India targets electric vehicle (EV) sales comprising 30 per cent of all private cars, 70 per cent of commercial vehicles, 40% of buses, and 80% of two- and three-wheelers.

 Achieving these goals requires substantial investment in EV manufacturing, charging infrastructure, and supportive ecosystems.

IEEFA’s report — Capital flows in India’s electric transport sector — provides the first consolidated view of realised investments from 2020–2025, identifies investment gaps, and outlines pathways to mobilise capital for the next phase of the nation’s electric transport transition.

From an in-depth analysis of capital flows, the authors estimate Rs 2,23,119 crore was deployed across three core nodes of India’s electric transport ecosystem from 2020–2025: Manufacturing capacity accounted for the bulk, followed by public subsidies and incentives, and EV charging infrastructure.

“While Rs 2.23 lakh crore is a significant capital mobilisation in just five years, it represents only about 18% of the Rs 12,50,000 crore required by 2030,” says co-author Subham Shrivastava, Climate Finance Analyst at IEEFA. 

“Mobilising the remaining Rs 10,26,881 crore (USD117.82 billion) by 2030 will require systemic financing reforms,” added Shrivastava.

A breakdown of the investments shows internal accruals accounted for the largest share of realised EV manufacturing investment (Rs 1,59,701 crore/USD18.32 billion), followed by debt (Rs 36,738 crore/USD4.22 billion) and equity (Rs 6,455 crore/USD740 million).

“From 2020–2025, electric three-wheelers attracted the largest share (~78%) of investments among vehicle segments, due to the segment’s maturity and commercial-scale operations alongside its fragmented OEM base. However, recent investment announcements in 2024 and 2025 reveal a pivot towards electric four- wheelers, driven by rising demand for electric cars,” says co-author Saurabh Trivedi, Sustainable Finance Specialist at IEEFA.

Government subsidies under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme and other Union- and state-level policies catalysed adoption by disbursing Rs 18,251 crore (USD2.09 billion) from FY2020–24. However, investment in public EV charging has not kept pace with other segments of the EV sector.

While public EV charging expanded significantly from 5,151 chargers in 2020 to 39,485 in 2025, India’s ratio of chargers to EVs remains far below global benchmarks.

Publicly available estimates suggest that Rs 20,600 crore (USD2.36 billion) of investment in charging infrastructure will be required for India to achieve its 2030 goals. Based on calculations of realised investment, the authors estimate that capital deployed from 2020–2025 accounted for only 9.6% of this amount, highlighting a significant investment gap.

“Investment in EV charging faces challenges due to limited investor interest, as public EV charging remains an unproven business model, with many charging stations reporting low utilisation rates and high initial costs,” says co-author Charith Konda, Energy Specialist at IEEFA.