How India is going electric
Evolution of electric vehicles and the Indian auto market in the last three decades
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Lovebird is the name of the first Indian electric car, launched in 1993. In 1996, Scooters India tried to introduce the EV aspect in the commercial sector with an electric three-wheeler.
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Mahindra & Mahindra's first EV wasn't an SUV but a three-wheeler aptly called Bijlee, launched in 1999. By 2007, international EV players had started entering the Indian market. UK-based Ultra Motor collaborated with Hero Cycles to make e-scooters.
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At the tail end of the 2000s and the beginning of the 2010s, the central government made policies to boost EV manufacturing in India. In 2013, Ather Energy launched the first indigenous e-scooter, the S340.
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In 2015, the government announced the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme.
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In 2017, Bhavish Aggarwal set up Ola Electric Mobility. By 2019, it had become a unicorn. In the four-wheeler category, Tata Motors was making strides with Tigor EV, and Blusmart entered the ride-hailing market with its all-electric fleet, boosting EV presence on Indian roads.
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As Tata Motors took the lead in the passenger car segment with its new EV variant, Nexon, M&M raised money for its EV business in 2022. The same year, EV sales in India crossed the 1 million threshold.
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The last two years have seen a lot of activity in the EV segment. The GST Council's decision to cut taxes helped with EV prices. The PM E-drive scheme was launched to enable battery innovation. JSW Group, Tata Motors, M&M, and others flooded the market with a variety of EV options. EV sales reached the 1.9 million milestone.
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Given the quick adaptation of EVs in the Indian market, the poster brand of the EV revolution—Tesla Motors—was not going to be left behind. In 2025, CEO Elon Musk announced Tesla's plans to launch stores in Mumbai and New Delhi.
