New Delhi: India has maintained its position as the world’s largest market for electric three-wheelers (3Ws) for the second consecutive year.
India’s sales rose 20 percent to nearly 700,000 vehicles in 2024, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Global EV Outlook 2025 report.
The report highlights that India and China dominate the global 3W market, together accounting for over 90 percent of electric and conventional three-wheeler sales.
India’s growth has been supported by government incentives under the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme, which helped roll out more than 300,000 electric 3Ws last year.
China, India, and Southeast Asia collectively make up about 80 percent of the world’s two- and three-wheeler markets, where these vehicles serve as a primary mode of private transport. However, China’s electrification of three-wheelers has stagnated below 15 percent over recent years.
Electrification of 3Ws in China has stagnated at less than 15% over the past three years. In 2023, India overtook China to become the world’s largest market for electric 3Ws, and it maintained this position in 2024
International Energy Agency (IEA) Report pic.twitter.com/bU5IWU8BRV
— MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) May 19, 2025
The report also notes the rapid expansion of India’s electric two-wheeler market, which hosted 220 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in 2024, up from 180 in 2023. The top four OEMs accounted for 80 percent of the 1.3 million electric two-wheelers sold, representing 6 percent of the overall two-wheeler market.
Despite higher upfront costs for electric two-wheelers, increased competition and government policies like PM E-DRIVE are making EVs more affordable. The scheme aims to support the rollout of 2.5 million electric two-wheelers by March 2026, nearly doubling the target of the previous FAME-II policy.
Electric car sales in India rose modestly by 2 percent to around 100,000 units in 2024, with a strong 45 percent growth in the first quarter of 2025. Local manufacturing and high import duties kept Chinese EV imports below 15 percent.
Electric bus deployment also surged, growing nearly fourfold since 2020, reaching over 11,500 units by the end of 2024.
