India continues to be the world’s largest marketplace for electrical three-wheelers for a second 12 months in a row as gross sales rose practically 20% to succeed in about 7 lakh autos in 2024, the Worldwide Power Company (IEA) mentioned in a report.
In its International EV Outlook 2025, the Paris-based power watchdog mentioned India continues to drive most development within the world electrical three-wheeler market.
Regardless of the worldwide three-wheeler (3W) market shrinking 5% from the earlier 12 months, electrical 3W gross sales grew greater than 10% to surpass 1 million autos in 2024. Electrical 3W gross sales represented virtually one-quarter of all 3W gross sales, up from one-fifth in 2023, it mentioned.
The market is extremely concentrated, with China and India collectively accounting for greater than 90% of electrical and standard 3W gross sales.
“Electrification of 3Ws in China has stagnated at lower than 15% over the previous three years. In 2023, India overtook China to change into the world’s largest marketplace for electrical 3Ws, and it maintained this place in 2024, with gross sales rising shut to twenty% year-on-year to succeed in practically 7,00,000 autos,” it mentioned.
This translated right into a document 57% electrical gross sales share in 2024, 3% up on the earlier 12 months.
This rising development, it mentioned, appears to be like set to proceed because of coverage assist below the brand new PM E-DRIVE scheme, which allotted price range in 2024 to assist the roll-out of greater than 3,00,000 electrical 3Ws for industrial use—for which the entire fleet (electrical and ICE) was estimated at greater than 10 million autos in 2023.
IEA mentioned China, India and Southeast Asia stay the world’s largest 2/3W markets, accounting for round 80% of 2024 world gross sales, with 2/3Ws serving as the first mode of personal passenger transport in these areas.
“India’s more and more dynamic electrical 2W market hosted a complete of 220 OEMs in 2024, up from 180 in 2023, though the 4 market leaders accounted for a mixed 80% of the 1.3 million electrical 2Ws bought within the nation in 2024 (6% of the general 2W market),” the report mentioned.
Whereas the upfront buy worth of electrical 2Ws stays greater on common than that of standard 2Ws, rising competitors is prompting OEMs to supply extra reasonably priced electrical fashions.
For instance, the Indian market chief, Ola, launched its S1X entry mannequin, geared up with a 2 kWh battery and 6 kW peak energy, at a sticker worth of Rs 70,000 – decrease than the typical worth of the 5 best-selling ICE 2W fashions.
“Coverage assist can also be serving to to bridge the affordability hole between electrical and ICE 2W fashions, with the brand new PM Electrical Drive Revolution in Progressive Automobile Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) coverage persevering with monetary assist previously supplied below each Quicker Adoption and Manufacturing of Electrical Autos (FAME)-II and Electrical Mobility Promotion Scheme measures,” IEA mentioned.
This supplies buy incentives for electrical 2Ws (providing buy subsidies of as much as Rs 5,000/kWh for 2Ws fitted with lithium-ion batteries), in addition to for 3Ws and different rising EV classes (particularly excluding personal vehicles), with a complete price range of $1.3 billion.
The scheme is deliberate to function till March 2026 to assist the roll-out of about 2.5 million electrical 2Ws, up from 1 million focused below the earlier FAME-II coverage.
On the manufacturing aspect, the 80 largest electrical 2W makers in India accounted for a mixed manufacturing capability of 10 million electrical 2Ws in 2024, virtually 8 occasions the home gross sales that 12 months. The capability is predicted to extend to 17 million electrical 2Ws within the close to time period, if all OEM bulletins come to fruition.
On electrical vehicles, IEA mentioned whole gross sales in India elevated solely barely, approaching 1,00,000 (or 2%) in 2024.
Gross sales in India grew 45% year-on-year, nearing 35,000 electrical automotive gross sales for the primary quarter of 2025.
“In India, excessive import duties on EVs and the provision of domestically made, reasonably priced electrical fashions meant the share of Chinese language imports within the nation’s EV gross sales remained under 15% in 2024.
“Whereas the most affordable battery electrical automotive mannequin was produced domestically by a Chinese language OEM (SAIC’s metropolis automotive, the MG Comet EV, priced below $8,000), the typical worth of imported Chinese language BEVs was twice that of these made by home producers,” it mentioned.
In 2024, all battery electrical car (BEV) fashions manufactured by Indian carmakers began under $20,000, whereas not one of the imported Chinese language BEV fashions have been priced below that threshold.
Total, the typical worth hole between battery electrical and ICE vehicles fell under 15% for small vehicles and 25% for SUVs in 2024.
IEA mentioned India has seen speedy development in electrical bus deployment since 2020, with inventory rising from lower than 3,000 to greater than 11,500 on the finish of 2024.
