At over one lakh in 8 months, EV numbers zoom in Karnataka

For the first time, the number of electric vehicles (EVs) registered in Karnataka has crossed the one-lakh mark within a year. According to data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), 1.02 lakh EVs were registered in the state between Jan 1, 2023 and Sept 7, 2023. While 95,929 EVs were registered in 2022, this year, it has crossed the one-lakh mark within eight months. Experts attribute this to the rise in awareness among people and expansion of the market, leading to an increase in options and models.

Source: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

“Over the years, customer confidence in the EV market has increased. Owing to technological advancements, the performance and comfort that EVs provide have also improved. Cost parity is another major factor,” said Pawan Mulukutla, director (Integrated Transport, Electric Mobility, and Hydrogen), World Resources Institute (WRI).

Though the number of EVs has increased substantially over the years, the number of charging stations has not gone up proportionately, experts said. “We need to scale up the number of charging stations to match the growing demand. While public charging stations are important for buses, cars and bigger vehicles, it is important to encourage private charging spaces in apartments,” Mulukutla said.

According to data accessed by DH, the Energy Department is trying to keep up with the pace of EV adoption in the last two years.

In 2018, only three public EV stations were established across the state while 70 stations came up in 2019. Owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, no new charging stations were established in 2020. However, in 2021, 53 new stations were set up followed by 440 more in 2022.

At present, Karnataka has 584 public charging stations, out of which 265 have been set up by various ESCOMs, 19 by other government agencies and 300 by private companies.

This year, the Energy Department has an ambitious plan to set up 1,270 more charging stations, a senior official from the department said.

“The plan is to set up 1,190 stations on a public-private partnership (PPP) model. That apart, Bescom has proposed to set up 50 stations,” the official explained.

Considering that there is a need to provide charging stations for those travelling long distances, the department is also in talks with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to set up a charging station at every toll plaza.

“As a pilot project, we will start setting up stations across 10-12 toll plazas on the Bengaluru-Pune highway up to Belagavi,” the official said. Ten charging stations are also being proposed at RTO locations.

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