Will India’s Electric Vehicle Industry Overcome the Trust Barrier?

Electric cars account for just 2.5% of annual vehicle sales, while electric two-wheelers are higher around 6%.

Tata Motors currently controls approximately 62% of the electric car market, down from 73% the previous year.

In the electric two-wheeler segment, Bajaj Auto held nearly 25% market share as of December, closely followed by TVS Motor at around 23%. Meanwhile, Ola Electric, though leading on an annual basis, is rapidly losing market share.

This is despite significant price cuts, while competitors have maintained their pricing. Ola Electric has fallen from the number one position to third place and appears poised to slip further as buyers gravitate towards brands they trust more—or believe they can trust more.

Buying a vehicle is fundamentally about trust—trust in the brand and its value proposition. However, in the case of electric vehicles, the challenge goes beyond trust. There is a product problem.

Trust And Range Anxiety Hold Back India’s EV Market

Worldover, potential and existing owners live in fear that the battery will drain while stuck in a traffic jam, and obviously nowhere near a charging station—which you cannot push your car to in any case. In the good old days, you could collect a few friendly souls and push your petrol car if there was a pump close by.

The importance of trust becomes paramount, as consumers must take a leap of faith—not just in electric vehicles as a concept, but also in the specific brand they choose.

This comes against the backdrop of a strong push by the government towards electric vehicles. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a compelling case for green mobility and alternate fuels, including electric, during the Bharat Mobility Expo 2025, which opened last Friday in New Delhi.

The government’s push for investment in the mobility space is strategic, given the automobile industry’s critical role in the economy. It contributes 7% to India’s GDP and nearly 46%—almost half—of the manufacturing sector, making it a key generator of high-skill jobs.

India has never been an easy market to predict, as Indian consumers place a higher premium on value rather than just cost. Price a vehicle too high, and it might not move out of the dealership; discount it too much, and you might face the same problem.

The good news is that Indians are facing the same range anxiety issues as automobile owners worldwide—except perhaps in Scandinavia—when it comes to purchasing an electric vehicle.

Interestingly, electric two-wheelers, many used for hyperlocal deliveries, have already found a market, as have electric three-wheelers, which are used for both goods transport and passenger services.

In these categories, brand loyalty does not seem to play as significant a role in the choice of vehicle.

For individual owners looking for long-term buys, however, the brand will matter. But product trust, unlike in regular diesel or petrol vehicles and two-wheelers, must be built not just by individual brands but collectively, in collaboration with local governments.

Charging Ahead or Stalling?

Interestingly, two-wheeler market leader Honda, with a 43% share of the segment, recently launched its electric two-wheelers priced at the higher end of the spectrum, between Rs 1.1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh.

Honda appears to be signalling that it intends to approach this business as a sustainable one—without heavy discounting or relying on government subsidies, which are shrinking for a variety of reasons.

The company is also indicating confidence in its pricing, its brand, and the trust it already enjoys as a leading automotive name.

As the electric vehicle industry matures rapidly in 2025 and value-conscious users hopefully get over their early fears, India could do a leap if not a leapfrog into green mobility much faster, at least proportionately than many other countries.

While manufacturers are working hard on both the back and front ends of the ecosystem—such as batteries—trust remains a more subjective but equally critical task.

Maruti Suzuki has announced plans for fast charging points in India’s top 100 cities, with one every 5–10 kilometres, and a battery rental service. Tata Motors and Hyundai have also committed to setting up 500 and 600 public chargers, respectively, and working on battery-swapping solutions.

However, building trust will require more collective effort from all stakeholders, including local governments and manufacturers alike.