India’s EV revolution is well underway, with significant inroads made in the EV charging infrastructure development as well. Recent prominent reports suggest that public charging stations have experienced a 5-fold increase since FY22, from 5,151 to 26,367 in FY2025. While this suggests a robust 72% growth over a 3-year period, the narrative changes when we examine operational EVs in India.
According to the most recent figures, over 56.75 lakh EVs were registered in India as of February 2025. Coupled with this, the EV market has already witnessed a 17% increase in new electric vehicle registrations in FY 24-25, highlighting the fact that electric mobility is becoming more popular by the day. However, with this significant number of EVs already operating on the road, public charging infrastructure is still miles behind in supplementing absolute adoption. At present, India has only one charger for every 235 EVs operating on the road, essentially highlighting the fact that residential or at-home charging infrastructure remains the catalyst for increasing EV adoption. Coupled with the growing urbanization of India, projections reveal that over 50% locations would be urbanised in the country by 2045, and the resulting high density living is expected to become one of the drivers of the EV surge in the country.
Role of Residential EV Charging
The relationship between urbanization and EV charging infrastructure is rather simple. As per prominent sources, 51% Indian households in the top 50 Indian cities will live within gated communities. Large residential societies will become the norm of living in metropolitans, and the increasing cost of living and other related factors are expected to popularize EVs unprecedentedly.
However, similar to how petrol pumps are considered the catalyst of the success of traditional ICE vehicles over the years, establishing a charging ecosystem that is robust and easy-to-use will be important for the growth of EV adoption in the country. As mentioned before, India has a significant dearth of operational public charging stations, and residential societies with charging solutions are increasingly becoming the norm of living. For instance, real estate buyers are increasingly looking to EV charging solutions in the properties they are interested in. To align with their demands, builders are also promising EV chargers in their brochures to attract new buyers who are more often than not focused on sustainability and a clean mode of transportation.
In the coming years, residential chargers will be one of the catalysts of EV adoption in urban India, as has been seen in other parts of the world. Moreover, large residential societies are often communities of sustainability-focused individuals who prefer clean electric mobility over traditional vehicles, and charging infrastructure could essentially be a unique opportunity to tap into for sectoral growth. As per sectoral projections in India, the housing societies will be at the forefront of driving the EV adoption forward, amongst other clean, green, and sustainable initiatives. It will directly impact turning housing societies and cities smarter, with a particular focus on overall infrastructure development across the country.
Supplementing the EV growth
While India has its own challenges and opportunities for EV adoption rate growth, understanding the global model will help streamline the entire process. Across the world, easy home charging has been lauded as critical for achieving high EV adoption rates, and in India, this trend offers an integral direction to follow. There are few doubts over the importance of home charging as a global best practice, as more than 80% charging in mature markets takes place at home only. This is where establishing a robust EV charging infrastructure in large housing societies offers to make a significant impact towards future proofing mobility, and integrate sustainability, while also increasing the EV adoption rates.
Installing EV chargers in housing societies is an aspect that is directly proportionate to the development of society towards sustainability. This will be one of the major catalysts for increasing EV penetration in the country, encouragement from government bodies and cooperation of housing societies will further aid in getting close to the visionary EV goals that India has. Beyond the immediate technological and power accessibility impacts, it also highlights the fact that housing societies have given a long-drawn fact about power management / distribution, along with clean energy, safety, sustainability, and smart features like advertising, payment, announcement, and integration with building management systems. The accessibility of EV chargers puts the societies one foot forward to being smart societies, and puts the residents at an added advantage.
Looking forward
The coming years will see significant advancements made in the EV adoption rates in India. However, while EV adoption rates are not stationary, the sectoral stakeholders must also focus on creating an ecosystem of charging networks that supplements the growth. Residential societies, irrespective of sizes, will play a critical role in this regard. As urbanization continues in India, residential societies will continue transforming to become communities of EV users, and establishing charging stations will turn out to be mutually beneficial for builders and residents for the long-term.
