Key Messages

With pressure mounting on countries including India to address climate change by shifting to clean technologies, the significance of electric mobility to counter emissions cannot be ruled out. While the benefits of the said move are substantial, the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) in India has been lethargic at best. In a city such as Bengaluru, with a vehicle population of 80 lakh, the share of EVs is 1%–2%.

Driving range anxiety, high upfront costs, and a lack of public charging infrastructure are major contributing factors that have stunted the growth of EVs. Of the three, developing a public charging infrastructure is particularly important as it is directly linked with driving range anxiety.

The Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) published its latest study on this topic on 20 October 2021. Titled Location Planning for Public Electric Vehicle Fleet Charging Stations, the study focuses on identifying ideal locations for setting up public charging infrastructure in Bengaluru.