Synopsis– Karnataka has been leading the Indian EV revolution with the highest number of public charging stations, but challenges still persist, due to poor maintenance and range anxiety. The state’s leadership in the EV segment depends on reliable infrastructure, stronger policies, and universal charging standards that could ensure sustainable EV adoption in the state.
Karnataka has been at the forefront of the Indian electric vehicle (EV) revolution. With cities like Bengaluru having a high adoption rate, along with reliability. The EV boom has made the availability of EV charging infrastructures a necessity for Karnataka’s sustainable mobility ambitions. However, with the accelerated growth comes challenges that have given rise to issues for both consumers and policymakers. This article is an in-depth look at the current state of EV charging facilities all across Karnataka, which talks about the issues faced and what lies in the EV future.
Karnataka’s Current EV Charging Network
As of the second quarter of 2025, Karnataka has hit a mark by operating approximately 5,765 to 5,880 public EV charging stations, which has made it the state with the highest count of public charging facilities in India. This robust network is the result of a proactive 2017 state EV policy and a clear strategic vision to grow this Electric Vehicle ecosystem. Out of these numbers, over 4,600 chargers are found in major urban hubs, specifically Bengaluru, which alone houses nearly 2,900 public chargers. While other cities like Mysuru, Hubballi-Dharwad, and Belagavi are rapidly catching up, together hosting over 1,100 charging points.
A significant portion of the infrastructure is now visible alongside Karnataka’s highways as well. The state ranks second in India for EV highway charging points, where we have 489 stations alongside 8,191 kms of national highways, which even transforms intercity travel for EV users
The Growth Story
Karnataka witnessed strong EV market growth over recent years, with registrations jumping to 1.73 lakh in 2024-25, largely dominated by electric two-wheelers. Even after this momentum, 2025 saw a notable fall in two-wheeler registrations from 1.4 lakh in the previous year to 1.3 lakh this year, which made it the first fall since the EV market’s rapid expansion. Meanwhile, three-wheeler EV registrations are up sharply with over 5,000 registered in 2024-25, while the four-wheelers are seeing a slow but steady rise of 10,300 in 2023-24 to 12,200 in 2024-25.
The state’s EV penetration is about 9.38%, which is comfortably above the national average of 7.49%, Bengaluru remains as the epicentre for new sales and early adoption.
Also read: Top 5 Budget-Friendly Electric Cars in India 2025 – Best Picks for You
Gaps in the Infrastructure
Despite leading in stats, Karnataka’s charging infrastructure has been facing usability hurdles. We can see many drivers routinely report that charging stations are either not operational or are poorly maintained. For example, a field check that was conducted by Deccan Herald across 10 petrol stations in central and south Bengaluru, where it was found out that only 3 were equipped with EV charging points, and none of which were working at that time.
Additionally, out of the 208 charging stations being managed by the state utility, BESCOM, and the 468 stations across Karnataka, many users say the quality, reliability, and locations of active chargers are causing issues. Such failures in the operation often force consumers into range anxiety (i.e, drivers’ worry that they might run out of charge before they reach a charging point), which has even made some individuals sell their EVs for traditional vehicles specifically due to the range-anxiety issue.
On the other hand, city users of electric bikes and scooters, who are mostly charging at home do report more positive experiences and significant cost savings when compared to traditional vehicles. However, the lack of a universal charging standard among e-scooter manufacturers still poses challenges in times of emergencies.
Policy Pitfalls and Scaling Back Plans
A significant blow to the public’s confidence was that the state government has abandoned the ambitious plan to build 2,500 new public charging stations by early 2025, which had caused a variety of logistical hurdles and lack of central incentives. Experts suggest that a strong government commitment, especially for subsidies and infrastructure investment, is a necessity if Karnataka wants to maintain its EV leadership in the country. The scaling back of government sales subsidies (which was originally up to Rs. 15,000 for two-wheelers) has also contributed to stagnation of growth in the EV segment.
Landmark Charging Hubs and Public Transport Facilities
Despite all these challenges, Karnataka continues to modernize, and continue to achieve significant milestones such as the recently inaugurated India’s largest EV charging hub in Bengaluru, which features over 210 charging points, including 80 DC fast chargers and 50 AC chargers, this is capable of simultaneously charging 210 vehicles and has a capacity that exceeds 4 megawatts. It is located at Beguru and the surrounding areas. This mega-hub does not just support individual EV users, but it is also a purpose-built project that handles the fleet of commercial vehicles and intercity buses, which reflects a significant jump in the urban EV adoption.
Talking about the public transportation of the city, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) expanded its EV bus fleet from 390 in 2024 to nearly 1,800 buses in 2025, which is supported by 17 bus depot that are equipped with modern charging facilities. The last-mile cell of Bengaluru Metro is also trying to install chargers at all Yellow Line stations, as this move could aid seamless electric mobility across different transport modes.
Conclusion Statement
The answer to the question ‘What does Karnataka have to do to retain its leadership in EV adoption?’ lies in the following points
- More reliable, well-maintained charging points in both urban and rural areas of the state.
- Greater public-private partnership and technology upgrades to ensure uptime and convenience.
- Getting back, or if possible, even increase government subsidies and provide policy incentives, or any kind of scheme that could counter the rising cost of EVs.
- Universal charging standards, specifically for the two wheelers and three wheelers, that could alleviate consumer convenience and user experience.
- Enhanced transparency, digital monitoring, and real-time station availability information services in order to empower users and reduce range anxiety.
EV manufacturers still remain optimistic due to certain factors, such as the 64% increase in two-wheeler sales in the first half of 2025, despite the infrastructure issues. Karnataka’s mix of ambition and pragmatism would definetly provide a valuable blueprint for the other states of ther country, proving that along with the improvement in the stat, the quality, reliability, and policy consistency is also being developed to gain and provide true EV confidence.
Written by Adithya Menon
The post Karnataka Leads as India’s Largest EV Charging Hub – Govt Initiatives to Boost Future Demand and Infrastructure Growth appeared first on Trade Brains.