The North Eastern states of Assam and Tripura have had the second and third greatest penetration rates in India for zero-emission vehicles, after the capital New Delhi, as the country’s transition to EV gathers steam.
Assam and Tripura have EV penetration rates of 2.16 percent and 2.02 percent, respectively, compared to the national average of 0.8 percent, while Delhi has the highest penetration rate at 2.71 percent. According to information provided in the Rajya Sabha by Krishan Pal Singh Gurjar, Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries, in response to a query regarding the expansion of electric vehicles in India.
Of the 76,30,921 automobiles registered in the northeast, 11,8151 are electric vehicles, according to information provided by the Minister in the Rajya Sabha. The ratio of EV sales to ICE sales is 0.54% overall. Sales in Tripura and Assam, however, are 2.16 percent and 2.02 percent higher than the national average, demonstrating that these two states are dominating all of India.
With their network development strategies, established players like Greaves and newcomers like E-Sprinto and Pure EV, to mention a few, are lining up in the North Eastern states. According to Narasimha – Jayakumar, CEO of Greaves Retail and Distribution Business, Greaves alone wants to open 100 new stores in the North-East regions in the upcoming quarter to distribute replacement parts through “Greaves spare parts distributors and retailers”.
North-eastern EV penetration win
Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal are important states where Greaves Retail and Distribution is focusing primarily on growing its presence since, according to Narasimha, this region will contribute considerably and makeup 60% of all future business endeavours.
In order to sell a new line of electric vehicle spare parts and “Greaves Power Raja Lead-Acid” batteries made for e-rickshaws, Greaves is strengthening its distribution network in these areas. By the end of FY25, E-Sprinto, another Delhi-based EV manufacturer, wants to build 30 retail locations, with more than half of those locations being in Assam and Tripura.
The most promising EV markets in India are quickly emerging to be Assam and Tripura, according to Atul Gupta, co-founder and director of E Sprinto. Additionally, early and mid-stage startups who see these regions as a sunrise opportunity to invest in both retail distribution and EV charging, supported by proactive state government policies that are creating a favourable climate for network expansion, are benefiting from (most) legacy players passing this region by.
Anshul Gupta, the managing director of Delhi-based Okaya EV, told Autocar Professional that the firm intends to expand by opening 50 additional retail locations for its ‘FAAST’ and ‘Freedum’ branded electric scooters over the course of the following 24 months, with the majority of these expansions taking place in Assam and Tripura.
The North East Market, where demand for electric mobility solutions is rising, is where we intend to keep up our expansion efforts, according to Gupta. According to Rohit Vadera, CEO of Pure EV, who updated this publication that the company plans to open another outlet in Guwahati, which will be its third dealership in the North East after already being present in Manipur, the market for Pure EV’s ETryst 350 electric motorcycle is also experiencing a good uptick.
In September, Guwahati will be open for business. Over the next 12 months, we anticipate about 15 dealerships to open in the North-East region. We are seeing solid volumes for our flagship motorcycle, the Etryst 350′, he said.
