Karnataka’s next opportunity to boost the vehicle transition — a ZEV mandate
Karnataka could become a locus for innovation in clean automotive technologies and play a pivotal role in realising India’s ZEV transition goals
Karnataka ranked third among all states India in total new battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales (two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles, and commercial vehicles) in calendar year 2024. That was enough for a 9% BEV sales share, higher than most states, and more than 5,700 new public charging stations were installed in Karnataka that year, the most by any state in the country.
There’s more good news. The Karnataka Clean Mobility Policy 2025-30, launched last month, includes a special focus on developing the state’s manufacturing ecosystem for zero-emission vehicles (ZEV), a term that includes BEVs and hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The state’s clean mobility ambitions are also supported by the recently released Karnataka Budget 2025, which earmarks ₹25 crore for the development of a state-of-the art EV cluster, which will offer common infrastructure to support manufacturers in the ecosystem.
Already a major automobile manufacturing hub, Karnataka could, with the additional support from the policy, become a locus for innovation in clean automotive technologies and play a pivotal role in realising India’s ZEV transition goals. The new policy offers support across the ZEV value chain, from battery and cell manufacturing and recycling to charging infrastructure, hydrogen refuelling stations, and more.
This comes in the form of incentives, including a capital investment subsidy, waiver of stamp duty, concessional registration charges, and reimbursement of the land-conversion fee. The policy also includes initiatives for developing the skills of the automotive workforce to align with the needs of the ZEV transition.
Governments in leading auto markets such as California and China supplement such incentives with supply-side regulations like sales mandates to ramp up ZEV adoption across segments. These mandates require manufacturers to sell a certain minimum percentage of ZEVs in their total vehicle sales over a period of time. California implemented its ZEV mandate in 1990 and leads the United States in ZEV deployment, with a market share of about three times the American average.
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There are key advantages to ZEV sales regulations. Prior ICCT research found that they could increase the number of ZEV model choices available, as manufacturers would increase their offerings to attract consumers. In the United States in 2023, six of the top 10 states for passenger car electric vehicle (EV) sales (EVs are BEVs, FCEVs, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) had deployed ZEV mandates, and these states were home to about 50% of the total EV sales in the country.
Additionally, each of the six had more than 70 different EV models available on the market. A ZEV sales regulation would increase industry-wide manufacturing and lead to economies of scale that would ultimately bring down the purchase price of ZEVs. This would also be likely to expedite the achievement of cost parity with internal combustion engine vehicles. In practice, ZEV mandates are met by manufacturers either through ZEV sales or the purchase of surplus credits from other manufacturers that overachieved on their sales targets under the regulation.
Manufacturers slow to embrace ZEVs could risk losing market competitiveness, as they would have to purchase credits and distribute that cost, potentially across the prices of conventional models. Meanwhile, manufacturers that earn more credits than they need through ZEV production can earn additional revenue by selling the credits. A ZEV-sales mandate also offers certainty to investors and increases their confidence in the vehicle transition. Such regulations also offer some certainty to ZEV refuelling infrastructure providers about the number of vehicles expected on the roads in the future, and this facilitates investment planning well in advance.
In India, implementing ZEV sales regulations requires legal authority through legislation or judicial intervention. For instance, in 2015, the Supreme Court directed that all taxis running in the National Capital Region be run on compressed natural gas by early 2016. Additionally, a well-established supporting institutional framework and coordination among key stakeholders is needed for successful implementation. The buildout of adequate charging infrastructure is crucial for scaling up ZEV deployment, and that will need coordination among and action from the government, DISCOMs, industry, and standardisation organisations.
The alignment and support of industry bodies, technology and policy research organisations, government funding agencies, and financial institutions will also be needed for successful implementation of these regulations. Thus far, purchase and manufacturing incentives have been the driving force behind Karnataka’s ZEV transition.
As the state forges ahead with its goal of becoming a ZEV manufacturing leader, supplementing these incentives with well-designed ZEV sales regulations can serve as a potent policy lever to accelerate the transition and bring benefits to both consumers and manufacturers.
Sumati Kohli is a researcher with the International Council on Clean Transportation. Views expressed are personal.
