India Electric Rickshaw Market Size & Share Analysis - Trends, Drivers, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2024 - 2030)

India Electric Rickshaw Market Trends & Drivers

Growing demand for solar operated electric rickshaws

Increasing demand for electric rickshaws that charge up with solar power is the new trend witnessed in India electric rickshaw market. A nominal battery electric rickshaw uses a conventional form of electricity to charge its batteries. But, with a solar powered e-rickshaw, the batteries can be charged on a run on a sunny day. Also, solar electric rickshaw boosts the efficiency of an electric vehicle and solar panel upsurges its mileage by approximately 10% to 15% with a life cycle of 10 years. Such characteristics are propelling the traction of these vehicles for transportation purposes. Manufacturers such as Inter IKEA Systems B.V., and Lohia Auto Industries, are deploying and launching new products in the market.

Increasing Demand for Solar-Operated E-Rickshaws Boosts Sales

The increasing demand for e-rickshaws that charge with solar power is the new trend in the Indian e-rickshaw market. A normal battery e-three-wheeler uses the conventional form of electricity to charge its batteries. But, in a solar-powered variant, the batteries can be charged on the run on a sunny day. Additionally, these vehicles offer higher energy efficiency, while solar panels can raise their mileage by approximately 10% to 15%, with a lifecycle of 10 years. Such characteristics are propelling the traction for these vehicles for transportation purposes, and manufacturers, such as Inter IKEA Systems B.V. and Lohia Auto Industries, are launching such new products to earn a competitive advantage.

Lack of Financial Institution Support

Banks and financial institutions have a big role to play in the adoption of EVs in India. The widespread use of EVs is currently held back in part by inadequate supply chain, higher cost of production (Lacks economy of scale), higher cost of EVs, and infrastructure gap. While governments have played a central role in subsidizing the upfront cost by providing financial and non-financial incentives to date, greater investment from banks and financial institutions will be needed to start the adoption of EVs among the masses.

Furthermore, more than 50% of these drivers operate on a daily rental model instead of ownership, due to the lack of fitting financing options and/or the high cost of financing. Mainstream financers such as banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) don’t provide financing to these drivers as they are unable to meet stringent lending requirements like self-funding for a minimum of 20-30% of the initial cost of electric rickshaws (usual practice in small commercial vehicles loans). Additionally, banks and NBFCs usually require collateral of about 1.5 times the amount financed, and battery rickshaw drivers typically don’t have assets to mortgage.

India E-Rickshaw Industry Outlook

Motor Power Insights

E-rickshaws with 1,000–1,500W motor power held the largest revenue share in the market in 2023. A large number of e-rickshaws are equipped with 1,000–1,500W motors as they offer operational cost benefits. Companies are concentrating on leveraging their experience and knowledge in the production of automotive electrical parts and motors to diversify their production capacity and augment the supply of these motors over time.

Motor Power covered in the report include:

• <1,000 W
• 1,000–1,500 W (Largest Category)
• >1,500 W (Fastest-Growing Category)

Vehicle Overview

The passenger carrier category is expected to grow with a CAGR, of around 7.4%, during the forecast period. With the rapidly growing urban population fueling the demand for cost-effective first- and last-mile transportation, the deployment of passenger carrier e-rickshaws is mushrooming, to offer cheap transportation services.

The following vehicles are included in the report:

• Passenger Carrier (Largest and Fastest-Growing Category)
• Load Carrier

Sales Channel Analysis

The organized sales channel will witness a higher CAGR, of over 7.2%, during the forecast period. With the proliferating significance of organized automakers who specialize in manufacturing and providing better-quality products with powerful motors, they are registering higher sales revenue.

The unorganized category has dominated the market during the historical period, holding around 75% volume share in 2023. The availability of low-cost electric rickshaws, less complexity involved with its powertrain, and lack of regulation have supported the unorganized local player to grow in the market.

The market caught the attention of organized players when the Tripura government passed a regulation for running electric rickshaws on road in 2025. Many established two and three-wheeler manufacturers then entered the market, launching their products and increasing their dealer network. The roll outs of Goods and Service Tax (GST) has given a big blow to unorganized manufacturers and provided an opportunity for these established manufacturers to gain significant market share. The organized category market is expected to dominate the electric rickshaw market from 2023 afterward reaching a volume share of 60.0% in 2025.

Sales Channel covered in the report are:

• Organized (Faster-Growing Category)
• Unorganized (Larger Category)

Battery Capacity Insights

E-rickshaw with batteries of up to 100 Ah capacity is leading the market with a revenue share of around 75%, in 2023. Moreover, since these variants cost less than those with higher-capacity batteries, this is expected to retain its dominance over the forecast period. Moreover, unorganized OEMs dominated the market in the initial period, and they majorly offer such cost-effective and low-battery-capacity variants.

However, during the forecast period, e-rickshaws with a >100 Ah battery capacity are expected to witness faster growth in sales. This can be credited to the rising popularity of vehicles that can travel long distances without requiring frequent charging.

It is further classified as:

• Up to 100 Ah (Larger Category)
• >100 Ah (Faster-Growing Category)

Geographical Outlook

In 2023, Uttar Pradesh holds the largest market share in the Indian e-rickshaw market, holding a revenue share of around 25%, primarily due to the growing demand for these vehicles from tier-1 cities, tier-2 cities, and rural–urban fringes. Essentially, the expanding customer base is driving the use of these vehicles, thus propelling sales growth in the state.

In addition, the increasing customer base is driving the use of electric rickshaws for transportation, which is driving the growth of the electric rickshaw market in the state. In 2019, electric rickshaws came in 65 new tier 2 and tier 3 cities due to their high demand and customer’s requirement of last mile connectivity. Apart from this, other states, such as Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam have a significant number of electric rickshaws. Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Orissa, and other eastern states are the faster growing states in the country in terms of electric rickshaw volume. Southern states don’t have notable electric rickshaw penetration mainly due to a lack of regulations and permissions by the states.

Moreover, Delhi is the second largest market for electric rickshaws during the historical period. The sales of electric rickshaws have picked up since 2013. Delhi ranks as one of the worst states in terms of overall heat-trapping emissions and toxic emissions. The utter effect of high population, highest vehicle usage, and volume of travel makes the state worse in terms of total emissions per day. In response to the increasing levels of air pollution in the capital, the Delhi government announced a subsidy of INR 30,000 on the purchase of electric rickshaws, which led to the proliferation of their demand in the city, further benefitting the market.

Further, states analyzed for this report include:

• Madhya Pradesh
• Uttar Pradesh (Largest State)
• Delhi
• West Bengal
• Rajasthan
• Bihar
• Haryana
• Chhattisgarh
• Uttarakhand
• Punjab
• Jharkhand
• Assam
• Tripura (Fastest-Growing State)
• Rest of India