Maha overtakes Delhi in e-bus sales, TN races past Guj: 5 key trends in 2025 Vahan data

Maharashtra became India's largest electric bus market in 2025, overpowering Delhi for the first time. The heavy lifting of government support, coupled with the clean transport movement have worked together to drive electric bus sales to new heights all over the country.

Electric buses or e-buses are considered a major answer to the problems of pollution, fuel cost and public transport decline. The transition is so rapid that even the most recent statistics from the government’s Vahan portal cannot cover it anymore.

How did Maharashtra overtake Delhi in electric bus sales?

Add Zee Business as a Preferred Source

Electric bus sales in Maharashtra jumped by over 60 per cent in 2025, helping the state move ahead of Delhi. During the calendar year, 1,442 electric buses were sold in Maharashtra, while Delhi recorded 1,382 units.

This increase in sales allowed Maharashtra to become the leading state in terms of electric bus usage in India. The rise is indicative of the state’s vigorous effort to adopt environmentally friendly public transport and reduce carbon footprints.

The Vahan portal, which tracks all vehicle registrations in India, confirmed these numbers.

What the 2025 Vahan data reveals about electric bus adoption: 5 key trends

Here are some of the key trends that emerge from the Vehicles of 2025 data:

• In 2025, Maharashtra surpassed Delhi and became the biggest market for electric buses. The state sold e-buses worth 1,442, which was more than 60 per cent growth in e-buses in one year. This sharp rise helped Maharashtra move to the top spot for the first time.
• Delhi, which led e-bus sales in 2024, slipped to second place in 2025. The capital sold 1,382 electric buses, just behind Maharashtra. Despite losing the top rank, Delhi continues to be one of the strongest electric bus markets in the country.
• Tamil Nadu, in 2025, was a major winner by placing an order for 398 electric buses, thus powering past Gujarat with a sale of 116 units. This increase shows more and more e-bus adoption in other states that were not so early in the race.
• Karnataka showed an increase in the sales of electric buses in 2025, delivering 445 units, which was a huge rise from 53 units sold in 2024.
• In 2025, the total electric bus sales in India are at around 4,400 units, an increase from 3,600 units seen in 2024. The steady increase shows that electric buses are becoming a bigger part of public transport fleets, driven by government incentive schemes and a clean mobility push.

What is driving the rise in electric bus sales?

Experts say government support is the main reason behind the strong rise in electric bus sales. The Union government has launched major clean mobility programmes to speed up the shift to electric transport.

These include the Rs 10,900-crore PM E-Drive scheme and the Rs 25,938-crore PLI-Auto scheme. Other key initiatives include PM e-Bus Seva and the earlier FAME scheme.

According to Amit Bhatt, India's Managing Director of the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), these schemes have reduced the high upfront cost of electric buses. Among other things, PM e-Bus Seva and the then/FAME scheme were two important initiatives initiated by the government.

How does India compare globally in electric bus adoption?

According to a report published by NITI Aayog in August 2025, “Unlocking a $200 billion opportunity: Electric Vehicles in India”, e-bus penetration in India in 2023 was 7 per cent, which was lower than the EU's 14 per cent and China’s 50 per cent."

This figure is considerably below the European Union's 14 per cent and China's 50 per cent. Still, analysts are of the opinion that if the present policies are maintained, the proportion of electric buses in India can increase significantly in the next few years.