THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Individual households in Keralam are embracing electric vehicles faster than anywhere else in the country, yet the state continues to lag in overall clean-mobility preparedness due to institutional bottlenecks and a slow-to-adapt research ecosystem.
According to the India Electric Mobility Index (IEMI) 2025 report, prepared by WRI India in partnership with Niti Aayog, Keralam achieved a national-topping 12.3% private EV adoption rate in 2025 across personal two-wheelers and cars. The milestone signifies that roughly one out of every eight personal vehicles purchased in the state is now electric.
Despite this impressive consumer uptake, Keralam scored just 36 out of 100 in ‘transport electrification progress,’ placing it in the ‘emerging performers’ tier among large states.
The report reveals a stark divide within the state’s transport landscape: while private buyers are enthusiastically making the green shift, commercial vehicle electrification continues to lag significantly behind. This gap is largely driven by a lack of active policy enablers, such as structured commercial fleet incentives, permit exemptions, low-emission zones, or vehicle scrapping subsidies.
Keralam’s performance across other evaluation metrics highlight a similarly contrasting picture.
On the infrastructure front, the state has built a solid foundation, achieving ‘frontrunner’ status with a score of 55 out of 100 in ‘charging infrastructure readiness’.
However, its most prominent challenge lies in innovation: Keralam scored a dismal 29 out of 100 in ‘research and innovation’, placing last among large states.
The index notes that despite Keralam’s strong human-capital indicators, its academic and industrial research networks have yet to fully orient toward clean mobility-though notable local breakthroughs exist, such as the prototype lithium-titanate (LTO) battery developed jointly by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and Travancore Titanium Products Ltd (TTPL).
