Tackling Range Anxiety: Why India’s EV Charging Strategy Must Prioritise Highways

The government recently came up with a proposal to allocate ₹2,000 crore - nearly a fifth of the outlay of ₹10,000 crore from the PM eDrive initiative - to setting up 72,000 EV chargers nationwide. The Union Government has asked states to secure land and install infrastructure (such as transformers and sub-stations) to avail the subsidy, enabling rapid deployment of 72 k chargers across the country.

Since the government has not announced a detailed structure for setting up the chargers, it is likely that this fund may get utilized more in urban areas where more EVs are being sold. I would argue however that we should be doing just the opposite. This may sound counter-intuitive, but one of the largest hindrances in rapid adoption of EVs is the range anxiety people feel when—even if only occasionally—they embark on a longer drive, typically on highways. Many potential buyers think: “I drive locally 80 % of the time—but what if that one out-of-town trip leaves me stranded?”

In India, the distribution of public charging stations is heavily skewed toward urban markets. According to recent data released by Ministry of Power, as of January 2025, India had approximately 15,000 public EV charging stations heavily concentrated in metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. The highway network remains under-served. The result: city drivers hesitate to commit to an EV when they imagine the open road stretching ahead and none of the reassurance of a charging point in sight. If we address that fear, we may be able to unlock a much larger market for EVs.

By focusing the government’s role on highways - where the private sector is less motivated and the network effect is weaker - we fill the missing link. The private sector can continue to densify city chargers (where returns are highest), while the government builds the backbone of out-of-town confidence. This not only addresses the occasional long trip worry, but bolsters logistics, fleet mobility, tourism and inter-city travel - all of which depend on reliable highway charging.

Another important reason why putting up chargers along highways is that it benefits rural populations where both - population and vehicle density - is lower. Hence, this strategy serves as a good measure of affirmative action enabling weaker areas with infrastructure paving way for their development. And since charging an EV takes significantly longer than filling up petrol or diesel, charging stations along highways will be layby points for drivers and have potential to evolve into hubs of communion - cafes, eateries, even a flea market for local handicraft - all this will help create a place of employment and livelihood for rural youth.

But is putting 72k chargers along the highway sufficient to create a significant dent in charging capacity? Let’s do the math together. India’s national highway network runs approximately 146,145 km in length, while state highways add up to 179,535 km. Let us assume that the private sector will match governments effort by 50% of what the government has planned. So, if we envisaged placing all 110,000 chargers (72,000 government + 38,000 private) only along the National Highway stretch, the average spacing would be around 1.33 km between chargers (wow!). A theoretical dream: drive 1.3 km and there’s a plug waiting - however, not practical. Expand the scope to include state highways too (adding roughly 179,535 km) for a total highway network of about 325,680 km, and the gap widens to about 2.96 km between chargers. Still strong. Yet in reality, traffic is not evenly distributed; major corridors bear the brunt of travel, and some rural state highways see only occasional vehicles.

Therefore if we applied a traffic-weighted logic: allocate more chargers where traffic is denser, fewer where it isn’t. Under that model, the major corridors (the Golden Quadrilateral, North-South/East-West linkages, expressways) achieve spacing around 1.3–2 km, while quieter state highways might see 6–8 km between chargers. Overall average across all highways: about 3 km.

Now build in the realistic assumption that of the 38,000 private chargers, only about 5,000 will be placed on highways (primarily at city-highway interfaces) and the remaining 33,000 will cluster within urban areas. That leaves 72,000 government chargers dedicated to highway coverage. With those numbers, the 325,680 km highway network divided by 77,000 chargers yields approximately 4.23 km between plugs on average. In weighted form we still ensure the major corridors get ~1.7-2.1 km spacing, other national highways ~4.2 km, and lesser SH stretches ~8.4 km. Even this is not bad at all since even a basic EV 4-wheeler has a range of approximately 200kms [1, 2], while basic two-wheelers have a range of 40kms [3].

Why this matters?

Left to their own, States are likely to have divergent strategies - while some with a good highway network like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu - may build charging infrastructure along highways, most others are likely to concentrate it to urban settlements. Further, there are several advantages of government funding used to secure highway charging infrastructure: 

• Range-anxiety threshold drops - As I have mentioned earlier, if an EV buyer knows there’s a reliable charger every ~2 km on major highway corridors (and no more than ~8 km on lesser routes), the mental barrier of “can I do a long outing” falls dramatically.
• Boosting urban adoption via highway assurance - Even if a user’s daily travel within the city is not enough for them to see economic benefit in moving from fossil fuel engine to EVs, the knowledge they could drive beyond the city on an EV, triggers a purchase. In India, people are very conscious of economic utility, paying higher for an EV or investing in a new two or four wheeler is weighed on how much they will save on running costs. Urban drivers demand less from the charger network locally (home, office), but when they think of longer distances on highways, the math starts making more sense.
• Efficient use of public funds - Private players will continue invest in urban cores (high-return); government focuses on the harder, less-profitable stretches (highways) where market failure risk is higher. This avoids duplication, uses mixed-economy efficiently.
• Network effect & logistics benefits - Highways are not only for occasional outings: trucks, shared mobility, tourist vehicles all use them. A robust highway charger grid supports all segments and strengthens the ecosystem (fleet electrification, last-mile logistics, etc.).
• Signalling commitment - A visible charger every few kilometres on highways sends a strong message: the EV era is trusted and here. It builds user confidence, helps overall adoption.

You send a strong signal: “Yes, we have your back for the long-haul drive.” That signal alone encourages a greater leap into EV ownership. 

Policy Recommendation 

In summary, the right policy push builds and communicates a credible highway charger backbone and releases a psychological block enabling buyers who are sitting on the fence to say: “Yes, I’ll buy that EV now.” For policy makers, then, the target spacing looks like this: on major national corridors aim for a charger every ~2 km, on other highways every ~5-8 km, while urban deployment can proceed via private investment. Below is a summary of the specific recommendations: 

• Target spacing goals: Major national corridors (NH + priority SH): charger every ~2 km (government-led). Other highways: charger every ~5-8 km.
• Allocate roles: Government budget and incentives for highways, especially in less-commercial stretches. Private sector encouraged/regulated to densify urban & peri-urban markets.
• Corridor prioritisation: Focus first on high-traffic routes: the Golden Quadrilateral, NS–EW linkages, major expressways, logistic highways.
• Integration with vehicle adoption plans: Set milestone years (e.g., by 2027 have all major corridors covered at ~2 km spacing).
• Data-driven expansions: Monitor usage, identify under-utilised chargers (especially in remote SH) and re-deploy or repurpose accordingly.
• Urban–highway complementarity: Private market densifies cities; public network de-risks highways; together they unlock full EV adoption for users whose primary use is urban but occasional travel is outside.
• Communications and user awareness: Highlight “You can now drive from X to Y without charging worries” campaigns along major routes — reinforcing confidence.

The result? A network that feels continuous and reassuring initially where it matters most—and frees up private investment where it thrives best. This strategy positions the government to fill the infrastructure gap precisely where market forces are weaker, while leaving the fertile urban ground to private enterprise. 

The path to mass EV adoption doesn’t lie solely in plugging the city - it lies in plugging the gaps between cities. Once that trust is established, the urban market blossoms. The result: a well-balanced network, higher EV uptake, and a more confident Indian driver and the highway becomes not a barrier, but a bridge.

Attribution: Title image sourced from https://rjt-constructionllc.com/reliable-ev-charger-installer-in-houston