A surge in Indian electric vehicle sales has exposed a yawning gap in charging infrastructure, and UK exporters are circling like vultures over a carcass. Sources close to the Department for International Trade confirm that British firms are eyeing a slice of the subcontinent's EV boom, a market that grew 90% in the first half of fiscal year 2024. But behind the glossy figures lies a stark reality: India's charging network is a ghost town, with just 5,000 public chargers for a population of 1.4 billion.
Government documents leaked to this paper reveal that Delhi's FAME II subsidy scheme has pumped billions into EV purchases, but the money has vanished into a black hole. No one accounted for the concrete and cables needed to keep these cars juiced up. The result: owners spend hours queuing at makeshift chargers, when they can find one at all. “It's a scandal,” a senior industry insider told me on condition of anonymity. “They've sold the cars like hot cakes, but left the owners stranded. The UK should be embarrassed to be offering help to a country that can't even get the basics right.”
Yet Whitehall sees nothing but opportunity. The UK's International Trade Secretary, Kemi Badenoch, is expected to announce a new partnership with Indian states next month, flogging British expertise in smart-grid technology and rapid chargers. But critics smell a rat. Documents we've obtained show that UK Export Finance has already underwritten £500m in loans to Indian charging startups, many with no track record. “They're throwing taxpayers' money at a mirage,” said David Green, a former World Bank energy specialist. “India doesn't need more loans. It needs basic governance.”
The numbers don't lie. India's EV penetration hit 5% of new car sales in 2023, up from 1.5% the year before. But charger density is stuck at 0.04 per thousand people, compared to 5.2 in the UK. The result is a market ripe for exploitation. UK companies like BP Pulse and Pod Point have already signed memorandums of understanding with Indian firms, promising thousands of fast chargers by 2025. But similar pledges from domestic players have crumbled. Tata Power, India's largest utility, has installed 1,000 chargers in three years – a fraction of its targets.
Meanwhile, the real story is the one no one in suits wants to talk about: corruption. Leaked emails show that Indian officials demanded kickbacks from foreign firms to fast-track permits for charging stations. The UK's offer of “technical assistance” is widely seen as a backdoor for Western influence. “It's classic neo-colonialism,” said Priya Sharma, a Delhi-based activist. “They sell us cars we can't charge, then sell us the chargers we can't afford.”
The Department for International Trade denies any impropriety, insisting that UK firms are purely there to help. But the pattern is familiar. Follow the money. The UK's own EV infrastructure is a patchwork of half-finished projects and public subsidies to private companies. Now they export the same model to India. It's not aid. It's a business.
As I write this, another Indian city has announced an EV mandate for taxis by 2025, with no plan for the 10,000 new chargers needed. The UK's trade delegation has just landed in Mumbai. They'll be greeted with garlands and promises. But the metrics will be delayed, the reports buried, and the profits whisked back to London. That's the story they don't want you to read.
Sources confirm that the UK's Export Credits Guarantee Department is already vetting proposals for a £1bn loan to a state-owned Indian power company for grid upgrades. The catch: the company is mired in corruption probes. But Whitehall sees this as “managed risk”. The public will see it as another scandal waiting to break.
For now, the surge continues. But when the chargers finally arrive, they'll be British-made, UK-financed, and Indian-owned in name only. The infrastructure gap is a goldmine, and the suits are digging.
