(Bloomberg) — India installed more than 650 electric vehicle charging stations in key cities in the four months ended Jan. 31, the government said in a statement, as it seeks to boost the production and use of EVs.

The South Asian nation added 180,000 new EVs to its roads from October 2021 to the end of last month, it said. “This has exhibited greater confidence among the consumers to shift towards electric mobility,” according to the statement from the Ministry of Power. “After the saturation of EV infrastructure in these mega cities, the government has plans to expand the coverage to other cities in a phased manner.”

India, the third-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet and home to some of its worst air pollution, has set a goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. This would require a huge shift to EVs, which make up just 1% of overall annual auto sales, compared with 30% in some parts of China, due to high cost and sparse charging infrastructure.

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Currently, India has 1,640 operational public EV chargers, 940 of which are concentrated in nine major cities including Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai. Last month, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi revised guidelines for establishing a charging infrastructure network. State-run oil marketing companies have also announced they would set up 22,000 EV charging stations in prominent cities and on national highways across the country.

The government is considering allowing the swapping of batteries for electric cars to spur adoption of EVs. 

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