The Karnataka government has announced plans to develop an “Electric Vehicle (EV) City” spanning nearly 100 acres, located within a two-hour drive of Bengaluru. The plan is to strengthen Karnataka as a leading hub for EV manufacturing, testing and skills development.

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Government Sets EV Innovation and Testing Focus

The proposed EV City is to be designed as an end-to-end facility for vehicle makers, suppliers and startups, offering shared infrastructure and validation services.

The plan includes a 50-acre integrated testing zone with features such as outdoor test tracks, urban road simulations, gradient and hill testing areas, fast-charging test beds and labs for EV software and cybersecurity. This will also support vehicle performance evaluation, roadworthiness certification and component benchmarking.

“The project will host a centre of excellence for EVs and battery technologies alongside a skilling and talent academy to train professionals entering the sector.”
-Priyank Kharge, Minister of State of IT & BT and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka

He noted Karnataka’s strong EV ecosystem, citing the state’s early adoption of EV and energy storage policies and its high concentration of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), component makers and startups.

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Industry Participation and EV Market Context

More than 30 leading EV and battery technology companies participated in the high-level industry meeting where the plan was presented. According to a government release, firms involved in discussions included major industry players such as Ather Energy, Bosch, Kinetic Group, Continental, Sun Mobility and Yulu.

Karnataka currently accounts for nearly 20 per cent of India’s EV sales and has over 5,400 public charging stations, underscoring the state’s role in the nation’s transition to electric mobility.