Gujarat, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra have emerged as the top 5 states in electric vehicle (EV) sales, the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) said on Thursday.

An SMEV survey of EVs sold during the previous financial showed that 1,926 of these were sold in Maharashtra, 2,388 in Rajasthan, 2,467 in Uttar Pradesh, 2,846 in West Bengal and 4,330 in Gujarat, which made it the to the top in bringing the maximum number of e-vehicles on road.

"In addition, 25,000 e-vehicles were sold across India between 2016-17," an SMEV release said.

"The study was conducted on all electric two-wheelers and four-wheelers that were sold during 2016-2017 and are successfully running in the mentioned states," it said.

Of all the EVs sold, 92 per cent were two-wheelers and only 8 per cent were four-wheelers, the study showed.

"However, Delhi, which initially used to top this list, now, surprisingly ranks 7th with only 1,072 e-vehicles sold," the statement added.

"As far as other states are concerned, there is a dire need for them to go electric on an urgent basis," SMEV Director (Corporate Affairs) Sohinder Gill said in a statement.

Challenges such as delay in subsidies and weak infrastructure need to be addressed, he added.