This positive turn, however, had a flip side: the share of electric vehicles (EVs) in overall sales slumped. For electric two-wheelers, it fell to 4.56% last month from 8.09% in September, while for electric four-wheelers, it dipped to 3.24% from 5.12%, FADA data reported by Mint showed.

Considering India's efforts to fast-track EV adoption, this comes as a disappointment. The next few months would be important to determine if there is any sustained shift in market preference away from EVs. For now, such a conclusion would be premature.

That said, the playing field does seem to have tilted slightly in favour of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The reduction in GST rates on many ICE vehicles from 28% to 18% even as the GST rate on EVs was left unchanged at 5% has made the latter less attractive.

Then there is the regional skew in the October upsurge in automobile sales—rural sales grew three times faster than the urban figures in the case of passenger vehicles and nearly double the urban growth rate for two-wheelers.

Commercial charging stations are few and far between in rural areas, as are service centres for EV repair. But rural India has enough retail outlets for conventional fuel vehicles and repair shops for them. This could be a reason for rural buyers preferring ICE vehicles over EVs.

Also, there's been a big increase in the sales of smaller cars and entry-level two wheelers, on which GST has been lowered. This may be explained by their low upfront costs as opposed to EVs, whose lower running costs take years to justify the higher initial price. So, it is understandable for first-time buyers to opt for conventional vehicles.

Given efforts to drive EV sales, though, policymakers and industry may have to think of ways to make them more appealing to consumers. The GST on them is already low, leaving little scope to do more fiscally. In any case, incentives and subsidies tend to distort markets and must be used only as a temporary measure.

Technological advances are crucial to address consumer anxieties about the performance of EVs and their range. Charging infrastructure has expanded but it is still far from enough to assure stress-free driving across the length and breadth of the country.

The government has a role to play in helping put up the charging infrastructure. More importantly, India needs an ecosystem for the development of batteries, which are perhaps the most critical piece of input in an EV. This is hard in the wake of unreliable supplies of critical components from China, although a recent improvement in relations should help improve prospects.

One aspect less talked about is the ability of the power grid to take the increased load in the event of an EV proliferation. Charging large numbers of EVs all at once places considerable additional load. Strengthening the grid, therefore, is critical, but this is a work-in-progress.

Overall, the market environment has turned a bit more attractive for ICE vehicles. Ultimately, consumers want longer-driving and more affordable electric vehicles. Unless they get that, efforts to wean them away from ICE vehicles may continue on a slow lane. The government and industry both need to work on it.