As a part of the revised Karnataka Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy 2023–28, the Department of Commerce and Industries has finalised Chikkaballapur and Bidadi near Bengaluru, and Hubballi-Dharwad as locations for the proposed new EV clusters. The government has identified around 800 acres of land for these clusters.

These clusters, which are also termed as EV Model Cities are being developed to strengthen the adoption of EVs in Karnataka. These locations have been finalised based on EV penetration in the nearby districts. The EV policy aims to attract Rs 50,000 crore worth of investment in the sector and also create one lakh job opportunities.The aim is to draw EV manufacturing and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) which make components, and future plans also include setting up testing facilties. 

Karnataka was the first state in India to roll out an EV policy in 2017, and the new policy was announced as the timeline for the first policy neared completion. The state government also plans to invest Rs 35 crore to set up 100 EV charging stations.