Chennai: Amid concerns over West Asia war-related headwinds for the auto sector, India’s electric vehicle market has surged to new highs. March recorded historic peak sales for both electric two-wheelers and cars, while FY26 emerged as a milestone year, with battery-powered two-wheelers posting strong double-digit growth and electric passenger vehicles—including e-cars and e-SUVs—registering a near-doubling of volumes. This record growth comes despite the GST rate cut for ICE vehicles, which led to some reduction in price gaps. Also, both electric two-wheelers and electric passenger vehicles (including electric cars and SUVs) reported an increase in penetration in FY26, amid a surge in ICE vehicle sales following the GST rate cut. Total volumes of battery-powered vehicles (across all segments) grew by 23% to 2.43 million units in FY26, compared with 1.97 million units in FY25, according to Vahan data. Electric two-wheelers remain the major driver of volumes, with total registrations rising to 1.39 million units in FY26, up from 1.15 million units in FY25, recording an increase of 21%. Penetration of battery-powered vehicles increased to 6.5% from 6.1%. Electric PV volumes also reported a sharp increase, with volumes nearing the 2 lakh mark, standing at 1.97 lakh units in FY26, up from 1.08 lakh units in FY25. The penetration of battery-powered cars increased to 4.2% from 2.6%.March 2026 saw historic volumes for battery-powered vehicles. While total EV registrations hit a new peak of 2.61 lakh units, E2Ws and EPVs reported their highest-ever monthly volumes at 1.79 lakh units and over 19,700 units, respectively. Electric three-wheeler volumes grew to 8.27 lakh units in FY26, up from 6.99 lakh units in FY25. In the E2W segment, TVS Motor Company maintained its leadership position with strong volume growth to 3.39 lakh units (up from 2.38 lakh units in FY25). Bajaj Auto was No. 2, with registrations of 2.86 lakh units (up from 2.31 lakh units), while Ather Energy reported a strong increase in sales of its battery-powered scooters to 2.37 lakh units (from 1.31 lakh units). Hero MotoCorp also recorded a significant increase in its electric scooter volumes to 1.43 lakh units (from 48,736 units), while Ola Electric reported a decline to 1.64 lakh units (from 3.44 lakh units).Other players with notable sales in the E2W segment include Greaves (over 61,000 units), River Mobility (22,130 units), Pur Energy (14,300 units), and Kinetic Green (over 11,500 units), among others. In the EPV segment, Tata remained the leader with volumes of about 77,400 units in FY26, followed by JSW MG Motor at 52,500 units. Mahindra’s volumes were at over 39,800 units, while Hyundai occupied the fourth position with over 5,820 registrations. BYD sold over 5,300 units, while VinFast’s volumes stood at about 2,325 units.
