Electric vehicle retail sales up 45% in May; ePVs and e2Ws drove adoption

India's EV sales surged 45% to a record 2.72 lakh units in May, pushing overall EV penetration above 11% for the first time amid rising fuel costs

India's electric vehicle (EV) retail sales rose 45 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to a record 271,682 units in May, pushing EV penetration across vehicle categories above 11 per cent for the first time, according to data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada).

 

The growth was led by electric passenger vehicles (ePVs) and two-wheelers (e2Ws), as rising fuel prices and a widening range of models encouraged more buyers to shift towards electric mobility.

 

Electric PV sales jumped 81 per cent Y-o-Y to 26,682 units in May, taking EV penetration in the segment to 6.6 per cent from 4.5 percent a year earlier.

 

While Tata Motors remained the market leader with a 38.8 per cent share of ePV retail sales in May, Mahindra & Mahindra continued to close the gap, increasing its share to 23.3 per cent. Together, the two home-grown manufacturers accounted for more than 62 per cent of India's EV car market, while MG's share moderated to 18.7 per cent despite positive growth. Maruti Suzuki's recent entry is beginning to alter the competitive landscape, with the company already capturing nearly 6 per cent market share in its first meaningful month.

 

Tata Motors led ePV sales with 10,340 units in May, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra (6,210) and JSW MG Motor India (4,984). Maruti Suzuki retailed 1,591 units, while VinFast sold 1,238 units.

 

e2W sales rose 63 per cent Y-o-Y to 170,733 units, with penetration increasing to 9.3 per cent from 6.1 per cent in May 2025. TVS Motor led the segment with retail sales of 42,459 units, followed by Bajaj Auto at 39,202 units and Ather Energy at 28,240 units.

 

Ola Electric remained under pressure despite a sequential recovery, with retail sales declining 20 per cent Y-o-Y to 15,141 units, even as the overall e2W market expanded 63 per cent, indicating continued market-share losses to established rivals such as TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, and Hero MotoCorp.

 

"May 2026 is a landmark month for India's mobility transition," said Fada President C S Vigneshwar. "The sharp fuel-price hikes of the past month have brought day-to-day running costs into sharp focus for buyers, and increasingly, the low cost of ownership is tilting that everyday economic decision firmly towards electric," Vigneshwar added.

 

Electric three-wheelers (e3Ws) remained India's most electrified vehicle segment, with EVs accounting for 64.4 per cent of total three-wheeler retail sales. e3W registrations rose 8.6 per cent Y-o-Y to 71,867 units during the month.

 

Electric commercial vehicles (eCVs), though still a small segment, more than doubled Y-o-Y to 2,400 units, taking penetration to 2.86 per cent from 1.37 per cent in May 2025. Tata Motors led the category with 879 units, followed by Euler Motors, and Mahindra.

 

Fada said the broad-based growth reflects improving charging infrastructure, deeper localisation of EV manufacturing, and increasing consumer focus on total cost of ownership. It added that continued expansion of charging networks, easier financing, and stable policy support would be critical to sustaining the momentum.