Written by PPL Newsroom• October 1, 2026• 11:31 am• Business & Sustainability

EV sales in India reach 951,884 in July–September, 13% of all vehicles sold

Registrations rose 64.4% year on year in the third quarter of 2026, with electric two-wheelers leading and passenger cars growing from a smaller base.

Electric vehicle sales in India reached 951,884 units in the third quarter of 2026, up 64.4% from 578,987 units in the same quarter of 2025, according to Mercom India’s analysis. The report puts EVs at about 13% of all vehicles sold in the quarter. That is roughly one in every eight vehicles registered in the country.

What the numbers mean

The quarter added about 3.7 lakh more EVs than a year earlier. Mercom also reports that India now has over 10.41 million registered EVs.

The share has risen quickly. For the whole of FY2026, EVs made up 8.27% of overall automobile sales, up from 7.52% in FY2025, according to Autocar Professional. By June 2026, retail EV sales hit a record 3,06,220 units, with penetration above 12% for the first time, as reported by IBEF. July then set a monthly record of 327,901 units, up 66% year on year, according to TechTimes.

September stayed strong. Total EV registrations rose 64.6% year on year to 3.15 lakh units, according to Inc42, which cited Vahan, the government’s vehicle registration portal.

Two-wheelers lead, cars catch up

Electric two-wheelers remain the biggest segment. Vahan-based data shows about 15.61 lakh were registered between January and September 2026, against roughly 9.61 lakh a year earlier. That has already passed the full-year 2025 figure. In September, electric models were around 11.5% of all two-wheeler registrations.

The growth came even after the end of a subsidy. The PM E-Drive two-wheeler subsidy expired on 31 July. Even so, India sold 1,83,204 electric two-wheelers in August, up 67% from a year earlier, according to Finnovate.

Electric cars are a smaller base but growing faster. Registrations rose from 18,537 in September 2025 to 35,866 in September 2026, a 93% increase, according to EV Electree’s reading of Vahan data. Tata, Mahindra and JSW MG together held about 77% of September’s electric-car registrations. Note that different trackers count slightly different vehicle sets, and Vahan figures are often revised, so small differences between sources are normal.

What this means for India

Registrations are retail sales recorded on the government’s Vahan portal, so they show real buyers rather than factory dispatches. The growth is led by two-wheelers, the vehicles most Indian households use. It has continued after the PM E-Drive two-wheeler subsidy ended. Cars are a small but fast-growing part of the market. A Finnovate analysis notes that India is scaling EV sales faster than it is scaling domestic battery-cell manufacturing. That makes the supply chain the next test.

What to watch next

Two-wheeler incumbents are gaining ground. TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, Ather Energy and Hero MotoCorp together held roughly 76% of electric two-wheeler registrations in September. In cars, the market is widening beyond one maker as more brands add volume. October and November, which include the festive season, will show whether the 13% share holds without the two-wheeler subsidy.