India's Electric Two-Wheeler Retail Hits Record High in October, Market Share Dynamics Shift

Festive demand propelled India’s electric two-wheeler registrations to an all-time monthly peak of 2,23,886 units in October, surpassing the previous high of 2,19,724 units recorded in October 2024 by 1.9 per cent. According to Vahan data, registrations rose 8.4 per cent from 2,06,500 units in October last year and marked the third month this year that registrations crossed the two-lakh mark.

Despite the overall volume growth, the competitive landscape among manufacturers underwent notable shifts. TVS Motor Company widened its lead over Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp closed the gap with Ather Energy, and Ola Electric recorded a consecutive decline in registrations. Overall electric two-wheeler penetration declined to 9.65 per cent from 11.58 per cent in September as conventional two-wheelers experienced faster growth.

Total two-wheeler registrations jumped 28.7 per cent to 23,20,139 units in October. Non-electric registrations increased by 31.5 per cent, indicating that conventional motorcycles and scooters captured a larger share of the festive demand. During the January–October period, cumulative electric two-wheeler registrations reached 17,96,566 units, accounting for 9.40 per cent of overall two-wheeler retail.

In company-specific figures, TVS Motor retained its lead for the tenth consecutive month with 60,433 units in October, an 11.1 per cent increase from September. Its lead over second-placed Bajaj Auto widened to 11,365 units. Bajaj registrations edged up 0.7 per cent to 49,068 units, reducing its market share to 21.92 per cent from 23.35 per cent, while TVS increased its share to 26.99 per cent.

The competition for third place intensified as Hero MotoCorp registered 29,936 units—a 22.5 per cent jump—bringing it close to Ather Energy, which registered 31,795 units. Ather's lead over Hero shrank to 1,859 units. TVS and Hero together contributed 11,524 additional registrations, accounting for nearly 76 per cent of the industry's net monthly increase.

Meanwhile, Ola Electric's registrations fell 10.1 per cent to 12,096 units, marking its fourth consecutive monthly decline and lowering its market share to 5.40 per cent. Greaves Electric Mobility registered 10,838 units, narrowing Ola's lead to 1,258 units. River also reported growth, with registrations rising 20.3 per cent to 6,796 units.

For the ten-month period from January to October, TVS led the market with 4,72,367 registrations, followed by Bajaj at 4,03,459 units, Ather at 2,93,834 units, Hero at 2,02,685 units, and Ola at 1,20,027 units. Industry stakeholders noted that while October's peak highlights expanding scale, translating higher sales into sustained market-share gains remains a challenge as conventional vehicles continue to dominate broader market recovery.

"The October retail figures highlight a crucial phase for the Indian electric two-wheeler sector. While festive demand has pushed volumes to a record peak, the faster growth of conventional motorcycles and scooters indicates that ICE vehicles still hold strong command over the broader market. For EV manufacturers, the path forward requires not just capitalizing on seasonal spikes, but steadily improving affordability, expanding after-sales networks, and building deeper consumer trust beyond urban centers to secure long-term market penetration." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes