Just eight months into the current calendar year, India’s electric two-wheeler (E2W) registrations have surpassed the full-year sales of CY2025, setting a new annual record. The record volumes come as EVs move from early adopters to the mainstream, driven by expanding product choices, rising fuel prices and falling ownership costs.
According to Vahan data, E2W registrations between January and August have touched 1.35 million, surpassing the previous annual record of 1.34 million set in whole of CY2025.
“The strong growth in electric two-wheeler registrations indicates that the market is increasingly being driven by economics rather than subsidies,” said Poonam Upadhyay, Director, Crisil Ratings.
She added that the bigger shift has come from lower battery costs, which have narrowed the price gap with petrol scooters, while incumbent manufacturers have expanded their product offerings, service networks and financing options, improving consumer confidence in the category.
As per the registration data, the average monthly E2W sales have jumped to 168,377 vehicles so far this year, compared with 111,861 in the previous year. Going by the current monthly run rate and the upcoming festive season, E2W sales could cross the 2-million mark in the current calendar year, setting another new benchmark.
Upadhyay also said state-level policies are supporting adoption in some markets. Delhi’s recently approved EV policy, for example, provides incentives that are materially higher than the central subsidy and can meaningfully improve affordability for buyers.
Market Shifts
Legacy OEMs and new-age EV players are also stepping up their product offensive, with a slew of new launches and variants expected to further drive E2W sales. Ather Energy, for instance, on Saturday launched Konarc, its first mass-market product, priced aggressively at ₹99,999 to target entry-level ICE buyers.
Ather Energy chief executive Tarun Mehta says the EV industry is in the midst of a pretty massive change and pretty massive transformation. He attributes the increasing EV adoption to four macros shifts including the government’s call for electrification of transportion, incentive supports like PM E-DRIVE and concerns on petrol and diesel post West Asia crisis. “Every demand proxy that you can think of is inflecting upwards,” Mehta said during the first quarter earnings call.
Industry registrations also support this argument. TVS Motor, the country’s largest E2W seller, has registered 3,53,637 units till August, surpassing its full-year tally of 3,15,111 in CY2025. Bajaj Auto, Ather Energy and Hero MotoCorp have all surpassed their full-year tallies of 2025 in just eight months. Ola Electric is the only laggard, selling 93,025 units against 2,04,542 units in CY2025.
Production Constraints
The strong demand has also outpaced production across leading brands. Ather Energy, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor have all announced expansion of their facilities to keep pace with the momentum, even as delivery timelines have stretched to as much as two months from around two weeks earlier for leading OEMs.
Crisil’s Upadhyay says the next stage of growth will be determined less by incentives and more by convenience. According to her, the central incentive under PM E-DRIVE now accounts for only about 3-5% of a vehicle’s cost, making it far less influential than a few years ago.
“As adoption moves beyond early adopters, consumers will increasingly evaluate EVs not just on purchase price but on the confidence of finding a charging point when needed,” Upadhyay says, adding that faster expansion of charging infrastructure, alongside further decline in battery costs will be critical in supporting broader and more sustained adoption.
