In the first half of 2026, Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia operated on the periphery of India’s electric vehicle market, delivering a combined total of just 4,693 units in a total market of 150,000 units (merely 3% share). But strategic pricing adjustments and new models could lead to a turnaround in the second half of the year.
Hyundai’s main offering, the Creta Electric, registered modest H1CY26 sales of 2,181 units, with monthly dispatches slowing down to 244 units by June. But in July, Hyundai introduced the Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) ownership model, under which the entry price of the car dropped to Rs 10.99 lakh (ex-showroom), plus battery usage fee of Rs 3.9 per km, directly matching the price point of competitors like the Maruti Suzuki eVitara.
Kia India, which sold 2,471 EVs in H1CY26 (the Carens Clavis EV), is also expanding its footprint, and launched the Syros EV in late July, priced from Rs 13.5 lakh (or Rs 7.99 lakh under its BaaS structure).
With deliveries of the Syros EV starting in July, the model gives Kia a second high-volume EV alongside the Carens Clavis EV. Coupled with Hyundai’s revised BaaS pricing strategy for the Creta Electric, both Korean carmakers can record much stronger sales in H2CY26.
