After a 50% jump in April sales, electric two-wheeler (E2W) makers are expected to sustain strong growth momentum in the coming months as concerns over fuel shortages, a likely rise in petrol prices due to the ongoing Gulf war, and government messaging around conservative fuel usage drive a shift in consumer behaviour.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to use petrol, diesel and gas with “great restraint”, calling it the “need of the hour” amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, which has raised concerns over disruption of fuel supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route.
“Government messaging around fuel conservation adds to a broader concern around rising fuel costs that has been gaining ground,” said Poonam Upadhyay, Director, Crisil Ratings. She added that while public appeals rarely influence purchase decisions, the bigger concern is that absorbing the widening gap between global crude prices and domestic retail fuel prices is becoming increasingly difficult for state-owned oil marketing companies.
“If retail fuel prices are eventually allowed to reflect that reality, the case for E2W only gets stronger and could in turn lead to a meaningful uptick in inquiries and conversions,” she added.
Leading OEMs have also acknowledged the shift in consumer behaviour amid the ongoing oil supply chain concerns. Ather Energy CEO Tarun Mehta said the oil crisis, even though it has not yet translated into higher petrol prices, could create a bigger demand upside for both Ather Energy and the broader E2W industry.
“Even without that, just the LPG crisis itself I think has put this question in the mind of every customer that maybe it is electric and electricity which is the most reliable commodity,” Mehta said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call last week.
He explained that the company is seeing a shift in consumer thinking from “if you’re buying an electric, then at least keep one petrol in the family, one petrol vehicle” to “well, you can have all vehicles, but at least keep one electric vehicle in the family, for that rainy day.” “So I think there is a larger shift underway here,” Mehta added.
The Bengaluru-based EV maker on Monday said its family scooter Rizta has crossed the 3 lakh-unit sales milestone within two years of launch. Rizta had crossed the 2 lakh-unit mark in December 2025 and added the next 1 lakh units in just five months, underlining growing demand for family electric scooters among cost-conscious consumers.
The growth momentum for electric two-wheeler industry comes after the industry opened FY27 on a strong note, with registrations rising 52% year-on-year to 141,000 units in April despite selective price hikes by OEMs due to rising raw material costs, stemming from the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Ather Energy, for instance, took price hikes of around ₹1,000-1,500 during the fourth quarter.
Crisil’s Upadhyay said a long-term shift in consumer preference towards E2Ws would depend more on the trajectory of fuel prices than government messaging. “How this plays out over medium term will depend largely on how global supply situation evolves and consequent direction of domestic fuel prices,” she added.
Meanwhile, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has ruled out any sudden increase in fuel prices.