Electric vehicles (EV) registrations in the month of April 2026 started on top gear. As per data by government portal Vahan, the first month of fiscal year 2027 saw 2.39 lakh EV registrations. In a year-on-year (YoY) comparison, EV registrations jumped by 41.4% versus 1.69 lakh registrations in April 2025. In a further segment wise breakdown, electric two wheeler sales rose by 21% at with registrations of 1.49 lakh units. Electric cars saw a jump of over 40% YoY with registrations of 23,227 units in the first of the new fiscal. Electric three wheelers registered a rise of 22% with registrations of 64,500 units.
Looking at the segment leaders in different categories, TVS led the chart in electric two wheeler registrations with 35,980 units, followed by Bajaj Auto at the second spot with 31,083 registrations. Ather was third with 25,861 registrations, followed by Hero and Ola with 14,198 units and 11,391 units respectively. In the electric cars segment, Tata Motors topped the chart with 8,501 registrations. Followed by Mahindra with 5,174 registrations and JSW MG Motor with 4,978 registrations. Latest EV entrant, India's largest auto company in terms of market share Maruti Suzuki saw 1,222 registrations.
As per ICRA, the increase in overall vehicle sales in April 2026 reflects sustained improvement in consumer sentiment in recent months, supported by a favourable base effect. Srikumar Krishnamurthy, Senior Vice President, Corporate Ratings, ICRA told NDTV Profit, "Demand was underpinned by continued momentum following GST 2.0, steady rural offtake aided by a good monsoon, wedding-season purchases (likely to extend through May), and limited price hikes by OEMs despite an uncertain global environment. These factors together supported higher retail volumes in April 2026."
Going forward, he believes, that while the underlying demand drivers remain supportive, rising cost pressures (including fuel prices) and the IMD's projection of an adverse monsoon (with a potential El Nino) could affect crop output and, consequently, rural demand thereby moderating vehicle sales growth in FY2027.
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"Following a strong FY2026, ICRA expects the PV and 2W segments to expand at low-to-mid single-digit YoY growth," said Krishnamurthy. ICRA also feels that EV demand, in addition to the broader drivers, also benefited from a gradual shift in customer preferences, as ICE operating costs remained uncertain amid volatility in crude oil prices, including in the context of developments in West Asia. This dynamic is expected to continue, supporting a further increase in EV penetration over the remainder of the year.
Saket Mehra, Partner and Automotive Industry Leader at GT Bharat told NDTV Profit, that the reported spike in EV registrations is beyond short-term sentiment-led growth. He said, "It reflects a pivot in consumer behaviour changing on the ground. With crude oil prices swinging sharply due to recent geopolitical conflicts, mobility economics have moved back into sharp focus."
"For many consumers and fleet operators, an EV is now a way to lock in operating costs rather than stay exposed to fuel volatility. That's a powerful shift, and it's reflected in April registrations coming off the strongest start to a financial year," said Mehra.
EV sales should remain structurally strong as per GT Bharat. The company is of the view, that even if crude prices soften, the market has crossed a threshold and growth will increasingly be driven by product value, ownership experience and energy security logic, not subsidies or short-term shocks alone
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