India’s electric passenger-vehicle registrations surged 51.3% year on year to 29,687 units in August 2026 from 19,622 in August 2025, but fell 12% from 33,746 units in July as a high base and pre-festive purchase delays produced a seasonal correction, while long waiting periods and supply-side constraints restricted some manufacturers from fully capitalising on demand.
grew 61% year on year to 12,984 units from 8,063 and No. 2 rose 53.8% to 6,367 from 4,139, while MG Motor bucked the expanding market with an 18.7% decline to 4,568 from 5,616.
The month-on-month picture exposed a different competitive dynamic. Tata registrations fell 9.6% from 14,355 units in July, compared with Mahindra’s sharper 21.2% decline from 8,085 and MG’s 23% drop from 5,931. Tata’s lead over Mahindra consequently widened to 6,617 vehicles in August from 6,270 in July.
New entrants gain ground
The August correction was far from uniform. VinFast registrations jumped 43.5% month on month to 2,196 units from 1,530, rose 34.2% to 797 from 594 and Toyota gained 29.8% to 161 from 124. Kia also bucked the decline, rising 5.1% to 637 units from 606.
At the other end, BYD fell 32.5% to 542 units from 803, while Maruti Suzuki declined 16.5% to 1,391 from 1,665. The divergence meant that even as the three largest electric-PV makers—Tata, Mahindra and MG—declined sequentially, several smaller or newer players gained registrations.
Industry executives and analysts see the August decline more as a seasonal correction than evidence of structural weakness in electric-PV demand. Buyers tend to defer some purchases ahead of festive offers and auspicious buying periods, while July’s stronger registrations created a high comparison base.
Supply has emerged as another constraint on how quickly demand can translate into registrations. Waiting periods for some popular electric models have stretched to several months and as high as six months in some cases, restricting manufacturers’ ability to take full advantage of demand. Production availability and the timing of deliveries can therefore influence monthly registrations even when customer interest remains strong.
EV penetration stays above last year
Hemal Thakkar, Senior Practice Leader and Senior Director, CRISIL Intelligence, said “the month-on-month moderation followed a high July base. Underlying EV demand remains supported by increasing consumer acceptance, wider model availability and sustained adoption momentum,”
The August correction pulled electric-PV penetration down to 7.61% from 8.07% in July, but it remained well above the 5.78% recorded in August 2025, a gain of about 1.8 percentage points in a year.