With its Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model Tata Motors just redrew the EV battle lines, says Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com
Kerala has overtaken more industrialised states in personal electric vehicle adoption, driven by strong middle-class uptake, policy support, and charging infrastructure.
Six months after its India debut, the Vietnamese automaker has overtaken established players such as Hyundai Motor, BMW, Kia, and Chinese EV major BYD.
Electric vehicle (EV) penetration in the luxury car segment has seen a drop by nearly 3 percentage points in the GST 2.0 era with the internal combustion engine versions offering better total cost of ownership, according to industry players. While the trend is also visible in the mass market segment, it is the entry luxury segment that is witnessing a more marked shift towards internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles as price difference between EV and ICE widened under the new GST rates.
Electric vehicle (EV) retail sales surged 16.37 per cent year-on-year to 22,70,107 units in 2025, driven by a 77 per cent jump in electric passenger car sales, according to data released by dealers' body FADA on Wednesday. The EV makers had recorded a total sales of 19,50,727 units in 2024, the Federation of Automobile Dealers' Association (FADA) said.
Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) recorded the sharpest acceleration among large players, with EV retail jumping to 33,513 units from 7,139 units, an almost 5-fold jump, aided by strong demand for new launches.
Maruti Suzuki India plans to localise battery production and other critical components over the next few years as part of strengthening the overall EV ecosystem in the country. The company, which plans to launch its first electric vehicle - e VITARA in the domestic market next year, is looking to instill confidence in the buyers as it looks to strengthen the overall EV ecosystem.
Toyota on January 20, 2026, officially entered India's mass electric vehicle segment with the maiden launch of the Toyota Urban Cruiser Ebella in Mumbai.
JSW MG Motor India will launch four new models this year, and is planning to invest between 3,000 crore-4,000 crore in the country over the next couple of years. The new models include a plug-in hybrid, an electric vehicle, the Majestor SUV and one additional model yet to be disclosed.
While GST on ICE vehicles was brought down significantly, for electric cars it remained at 5 per cent.
French automotive component maker Valeo on Wednesday said it will invest over Rs 2,150 crore in India and treble its annual sales in the country to around Rs 7,510 crore by 2028.
EV manufacturers point out that converting a regular petrol car into a flex-fuel vehicle requires only about Rs 17,000-25,000 per unit, whereas developing an EV demands vastly greater investments in research, battery development, and localisation.
India's electric passenger vehicle (ePV) market has expanded sharply over the past five years, with registrations rising from just 3,252 units in 2020 to about 170,000 in 2025. Throughout this scale-up, southern states have remained the bedrock of adoption, consistently contributing around one-third of national electric vehicle (EV) registrations - emphasising the region's role as the structural backbone of India's EV transition.
Maruti Suzuki sold more cars than ever before, earned more money, and saw many first-time buyers choosing small cars again.
Two-wheeler (2W) major Bajaj Auto on Friday posted its highest ever quarterly revenue and profit during the third quarter of 2025-26 (Q3FY26). Bajaj Auto's consolidated net profit for the quarter grew by 25 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 2,749 crore, with the revenue also growing 23 per cent to Rs 16,204 crore.
GSM, which is potentially eyeing a Hong Kong listing and was recently valued at $20 billion, operates on a distinct model -- it owns the e-taxis and employs the drivers, while also supplying cars to independent drivers or fleet operators.
Toyota's first standalone electric SUV, the Urban Cruiser Ebella, delivers strong range and performance with premium quality, but rear space and features could have been better, says Somnath Chatterjee.
India's electric two-wheeler (e2W) manufacturers have urged the government to extend subsidies under the PM E-Drive (Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement) scheme beyond March 2026, cautioning that a withdrawal could slow near-term demand even as confidence in long-term electric mobility adoption remains intact.
The share of first-time luxury customers in BMW's portfolio has risen sharply -- from around 43 per cent in 2024 to nearly 49 per cent in 2025. In some models, the figure is even higher.
What items did Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman make cheaper?
Jaguar Land Rover will begin assembling premium cars at its new Tamil Nadu plant on February 9, marking a step towards full-scale luxury car manufacturing in India.
The tariff removal will lower prices of Harley's large-displacement imported motorcycles, which retail between 14.5 lakh and 45.8 lakh but after the duty cut volumes are expected to remain modest.
Is the parabolic rise in silver running out of steam or just getting started? Ramalingam Kalirajan offers his take on if you should invest in silver now?
Grant Thornton Bharat's latest survey indicates that hybrids are set to consolidate market share this festive season, bridging the gap between conventional petrol engines and the emerging electric vehicle segment.
Automobile retail sales rose nearly 18 per cent year-on-year to over 27 lakh units in January, led by continued post-GST momentum, healthy rural cash flows on the back of harvest and weddings, and sustained demand visibility across freight, dealer's body FADA said on Tuesday.
The India-EU free trade deal could help Indian-made cars enter Europe at lower costs and challenge Chinese dominance.
Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers breathed a sigh of relief after the GST Council on Wednesday night retained the concessional 5 per cent rate on EVs, though they now face competition from small petrol and diesel cars, which will attract a lower 18 per cent levy.
The fiscal tilt towards capex benefits companies in investment-related sectors like capital goods, defence equipment, engineering & construction and metal & mining. The planned cut in revenue expenditure will weigh on companies in consumption sectors like FMCG, consumer durables and retail.
VinFast's VF6 storms into India as the most affordable electric SUV above 4 metres, packing premium features, 468km range, and free charging till 2028 to disrupt the EV market, observes Somnath Chatterjee.
India may see its busiest EV festive season in 2025 with SUVs, luxury cars and scooters set to launch, but rare-earth supply bottlenecks risk delaying rollouts.
The XEV 9S is poised to disrupt the market, specifically with its entry-level variant called the 'Pack One Above', which offers a level of equipment rarely seen in base models, writes Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com.
Tata Motors' commercial-vehicle (CV) business reported a 48 per cent year-on-year decline in net profit to Rs 705 crore in Q3FY26, even as profit before tax (PBT) rose 65 per cent to Rs 2,568 crore.
Bajaj Auto is planning a slow, calibrated push to take the Chetak, its electric scooter, to more than 100 countries on the strength of its distributor network and market-specific localisation rather than an aggressive global rollout, reports Sohini Das.
Starting January, the market is expected to welcome models like the Tata Punch 2025 which is expected to be around 6 lakh, Mahindra BE 07 EV around 29 lakh, Maruti WagonR Electric around 8.5 lakh, Toyota 3-Row SUV around 14 lakh, and Volkswagen Tera to be around 8 lakh.
Leading automakers Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hyundai Motor India posted higher sales in January riding on the growth momentum ushered in by the GST reforms in the festive period last year.
From EV bus expansion to airport-like terminals and rural connectivity, Uttar Pradesh is overhauling public transport to cut pollution and ensure every village has modern, affordable travel, reports Siddharth Kalhans.
China has filed a complaint against India in the World Trade Organization (WTO) over New Delhi's subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries. Commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that the ministry will look at the detailed submissions made by China.
Network scale seen as central to tapping smaller markets.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the signing of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA), saying it accounts for 25 per cent of global GDP and one-third of global trade.
'Given that the population is almost evenly split, the Indian economy cannot grow without women participating in the workforce.' 'While women's participation has increased, it is still well below 40 per cent,' says Kartik Narayan, CEO of the professional networking and jobs platform, Apna.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances