ICE roars back as tax cuts, festive discounts skip EVs

EV sales rose in Oct, but share of sales slips as more vehicles were sold overall

- Ayaan Kartik

There's an interesting twist in this story, though perhaps not entirely unexpected.

As buyers thronged showrooms in October in the thousands to snap up petrol and diesel cars after steep GST (goods and services tax) cuts, electric vehicles (EVs)-which didn't get a tax break-ended up as collateral damage.

Data released by the top dealers' body, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada) on Friday showed that during the month, the total share of EVs sold-across scooters, bikes and cars-fell to its lowest level in the current financial year.

The share of electric twowheelers sold dropped to 4.56% in October from 8.09% in September, while electric fourwheelers fell to 3.24% from 5.12%. These are the lowest levels in months-last seen at around 4% for two-wheelers in April 2024 and 3% for four-wheelers in February 2025.

Conversely, the share of conventional fuel or ICE (internal

combustion engine) vehicles sold increased sharply in October compared to Septemberfrom 91.71% to 95.31% for twowheelers, and from 65.61% to 68.1% for four-wheelers.

In September, the GST Council cut taxes for ICE two-wheelers and four-wheelers from 28% to 18% for many categories. However, EVs, which were already taxed at a low 5%, were left untouched. That decision also narrowed the price gap between EVs and ICE vehicles significantly.