Electric Take-off

Automakers are sharpening their competitive edge to take each other on in a contest that will shape the electric car market in the country

- Ayaan Kartik

The wait is over, Maruti Suzuki announced before unveiling their first all-electric car in the Indian market at the Bharat Mobility Expo in the national capital earlier this year. Maruti Suzuki was not the only one. At the country's biggest auto expo, electric vehicles (EVs) took centrestage with some of the biggest names in the industry—Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), JSW MG Motor and Hyundai—showcasing their new offerings. The signal is clear: competition in the electric four-wheeler segment is about to get tight.

Companies are gearing up as well. Tata Motors managing director Shailesh Chandra said on the sidelines of the mobility expo that increasing competition would be a net positive for the industry. But it comes with a caveat. "Competition should lead to market expansion. If the market does not expand, it will be a challenge for all the players," he said.

Meanwhile, stakeholders are waiting to see how market expansion pans out. Last year was not a good one for the passenger vehicle (PV) segment in the country. Numbers with the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada) show that PV sales grew by 5% last year compared to over 10% in 2023.

And while PV sales posted sluggish growth, EV sales rose 20% to touch nearly 1 lakh in 2024. This also makes it clear why automakers are turning to EVs. Though electric car sales accounted for only 2.5% of all PV sales in the country in 2024, by the financial year 2030, the industry sees it reaching 15–20%.

Competition Gets Tight

For 40 years, Maruti Suzuki consistently held the record for the highest-selling car. Then came Tata Motors with its sports utility vehicle (SUV) Tata Punch. The model emerged as the bestseller in 2024, with 2.02 lakh sales. Maruti Suzuki’s WagonR followed in the second place with 1.91 lakh units.