Power shift

From breakout growth to a cautious consolidation, India's electric two-wheeler market enters a defining phase

- BY NITIN S.J. ASARIPARAMBIL

In March 2026, Ola Electric became the first Indian electric vehicle maker to cross 10 lakh units in sales—a milestone for a sector that, not too long ago, was seen as experimental.

The transformation is visible on the streets, with electric scooters zipping past in every direction. Yet the industry's mood is anything but triumphant. Even as Ola Electric celebrated its landmark, it was also reckoning with a bruising period of brand damage and declining market share. A question hangs over the sector: has India’s EV two-wheeler market truly matured, or is it merely catching its breath before the next sprint?

Praveen A., researcher and assistant professor in mechanical engineering at an institute under Kerala’s APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, describes the current moment as a “conversion stage”. Electric scooters are no longer a novelty, and the Indian middle class is shifting from early adoption into a period of technical refinement and consumer hesitation. Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola Electric's founder, managing director and chairman, agrees that the market is entering a “tougher, more mature phase”.

The numbers bear this out. Data from the government's VAHAN portal show EV two-wheeler sales plateauing at between 1.1 lakh and 1.2 lakh vehicles a month throughout 2025, even as cumulative adoption continued to climb. Overall EV scooter registrations for 2025 crossed 13 lakh vehicles. It was 12 lakh in 2024.

Praveen attributes the muted growth partly to customers awaiting a paradigm shift in battery technology. The EV industry moved swiftly from lead-acid to NCM (Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese) cells and lithium-ion batteries. China’s BYD has unveiled a more efficient architecture using flatter lithium ferrophosphate cells, called blade battery. But bringing that technology to two-wheelers is not as straightforward as it sounds.