New Delhi: In a big turnaround for the Indian two-wheeler market, legacy manufacturers have managed to have a better grip on the electric vehicle sub-segment,
with startup dominance ending. TVS Motors, Bajaj Auto, and Hero MotoCorp have gone past as of January 2026, taking 60 per cent of the segment as per automotive market research firm Jato Dynamics. Back in 2023, the number had stood at 34 per cent.
The shift has caught pace in the past year, highlighting how the market is making a rapid disruption towards consolidation driven through scale, execution and reliability. The startups made the segment and had captured early adopters, but the heavyweights are now pulling in the mainstream buyers through leveraging deep distribution, after-sales networks and closely sequenced launches.
Industry experts have said that the change reflects the evolving priorities. With electric scooters moving beyond just a novelty factor and becoming more of a commuter for everyday, buyers are placing greater emphasis on reliability, service access and long-term ownership costs, areas where traditional OEMs have a structural advantage.
How TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto performed in the two-wheeler EV
In the early parts of 2026, the electric two-wheeler has shifted from a start-up disruption phase to the dominating manufacturers, especially TVS and Bajaj Auto.
Competition has intensified, but rather than aggressive pricing, it is now about portfolio depth, manufacturing stability, and customer experience. TVS Motor has emerged as a beneficiary with their EV strategy, mixing steady capacity expansion with a widening product portfolio, allowing them to serve multiple customer segments.
Following the brand’s Q3 FY26 results, CEO and director of TVS Motor, KM Radhakrishnan, had said that the demand was strong for both flagship iQube and the recently introduced Orbiter, which targets a different set of buyers.
In the December 2025 quarter, the brand sold above 100,000 electric scooters for the same time, despite supply-side disruptions earlier in the year. Experts believe that it highlights the advantage of TVS’s distribution reach as volumes scale up.
Bajaj Auto too have shown an impressive comeback after addressing earlier battery pack supply issues that had disrupted production. Once supply normalised and manufacturing volume climbed, sales surged in the December quarter, allowing the brand to reclaim the second spot in the electric scooter segment. Bajaj has also widened the Chetak lineup by bringing a more accessible trim targeted at younger riders and women, enhancing their reach while continuing to focus on dependability and value.
While electric two-wheelers still make up a modest portion of India’s wide two-wheeler market, penetration is steadily increasing. Adoption is being driven by advances in both battery safety and longevity, a much wider service and dealership network, and growing buyer confidence in resale prospects and overall ownership costs. Meanwhile, the PM E-DRIVE scheme announced in Budget 2026, which focuses on localisation and domestic value addition. This is being seen as structurally advantageous for manufacturers with strong, integrated supply chains.
Industry analysts further have noted that apart from accelerating domestic demand, the evolving policy landscape could further bolster India’s ambitions of becoming a global export base for electric two-wheelers by fostering scale, improving cost efficiency and encouraging export-led growth.
