India's EV retails smash record at 3,54,625 units in October, up 45%

India's electric vehicle retail counter cracked a new record in October. FADA data released Friday shows total EV sales hitting 3,54,625 units, a 45% climb from the 2,44,764 units retailed in the same month a year earlier. FADA President Sai Giridhar called it an all-time high, with penetration jumping to roughly 11.5% of the market from about 6% a year ago.

Electric two-wheelers did the heavy lifting. The segment moved 2,24,064 units, up 48.49% from 1,50,890 in the year-ago month, and its share of the overall two-wheeler market doubled — 9.7% versus 4.7% before. Giridhar flagged it as a best-ever October for e-two-wheelers.

Four-wheelers went even harder. Electric passenger vehicle retails reached 37,049 units, up 76.47% from 20,995, lifting their market share to 7.3% from 3.5%. Electric three-wheelers grew 24.76% to 88,570 units from 70,995, and that category is now close to 63% electric. Electric commercial vehicles also surged, landing at 4,492 units against 1,884 a year earlier.

Giridhar said demand is now outrunning supply. With petrol and diesel prices still elevated, better driving ranges and EV sticker prices increasingly matching comparable combustion models, he argued buyer pull has strengthened to the point where availability — not demand — is the binding constraint.

The broader mix is shifting too. As buyers gravitate toward CNG, hybrid and electric options, alternative fuels once again edged past petrol in the passenger vehicle mix. Giridhar called the broad-based move toward cleaner mobility, holding up even in a base-distorted month, one of the most encouraging structural signals in Indian auto retail right now.