Electric Vehicle Sales Nearly Double in July Amid Rising Fuel Prices

New Delhi | Mumbai: Electric car sales nearly doubled from a year earlier in July, sustaining their robust growth momentum, as sharply higher fuel prices due to the US-Iran war pushed consumers towards more affordable means of personal transportation.

As many as 31,788 electric vehicles (EVs) were sold in July, an 82% surge from 17,509 units a year earlier, per data from the road ministry's Vahan portal.

Ramping Up Capacity

The strong performance boosted the share of electrics in new car sales to 7.8% last month, from 5% in July 2025, and 4% in calendar 2025.

Total car sales comprising petrol, diesel, EV and CNG models grew 18% last month.

Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer (marketing and sales) at Maruti Suzuki said bookings for the electric SUV e-Vitara have doubled since the start of the war on February 28. “We are getting more than 4,000 bookings every month (against monthly production capacity of 2,000 units),” he said, adding with the fourth assembly line coming onstream at Maruti’s factory in Hansalpur, Gujarat, last week, the company would be able to ramp up EV supplies in the coming months.

Emphasising that Maruti Suzuki also needs to meet its export commitments, Banerjee said production teams “are working round the clock to ramp up capacity and balance supplies (between domestic and international demand).”

Atul Sood, senior vice president, marketing and sales at Kia India said, “In wake of the Gulf crisis and the subsequent impact of fuel prices, there has definitely been an improvement in demand for EVs.”

To cash in on the potential, Kia last month introduced Syros EV, its second electric model in the mainstream segment.

Shailesh Chandra, managing director at Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility said electric car demand is continuing to outstrip supply, leaving the automaker constrained by component availability.

“In EVs... there is quite a wide gap between demand and supply,” he said in a recent interaction, highlighting a 20% sequential growth in sales every month.

Overall, India’s leading carmakers from Tata Motors to Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Maruti Suzuki together sold on average 28,543 EVs every month since the start of the war, compared to 16,956 every month between October 2025 and February 2026.

Tata Motors continued its leadership of India’s EV market with a 43% share in July, up from 38% in March 2026. M&M, JSW MG Motor India, and Maruti Suzuki followed with shares of 24%, 18% and 5%, respectively.

Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director and chief executive officer (auto and farm equipment sectors) at M&M said concerns around EV reliability, driving range, and inadequate charging network are fading, making buyers less price sensitive.

“The barriers are disappearing, and the real savings are tangible,” he said during M&M’s post-earnings analyst call Thursday, adding that once EV penetration reaches 20-25%, “price sensitivity will be much lesser” as positive consumer experience drives wider adoption.

Industry experts expect nearly a million electric cars to be sold annually by the turn of this decade, an exponential growth from 176,817 units in CY2025.