Electric vehicles accounted for almost 6% of all new car sales in April as car buyers opted for battery-powered vehicles amid fears of fuel price hikes due to the West Asia war.

The share of electric vehicles in the passenger vehicle segment rose to record 5.7% in April 2026, up from 3.7% in April 2025 and 5.1% in March 2026, according to data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA).

The share of diesel-powered vehicles fell marginally to 17.39% in April 2026 compared with 18.85% in April 2025 and 18.33% in March 2026. Petrol-powered vehicles also witnessed a decline year over year as car buyers switched to compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered vehicles.

The record EV penetration comes at a time when car buyers have been anticipating a fuel price hike due to the West Asia war. India’s biggest electric car maker, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles (TMPV), witnessed a 92% year-on-year jump in EV sales due to the West Asia war. TMPV recorded registrations of 8,536 EVs in April 2026 compared with 4,436 EVs sold in the same month last year, according to VAHAN data.

Mahindra & Mahindra’s electric car sales zoomed 74% year-on-year to 5,192 units in April, buoyed by the launch of a slew of new models including the XEV 9S earlier this year.

JSW MG Motor India saw its EV sales jump rise 45% year-on-year to 5,006 units in April.

Sales of EVs were also bolstered by newer entrants in the market. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, which launched the e-Vitara earlier in 2026, recorded sales of 1,230 EVs in April. Vietnamese carmaker VinFast clocked 1,232 EV registrations.

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor India, which sells the Creta EV and the Ioniq 5 EVs in India, clocked registrations of 516 electric cars in April.

Overall passenger vehicle retail sales in April rose 12.21% year-on-year to 4,07,355 units, as per FADA. Rural car sales grew 20.40%, nearly three times the urban pace of 7.11%.

“This confirms the structural broadening of personal mobility into Tier-3 and rural India, supported by a small-car revival, sustained SUV demand and a richer alternative-powertrain product mix where CNG share held firm at 22.62% and EV share improved further to 5.77%,” said FADA Vice President Sai Giridhar.

Published on: May 5, 2026 12:09 PM IST