Electric 3W industry scales new high in FY2025 but misses 700,000 milestone by 900 units

So near, yet so far. Just like the overall Indian EV industry, which missed the 2-million retail sales mark by a whisker in FY2025, the electric three-wheeler industry has fallen short of the 700,000-units milestone by just 927 units. At 699,073 units sold, year-on-year growth for this segment was 11% (FY2024: 632,642 units) and accounted for a commanding 57% share of the total 12,20,979 three-wheelers (across all powertrains) sold in India in FY2025. The e-3W segment is also the one which has, for the past three years, witnessed the highest level of transition from ICE to e-mobility with every second unit being a zero-emission model.

The e-3W industry averaged monthly sales of 58,256 units in FY2025 compared to 52,720 units in FY2024. In CY2024, it missed the 700,000 milestone by 8,989 units and in FY2025 by a much smaller margin of less than 1,000 units.   

However, compared to FY2024 which saw robust 57% YoY growth and an additional 200,000 units sold, FY2025’s performance is much slower – 11% and an additional 66,431 units. While the incentive to buy an electric three-wheeler remains strong, particularly in view of the lower cost of ownership (compared to IC engine, CNG and LPG options), the reduced subsidy compared to the FAME II scheme seems to have impacted demand.

The PM E-Drive scheme, valid from October 1, 2024 till March 31, 2026, offers the same subsidy as in the EMPS for the first year, and half of that in the second year. The PM E-Drive scheme incentivises purchase of 320,000 commercial e-three-wheelers. E-three-wheelers including e-rickshaws, get a subsidy of Rs 25,000 in the first year and Rs 12,500 in the second year. For the L5 category (cargo e-three-wheelers), the incentive is Rs 50,000 per unit in the first year and Rs 25,000 in the second.Electric 3Ws accounted for 57% of total 3W sales in FY2025 compared to 54% in FY2024. Demand for CNG 3Ws, which had a 28% share and down from 31% in FY2024, fell 4% YoY. Sales of diesel and LPG 3Ws saw an increase.

E3W SALES WITNESS SLOWER GROWTH IN FY2025
Of all the vehicle segments, it is the electric three-wheeler industry which is witnessing the fastest transition to electric mobility. Every second three-wheeler sold in India is now a zero-emission model as a result of which 57% of all three-wheelers sold last fiscal were electric. As the data table above depicts, CNG-powered three-wheelers, at 340,609 units (down 4% YoY), are the next highest and have a 28% share of the overall 3W market, and are followed by diesel (138,555 units, 11% share), LPG (33,691 units, 3% share) and petrol (8,910 units, 1% share).

Like the e-two-wheeler industry, there’s fierce competition too in this segment, albeit amongst the Top 6 players – Mahindra Last Mile Mobility (MLMM), Bajaj Auto, YC Electric Vehicles, Saera Electric Auto, Dilli Electric Auto and Piaggio Vehicles. The Top 10 OEMs, which comprise these six along with Mini Metro, Energy EV, Unique International and Hotage India, together sold 288,302 units or 41% of total sales in FY2025. However, the real battle is being fought at podium level between Mahindra Last Mile Mobility, Bajaj Auto and YC Electric Vehicles.

SHAKEOUT UNDERWAY AS LEGACY PLAYERS MAKE STRONG GAINS
Compared to the electric two-wheeler market which has only a few legacy players (TVS, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, and Suzuki India), the electric 3W industry has eight – Mahindra & Mahindra, Kinetic Group, Atul Auto, Piaggio Vehicles, Omega Seiki, Bajaj Auto, Murugappa Group and TVS Motor Co. Other than these well-established legacy OEMs, the e-3W segment is currently populated by small and medium enterprises and the Vahan website lists the total number at nearly 600 players!

Given the fact that the bulk of the market, mainly passenger models, remains an unorganised one the entry of well-established legacy OEMs is now having an impact in the market. While MLMM already has a strong footprint, the entry of Bajaj Auto (in June 2023) as also the Murugappa Group’s TI Clean Mobility, and more recently TVS Motor Co has seen a shift in demand dynamics. Twenty-three of the Top 50 e3W OEMs have seen their sales decline YoY in FY2025. These include six OEMs from the Top 10 list – Saera Electric (No. 4), Dilli Electric (No. 5), Piaggio Vehicles (No. 6), Mini Metro (No. 7), Unique International (NO. 9) and Hotage India (No. 10).

In FY2025, e3W market leader Mahindra Last Mile Mobility (MLMM) maintained its position with sales of 69,588 units, up 15% YoY (FY2024: 60,592 units) and an additional 8,996 units. This gives it a market share of 10%, the same as in FY2024. The company’s EV portfolio comprises the Treo, Treo Plus, Treo Zor, Treo Yaari, Zor Grand, e-Alfa Plus and e-Alfa Cargo which cater to multiple mobility operations in the passenger and cargo domains.

Bajaj Auto, which entered the e3W market a little less than two years ago, has risen rapidly to take the No. 2 position, behind Mahindra. In fact, the company, which is India’s No. 1 3W manufacturer and exporter, has jumped 11 ranks in FY2025 to take the podium position. In FY2025, the company sold 50,779 units, which is a handsome 367% YoY increase and gives it a 7% market share. In FY2024, Bajaj Auto had sold 10,885 units and was ranked No. 13.  Bajaj Auto has two products – the RE E-Tec 9.0 passenger EV and Maxima XL Cargo E-Tec 12.0 in the fray. The Maxima XL Cargo E-Tec 12.0, which develops 5.5 kW power and 36 Nm, has a bigger battery and higher range of 183km per charge than the RE E-Tec 9.0 passenger model. In February 2025, Bajaj Auto launched the GoGo e3W brand designed to redefine last-mile mobility, for both passenger and cargo operations. Key highlights are a best-in-class range of 248km, a 5-year battery warranty, and first-in-class tech features like auto hazard and anti-roll detection.

YC Electric, the longstanding No. 2 e-three-wheeler OEM, has lost its position to a hard-charging Bajaj Auto as a result of much slower growth: 44,632 units, up 4% YoY (FY2024: 42,753 units). This performance gives the company, which has five products – the Yatri Super, Yatri Deluxe and Yatri for passenger duties and E-Loader and Yatri Cart for cargo operations – a market share of 6.38%, below MLMM’s 10% and 1% below above Bajaj Auto’s 7.26 percent.

The Haryana-based Dilli Electric Auto manufactures electric rickshaws, a category which is now under pressure as legacy players target sales with better-built, safer products. Dilli Electric sold 24,207 units in FY2025, down 7% YoY (FY2024: 26,163 units).

Piaggio Vehicles is ranked sixth with total retail sales of 18,457 units, down 26% YoY – that’s 6,455 fewer units than FY2024’s 24,912 units. As a result, Piaggio’s e3W market share is down to 2.64% from 4% in FY2024. The company’s Apé E-City FX Max passenger model (with 145km range) and Apé E-Xtra FX Max cargo carrier (115km range) are fully assembled by an all-women team at its Baramati factory in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, in a manner akin to Bajaj Auto’s speedy growth in the e3W industry, Murugappa Group company TI Green Mobility (Montra Electric) is fast climbing up the ranks. The company, which had entered the e3W market in July 2023, clocked annual sales of 6,089 units in FY2024, up 115% on FY2024’s 2,832 units, to take the No. 24 rank. 

TVS Motor Co, which has forayed into the e3W market only recently, as per the latest Vahan data, has retailed 1,692 units in FY2025. 

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