Demand for zero-emission passenger vehicles rose 20% to a record high in CY2024, a year which saw market leader Tata Motors impacted by rivals and its e-PV share reduce to 62% compared to 73% in CY2023. While JSW MG Motor India doubled its market share to 21%, luxury EV makers sold 2,828 units and 7% YoY growth. CY2025, which will see a flurry of new launches led by the Maruti e Vitara and the Hyundai Creta EV, bids fair to be an exciting year
02 Jan 2025 | 32805 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
The Indian electric passenger vehicle segment, in tandem with the electric two- and three-wheeler segments which have notched their best-ever annual sales in CY2024, has registered its best-ever calendar year retails. At 99,004 units, the year-on-year increase is 20% (CY2023: 82,563 units).
The growing shift to e-mobility in the ...
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The Indian electric passenger vehicle segment, in tandem with the electric two- and three-wheeler segments which have notched their best-ever annual sales in CY2024, has registered its best-ever calendar year retails. At 99,004 units, the year-on-year increase is 20% (CY2023: 82,563 units).
The growing shift to e-mobility in the passenger vehicle segment is being seen on our roads in the form of green-number-plated SUVs, sedans and hatchbacks as an increasing number of PV buyers prefer to put their money on a wallet-friendly EV, despite the higher initial price compared to their petrol or diesel brethren. Between 2015 and 2024, nearly 250,000 electric PVs have been sold in India.
As per the Vahan-sourced retail sales data for CY2024, which saw sales decline in three of the 12 months, reveals that the festival-laden October (11,361 units, up 49%) was the best-ever month for the e-PV industry. While the industry has sold an additional 16,441 units in 2024, the growing competition for a bigger slice of the market has eaten into market leader Tata Motors’ share which now is at its lowest in the past three years. Let’s take a detailed look at the movers and shakers in the year that was.
CY2024: 61,435 units, up 2% YoY. Market share: 62%
CY2023: 60,007 units. Market share: 73%
The company continues to have the largest e-PV portfolio in India (for a mass-market carmaker) comprising the Nexon EV, Tigor EV, Tiago EV, Xpres-T (for fleet buyers), Punch EV and the recently launched Curvv EV. However, compared to the past couple of years when Tata EVs had little competition, there has been a spurt in the number of new EVs available in the market which has led to the product basket expanding sizeably and Tata Motors’ sales being impacted.
CY2024 opened with the launch of the Punch EV, first Tata EV vehicle built on the new Gen 2 architecture called Acti.EV. This architecture, which has spawned the Curvv EV, will also underpin a range of new Tata SUVs including the upcoming Harrier EV and Safari EV. While the electric avatar of the Curvv coupe-SUV (of which over 20,000 units have been dispatched to dealers between August and December), was the sole new Tata EV in CY2024, the company plans to launch the Harrier EV in the last quarter (January-March 2025) of FY2025.
CY2024: 21,464 units, up 125% YoY. Market share: 21%
CY2023: 9,523 units. Market share: 11%
This is mainly the result of a brand-new product. The MG Windsor EV, the company’s third electric vehicle after the ZS EV and Comet EV, has clearly added tailwinds to sales. Launched on September 21, strong demand for the Windsor EV has hugely accelerated sales (as seen in the data table above) from October onwards. Sales of 9,682 units in the October-December quarter were 45% of the entire CY2024 total – pin this down to the Windsor EV effect. Priced at Rs 13.49 lakh (ex-showroom) and billed as India's first intelligent Crossover Utility Vehicle (CUV), the Windsor EV combines features of both a sedan and an SUV.
Furthermore, JSW MG Motor India is also benefiting from its innovative Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) program for its EVs. According to the OEM, this flexible ownership program eliminates the upfront cost of the battery, enabling customers to pay only for its usage. This subscription model lowers the per-kilometre expense significantly reducing the initial acquisition cost to ensure an economical ownership experience. Under BaaS, the Windsor is available at Rs 999,000 + battery rental @ Rs3.5/km, MG Comet EV starts at Rs 499,000 + battery rental at Rs2.5/km and the MG ZS EV is offered at Rs 13.99 Lakh + battery rental at Rs 4.5/km.
The company is also upping the ante on the sales network front by expanding to Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities as well as rural markets across India. There are plans to set up 100 new touchpoints by the end of 2024, and setting up 520 touchpoints in 270 cities by the end of March 2025.
CY2024: 7,104 units, up 66% YoY. Market share: 7%
CY2023: 4,269 units. Market share: 5%
The Mahindra XUV400 EV, currently priced between Rs 16.74 lakh and 17.49 lakh, comes with 34.5kWh and 39.4kWh battery options, with MIDC ranges of 359km and 456km, respectively. What should give a fillip to sales in the coming months is that the XUV400, in mid-November, achieved a top 5-star Bharat NCAP crash test rating.
M&M, which will have added manufacturing capacity of around 100,000 units for its upcoming Born Electric vehicles by end-March 2025, plans to invest Rs 12,000 crore towards its EV programme. On November 26, M&M launched the first of its two ‘Born Electric’ SUVs – the Be 6e (priced from Rs 18.90 lakh) and the XEV 9e (priced from Rs 21.90 lakh) – built on its innovative INGLO (Intelligent Electric Global) platform. Deliveries of the two new e-SUVs are slated to commence in end-February or early March 2025.
CY2024: 2,819 units, up 40% YoY. Market share: 2.84%
CY2023: 2,012 units. Market share: 2.43%
In an effort to further improve sales traction in the Indian market, BYD is exploring the introduction of a midsize electric SUV priced around Rs 20 lakh and is believed to be currently evaluating multiple models from its global portfolio. If this new model exercise for India proves fruitful, BYD India could enter the Rs 20 lakh EV segment by the second half of 2025 and take on Hyundai Motor India’s upcoming Creta EV and Maruti Suzuki India’s eVX. Most likely, the BYD e-SUV could be showcased at the Bharat Mobility Show to be held in New Delhi in January 2025.
CY2024: 1,873 units, down 4% YoY. Market share: 1.89%
CY2023: 1,949 units. Market share: 2.36%
After hitting best-ever monthly sales of 388 units in September 2024, and following it up with 256 units in October, retail sales fell sharply to 82 units in November and 00 units in December. The company, which retails the Citroen e-C3 (electric avatar of the C3 hatchback), has a fair number of bookings from EV fleet operators. The eC3, which has a 29.2kWh battery pack and an ARAI-claimed range of 320km, could see increased sales momentum in CY2025. Between March and June 2024, the e-C3 has received bulk orders for over 7,000 units from Blusmart, OHM E Logistics and Cab-E.
CY2024: 910 units, down 43% YoY. Market share: 0.91%
CY2023: 1,608 units. Market share: 2%
However, expect the Korean auto major to bounce back strongly soon. CY2025 and the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year will see Hyundai Motor India launch the much-awaited Creta EV, the all-electric avatar of the Creta midsize SUV, which is currently the best-selling model in its segment and has recorded wholesales of 113,913 units between April-October 2024. The recently listed company has outlined strategic EV launch game-plan which comprises four models including a mas-market model.
CY2024: 401 units, down 8% YoY. Market share: 0.40%
CY2023: 438 units. Market share: 0.53%
Till September, the company had only a single EV in the market – the EV6. In October, the company launched the six-seater EV9 SUV, priced at Rs 1.3 crore. The EV9 is being brought through the CBU route and is now Kia’s flagship offering in the country, sitting above the EV6. The EV9 has no direct rivals in India, but it gives some competition to luxury electric SUVs such as Mercedes EQS SUV, EQS SUV, BMW iX and Audi Q8 e-tron.
LUXURY EV MANUFACTURERS SELL 2,828 UNITS IN CY2024, UP 7%
BMW India, the luxury EV market leader (1,210 units, down 7%), sold 98 fewer units in CY2024 compared to its CY2023 sales of 1,308 units. This gives BMW a luxury EV market share of 43% compared to 49% in CY2023.
Mercedes-Benz India is the OEM which has registered the highest YoY growth in this segment. Its CY2024 sales of 940 units were up 82% YoY (CY2023: 516 units), which has helped its market share rise to 33% from 19% in CY2023.
Volvo India, the No. 3 in the luxury EV makers list, sold 442, down 22% on the 570 units in CY2023 – this sees it drop one rank and its market share reduce to 15% from 21% a year ago.
Audi India, with retails of 143 units in CY2024, has seen flat sales, matching its CY2023 performance (143 EVs) for a market share of 5% versus 5.41% a year ago.
German sportscar maker Porsche, which sold 73 EVs in CY2024, is down 24% on its CY2023 sales of 96 zero-emission cars and SUVs.
In CY2024, luxury EVs accounted for 2.85% of the overall Indian e-PV market of 99,004 units compared to 3.20% in CY2023.
CY2025: THE YEAR OF NEW EV LAUNCHES
While India e-PV Inc’s retail numbers are worth talking about, it is also a fact that the EV industry in India, across segments, still has to overcome some challenges. First off is the inadequate number of charging stations across the country but the positive news is that a combination of government and private sector investment is fast changing that scenario. As of December 10, 2024, there are a total of 25,202 public EV charging stations across India, even in town and country. Furthermore, vehicle manufacturers and private EV charging companies are also doing their bit through partnerships and home-charging solutions.
Modern vehicles are SDVs or software-defined vehicles. Every new car is now a computer on wheels what with it housing an average of 200 million lines of code – that’s 33 time more than a Boeing 787! Over-the-air (OTA) software updates are now the norm but the challenge for the EV industry is to have skilled manpower to tackle vexing software issues as and when they occur.
On a positive note, finally, after years of being restricted to a small portfolio of products, the electric passenger vehicle industry is beginning to bloom. CY2025 will see a number of new products being launched, thereby expanding the market and, importantly, offering increased choice for the buyer.
With OEMs upping the EV desirability quotient by packing the latest technology and features, as well as increased travel range, and also offering customised financing schemes, potential fence-sitters are now getting convinced to put their money on a zero-emission model. CY2025, which will see a host of OEMs, launch new EVs should help accelerate demand. The Bharat Global Mobility Expo, to be held at Bharat Mandapam (Pragati Maidan), New Delhi from January 17-22, will provide the first glimpse of a number of EVs that will take to Indian roads. The first of the newsmakers will be Hyundai and Maruti Suzuki.
The Maruti e Vitara, which has been jointly developed with Toyota, will be Maruti Suzuki’s vehicle of entry into India’s EV market. The e Vitara, which is 4275mm long, 1800mm wide and 1635mm tall is a born EV and built on the Heartect e platform. It is likely to get two battery options of 49 kWh and 61 kWh, with the latter offering travel range of above 550km on the MIDC cycle. Lack of accessible charging remains an impediment to EV purchase and what will draw buyers to the e Vitara is Maruti Suzuki’s plan to introduce a reliable and comprehensive EV ecosystem. This will include home charging solutions as well as a nationwide network of fast chargers available at Maruti Suzuki dealerships and service touchpoints.
A week before the Maruti e Vitara’s reveal, the Toyota Urban Cruiser EV will go on display at the Brussels Motor Show on January 10. The Toyota e-SUV (which will be manufactured at the Suzuki Motor Gujarat plant) shares plenty with the e-Vitara, from the skateboard platform to the battery pack options and motors. While Toyota has yet to confirm when its new EV will be introduced to the Indian market, we expect the Urban Cruiser to arrive later in 2025.
Mahindra & Mahindra will make a splash in the EV market when sale and deliveries of its first two born electric EVs – the BE 6 and XEV 9 e SUVs – commence in the first quarter of the year. Built on the INGLO (Intelligent Electric Global) platform, they come with two battery options: 79 kWh and 59 kWh LFP batteries. While the 79 kWh variant delivers a certified range of 682km in the BE 6e, the XEV 9e has a range of 656 kilometres. A bullish-on-EV growth M&M has earmarked an EV capacity of 10,000 units per month by end-FY2025 out of a total of 64,000 units per month.
JSW MG Motor India will introduce the Cyberster. Powered by a 77kWh battery pack and e-motor which develops 510hp and 725Nm of peak torque, the Cyberster has a claimed 0-100kph sprint time of 3.2 seconds. MG claims a maximum range of 580km on a single charge.
Tata Motors, which has the widest spread of EV models covering the hatchback, SUV and SUV-coupe categories but whose sales were substantially impacted in CY2024, will be looking to revive demand in CY2025. First up will be the Harrier EV, which will use the Punch EV’s Acti.EV architecture and is expected to get a 60kWh battery with up to 500km of range. It will be followed by the Safari EV which, like the Harrier EV, will get four-wheel drive. Both these premium flagship e-SUVs just might give Tata Motors the momentum it needs in a market which is gradually moving towards more premium zero-emission vehicles.
Will Tata Motors’ EV market share drop further this year or will it re-engineer growth in the face of strident new competition? Stay plugged in to EV news and analysis at Autocar Professional.
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