India’s electric two-wheeler market contracted in August 2026, but the slowdown was not uniform across regions.
Total EV two-wheeler registrations declined from 205,671 in July to 183,699 in August — a month-on-month contraction of approximately 10.7%.
- South India remained the country’s largest EV two-wheeler region, recording 72,455 registrations in August, compared with 79,364 in July.
- North India recorded 39,088 vehicles, down from 42,095.
Both regions contracted. But North India held up slightly better. South India’s registrations declined 8.7%, while North India’s fell approximately 7.1%.
As a result, the gap between the two regions narrowed from roughly 37,269 vehicles in July to 33,367 in August. South India still has considerably more scale, but the latest month reinforces an important structural development: growth and competitive activity are becoming increasingly distributed outside India’s traditional southern EV strongholds.
The South Still Accounts for Almost 40% of India
South India’s share of national EV two-wheeler registrations actually increased slightly, from approximately 38.6% in July to 39.4% in August — because several other regions contracted even more sharply.
- Karnataka remained the largest southern market with 23,150 registrations.
- Tamil Nadu followed at 20,065.
- Kerala at 11,209.
- Andhra Pradesh contributed 8,753.
- Telangana registered 8,675.
But the direction of movement differed sharply across these states:
- Karnataka declined approximately 9.8% month-on-month.
- Tamil Nadu fell 17.2%.
- Andhra Pradesh declined 9.6%.
- Telangana was far more resilient, falling only 2.3%.
Kerala moved in the opposite direction entirely, rising from 10,219 registrations in July to 11,209 in August — an increase of approximately 9.7%. Kerala was therefore one of the very few sizeable EV markets in India to grow during an otherwise declining month.
Rajasthan Changed the Northern Picture
Uttar Pradesh remained North India’s largest market at 14,986 registrations, although volumes fell about 12.6% from July. Delhi was almost flat at 6,695 registrations, compared with 6,717 in July.
The important change came from Rajasthan. Registrations there increased from 10,847 to 11,461 — a gain of approximately 5.7%. That single shift helped North India outperform the national decline, despite contractions across most other northern states.
The Brand Mix Is Diverging Further
TVS Motor remained the largest manufacturer in both regions, registering 20,953 vehicles in the South and 10,294 in the North during August.
But beneath TVS, regional brand behaviour differed substantially:
- Ather Energy registered 15,642 vehicles in the South — actually increasing slightly from July despite the regional decline. In North India, however, Ather fell from 4,027 to 3,262.
- Ola Electric moved in almost exactly the opposite direction. Its southern registrations declined from 3,726 to 2,582, while in North India, Ola jumped from 4,940 to 6,749 — an increase of approximately 36.6%, driven particularly by Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
- BGauss also increased northern registrations by approximately 19%, while Motovolt more than doubled its northern monthly volume from a much smaller base.
What This Means
August does not show North India suddenly replacing the South — the South remains almost twice as large. What August does show is that regional resilience is becoming more balanced.
Kerala strengthened the South while Rajasthan strengthened the North. Telangana and Delhi were relatively stable. Meanwhile, some historically large EV states experienced substantial declines.
For manufacturers, this changes how regional performance should be evaluated. The question is increasingly not simply:
Where is the biggest EV market?
It is:
Which markets continue to generate demand when the national market weakens?
On that measure, August gave both North and South India important signals — but for very different reasons.
