India's electric two-wheeler market registered a historic high in October 2026 with 2,23,887 units sold, marking a 48 percent year-on-year jump and a 7 percent rise from September. The surge came even as leading manufacturers struggled to keep up with demand. TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto and Ather Energy held the top three spots with a combined 63 percent market share. Yet the story behind the numbers is one of factories running flat out and expansion plans racing against a growing order backlog.
October 2026 sales snapshot
TVS Motor led the pack with 60,433 units, nearly doubling its volume from a year ago. The company credited higher oil prices over the past six months for accelerating adoption, especially in rural areas where growth slightly outpaced urban markets in the first half of the financial year. Bajaj Auto followed with 49,068 units, a 51 percent year-on-year increase that left its market share steady at 22 percent. Ather Energy posted 31,796 units, a modest 5 percent annual rise that the company openly attributed to production limits. Hero MotoCorp's Vida brand surged 81 percent to 29,936 units, lifting its share to 13 percent. Together with its 32.8 percent stake in Ather, the Hero group accounted for 61,732 units or 28 percent of the market. Ola Electric was the only major player to decline, falling 26 percent year-on-year to 12,096 units and seeing its share drop to 5 percent.
Ather's capacity challenge and expansion roadmap
Ather has been transparent about the gap between what it can build and what the market wants. Chief executive Tarun Mehta stated the company produced around 33,000 units per month on average in the last quarter but leaves roughly 20,000 units of unrealised retail demand untapped each month. The Hosur plant is running close to full capacity. To close the gap, Ather plans to raise annual capacity at Hosur from 420,000 to 495,000 units. Its upcoming facility at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar in Maharashtra will scale from an earlier target of 500,000 to 650,000 units annually. Combined, these plants would push total installed capacity beyond one million units per year. A further investment of Rs 122 crore aims to add 225,000 units of annual capacity across both sites, targeting about 1.14 million units by the second quarter of financial year 2028. The monthly production increase of roughly 18,000 scooters aligns closely with the 18,000 to 20,000 units of lost retail sales the company cites.
Bajaj's Chetak bottleneck and scale-up plan
Bajaj faces a similar crunch. In September the company managed only 40,000 Chetak units against a planned 60,000, a 33 percent shortfall blamed on capacity constraints. Joint managing director Rakesh Sharma confirmed the goal of reaching 80,000 Chetak units per month by the fourth quarter of financial year 2027, up from roughly 62,000 currently. The broader annual capacity of 625,000 units is set to expand to around 775,000 over the next six to nine months, covering electric vehicles, premium motorcycles and select three-wheelers. Sharma linked the Chetak expansion directly to gaining market share and unlocking new geographic reach.
TVS Motor's steady ramp
TVS currently operates at a monthly capacity of about 65,000 units serving domestic and export markets. Chief executive K N Radhakrishnan said the next expansion step to around 80,000 units is already planned. The company's ability to convert festive demand into retail sales has been supported by the diverse iQube and Orbiter portfolio and a wide service network.
Market dynamics shaping the race
Rural demand is emerging as a strong driver, with TVS noting higher EV growth in rural markets than urban ones in the first half of the year. Hero's Vida brand got a sharp boost from the battery-as-a-service option on the VX2, which lowers upfront cost and helped deliver a 22.5 percent month-on-month jump in October. Ola Electric's decline reflects ongoing service challenges and intensifying competition from legacy automakers. The combined Hero-Ather volume of nearly 62,000 units shows how partnership and portfolio breadth are becoming competitive levers.
What comes next
Relief will arrive in stages. Mahindra Electric expects supply constraints to ease by the third quarter of financial year 2027 (October to December 2026) with additional capacity from the fourth quarter. Bajaj targets 80,000 Chetak units monthly by the fourth quarter of financial year 2027 (January to March 2027). Ather's largest capacity step of 1.14 million annual units is scheduled for the second quarter of financial year 2028 (July to September 2027). Tata Motors, while not a two-wheeler player, has flagged that its passenger EV demand runs nearly three times available supply, underscoring a sector-wide production squeeze.
The record October sales prove demand is no longer the bottleneck. The winners in the next 12 months will be those who turn capacity plans into delivered vehicles fastest.
FAQs
What was the total electric two-wheeler sales figure in October 2026
Registrations reached 2,23,887 units in October 2026, up 48 percent from a year earlier and 7 percent from September.
Why did Ather Energy grow only 5 percent year-on-year in October
Ather said its production capacity limits the number of scooters it can deliver. The company leaves an estimated 18,000 to 20,000 potential retail sales on the table each month.
What is Bajaj Auto's plan for Chetak production
Bajaj aims to raise Chetak output from about 62,000 units a month to 80,000 by the fourth quarter of financial year 2027. Total annual capacity will grow from 625,000 to around 775,000 units in six to nine months.
How much capacity is Ather adding and by when
Ather plans to invest Rs 122 crore to add 225,000 units of annual capacity across its Hosur and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar plants, targeting about 1.14 million units by the second quarter of financial year 2028.
Which brands led the market in October 2026
TVS Motor led with 60,433 units, followed by Bajaj Auto at 49,068 and Ather Energy at 31,796. Together they held 63 percent market share.
