Certain industries love war. Defense, semiconductors, drone manufacturing, economic forecasting, and war logistics are among the industries that thrive during conflict.
I would add the Indian electric two-wheeler industry to the dubious list.
The last three months have all been about war, geopolitical unrest, fear, and rising fuel prices. While Indian pump prices held steady during March and April, driven by various political reasons, including state elections, the cookie finally crumbled in May as the government announced three successive fuel price hikes. Statistically, prices are up by around 9% from the pre-war base.
The fear is much bigger.
It is genuine as well because Mr. President and the Supreme Leader cannot seem to make up their mind what they want. As I type this, US Oil has spiked up by more than 8% as Iran declared another closure of the Straits.
That’s all great news for electric scooter sales. Which brings us to the May report.
The Numbers
After dropping to 7.76% last month, E2W penetration again improved to 9.25% in May 2026. In comparison, the penetration level was 6.07% in May 2025.
Sales accelerated towards the second half of the month, as the government announced multiple fuel price increases.
Within the numbers, the OEM rankings remain the same, with TVS Motor leading the way. It was followed by Bajaj Auto, Ather, Hero-Vida, and Ola Electric, in that order, as the top five players.
However, within the numbers, there has been a structural shift. TVS Motor has continued to drop market share since February and held 24.89% of the E2W market in May. In February, they controlled more than 28% of the market.
Bajaj has inched closer to TVS with a 22.93% share of the market. In absolute terms, only 3338 units separated the two in May.
Ola Electric pretty much hit rock bottom in February when its market share collapsed to 3.56%. This is a brand that, at one time, commanded a near 50% share of the market. Since February, Ola has regained some lost ground and held a 8.88% share of the market in May 2026.
Growth Analysis
All the leading brands, barring Ola, recorded strong growth. Market leader TVS Motor’s 42,443 unit sales were a 64.5% jump year-over-year.
Similarly, Bajaj’s 39105 units in May 2026 represented a near 73% jump in sales over the previous year.
However, in the top three, Ather Energy has been the best performing with 28,190 units sold, nearly doubling its sales in May 2025.
At 19,052 units, Hero Vida continues its stellar show with a 158% jump in sales over the previous year.
In the top five, Ola Electric was the only disappointment with a 20.2% decline in sales year over year. In May 2026, the company sold 15139 units, compared to 18967 units in May 2025.