May Sales Show EV Share Rising as Petrol Costs Bite

• 18,44,947 unit sales in May 2026
• Electric share rose to 9.25% from 6.11% last year

As FADA released the two-wheeler retail sales numbers for May 2026, we can see how the market is growing despite heatwaves, rising fuel prices and a generally seasonally softer month. Petrol powered retail stood at 18,44,947 units in May 2026 up 7.54 percent over May last year. But note that the segment was down 7.19 percent over April 2026 showing that the market lost some pace after the previous month’s healthier buying.

Petrol obviously remains dominant accounting for 90.68 percent of the sales in May 2026, slightly lower from 93.67 percent in May ‘25. Electric two-wheelers share is up now to 9.25 percent from the 6.11 percent a year ago. Looks like EVs are finally gaining some ground serving as a serious second option for families and commuters looking to reduce monthly fuel spends.

Hero stayed at the top with 5,17,951 units sold and a 28.07 percent share in May 2026. Splendor and HF families remain central to rural and semi-urban buying with their better fuel economy, price, resale and service reach matter more. Honda follow with 4,52,420 sales securing a 24.52 percent share. Activa remains one of the most important individual models in the petrol scooter space, while the Shine continues to serve the commuter motorcycle buyer.

TVS Motor Company was third selling 3,56,352 units and sitting at 19.32 percent share of the market. Petrol models like the Jupiter, Raider, Apache, Ntorq and XL range are running volumes, while the iQube family helped TVS become the top electric two-wheeler OEM in May 2026 with 42,459 units up 64.54 percent year-on-year gain.

Bajaj Auto retailed 1,97,738 units in the overall two-wheeler market with a 10.72 percent share. E2W sales for Bajaj stood at 39,202 units in May 2026, up 73.14 percent over the same month last year. This makes Bajaj one of the strongest EV gainers of the month. Suzuki Motorcycle India retailed 97,885 units and held a 5.31 percent share. Royal Enfield retailed 84,480 units with a 4.58 percent share. Yamaha retailed 60,625 units improving its share to 3.29 percent.

Ather Energy picked up the pace with 28,240 units sold showing a year-on-year growth at 100.27 percent. Hero MotoCorp retailed 19,067 electric Vidas showing the strongest year-on-year jump among the leading electric names at 158.19 per cent. Ola Electric retailed 15,141 units growing 22.79 per cent month-on-month but falling 20.17 percent year-on-year.

FADA also mentioned that two-wheeler urban retail grew 11.75 percent year-on-year, while rural retail rose 4.74 percent.