Bengaluru tops in EV sales: Tata Tiago.ev becomes most sold EV

The nation's IT hub, Bengaluru, is still selling more battery-powered vehicles than Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai combined, solidifying its place as the top city in India for EV registrations. An auto data analytics company called JATO Dynamics India reports that 4,283 electric vehicles were sold in Bengaluru between January and May of this year. With 8,690 e-cars sold last year, the city topped the sales rankings.

Managing Director of JATO Dynamics India Ravi Bhatia credits Bengaluru's success in EV sales to a number of factors, including a workforce that is tech-savvy, the city's expanding acceptance of green vehicles, the fact that EVs priced under Rs 25 lakh are exempt from road tax, the availability of cheap electricity for EV charging, and a vast network of charging stations.

Delhi maintained its second-place position in EV sales for the first five months of this year with 4,016 units, Hyderabad came in third with 2,114 units, Mumbai with 2,065 units, and Pune with 1,620 units.

From January to May of 2024, 1,454 units were sold in Chennai, 1,093 units in Ahmedabad, and 1,354 units in Jaipur.

The surge in Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in Bengaluru may be credited to Chetan Maini, a Stanford graduate, who founded Reva, an electric car startup, in the city forty years ago. Reva was acquired by Mahindra & Mahindra in 2010. 

"People in this city are more willing to try new things, have a younger population, and are more tech-savvy. Since 2001, it has been a location where individuals are introduced to EVs at a very young age. Reva was with you when this happened. Thus, people have been driving electric vehicles for 25 years," added Maini, who went on to found Sun Mobility, a company that provides battery-swapping infrastructure.

Maini also emphasised the contribution that well-known EV firms like Log9 Materials, Ola Electric, Ather Energy, and Exponent Energy have made to the development of Bengaluru's EV ecosystem.

One important facilitator has been the exposure of various items in various communities. Bengaluru also has a well-developed infrastructure for charging over the next 20 years. Airports, shopping centres, and other public locations offer car charging services. Owner of a Mahindra E20, Hyundai Ioniq 5, MG ZS EV, and Ather e-scooter, Maini continued, "The awareness levels (on EVs) are very high."

After it was introduced, Tata Motors’ claimed most affordable four-door hatchback EV, Tiago.ev quickly rose to the top of the EV sales lists. The manufacturer sold 4,114 units of this model in the top 10 cities between January and May of 2024. According to JATO Dynamics India, the Tiago electric version was the best-selling EV in the top 10 cities last year with 13,176 units sold.

From January to May 2024, the Tigor EV sold 983 units, ranking third after the MG ZS EV (1,450 units) and Tata Nexon EV (4,114 units) as the best-selling battery-powered vehicle. In the same time frame, there were 2,322 units of Tata Motors' Tigor Express-T, which was only offered to fleet operators.