Bajaj Auto's Three-Wheeler Lead Narrows As Electric Rivals Mahindra And TVS Gain Ground

India's three-wheeler industry closed FY26 with total volumes of 13,63,412 units, up from 12,20,834 units in FY25 — a healthy increase of over 11 percent. But beneath the headline growth number lies a more nuanced story of shifting competitive dynamics, with market leader Bajaj Auto Ltd ceding ground even as its own volumes climbed, and rivals with stronger electric three-wheeler portfolios steadily closing the gap.

Bajaj Holds the Top Spot, But the Cushion is Thinning
Bajaj Auto ended FY26 with 4,73,247 units, comfortably ahead of the field and up from 4,37,678 units in FY25. In absolute terms, this represents healthy growth of over 8 per cent. However, its market share for the full year slipped to 34.71 per cent, down from 35.85 per cent in FY25 — a decline of over a full percentage point in a segment that itself grew by double digits.

A month-by-month reading of the first six months of 2026 shows the erosion becoming more pronounced as the year progressed. Bajaj's share stood at 35.38 per cent in January 2026, rose to a high of 38.04 per cent in February, and then began a steady slide — 37.50 per cent in March, 36.97 percent in April, 35.06 percent in May, and finally 33.82 percent in June. The June 2026 figure is particularly telling: at 33.82 per cent, it is markedly lower than the 37.54 percent share Bajaj held in June 2025, even though the company's unit volumes for the month actually grew year-on-year, from 39,058 to 40,883 units. The message is clear — the overall pie is growing faster than Bajaj's slice of it.

Mahindra's Electric Push is the Standout Story
The clearest beneficiary of this shift has been Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, whose three-wheeler business is increasingly driven by its dedicated electric arm, Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Ltd. The group's combined market share has climbed almost every month this fiscal year: from 6.47 per cent in January 2026 to 7.37 per cent in February, 9.08 percent in March, 10.15 per cent in April, 10.57 percent in May, and 11.12 percent in June. For the full year, Mahindra's share rose to 8.07 per cent from 6.37 per cent in FY25, with Mahindra Last Mile Mobility alone accounting for the vast majority of that volume — 1,09,135 of the group's 1,10,036 units in FY26. The conventional Mahindra & Mahindra entity, by contrast, contributed a negligible 901 units, underlining how central the electric last-mile business has become to the group's three-wheeler ambitions.

TVS Motor Nearly Doubles its Share
TVS Motor Company has posted an equally emphatic gain. Its FY26 market share rose to 4.07 per cent from just 2.12 per cent in FY25 — close to doubling — with monthly figures showing a consistent climb from 4.34 per cent in January to 5.30 per cent by June. TVS's three-wheeler play has leaned heavily on electric models, and the trend suggests the segment is rewarding OEMs that have moved decisively on electrification.

Piaggio Steady, Smaller EV Specialists Lose Ground
Piaggio Vehicles, historically the number two player, has seen its position stay largely range-bound but trend slightly downward — from 7.32 per cent in FY25 to 6.67 per cent in FY26 — even as Bajaj and the electrified challengers reshuffle the rest of the field. Interestingly, some of the smaller pure-play electric three-wheeler manufacturers have not benefited uniformly from the segment's electrification. YC Electric Vehicle's share fell from 3.66 per cent in FY25 to 2.70 per cent in FY26, while Saera Electric Auto and Dilli Electric Auto also saw their shares soften over the same period. This suggests that growth in the electric three-wheeler category is consolidating around larger, well-capitalised OEMs — Mahindra and TVS in particular — rather than being spread evenly across the specialist EV manufacturers that once dominated the space.

The Road Ahead for Bajaj
Bajaj Auto's three-wheeler business remains anchored largely in internal combustion and CNG platforms. With Mahindra and TVS both posting sustained month-on-month share gains through FY26 — and doing so specifically through electric models — the competitive pressure on Bajaj's leadership position looks set to intensify. Bajaj's absolute volumes continue to grow, and it remains the largest player by a wide margin, but the narrowing share gap through the course of FY26, especially the sharper drop seen between May and June, indicates that electrification is fast becoming the primary battleground in India's three-wheeler market — one where Bajaj will need to sharpen its response to defend its lead.

Data source: FADA