The company said almost the entire decline in its EV sales was due to lower fleet sales.
13 May 2025 | 1313 Views | By Prerna Lidhoo & Ketan Thakkar
Tata Motors Ltd.'s electric vehicle (EV) sales have been on a downward trajectory this fiscal year, with its market share plunging to 36% in April this year—down sharply from 61% in the same period last year. While the company attributes it to the rollback of government incentives impacting the fleet ...
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Tata Motors Ltd.'s electric vehicle (EV) sales have been on a downward trajectory this fiscal year, with its market share plunging to 36% in April this year—down sharply from 61% in the same period last year. While the company attributes it to the rollback of government incentives impacting the fleet segment buyers, mounting competition from rivals like JSW MG Motor India and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is also a factor in drawing buyers away.
In the company's Q4FY25 financial results conference call, PB Balaji, Group Chief Financial Officer, Tata Motors said, "We sold about 65,000 units, which is roughly 13% lower than last financial year. Fleet sales have come down due to multiple factors, including withdrawal of incentives and operational challenges for some fleet operators. The impact is visible. To address this, we have several interventions planned—starting with the Harrier EV launch and the upcoming Curvv EV. We're also making improvements to existing models."
While declining to give the share of the fleet segment for the company, Balaji added that the fleet segment, though significant, is only one component of Tata Motors' overall EV portfolio. "So while fleet sales impacted growth, overall numbers remain healthy. There's still significant potential in the fleet—especially with compelling new products. Mainstreaming EVs is our focus this year, with targeted fleet-specific interventions planned," he said.
Tata Motors sold 4,461 electric cars in April 2025—a 14% year-on-year decline from 5,172 units in April 2024. Despite offering the widest EV portfolio in the country, including the Tiago EV, Tigor EV, Punch EV, Nexon EV, Curvv EV, and the fleet-only Xpres-T, the company has struggled to maintain its dominance. The much-anticipated Harrier EV, originally slated for launch by April, has been delayed. JSW MG Motor, on the other hand, delivered 3,488 EVs last month, marking a remarkable 175% year-on-year growth. M&M sold 3,002 units, registering a 348% growth over the same period last year. "With more competition coming in," he added, "the EVs are slowly becoming a conversation that people would want to engage in. The fact that we continue to be the largest player in the EV market is also a testimony to the fact that the products are doing well," Balaji said.
As far as future strategy is concerned, he said that the company's agenda with respect to EVs is about driving penetration of EVs in the overall portfolio and that strategy does not change. "We are not stopping investments in products and we've done a substantial increase as far as EV growth is concerned. And this is probably going to be one of our most exciting product launch phases, because we've got multiple things happening at the same time," he added.
Balaji adds that despite external factors impacting sales momentum, Tata Motors' EVs continue to lead the market. "The network now includes nearly 21,000 fast chargers. We remain confident about sustaining leadership with new launches and charging infrastructure expansion. The decline is almost entirely due to reduced fleet demand. However, we're regaining momentum toward the end of the year and expect strong performance in FY26, supported by a well-positioned product pipeline," he said.
According to experts, the abrupt suspension of operations by BluSmart has delivered a major setback to Tata Motors' EV sales. With over 70% of BluSmart's fleet comprising Tata EVs, the startup's closure directly threatens a significant pipeline order that Tata was banking on to sustain its fleet sales momentum. As part of an 18,000-vehicle procurement plan, BluSmart had committed to purchasing 13,500 electric cars from Tata Motors. Tata Motors has historically relied on institutional orders to drive EV adoption at scale. The fleet operator's exit removes a key channel that helped Tata maintain market leadership in the early stages of India's EV transition. In FY25, with passenger EV penetration still stuck below 3%, the role of fleet buyers like BluSmart was seen as crucial to pushing EV volumes into the mainstream.
According to Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director at Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, electric vehicles are showing a renewed momentum, supported by a growing number of industry players expanding customer choices and reinforcing the EV ecosystem. "In a year marked by fluctuating demand, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles led the industry in SUV growth and outpaced the market in CNG sales. Our multi-powertrain strategy and strong commitment to sustainable mobility enabled us to increase the share of CNG and electric vehicles to 36% of our overall portfolio," he said.