Tata Motors Strengthens Second Spot in India’s PV Market with EV Lead

The competition for the second position in India’s passenger vehicle (PV) market is intensifying, with Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) battling closely. Electric vehicles (EVs) have become a significant factor in this contest, as both companies ramp up production to meet rising demand.

Throughout most of the financial year 2026-27, Tata Motors has maintained a lead over Mahindra, though the margin has seen notable fluctuations. In September, Mahindra briefly surpassed Tata by just 89 vehicles, but Tata reclaimed second place in October with a more comfortable lead of 8,467 units, according to data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada).

During the April to October period, Tata registered 417,559 passenger vehicles, while Mahindra recorded 389,435 units. This resulted in a cumulative lead of 28,124 vehicles for Tata. Maruti Suzuki India continues to dominate the overall market, while Hyundai Motor India, which had traditionally held second place, has slipped behind both Tata and Mahindra in recent months.

Fada’s data also highlights the order of PV retail registrations from April through October: Maruti Suzuki leads, followed by Tata, Mahindra, Hyundai, and Toyota. Hyundai consistently held fourth position, while Toyota was in fifth until September before Kia overtook it in October.

Close Contest for Second Place

The tussle between Tata and Mahindra has been tight throughout the year. Tata’s lead started at 2,452 registrations in April, expanded to 4,233 in May, then narrowed to around 2,500 to 3,000 units over the next few months. August saw the gap widen to 7,596 units, but September marked Mahindra’s brief surge ahead by 89 vehicles. October swung back strongly in Tata’s favor, with registrations jumping 28.3 percent sequentially to 73,449 units, while Mahindra grew 13.3 percent to 64,982 units. Tata’s market share for October stood at 14.47 percent, compared to Mahindra’s 12.8 percent. Hyundai followed with 58,099 registrations and an 11.44 percent share.

A Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles spokesperson noted that consistent month-on-month growth was driven by a strong product portfolio and steady customer demand. The company recorded its highest-ever quarter during Q2 FY27 (July-September), with sales of 201,723 units, marking a 40 percent year-on-year increase. In October, Tata surpassed 75,000 total sales, including exports, for the first time.

On the other hand, Mahindra described October as a milestone month, achieving its highest domestic SUV sales at 73,338 units and overall auto sales reaching 131,109 vehicles, up 9 percent year-on-year. R Velusamy, President of Mahindra’s automotive business, emphasized that the company retained the number one spot in SUV revenue market share at 24.3 percent in Q2 FY27.

Electric Vehicles Drive Tata’s Advantage

Electric vehicles have played a crucial role in Tata’s lead. From April to October, Tata sold 88,125 electric passenger vehicles (ePVs), while Mahindra sold 50,322, creating a 37,803-unit margin in favor of Tata. When excluding EVs, Mahindra actually outperformed Tata with 339,113 conventional PVs against Tata’s 329,434 units. This suggests that Tata’s stronger presence in the EV segment has been key to its overall edge. EVs made up roughly 21.1 percent of Tata’s passenger vehicle registrations during this period, compared to 12.9 percent for Mahindra.

A Tata Motors spokesperson added that electric and compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles now constitute 51 percent of the company’s total volumes. Tata’s EV sales reached over 47,000 units in the September quarter, a 90 percent year-on-year increase, while CNG vehicles also hit record quarterly sales. Over the past year, the company sold more than 130,000 EVs and holds over 40 percent market share in the electric passenger vehicle segment. Its CNG volumes exceeded 200,000 units, with a 21 percent share in the personal vehicle segment.

Mahindra is also making progress in EV sales. October saw EV registrations rise to 8,538 units from 7,780 in September, although Tata’s EV sales dipped slightly to 14,669 units from 14,791. The gap in electric vehicle registrations narrowed to 6,131 units in October from 7,011 in September.

Model Lineups and Production Capacity

The rivalry also reflects the companies’ growing SUV offerings. Tata’s Punch and Nexon models remain top sellers, backed by the Harrier, Safari, and the recently launched Sierra. The Punch, in particular, ranked among India’s top five best-selling models year-to-date and became the nation’s highest-selling SUV. The Punch.ev marked a milestone as the first standalone electric model to exceed 5,000 monthly sales in October. Tata has increased supply to meet this rising demand.

Mahindra’s strong sellers include the XUV 7XO, XEV 9S, Thar, and Scorpio-N. The XEV 9S was the best-selling EV in India for the September quarter with 13,275 units sold, while bookings for the BE 6 Sporteq surged 93 percent. Mahindra’s leadership in SUVs is backed by operating above installed production capacity, with over 103 percent capacity utilization and dealer inventory reduced to a historic low of eight to nine days.

Mahindra is also expanding production capacity ahead of schedule. By the end of the first half of FY27, monthly SUV capacity reached 68,000 units. The company plans to add 14,000 units in Q4 FY27, bringing capacity to 82,000 units monthly. Longer term, capacity is expected to grow to 92,000 units by the end of 2027-28 and 132,000 units by 2030-31, including a new facility planned in Nagpur. Mahindra aims to convert these capacity increases into retail sales and strengthen market share.

Market Trends and Future Outlook

Overall passenger vehicle retail registrations in October declined 14.23 percent year-on-year to 507,768 units. Fada attributed this to a high base in October 2025 when both Navratri and Diwali festivals fell in the same month, unlike this year when Diwali occurred in November. Sequentially, however, registrations rose nearly 19 percent, reflecting pre-festival demand buildup.

Tata reported more than 20 percent retail growth since Ganesh Chaturthi compared to last year and delivered over 20,000 vehicles during the Dhanteras festival days. Meanwhile, Mahindra emerged as the fastest-growing brand in Vahan festival registrations, with strong demand across its SUV range.

From April to October, the overall passenger vehicle retail market expanded 16.41 percent to 3.07 million units. With both Tata and Mahindra continuing to broaden their SUV and electric vehicle portfolios and Mahindra accelerating capacity expansion, the contest for the second spot in India’s passenger vehicle market is expected to remain fiercely competitive in the months ahead.