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Hyderabad: Electric cars outpaced electric two-wheelers in Telangana through 2025-26, accounting for more than 10 per cent of new car sales every single month and touching over 15 per cent at their peak, according to an analysis by the Transport Department.

Electric cars held a double-digit market share in every month of the financial year, while electric two-wheelers stayed in single digits for much of the first half, pointing to growing acceptance of electric vehicles in the passenger car segment.

12.5 pc of new cars are electric

Across the year, electric cars made up 12.5 per cent of the state’s new car market, well ahead of the 8.9 per cent share held by electric two-wheelers and the 8.8 per cent share across all vehicle categories.

Of roughly 1.50 lakh new car registrations in the state, 18,853 were electric, meaning that nearly one in every eight cars sold in Telangana ran on electricity. Over the same period, the state registered 53,354 electric two-wheelers.

The gap between the two segments was at its widest in August, when electric cars accounted for 15.2 per cent of new car registrations against 8.8 per cent for two-wheelers.

The Transport Department’s analysis draws on 10.3 lakh vehicle registration records covering all fuel types and vehicle classes between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026.

Tax waiver drove 20 pc jump

Much of the momentum is being credited to the state government’s decision to scrap the cap on its electric vehicles (EV) tax exemption, after which registrations rose by around 20 per cent. Average monthly EV registrations climbed from about 6,333 before the exemption to 7,592 through 2025-26.

Introduced on November 16, 2024, the policy gives eligible EVs registered in Telangana a full waiver of road tax and registration fees, with no ceiling on the number of vehicles covered. It applies to electric two-wheelers, private cars, commercial passenger vehicles, auto-rickshaws, light goods carriers, tractors and certain buses, and runs until December 31, 2026.

Monthly figures show the market building steadily through the year, peaking at 10,705 registrations in October 2025 during the festive season, and holding between 8,000 and 9,000 vehicles a month for much of the period that followed, comfortably above the pre-exemption baseline.

Commercial EVs responded fastest

The growth was not confined to private vehicles. Commercial EVs, including autos, cabs, goods carriers and buses, showed the quickest initial response, with monthly registrations rising 17 per cent immediately after the exemption came into force before settling at around 800 vehicles a month over the financial year.

Across all categories, more than 91,000 electric vehicles were registered in the state during the year, with over Rs 6,000 crore invested in the sector, translating to roughly one in every 11 vehicles sold in Telangana now being electric.