Tesla has hit the slow lane soon after making its long-awaited entry into India’s rapidly growing luxury electric vehicle (EV) market.
The US carmaker delivered 48 cars in November-trailing leading luxury marques BMW and Mercedes-Benz, showed data from the government’s Vahan portal. Since September, when the company started selling its sole vehicle, the Model EY electric SUV, in India, Tesla has sold 157 units so far. BMW India sold 267 EVs in November. The German automaker sold 910 vehicles during September-November. Of this, the iX1 SUV, the main rival to Tesla’s EY, sold more than 150 units on average every month.
Mercedes-Benz sold 69 EVs in November, and a total of 267 vehicles during September-November. The company’s EQS model, the main competitor to Tesla, accounted for 70 units each month.
While BMW dominates the accessible end of the luxury EV market with the iX1, Mercedes-Benz is building momentum at the top tier.
Tesla’s sluggish start marks a sharp contrast between its initial ambitious plans for India, including building a car plant, and its current spot on the sidelines of this expanding EV market.
India’s broader electric-car market is accelerating, growing 57 per cent to over 150,000 vehicles in the first 11 months of 2025, per the government’s Vahan data. An expanding charging network, longer vehicle range, and growing model lineup is encouraging buyers to shift to battery-powered vehicles.
Much of this volume comes from mass-market manufacturers such as Tata Motors and JSW MG Motor India whose pricing and product pipelines are encouraging more car buyers to opt for electrics. Combined with incentives in some states and comparatively lower running costs than petrol or diesel, EVs are rapidly moving into the mainstream, creating a stronger base for premium brands to expand.
Hardeep Singh Brar, president and CEO of BMW Group India, said EVs now account for nearly a fifth of the company’s total sales. “We are seeing very good adoption of electric cars among our customers,” he said.
