Maruti eVitara Electric Outsells Hyundai Creta Electric 3.5 Times in May 2026
The EV market in India is undergoing rapid evolution. Marketwinds have been shifting fast. Vahan data from May 2026 reveals an interesting development- the Maruti Suzuki eVitara sold more than 3.5 times as much as the Hyundai Creta Electric did during the period. This case is particularly interesting considering how the Creta Electric has been around for some time while the eVitara is a relatively new product.
According to Vahan data, Maruti Suzuki sold 1591 EVs in May. At the time of writing, the eVitara remains the only all-electric Maruti on sale. Hyundai posted sales of 460 electric vehicles in May. The Korean carmaker’s EV portfolio in India consists of two products, carefully parked in the luxury and mass-market segments- the Creta Electric and the IONIQ 5.
The latter has always remained a niche product. In May this year, it sold just 10 units. That’s one unit short of May 2025 numbers- a 9% year-on-year decline. This brings us to the Creta EV numbers for May- 450 units. In simpler terms, Maruti eVitara sold 3.5 times as much as the Creta EV did, in May.
These numbers are part of a broader trend favouring Maruti Suzuki’s first electric SUV. When the eVitara’s pricing surfaced in February, many commented that Maruti was too late to the EV party to find success there. In the months that followed, we saw the electric SUV rise in acceptance. Even in May, it posted a month-on-month growth of 19.5% (1331 units were sold in April 2026). It also captured a market share of 6.1%.
Hyundai, on the other hand, posted a month-on-month de-growth in May, with the Creta EV. In April 2026, it had sold 559 EVs, 11 of which were IONIQ 5s. That means 548 Creta EVs were sold in April. This marks a decline of 98 units in May, roughly translating to around 18 percent month-on-month de-growth.
The Hyundai Creta has spent a significantly longer time in the Indian market, than the eVitara. Hyundai launched the Creta EV in January 2025, with two battery packs- 42kWh and 51.4kWh- sourced from LG. It became the Korean giant’s first mass-market EV, priced from Rs 17.99 lakh, ex-showroom, at launch. The larger battery version also felt peppy to drive with a 0-100kph time of 7.9 seconds. It has an electric motor that makes 171hp and 255Nm.
The eVitara came at least a year later. Maruti Suzuki played it smart with prices. The eVitara came with a ‘Battery as a Service’ (BaaS) scheme, that brought down the upfront costs to Rs 10.99 lakh. The battery rent in this case is Rs 3.99 per km. This strategy, we believe, has been working in favour of the eVitara.
Of course, there are other factors as well. The electric SUV comes in three broad trims- Delta, Zeta and Alpha, and with two battery packs- 49 kWh and 61 kWh. These are larger than those of the Creta Electric. More importantly, these are both sourced from BYD, and hence enjoy technology-superiority. The smaller battery has a claimed range of 440 km while the lager is claimed to return 543km per charge.
The eVitara’s sales journey had begun on a healthy note- 870 dispatches in the opening month. These included both dealer dispatches and retails, the latter amounting to 222 units. There on, the e-SUV’s popularity rose in a linear fashion.