Bhubaneswar: PM Modi’s appeal for adopting EVs coupled with petrol crisis scripted a spike story for EVs in the country, including Odisha.

The EV sales per day in country doubled to over 10,720 in last 72hours vis-à-vis 5,107 units per day in first 13 days in May. The EV sales pitch in May (as on May 16) stood at 98, 984, including 41,393 units in Odisha. But here comes a twist in the story. 

Though the country saw a dip in EV sales post-subsidy correction in India’s electric vehicle (EV) market, the rise in delivery gap may be impacting the EV sales, structurally, in May, and thereafter.

EV Sales Slowing down?

An analysis of Vahan and FADA data for April–May 2026 confirms the first leg of the slowdown: a natural cooling-off after March’s historic fiscal-end surge. But fresh supply-chain signals now indicate that the market is running into an unexpected wall—not of demand, but of 'chemistry'.

March Peak vs April Reality: The Optical Correction

March 2026 was never going to sustain itself.

Driven by the closure of the subsidy window and year-end tax incentives, dealerships across states like Odisha aggressively liquidated inventory. EV registrations touched nearly 2.79 lakh units, an unsustainable spike.

By April, volumes corrected to around 2.39 lakh units, a drop that was widely interpreted as a “post-subsidy normalization.”

That explanation is now proving incomplete.

May’s Missing Recovery: A Break in the Cycle

Historically, such corrections reverse quickly. Within 30 days, OEMs recalibrate pricing, supply lines stabilize, and dispatches rebound.

But May is behaving differently.

Instead of a V-shaped recovery, dealership-level data and channel checks suggest a flatlining of dispatches. Inventory pipelines are not refilling at expected speeds. Waiting periods are quietly expanding—even as consumer interest remains elevated due to rising fuel anxieties.

This divergence between strong intent and weak delivery is the real story.

Sulphur Factor: The Disruptor

At the heart of this slowdown lies a less visible but critical bottleneck—sulphur and sulphuric acid availability.

Sulphur prices in India have jumped nearly 20% in April 2026, reflecting tightening supply conditions.

India remains heavily import-dependent, with logistics costs and port delays amplifying domestic price pressures.

Benchmark import prices are hovering around $100–110 per tonne range, indicating elevated levels compared to normalised cycles.

At the same time, sulphuric acid—the key derivative used in metal processing—has seen historically high global prices, with sharp year-on-year increases and supply tightness.

Why This Matters for EVs

Sulphur is not just a fertilizer input—it is central to battery metal refining. Lithium and nickel processing rely heavily on battery-grade sulphuric acid. Any disruption in sulphur supply directly impacts cell manufacturing throughput

This is not a mining problem—it is a processing bottleneck

In simple terms: Even if lithium ore is available, you can’t refine it fast enough without sulphuric acid.

Geopolitical Trigger: Hormuz and Beyond

The timing of this constraint is not accidental.

The Middle East—particularly Gulf producers—is a key supplier of elemental sulphur

Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor have increased freight, insurance, and delivery timelines

Global markets are already witnessing sulphur turning from a by-product into a strategic commodity under stress.

For India, which imports a significant share of its sulphur requirement, this translates into:

·        Higher landed costs

·        Delayed cargo arrivals

·        Tighter availability for downstream industries

Ground Zero: Dealership Stress in Eastern India

The impact is now visible on the ground.

In Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and across eastern India: Waiting periods for popular EV two-wheelers are extending

Passenger EV deliveries are facing unofficial delays. Dealers report slower factory dispatches despite bookings holding up. This is not demand destruction—it is supply throttling.

Bigger Shift: From Demand to Supply Shock

The April slowdown was demand-driven. But the May stagnation seems supply driven. That distinction is critical.

What the data now suggests is a two-stage disruption:

Stage 1: Subsidy withdrawal = Demand normalization

Stage 2: Sulphur bottleneck = Supply constraint

And the second stage looks far more dangerous.

The Bottomline: Will EV crisis Precipitate?

India’s EV transition is no longer just a policy story, but seems now getting entangled in global commodity geopolitics.

The irony here is consumers want to shift away from fossil fuels, but the transition itself is being slowed by a by-product of fossil fuel refining—sulphur

Unless sulphur supply chains stabilize, the EV market may not see the expected recovery curve.

It seems, instead of a sharp rebound, India could be staring at a prolonged, supply-constrained plateau—where demand exists, intent is strong, but the vehicles simply don’t arrive.

Also Read: PM Modi’s EV Push: How the Strait of Hormuz Crisis Accelerated India's EV Surge