Electric vehicle (EV) penetration in the luxury car segment has seen a drop by nearly 3 percentage points in the GST 2.0 era with the internal combustion engine versions offering better total cost of ownership, according to industry players. While the trend is also visible in the mass market segment, it is the entry luxury segment that is witnessing a more marked shift towards internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles as price difference between EV and ICE widened under the new GST rates. "If I look at October and November (2025), it came down by 2 to 3 percentage points across mass market as well as luxury, because of ICE having much better TCO (total cost of ownership) compared to EV. So, the moment the equation changes, we can see a change in (EV) penetration," Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer told PTI. The major "fluctuation" is in the entry luxury EV segment, he said, adding that for Mercedes-Benz India, its EVs are mostly in the top-end luxury ...