Electric Two-Wheeler Market Poised to Surpass 100,000 Units
The initial half of the season witnessed a substantial double-digit increase, culminating in October 2023 with sales reaching 75,000 units. This figure approaches the peak levels previously recorded in the industry before the implementation of a complete subsidy system.
Ola Electric company officials confirmed that they anticipate a 35–40 percent increase in sales in November, leading up to December, which is scheduled to surpass an earlier high of 28,276 units in May 2023.
In order to boost sales, Ola Electric is offering incentives of up to Rs 24,500 on its product range.
During a recent analyst call, KN Radhakrishnan, Director and CEO of TVS Motors, stated that on the back of strong demand, the company has increased production of its electric scooter to 25,000 units per month and plans to debut a line of products ranging from 5 kW to 25 kW over the next year. “TVS anticipates that electric two-wheeler penetration will rise to 20-25 percent over the next three years,” Radhakrishnan said.
Like TVS, Ather Energy is offering cash and corporate discounts on the 450X and 450S. Customers looking to switch from petrol to electric scooters are being offered an exchange value of up to Rs 40,000 on both these models.
The 450X and 450S models from Ather Energy, like those from TVS, come with festive benefits like cash and corporate discounts. Customers who want to convert from petrol to electric scooters can get an exchange value of up to Rs 40,000 on both of these models. Ather Energy’s Chief Business Officer, Ravneet S.
Phokela, also said that he expects “The market to return to pre-subsidy levels by the end of the festive season.”
According to Vahaan data, the pre-subsidy levels were at 1,05,000 units prior to the implementation of the FAME II Scheme. Hero MotoCorp’s Vida, which was averaging less than 1,000 units in the first nine months of the current calendar year, has seen its sales more than double during the Navratri and Dusshera season from 532 units in September 2023 to 1914 units in October 2023.
Greaves Cotton-backed Ampere is also counting on the holiday season to help boost sales, which according to Vahaan data went from 1,500–2,000 units in June and July to 4169 units in October as a result of the FAME subsidy being reduced. Greaves is also offering cash discounts of up to Rs 6,000 on the Magnus EX and Rs 10,000 on the Primus range of electric scooters as part of its festive offers.
Sanjay Behl, CEO and Executive Director of Greaves Electric Mobility told Autocar Professional, “We remain optimistic that the current festive season will herald a’resilient rebound’ (on the back of FAME II subsidies) and the market is poised to achieve new heights.
The sector is expected to increase not just during the holidays but well beyond, according to analysts who share this industry optimism.
Pushan Sharma, Director of Research at CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics, said: “Given that the festive season will last for another two weeks, we expect the Indian electric two-wheeler market to register 35–40 percent YoY growth.”
After the holidays, the rating agency anticipates that the market will stabilize at a growth rate of 25%.
“Despite a marginal increase in the cost of ownership due to the subsidy adjustment, the average running cost of running an electric two-wheeler is 25–30 paise per km as opposed to Rs 2-2.25 per km for a petrol vehicle makes a significant difference over the life of the two-wheeler which is further expected to fuel this growth further,” the CRISIL said in a research note.
Retail sales this year at 688,442 units have eclipsed 6,31,174 units sold in 2022, while EV sales at 6,89,948 units in the first 10 months of 2023 are 42 percent higher than the same period in 2022, according to the Vahaan portal.
Content Credit: Autocar Professional