By Bhavya Dilipkumar and Avishek Banerjee
After witnessing a 17 percent jump in sales on a Month-on-Month (MoM) basis in October , India’s Electric Two-Wheeler (E2W) sales surpassed 91,000 unit sales mark in November. This is the highest number recorded since the reduction of the FAME subsidy from 40 percent to 15 percent, showing healthy growth as the festive season demand continues.
As per the data available on the Vahan database, sales of battery-powered scooters and motorcycles are up by 21.75 percent on a MoM basis at 91,253 units from 74,951 units in October. On a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis the E2W sales are up by 18.82 percent from 76,793 units in November this year, as per the data available on the Vahan portal.
The FAME India Scheme is a government subsidy scheme under the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) and stands for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India.
“The average monthly run rate for FY24 (Year to Date) is at 70,700 units. FY23 average monthly run rate of 60,500 units. This shows a healthy growth. EV 2W penetration for November 2023 stood at 5.0 percent vs 5.0 percent in Oct 2023,” said a report by Elara Securities Research.
It may be recalled that E2W sales touched the lowest number at 45,000 units in June as the government announced a reduction of the FAME subsidy from 40 percent to 15 percent on June 1.
Vahan only records the total number of sales registered and not the bookings. It also does not take into account low-speed E2W sales and excludes the data for Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.
OEMs retain their positions
With sales reaching all-time high numbers, most of the vehiclemakers registered positive growth in sales.
Ola Electric retained the numero uno spot for twelve months consecutively as it sold nearly 29,808 units in November. The Bhavish Aggarwal-led company’s sales went up by 25.13 percent from 23,821 units in October this year.
The Bangalore-based EV startup, in an official release, revealed that it has posted its highest ever monthly tally on the back of “strong festive demand” and has witnessed an MoM growth of approximately 30 percent and YoY growth of 82 percent in November. The company also claimed that it has dominated the EV scooter segment with a market share of approximately 35 percent in November.
“The strong sales performance is a testament to the trust customers have in our brand and our strong product lineup. We have clearly emerged as our customers’ top choice recording our highest ever registrations, and we expect the trend to continue in December, closing the year on a new high,” said Anshul Khandelwal, Chief Marketing Officer, Ola in a media statement.
TVS Motor Company came in second with 18,945 units of vehicle registrations, up by 15.08 percent from 16,462 units in October. Bajaj Auto came in third with nearly 11,681 units of Chetak sold, a surge of 29.04 percent from 9,052 units in October.
Ather Energy, which attained the fourth position, sold around 9,171 units in November vis-a-vis 8,415 units in October, witnessing a 8.9 percent jump. The company, in an official release, claimed that it sold 9,344 units last month.
Ravneet Singh Phokela, Chief Business Officer, Ather Energy, said in an official release, “The EV 2-wheeler market is approaching volumes seen before subsidy revisions, and we anticipate a positive end to 2023. More is in store in December as we are gearing up for an exciting and fast-paced start to 2024.”
Greaves Cotton-owned Ampere Electric, which was the fifth in the pecking order sold 4,691 units in November as against 4,530 units in October (a 3.55 percent MoM uptick).
Affordable EVs gain popularity
According to industry sources and EV mobility experts, the race among top EV companies will focus on launching affordable electric two-wheelers to accelerate adoption.
“Be it Ola, Ather or TVS, all the major players will launch EVs at an affordable price. The aim is to match the ICE vehicle price range to accelerate adoption,” an independent mobility expert told Moneycontrol requesting anonymity.
Ola Electric, on December 2nd, announced that the Ola S1 X plus scooters will be available for an affordable price in December.
“For the month of December Ola S1X plus will be available at a price of Rs 89,999 in all showrooms. This is closer to the price of ICE and we expect more registrations from today itself,” said the company’s CEO Bhavish Aggarwal on social media livestream.
Electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy is also set to enter the non-premium scooter category with the launch of family scooters, co-founder and chief executive Tarun Mehta said on November 22. The e-scooter is said to compete with TVS’ iQube electric scooter and Bajaj Chetak.