Electric scooter, bike sales cross one lakh units as subsides are renewed

Retail sales of electric two-wheelers saw a smart month-on-month rise in July 2024 to 106,949 units, up 34% on June’s 79,868 units, and 96% year on year (July 2023: 54,616 units). This strong growth was expected as the now-extended Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024 (EMPS) was to have ended on July 31, with e-scooter and bike buyers advancing their purchase decisions ahead of that date. However, on July 26, the government extended the EMPS subsidy scheme by another two months till the end of September.

 

This segment, which is the volume driver for India EV Inc, maintained the strong ratio at a 60% share of the total 1,78,948 EVs sold in India in July 2024, and helped drive overall industry numbers by 53% YoY, as per data published on the government of India’s Vahan website (as of August 1, 6am).

 

Like the e-three-wheeler industry, e-two-wheeler OEMs have been impacted by the now-reduced subsidy which saw most EV makers hike product prices. While this can somewhat dampen demand, the wallet-friendly long-term USP of an EV remains a big draw when compared to the high price of petrol, which currently costs Rs 103.44 a litre in Mumbai (on July 31).

 

The seven-month retail sales data table above reveals that the lowest monthly sales in the year to date were in April 2024 – 65,529 units – following the closure of the FAME II subsidy scheme on March 31. This also explains why March 2024 with 140,309 units was the month with the highest-ever e-two-wheeler sales. Let’s take a closer look at the top six movers and shakers of the industry in June and for the first six months of CY2024.

 

Market leader Ola Electric, whose IPO is set to open tommorow, registered strong retail sales of 41,597 units in July 2024, up 114% YoY (July 2023: 19,406 units). While Ola’s market share in July is 39%, its cumulative seven-month sales (269,982 units, up 85%) give it an overall market share of 42.53%, up from 29% a year ago.

 

TVS sold 19,471 iQube e-scooters in July 2024, improving 87% on year-ago sales (July 2023: 10,398 units) and 39% on June 2024’s 14,015 units. This gives it a market share of 18% in July. The company’s cumulative January-July 2024 sales at 109,747 units are up 25% YoY and give it a 17% market share in the year to date but marginally down on the 18% it had in the year-ago January-July 2023 period. The company, which expects two-wheeler EV sales in India to reach 30% market penetration by CY2025, is targeting a big jump in the contribution of EV sales to its overall volumes over the next two years.

 

Bajaj Auto seems to have cemented its position as the No. 3 e-two-wheeler OEM, after Ola and TVS. July, which saw 17,642 Chetaks being retailed, which makes for a 375% YoY increase on a low year-ago base (July 2023: 4,128 units) was the seventh month in a row that Bajaj has outsold Ather Energy. What’s more, it is now hard on the heels of TVS Motor Co.

 

In July 2024, the Bajaj Chetak rode past the 200,000-unit wholesales milestone in the domestic market, news of which Autocar broke. Launched just before the pandemic struck, Bajaj Auto’s first electric scooter took four years to achieve 100,000 sales. The next 100,000 though have come in a scant eight months as a result of new variants and an expanded retail sales network, with June 2024’s 16,691 units its highest monthly dispatches yet.

 

Ather Energy sold a total of 10,080 units in July 2024, which gives it an e-two-wheeler market share of 9.42 percent. Its cumulative January-July sales at 62,437 units are down 5% (January-July 2023: 66,004 units), which could reflect the heat of growing competition for the company.

 

In June, Ather Energy announced plans to set up its third India plant in Maharashtra. The facility, which will come up in the Aurangabad Industrial City (AURIC), calls for an investment of over Rs 2,000 crore and will annually produce up to a million units of both EVs and battery packs.

 

The world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer and the last of the big legacy players to enter the EV market is seeing demand pick up for its Vida brand of e-scooters. The company, which sold 5,044 units in July, clocked 409% YoY growth on a low year-ago base of 990 units. Market share has risen to 2.68% from 0.51% in G1 2023.

 

In June, Hero MotoCorp, which is an early investor in Ather Energy and has been a part of the Bengaluru-based smart electric scooter manufacturer's growth story since 2016, hike its stake by 2.2% and is banking on demand growing for Ather products.

 

Having launched its new Ampere Nexus e-scooter, Greaves Electric Mobility saw a smart rise in its July sales to 3,154 units, up 46 percent. The company’s cumulative seven-month sales at 18,194 units are a sizable increase over the 5,928 units sold a year ago. Nevertheless, this performance is reflected in market share which has risen to 3% from 0.56% a year ago.