SUMMARY
Escooter registrations declined over 53% month-on-month to 64,013 units in April from over 1.37 Lakh units in March
Ola Electric continued to top the chart even as its vehicle registration declined almost 35% MoM to 33,062 units last month
Among other major EV players, TVS Motor saw a 71% MoM dip in registrations and Ather Energy witnessed a 75% slump to 4,052 units
After crossing the 1 Lakh mark in March, electric two-wheeler registrations in the country dipped to almost an eight-month low at 64,013 units in April.
Total registrations declined over 53% month-on-month (MoM) from over 1.37 Lakh units in March, as per Vahan data on May 1, amid lowered vehicle subsidies and seasonal factors.
Most two-wheeler EV players faced the heat of the demand slowdown. Ola Electric continued to top the chart even as its vehicle registration declined almost 35% MoM to 33,062 units last month.
IPO-bound Ola Electric had witnessed its highest-ever monthly vehicle registrations of over 50,000 units in March.
It is pertinent to note that in an attempt to increase vehicle sales, Ola Electric cut the prices of its latest escooter range S1 X last month. The Bhavish Aggarwal-led startup lowered the price range of the S1 X portfolio to INR 69,999 to INR 99,999 from INR 79,999 to INR 1,09,999 earlier.
On the other hand, TVS Motor maintained its second position in terms of vehicle registrations but saw a 71% MoM dip to 7,653 units in April. This was the lowest monthly vehicle registrations since October 2022 for the legacy automobile player.
It is important to note here that Vahan data shows the total number of vehicle registrations and not sales, which can be higher than the former.
The slump in registrations in April narrowed TVS Motor’s lead over third-placed Bajaj Auto, even as the latter saw its registrations slump over 58% to 7,515 units from over 18,000 units in March.
Meanwhile, Bajaj might soon launch a new and more affordable variant of its escooter Chetak, as per reports.
Bengaluru-based EV manufacturer Ather Energy also saw its escooter registrations drop a whopping 75% to 4,052 units in April from 17,304 units in March.
It is pertinent to note that Ather is expanding its product range and launched a “family scooter” Rizta early last month. Besides, the startup, which is also gearing up for its IPO, forayed into the smart helmet category with its product line ‘HALO’ in April.
The startup continues to bat for the government continuing its demand subsidies to grow EV adoption in the country. Ather CEO Tarun Mehta recently told multiple publications that the absence of incentives would hinder market growth.
We must note that the Centre’s FAME-II scheme came to an end on March 31 this year. Amid industry demand for an extension of the scheme, the Centre launched an INR 500 Cr scheme, the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024, to promote emobility from April 1 till July end.
However, the demand incentive amount has been reduced under the new scheme.
Meanwhile, most other electric two-wheeler players, including Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV, Hero MotoCorp, and Hero Electric, also saw a decline in vehicle registrations in April.
However, Ampere Vehicles managed to increase its EV registrations by about 18% MoM to 164 units in April. Electric motorbike player Revolt also saw a 25% MoM rise in registrations to 743 units.
Hurt by the decline in electric two-wheeler registrations, total EV registrations across categories dropped to 1.12 Lakh units in April in the country from over 2 Lakh units in March.
The decline comes at a time when the Centre is working on new initiatives to increase EV sales in the country. The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) is working on setting up a task force to create a roadmap for the EV industry to further increase vehicle electrification.
The MHI is working with multiple agencies such as the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), and the Indian Battery Swapping Association (IBSA) to set up the task force via interaction with multiple stakeholders across the EV ecosystem.
