A combination of growth-impacting factors played spoilsport with the market performance of the electric two-wheeler industry in May 2024. After six straight months of over 75,000-unit sales and best-ever monthly sales of 1.37 lakh units in March, May 2024 were similar to the poor sales of April 2024, if marginally higher.
May 2024’s sales do not warrant a year-on-year comparison because May 2023 was when e-scooter and bike buyers rushed to buy EVs ahead of the FAME subsidy reduction that kicked in from June 2023. As a result, May 2023 saw retail sales surpass the 1 lakh unit milestone for the first time (1,05,564 units), which meant the month was also the best-one yet for India EV Inc.
May, like April, usually in India, is a month of slow sales. The momentum tends to gradually pick up, fall again in the monsoon and then rev up again in the festive season around September-October. This year, April and May have been the key months in the election season which has, to some extent, impacted monthly numbers. Add to this the now-reduced Electric Mobility Promotion subsidy, which has already seen most of the leading electric two-wheeler OEMs increase prices of their products.
May 2024, like April, was a month of hectic election-related activity across the country. This mega democratic exercise somewhat impacted market sentiment, delaying customer conversions and stalling purchase decisions.
Ola Electric: 37,191 units
Ola Electric has a huge and seemingly unassailable lead over its rivals. In May 2024, Ola retailed 37,191 units, which is the highest amongst all OEMs and a 9 percent month-on-month increase (April 2024: 34,021 units). This, in May 2024, translates into Ola having an overwhelming market share of 58 percent. For the first five months of 2024, with retail sales totalling 1,91,088 units, Ola has a commanding market share of 44.43 percent (sales in January-May 2024: 4,30,077 units).
TVS: 11,737 units
TVS Motor Co, the firm No. 2 player, recorded retail sales of 11,737 units last month, improving 51 percent on its April 2024 sales of 7,742 units. This gives it an 18.42 percent market share for the month while the cumulative January-May 2024 sales at 76,134 units gives the company an 18 percent market share in the year to date.
The company, which expects two-wheeler EV sales in India to reach 30 percent market penetration by CY2025, is targeting a big jump in the contribution of EV sales to its overall volumes over the next two years.
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Bajaj: 9,189 units
Bajaj Auto maintains its No. 3 ranking with 9,189 Chetaks sold and has a market share of 14.42 percent. Between January and May 2024, the Pune-based company has sold 57,463 Chetaks, which gives it a 13.36 percent market share. Bajaj Auto, which markets the two Chetak variants – Urbane and Premium – continues to see strong demand.
This is thanks to a ramped-up production and a growing dealer network, which is to be expanded from its existing presence in 164 cities and 200 touchpoints to around 600 showrooms in the next three to four months. Bajaj Auto is also soon to further up the ante with the launch of a new mass-market e-scooter under the Chetak brand umbrella.
Ather Energy: 6,024 units
Bengaluru-based smart startup Ather Energy recorded sales of 6,024 units in May 2024 and a market share of 9.45 percent. Its cumulative January-May sales at 46,001 units gave it a market share of 13 percent. Ather is set to begin deliveries of its Rizta family scooter in the coming months which should help it claw back some much-needed market share.
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Vida: 2,453 units
Hero MotoCorp’s EV subsidiary, Vida, took fifth rank in May 2024 with sales of 2,453 units, up 157 percent on its April sales of 955 units and its best monthly performance in the year to date.
Then there’s the recent entrant River Mobility which registered sales of 164 units of its Indie electric scooter last month.
Will sales pick up?
The new Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS), valid for a four-month period from April 1 to July 31, has a total outlay of Rs 500 crore and aims to support the purchase of 372,000 EVs including 333,000 two-wheelers and 38,828 three-wheelers.
Electric two-wheelers get a subsidy of Rs 5,000 per kWh with a maximum limit of Rs 10,000 per unit under EMPS. Suffice it to say, July 2024 will likely see a similar spike in EV sales as in March 2024.
It may be recollected that a similar market scenario played out last year. When the FAME II subsidy was slashed from 40 percent to 15 percent starting June 1, 2023, demand jumped 42 percent in May 2023 to overall 1,58,454 EVs (across all segments) from April 2023’s 1,11,356 units. After that sales fell 35 percent month on month in June 2023 (1,02,640 units) but saw a gradual recovery – July (1,16,619 units), August (1,27,180 units), September (1,28,536 units), October (1,40,300 units), November (1,53,970 units) and December (1,41,763 units).
The fact of the matter is that compared to fossil fuelled vehicles or even CNG-powered ones, the long-term wallet-friendly, value proposition of an EV remains a winning bet, both for individual users as well as fleet operators. And with the regular rollout of new zero-emission products on two wheels, consumers have a good choice of what suits their wallets.
Hormazd Sorabjee
Sahil Kukreja
