Electric two-wheeler sales up 72 percent in September 2020

There's some electric action happening in the EV industry but on two wheels. The high-speed electric two-wheeler industry is witnessing signs of revival. 

• 1,473 high speed two-wheelers sold in September 2019 

• The upcoming festive season is expected to add to the pent-up demand

• Hero Electric continues to be one of the biggest sellers

As per the latest data available, this segment has reported strong year-on-year growth of 72 percent in September 2020, albeit on a low year-ago base.

According to the latest data released by the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) for September 2020, high-speed electric two-wheeler registrations were 2,544 units, compared to 1,473 vehicles sold in September 2019.

Sohinder Gill, director-general, SMEV said, “We are experiencing huge customer interest in greener vehicles as they have seen what the environment looks like when no fuel-guzzling vehicles are running on roads. The upcoming festive season will add to the pent-up demand and help OEMs to recover what they lost in Q1 and Q2 FY2021, due to the Covid lockdown.”

The first half of FY2021 has been a roller-coaster ride for the EV industry, as the financial year started with uncertainty due to the Covid-19 lockdown. During the first half of FY2021 (April-September 2020), the industry registered sales of 7,552 high-speed electric two-wheelers as against 10,161 high-speed units sold in April-September 2019.

“One of the main reasons of the stagnant sales is attributed to customers not able to buy products due to Covid-19, which led to a lockdown in the country. However, the industry has been quickly able to enter the positive curve soon after the government announced the unlock process,” said Gill.

The EV market, just like any other vehicle segment, witnessed unprecedented challenging conditions during the year, but it didn’t stop existing and new players from introducing new models. This coupled with an increase in demand for personal transportation could further enable smart growth for the electric two-wheeler industry.

“Lately, there has been a lot of positive news on the EV policy front from the central and state governments leading to a higher confidence amongst OEMs, component suppliers and investors. We look forward to a big push by the government to set right what went wrong with FAME II so as to assist generation of demand which is already showing some green shoots.”

“Some of the measures that could be adopted are removal of the 'range criteria' from two-wheelers for subsidy, reduction of GST on batteries from 18% to 5% when sold separately, mandating delivery businesses to convert their fleets to EVs, promote electric mobility under ‘Swatchh Bharat Campaign’.”, added Gill.

Outlook remains positive

SMEV says its outlook for FY2021 remains positive as it hopes that the recent move by the Central government that allows electric vehicles to be sold without battery and the announcement of the landmark EV policy by the Delhi government, which targets 500,000 EVs on Delhi roads by 2024 and also offers vehicle scrappage benefits, would further help the industry to move forward. In addition, the extension of the PMP guidelines would allow the industry to ramp-up production and strengthen the local component market.

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