EV sales in India decline 10 percent in August

The 6,335 electric cars and SUVs sold in August mark the lowest EV sales since the beginning of this year.

Published on Sep 03, 2024 07:00:00 AM

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By Ajit Dalvi

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Retail sales demand for electric passenger cars, SUVs, and MPVs fell to its lowest level in the calendar year to date in August 2024. The 6,335 units bought and delivered last month represent a 10 percent decrease year on year (August 2023: 7,012 units). Month on month, the decline is even sharper—19 percent—compared to July 2024’s 7,898 units. This data is based on retail sales figures published on the Vahan website (September 2, 7am). 

  1. Tata Motors, Mahindra EV market share reduces
  2. MG Motor EV market share increases to 21 percent
  3. Luxury EV sales down 14 percent

EV sales by carmaker January-August 2024
CarmakerJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustTOTAL
Tata5,7905,1377,1725.1685,2934,5715,0264,08542,242
MG1,2011,0961,1721,2641,5061,4701,5961,35310,658
Mahindra7836446896685934805083174,682
BYD1631521441551762413542091,594
Citroen3184178130872381581591,065
BMW153129745974577763686
Mercedes62465313464473448488
Hyundai16912515390100635939798
Volvo5546514041454229349
Kia3823342222161718190
Audi15229137191810113
Porsche1031710345456
Rolls-Royce000112116
JLR010000304
TOTAL8,4707,5089,7467,7547,9677,2537,8986,33562,931

Electric passenger vehicle market leader Tata Motors, which has the largest portfolio comprising the Nexon EV, Tigor EV, Tiago EV, Xpres-T (for fleet buyers), Punch EV, and the recently launched Curvv EV, sold 4,085 EVs in August 2024. This represents a decline of 14 percent YoY (July 2023: 4,777 EVs), reflecting increased competition. In August 2024, Tata Motors’ EV market share was 64 percent, down from 68 percent in August 2023. For the cumulative eight-month retail sales period of January-August 2024, Tata Motors has sold 42,242 units, marking an increase of 6 percent YoY (January-July 2023: 39,909 EVs). At this point in the calendar year, Tata Motors has achieved 70 percent of its total 2023 sales of 60,000 units.

MG Motor India, which currently offers two EVs — the ZS EV and Comet EV — sold 1,353 units in August, capturing a market share of 21 percent. This marks a significant increase from the 17 percent share it held a year ago. The company, now operating under the JSW Group brand, plans to soon introduce a new EV, the Windsor, expected to be priced below Rs 20 lakh. The company is also upping the ante on the sales network front by expanding into Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities, as well as rural markets across India. There are plans to set up 100 new touchpoints by the end of 2024, and to reach 520 touchpoints in 270 cities by March 2025.
 
Ranked third is Mahindra, which sold 317 XUV400s, its only EV, in August 2024. This gives the company a 5 percent market share, down from 6.45 percent in July 2024, when it sold 508 units. However, Mahindra’s eight-month sales in the year to date at 4,682 units are a near doubling of sales and up 95 percent YoY (January-August 2023: 2,393 units). The brand plans to add manufacturing capacity for around 100,000 units of its upcoming Born Electric vehicles by the end of March 2025, and is expected to invest Rs 12,000 crore in its EV program. It has also announced several new models on the INGLO platform, which will include key components from the Volkswagen Group.
 
BYD India, which sells the Atto 3 SUV, e6 MPV, and launched the Seal sedan on March 5, is the No. 4 EV maker both in August (209 units) and for the January-August 2024 period (1,594 units).
 
PCA Motors (Citroen India) sold 159 EVs in August, one more than in July 2024 and 35 percent more than August 2023’s 118 units. The company, which retails the e-C3, the electric avatar of the C3 hatchback, is seeing growing demand, particularly from EV fleet operators. The Citroen eC3, which has a 29.2kWh battery pack and an ARAI-claimed range of 320km, should see increased sales momentum later this year. Between March and June 2024, the e-C3 received bulk orders for over 7,000 units from Blusmart, OHM E Logistics, and Cab-E.
 
Hyundai, which has discontinued the Kona in India, sold 39 Ioniq 5 EVs in August. This is the company’s lowest monthly EV sales in the past eight months. Cumulative eight-month sales at 798 units are down 11 percent (January-August 2023: 903 units).

Luxury EV sales in August 2024

Mirroring the overall trend, retail sales of luxury electric cars, sedans, and SUVs dropped 14 percent in August 2024 to 155 units (August 2023: 180 units), reflecting a similar YoY decline as seen in July 2024. However, the numbers and YoY growth are much better on the cumulative sales front.

As per Vahan data, cumulative January-August 2024 retails for seven carmakers are 1,702 units, up 24 percent YoY (January-August 2023: 1,371 units).

BMW India remains the luxury EV market leader, with 63 units sold in August and 686 units in the first eight months of the year. This gives it a market share of 40 percent in both August and the January-August 2024 period.

Mercedes-Benz India sold 48 EVs in August 2024, 14 more than in July 2024. Its combined January-August 2024 sales of 488 EVs represent a 90 percent YoY increase (from 256 EVs in January-July 2023) and give it a 29 percent share of the luxury EV market. As of the end of August, the German carmaker is just 27 units shy of its total 2023 sales of 515 units.
 
Volvo Auto India sold 29 EVs in August, 13 fewer than in July. Cumulative sales for the first eight months total 349 units, an 8 percent improvement over the 324 units sold during the same period last year, giving it a 20 percent market share.
 
Audi India sold 10 EVs last month, bringing its eight-month total to 113 units — up 68 percent YoY. The company currently holds a 7 percent share of the luxury passenger vehicle market.

Cumulative EV sales for January-August 2024

Total EV sales January-August
Month20242023Change
January8,4703,433147%
February7,5084,75458%
March9,7468,82310%
April7,7546,02829%
May7,9677,7073%
June7,2537,966-9%
July7,8987,7682%
August6,3357,012-10%
TOTAL62,93153,49118%

On the cumulative sales front, total retail for the first eight months of 2024 stands at 62,931 units, up 18 percent YoY (January-August 2023: 53,491 units). This figure represents 76 percent of the total 2023 sales of 82,494 units. With four months of 2024 remaining, the EV industry is on track to surpass the 1,00,000 retail sales milestone for the first time.

CY2024 opened with strong sales of 8,470 units, dropped 11 percent month on month to 7,508 units in February, and then hit a high of 9,746 EVs in the FY2024-ending month of March. For the next four months, electric car retails were below the 8,000 mark.

Also see:

Maruti responds to slowing sales by lowering production

Mahindra XUV700: 74 percent of sales come from diesel variants

Kia crosses million unit sales milestone in India

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