Electric two-wheeler sales near pre FAME subsidy cut levels

Four months after the FAME-II subsidy was reduced by 25 percent, retail sales of electric two-wheelers in India are nearing levels clocked in the first four months of the year. September 2023 has witnessed nearly 64,000 electric scooters and motorcycles being bought across India.

Over 2.25 lakh new electric two-wheelers have been bought between June-September at higher prices, following the reduced subsidy. This indicates a gradual maturing of the Indian two-wheeler EV market.

It is to be noted that record sales of 1,05,511 units in May 2023 were an aberration, given that buyers rushed to make purchases to beat the June 1 deadline. It may be recollected that e-two-wheeler sales had crashed to an 11-month low of 46,060 units in June 2023 after the FAME subsidy was heavily slashed.

As per retail sales numbers on the Government of India’s Vahan website, September 2023 saw 63,857 electric two-wheelers being sold – 1,158 units more than the 62,699 units in August and 9,281 units more than July’s 54,576 units. 

While the month-on-month growth may be marginal – 1.84 percent in September 2023 – the year-on-year (YoY) growth has returned to double digits after hitting a low of 4 percent in June. The YoY sales increase in July (up 17 percent), August and September (up 20 percent) indicates that demand for electric scooters and motorcycles remains strong.

Cumulative sales for the first nine months of 2023 is 6,16,673 units, which is 49 percent better than 2022’s 4,12,557 units. At end-September 2023, total two-wheeler EV sales were just 14,501 units shy of the whole of last year's retail sales – 6,31,174 units.

With three months to go until the year ends and the festive season continuing with Navratri (October 15-24) and Diwali (in November), it can be surmised that the Indian electric two-wheeler industry could sell around 7,50,000-8,00,000 units in total, which translates into an 18-25 percent YoY growth.

Top Indian EV players

A deep dive into the Vahan retail sales data reveals that of the 161 OEMs in India’s very competitive e-two-wheeler market, the top six have sold in excess of 1,000 units each, and the top two – Ola Electric and TVS Motor Co – in excess of 15,000 units each. The combined sales of these top six manufacturers add up to 53,829 units or 84 percent of the total industry in September, which means that the other 155 players have battled it out for the remaining 16 percent of the market.

Market leader Ola Electric has a commanding 29 percent share, having sold 18,664 units in September; however, this makes for flat sales as its August numbers were similar at 18,725 units. Expect Ola Electric, which recently launched its refreshed S1 series of e-scooters and has already garnered over 75,000 bookings, to clock in excess of 20,000 units a month soon given that the festive season will really pick up from mid-October.

TVS Motor Co, with 15,558 units, saw a marginal 1 percent month-on-month growth (August 2023: 14,473) and grew its market share by one percentage point to 24 percent in September – this is an increase over the 19 percent share it had in July. Between January-September 2023, TVS has surpassed the 1,00,000-unit milestone with a total of 1,18,518 units. September also saw the iQube e-scooter ride past the cumulative 2,00,000 sales milestone in 45 months since its January 2020 launch. In August, the company launched its new and premium EV flagship, the TVS X, priced at Rs 2.50 lakh.

Maintaining its podium position in third place is Bengaluru-based smart e-scooter manufacturer Ather Energy with 6,835 units, which constituted flat sales compared to August 2023’s 7,130 units. Ather Energy is among those EV makers that's making moves to enable easy financing to potential buyers.

Bajaj Auto, which has ramped up production of the Chetak scooter and is also expanding its network, sold 7,083 units in September, up 8 percent on August’s 6,576 units. This is Bajaj Auto’s second-best monthly performance after the best-yet 9,983 units in May 2023. Interestingly, in terms of market share for September 2023, Bajaj Auto and Ather Energy have a similar 11 percent share for last month.