The growing electric vehicle market in the country received a festive boost in October with the electric two- and three-wheeler segments clocking the highest-ever monthly sales.

Overall, registered EV sales saw a big surge in October, clocking 38,170 units, signifying a month-on-month increase of 11 per cent and year-on-year jump of 250 per cent. Total EV sales crossed 30,000 units mark for the second month in a row, according to the information provided by CEEW (Council on Energy, Environment and Water), based on the available data on Vaahan Dashboard.

Better outreach by manufacturers and price parity with conventional vehicles have been driving sales of electric two and three wheelers.

Registered electric two-wheeler sales stood at 18,988 units in October, while electric three-wheeler sales stood at 18,002 units during the month.

High fuel price

Leading electric two-wheeler players such as Hero Electric and Ather had indicated a strong sales period in October in view of the festival season and growing shift to electric vehicles due to high fuel price and lower maintenance cost.

Sohinder Gill, CEO, Hero Electric, said the company sold 50,331 units of its electric two wheelers in the April-October period.

“While we are happy celebrating the delivery of 50,000 bikes to customers, we owe an apology to another 16,500 customers who are on the wait list for deliveries and may have to wait for a few more weeks. We are ramping up our capacities quickly, he said.

In the April-October period, the total registered electric vehicle sales stood at about 1.6 lakh units, of which, electric two- and three-wheelers account for a major portion.

“Improved awareness and acceptance of EVs are providing traction in rural and non-commercial segments as well. Further, higher vaccination levels in India and lower restrictions are slowly increasing the transport demand and corresponding vehicle demand,” said Himani Jain, Senior Programme Lead, CEEW (Council on Energy, Environment and Water).

Charging ecosystem

While electric two wheelers will continue to see strong sales momentum due to improving charging ecosystem and high fuel prices for ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles, the opening up of schools and colleges and resumption of public transport are expected to drive demand for last-mile connectivity, and electric three wheelers may see a revival in demand in the coming months. The electric car market has been showing signs of improvements, led by Tata Motors. Unlike the electric two-wheeler market, where buyers have many models to choose from, the electric car market offers limited options now.

“Tata dominance in the e-car segment is because SUV Tata Nexon is the only model in the segment that qualifies for FAME-II incentives, ergo the State-level incentives, too (since only the models approved under the FAME-II scheme can avail State-level incentives).

“The inclusion of these incentives has driven prices further down, making the Nexon EV more affordable by almost ₹2.5-3lakh (depending on the state subsidy), says a report of JMK Research.

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