In a sign of growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), its total registrations surpassed the 1-lakh mark for the second consecutive month in November with a 3 per cent increase on a sequential basis and a whopping 177 per cent growth y-o-y basis.
Without any festival boost enjoyed in October 2022, EV registrations stayed strong during the last month. For the sixth consecutive month, total EV registrations reported a positive growth.
“The petrol/hybrid category has also been able to match the momentum with the registration numbers for November (about 25,000 registrations) staying near October registrations (around 27,000). But the statistics indicate growing affinity towards EVs and sustained movement towards e-mobility in the near future,” said Saket Mehra, partner and national sector leader for automotive industry at Grant Thornton.
Total EV registrations (all segments included) in November stood at 118,877 units (115,893 in October; 42,893 in November 2021), according to data on Vahan dashboard.
‘Positive trend’
“It is a very positive trend and the EV segment will be able to sustain 100,000 plus units per month going forward. A couple of factors contribute to this growth. Many OEMs, both start-ups and established, have started introducing more mainstream products into the market. Unlike earlier EVs, which were low-powered shabbily assembled vehicles, good-quality products are offered now. This has increased confidence among customers that EVs can be a mainstream option. So, credibility has improved significantly,” said Kaushik Madhavan, Independent Consultant & Mobility Advisor.
“Also, investments in new business models such as subscription, battery swapping, better financing, and VaaS (vehicle as a service) and BaaS (battery as a service) have made acquisition and ownership of EVs very attractive. Coupled with significantly better total cost of ownership, EVs today make a very compelling proposition as a daily-usage primary vehicle,” he added.
Though electric two-wheelers reported a marginal sequential decline at 76,163 units in November compared with 76,593 units (highest-ever monthly volumes) in October, battery-powered two-wheelers accounted for 64 per cent of total EV registrations in the last month. Total electric two-wheeler registrations grew 228 per cent y-o-y.
‘Owning not difficult’
“From January 2023, we will see a much higher number as additional capacities will come on stream. While TVS Motor plans more capacity, Hero MotoCorp’s Vida V1 will also be available across markets. These will add up to the monthly numbers going forward. From an awareness perspective, things are much better and people have also realised that owning an EV is not as difficult as portrayed,” said Hemal Thakkar, Director, Crisil Research.
According to Vahan data, Ola Electric remained the top electric two-wheeler player in November by retailing 16,246 units. With more than 11,000 units, Ampere took the No. 2 spot after displacing Okinawa (9,038 units). Hero Electric retailed 9,008 units. TVS Motor’s registrations stood at 7,754, while Ather’s registrations were at 7,741 units.
Total electric three-wheeler sales for November are estimated at 38,724 units compared with 34,800 units in October 2022. However, electric car volumes reported a decline as total registrations stood at 3,835 units last month compared with 4,984 units in October 2022.