E2W Registrations: Ather Energy Climbs To Third Spot In Sep, Ola Electric Slips

After seeing a lull in EV two wheeler (E2W) registrations in August, Bajaj Auto regained stead in the month of September, reclaiming the second spot in monthly E2W registrations.

While TVS has been maintaining its dominance in the E2W space for months, Bajaj Auto E2W registrations zoomed 52% to 17,972 units in September from 11,821 registrations last month, as per Vahan data on September 30. A shortage of rare earth metals took its toll on Bajaj in August, leading it to slip to the fifth position last month.

Meanwhile, the rare earth magnet crisis continues to wreak havoc on the adoption of EVs in the Indian ecosystem. The total E2W registrations fell 8.3% month-on-month (MoM) to 96,205 units in September from 1,04,950 units registered in August. 

In line with the broader trends, market leader TVS also witnessed a 13% decline in E2W registrations to 21,052 in September from 24,277 E2W registrations in August. 

Ather Surpasses Ola Electric 

In respect to the listed new-age tech companies, Ather Energy surpassed Ola Electric in September as the latter witnessed a sharp 35% decline in E2W registrations. The Bhavish Aggarwal led company registrations dropped to 12,223 units in September from 19,020 last month. 

The decline in registrations contrasts Ola Electric’s claims in the month of September. During the Navratris in September, the EV major launched a new campaign, titled “Ola Muhurat Mahotsav”, which saw it sell its E2W’s at a reduced price of INR 49,999. The company later claimed that it sold all units on offer within just “5 minutes of the window opening” on September 24.

On the other hand, Ather also witnessed a drop in its total registrations in line with the broader market. Its E2W registrations dropped  8.35% to 16,558 units in September from 18,066 last month.

Ather recently decided to defer the submission of claims for demand incentives to the tune of INR 26.2 Cr under the Centre’s PM E-DRIVE scheme due to rare earth magnet shortage. 

In a filing earlier this month, the company claimed that it deviated from the manufacturing guidelines prescribed under the PM E-DRIVE scheme and the Phased Manufacturing Program (PMP) due to the ban on exports of certain categories of heavy rare earth magnets by China. 

Its rival Ola on the other hand reportedly filed a claim of around INR 400 Cr under the PLI scheme for FY25, based on the claim of eligible registrations of about INR 3,000 Cr during the fiscal.

Smaller EV Players Secure Funding, Accelerate Growth

With a 13% decline in EV registrations across categories in the country, emerging EV players also faced drops in registrations. 

Simple Energy, which raised $10 Mn in a funding round last week from its existing investors, saw its registrations dip 23% to 518 E2W units in September from 670 units in August. 

Meanwhile, Bengaluru-based Greaves Electric Mobility saw a 13% decline in its registrations to 3,912 units in September against 4,500 last month. 

While Pure EV’s registrations reduced 5% to 1,674 units in the month under review, Kinetic Green Energy’s E2W registrations crashed 31% MoM to 1,040 units. 

Other EV players like River Mobility, Oben Electric and Ultraviolette saw registrations declining 9%, 10% and 20% respectively. 

India recorded a total EV registration across categories of 1.74 Lakh in September as against 1.97 Lakh last month. Nevertheless, the country’s EV market is poised to become a $132 Bn opportunity by 2030.