FAME-II Subsidy Issues Hit Two-Wheeler EV Demand, Registrations Drop 23% MoM In April

Electric two-wheeler registrations dropped around 23% month-on-month (MoM) in April, after seeing a sharp jump in March, amid the ongoing issues and uncertainty around the Centre’s FAME-II scheme.

A total of 66,410 two-wheeler EVs were registered in April as against 86,187 units in March, as per the data on the Vahan portal on May 1. In fact, the April figure is just a little higher than the February registration number of 66,032 units.

Despite the decline in registration, Ola Electric continued to lead the chart in April with registration of 21,845 units. The Bhavish Aggarwal-led electric mobility startup saw only over 2% rise in vehicle registrations from 21,389 units in March. In comparison, its registrations surged 20% MoM in March.

It must be noted that besides 14 electric two-wheeler manufacturers that are under the scrutiny for allegedly claiming FAME-II subsidies in violation of minimum localisation norms, the likes of Ola Electric, Ather Energy, TVS Motor, and Hero Motocorp are also facing allegations for claiming the subsidies by artificially keeping their vehicle prices lower. These players allegedly kept the prices of their vehicles lower by billing integral parts like charger and proprietary software separately from the vehicle.

As per a latest report, the government has started penalising these original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Ola Electric has reportedly also agreed to compensate consumers for the price of the charger that it billed separately rather than including in the ex-factory price of its escooters.

Meanwhile, Ather Energy was at the fourth spot in April but saw a 36% decline in its EV registrations to 7,737 units from 12,167 units in March, according to the Vahan data.

The demand for the escooters of Ather Energy, one of the leading players in the EV market, was on the rise for the last three months. It last saw a dip in two-wheeler registrations in December last year when its registrations stood at 7,693 units.

“We delivered 8,182 scooters in April, registering 117% year-on-year growth. There has been a dip in sales this month when compared to March ‘23 due to the uncertainty around FAME policy and its cascading impact,” said Ravneet Singh Phokela, chief business officer at Ather Energy, in a statement.

However, Phokela said that the startup continues to see a steady rise in demand across the country. Ather Energy also revamped its product portfolio last month and introduced Ather 450X at a lower price.

Meanwhile, TVS Motor retained its second spot but saw a sharp decline of 48.2% in registrations to 8,727 units in April from 16,859 units in March. The OEM’s sales dropped to November 2022 levels, when it had registered 8,136 units, last month.

Similarly, other players like Okinawa Autotech, Ampere Vehicles, and Hero MotoCorp also continue to see a fall in their two-wheeler registrations in April in view of the FAME-II controversy. While Okinawa Autotech’s registrations fell 29% MoM to 3,216 units, Ampere Vehicles saw 11% MoM decline to 8,316 units. Hero MotoCorp’s registrations plummeted 52% MoM to 144 units last month.

Industry experts predict the slump in the nascent electric two-wheeler market, which is leading the overall EV sales in the country, to continue till a resolution is found to the issues around the FAME-II scheme. However, for now, no resolution seems to be in sight as the government and EV players are involved in making allegations and counter allegations. 

Recently, industry body Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) criticised the government for failing to achieve the targets under the FAME-II scheme.

In a letter to the parliamentary standing committee on industry, energy and estimates, the SMEV alleged that the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) also accounted for sales of electric two-wheelers for which subsidies were not released in its data reports.

“…if it did not, it would show up as a 50% deficit in target achievement; not the rosy picture the department has been trying to paint – or more precisely, the dire situation it is trying to cover up,” the letter noted. 

The SMEV also said that OEMs have become financiers for the FAME-II scheme, which has bloated their books, due to the lack of clear communication from the MHI.

Meanwhile, the drop in two-wheeler EV registrations also hit overall EV sales in the country in April. EV registrations fell to 1.1 Lakh units in April from 1.4 Lakh units in March.