Two-Wheeler EV Registrations Decline Marginally In January; Ola Electric Retains Top Spot

The registrations of two-wheeler electric vehicles (EVs) witnessed a marginal decline in January 2023, falling to 64,298 units from 64,527 units in the preceding December 2022 amid the Indian government tightening regulations around FAME-II subsidies.

In September last year, the Centre began tightening the norms for availing subsidies under the FAME-II scheme and later decided to penalise the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for flouting the localisation requirement for components used in EVs under the scheme. Subsequently, the Ministry of Heavy Industries stopped the subsidies for Hero Electric and Okinawa. 

Despite the third consecutive month of decline in total two-wheeler EV registrations in January, Ola Electric reported another increase in registrations to top the chart, as per the data on the Vahan portal on February 2. The startup’s total EV registrations stood at 18,220 units during the month, an increase of 5% from 17,346 units in December last year. Ola Electric’s total registrations stood at 16,375 units in November.

The demand for the EVs of the Bhavish Aggarwal-led electric mobility startup has been on a rise since September last year after it began setting up experience centres and launched a more affordable two-wheeler model.

Last week, Ola Electric also launched ‘Ola Care Subscription’ to offer after-sales service to its EV customers. Besides, Aggarwal, in a recent blog post, said that in 2023 and 2024, Ola Electric will launch more electric two-wheeler EV products, including a mass-market scooter, a mass-market motorcycle, and multiple premium motorcycles.

TVS Motor Company was in the second position in terms of the number of registrations in January. The registrations of its iQube scooter rose 11.2% to 10,395 units during the month from 9,350 units in December 2022.

Recently, TVS Motor Company estimated that its sales of EVs would cross the mark of 1 Lakh units by the end of the financial year 2022-23 (FY23).

Ather Energy took the third position in January, with the number of EV registrations of the Bengaluru-based startup rising 18.7% month-on-month (MoM) to 9,129 units. Its vehicle registrations stood at 7,689 units in December and 7,838 units in November. 

It is pertinent to note that Hero Electric, Okinawa Autotech, and Ampere Vehicles were among the top five EV players in terms of registrations in every month of 2022. However, they were replaced by TVS Motor Company and Ather Energy following a significant drop in the demand for their EVs. 

Hero Electric’s vehicle registrations declined 21% to 6,392 units in January from 8,096 units in December. Similarly, Okinawa Autotech’s registrations dropped 16.6% to 4,404 units in January from 5,280 units in December.

Without the FAME-II subsidies, the EVs manufactured by these OEMs have become costlier than earlier, which could be a reason behind the decline in demand.

Meanwhile, Greaves Cotton’s Ampere, RattanIndia’s Revolt, and Jitendra EV, which were also under the scrutiny of the government and the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) for violating localisation norms, also saw a significant decline in the demand for their EVs.

Ampere, which was in the second position in November behind Ola Electric with total vehicle registration of 12,258 units, reported 4,336 registrations in January. On a MoM basis, its registrations declined 1% from 4,410 units in December.

Meanwhile, Revolt’s vehicle registrations fell 62.2% MoM to 14 units in January. Till mid-2022, the company was seeing registration of over 2,000 units every month. 

While a significant rise in EV demand is expected to continue in 2023 as well, Vinkesh Gulati, chairman of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), recently told Inc42 that the initial two or three months of this year would be challenging until the FAME-II subsidy issues are resolved.

Over 10 Lakh EVs were registered in 2022 across vehicle segments, and this number has already touched the 1 Lakh mark in the first month of 2023.

As per the Economic Survey 2022-23, the domestic EV market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49% between 2022 and 2030 to hit 1 Cr units of annual sales by 2030.