Two-Wheeler EV Registrations Jump 13% In August, Hero Electric Again Tops The Chart

The number of two-wheeler electric vehicle (EV) registrations in the country crossed the 50,000 mark in August 2022, according to data available on the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways’ Vahan portal. As of September 1, 2022, two-wheeler EV registrations in August stood at 50,346 units, up 13% from 44,599 units in July.

With this, August became the month to see the second-highest number of registrations in 2022, slightly below March’s 50,372 units.

August marked the fourth consecutive month of increase in two-wheeler EV registrations, after experiencing a steep fall in May on the back of multiple EV fires across the country. The EV fires in India during the peak summer months mostly involved two-wheeler EVs, shaking consumer confidence.

In terms of individual EV original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Hero Electric topped the charts for the second month in a row, with 10,476 two-wheeler EVs registered in August 2022. Okinawa and Ampere completed the podium with 8,554 units and 6,396 units. 

Interestingly, Ola Electric dropped a place to languish in sixth place, with 3,421 two-wheeler EV registrations. The Bhavish Agrawal-led EV unicorn is experiencing a rough patch. Even as Ola Electric announced a new two-wheeler EV model in August, its registrations fell 73% during August as compared to April 2022.

During the same time, however, Hero Electric has seen a resurgence of sorts. While the company saw a sharp decline in May, its registrations surged 268% in August as compared to May 2022. 

However, the biggest gainer in August 2022 was Ather Energy, recording a 4X jump in two-wheeler EV registrations to 5,239 units. The second-biggest gainer for the month was TVS, recording a 46% jump in August 2022.

Following the decline in registrations in the June quarter, most of the two-wheeler EV OEMs have made a recovery. However, the paradigm shift has also seen new market leaders emerge.

On September 1, 2022, the total two-wheeler EV registrations in India stood at just under 3.5 Lakh units, with Okinawa, Hero Electric, Ola Electric, Ampere and Ather Energy accounting for 2.45 Lakh, or more than 72% of total two-wheeler EV registrations. Therefore, almost four in five two-wheeler EVs registered in India come from these five companies.

The total EV registrations in the country rose 11% in August to 85,804 units.

Govt Push For EV Adoption

At the COP26 conference earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a target for India to become net-zero in terms of carbon emissions by 2070. To achieve the same, the government has been promoting the adoption of EVs in the country. 

At a recent Maruti Suzuki event, PM Modi said that EVs are bringing a ‘silent revolution’ to the country. “Be it two-wheelers or four-wheelers, they don’t make any noise. This silence is not only about its engineering, but also the beginning of a silent revolution in the country,” he said.

The government has introduced several schemes to promote EV adoption in the country. 

The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME)-II scheme was launched first in 2016. The scheme has registered 4.75 Lakh sales from 58 OEMs so far.

The government has also launched a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme worth INR 18,100 Cr for advanced cell chemistry manufacturing in India. The scheme saw Ola Electric, Reliance New Energy and Rajesh Exports sign up to manufacture 98 GWh of battery capacity.

Currently, 77 OEMs have made at least a single sale in India’s two-wheeler EV market. However, consolidation is inevitable in the mid to long term, as per a Redseer report. The report also estimated that by 2030, two-wheeler EVs will account for 78% of the total two-wheeler sales in India.

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