Two-Wheeler EV Registrations Rise A Mere 8% MoM In August As Major OEMs Snail Ahead

The electric two-wheeler market has once again started regaining some of its lost momentum, which is evident from the 8% month-on-month (MoM) rise in the total number of vehicle registrations in August.

As per the latest data available on Vahan (as on August 31), total EV registrations in the two-wheeler category rose to 58,927 units during the month from 54,498 units in July. 

We must note that the vehicle registrations nosedived to a 12-month low of around 46K units in June. 

Even though there was an uptick in the number of EV registrations, all major OEMs struggled to see a healthy number of vehicle registrations.

Meanwhile, Ola Electric continued to lead the two-wheeler EV market in August but saw a 10.4% decline in registrations to 17,331 units from 19,340 units in July. In June, the EV maker registered 17,655 units.

The dwindling number of sales comes in the month when the Bhavish Aggarwal-led EV major started the deliveries of its brand new S1 Air escooter.

After opening the purchase window of its latest model in July end, Ola Electric said last week that it had started the deliveries of its new escooters.

The startup also claimed to have already received 50,000 bookings for the escooters. While the Vahan portal does not show the booking numbers, it would be interesting to see if Ola Electric can pick up its vehicle registration pace in the coming months.

Moving on, TVS Motor continued to dominate the second position in the electric two-wheeler market for another month. Its vehicle registration jumped almost 40% MoM to 14,510 units in August.

The company continues to see steady growth. In July, its EV registrations increased to 10,383 units from 7,860 units in June.

We must also note that TVS Motor is plying boldly in the EV ecosystem. It recently launched an INR 2.5 Lakh escooter, TVS X, which is currently the most expensive escooters on sale.

On the other hand, Ather Energy witnessed muted growth as its vehicle registrations rose a mere 1.6% to 6,780 units in August from 6,671 units in July.

Ampere Vehicles saw its vehicle registration nosedive to more than a two-year low to 743 units. On a MoM comparison, its vehicle registration tumbled 47.4% from 1,414 units registered in July.

We must note that Ampere, along with more than a dozen other two-wheeler EV players, came under the government’s security for allegedly violating the minimum localisation norms that were required to claim the subsidy benefits under the FAME-II scheme.

Earlier this year, the central government started penalising these EV players and started claiming back the subsidies they had received from the government.

Ampere was expected to pay INR 124.91 Cr to the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI).

While the situation has become difficult for most of these leading OEMs, Ampere parent Greaves Cotton Limited said during its Q1 FY24 earnings that the escooter brand continued its leadership position and achieved a cumulative secondary sales milestone of 2 lakh units till the quarter.

The other most battered electric two-wheeler player, Okinawa Autotech, also saw its vehicle registration decline 14.4% to 1,938 units in August from 2,263 units in July. 

Following the penalties imposed on several OEMs for misappropriation of subsidies, Okinawa was liable to refund subsidies worth INR 116.85 Cr to the MHI.

Despite its escooters catching fire, Okinawa’s vehicle registration stood at 8,759 units in August last year.

Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto has now started taking up more market share in the two-wheeler EV space. Its vehicle registration jumped almost 49% MoM to 6,130 units in August. 

Last month, Bajaj Auto’s EV registrations had seen an over 36% MoM rise to 4,116 units in July.

On the other hand, following the FAME-II woes, Hero Electric’s escooter registrations fell to 756 units, the lowest since 2021. While the EV maker’s registrations slipped 3% MoM, the same was down 14X from 10,602 units in August last year.

Amid the falling demand, the company on Monday (August 31) announced to diversify into the premium EV bike market under the brand, A2B.

Overall, EV sales, including all categories, increased to 1.22 Lakh units in August from 1.16 Lakh units in July. On a year-on-year basis, this is a significant increase from the August 2022 EV registration of 89,006 units.

However, as of now, it remains to be seen if the upcoming FAME-III could change the course of the domestic EV industry, especially after the FAME-II fiasco.