India’s electric two-wheeler industry is showing signs of revival, the latest report by the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) suggests.

The registration of high-speed electric two-wheelers (E-2W) stood at 2,544 units in September 2020, a 72% year-on-year increase compared to 1,473 units sold in the same month last year.

“We are experiencing huge consumer interest in greener vehicles as they have seen how the environment looks like when no fuel-guzzling vehicles are running on roads. The upcoming festive season will add to the pent up demand and help original equipment manufacturers to recover what they lost in the first and second quarter due to the COVID-19 lockdown,” said Sohinder Gill, Director General of SMEV.

The first half of FY 2021 began with uncertainties for the EV industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic that led to the countrywide lockdown.  Mercom recently published an article that shed light on the performance of the EV segment since the lockdown.

According to the SMEV, the sale of high-speed electric two-wheelers stood at 7,552 units between April 2020 to September 2020 compared to 10,161 units sold in the same period last year.

The SMEV report added that the performance of the top three EV manufacturers – Hero Electric, Okinawa Autotech, and Ather Energy, witnessed a decline in the first half of FY 2021 compared to the first half of FY 2020. In the first half of FY 2021, Hero Electric Vehicles and Okinawa witnessed a drop of 16% and 20% in sales, respectively. The sales of Ather Energy declined 64% in the same period.

“One of the main reasons for stagnant sales is attributed to consumers not being able to purchase products due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a lockdown in the country. However, the industry has been quickly able to enter the positive curve soon after the government announced the unlock process,” said the press statement.

SMEV said that the outlook remains positive for the financial year due to several positive measures on the policy front by the central and state governments, enhancing electric vehicle manufacturers’ and investors’ confidence.

In April, SMEV announced that the sale of electric vehicles in the country went up by 20% in 2019-20. The EV industry sold 156,000 electric vehicles in the financial year 2019-20. Out of the total, 152,000 were two-wheelers, 3,400 cars, and 600 buses. However, in FY2018-19, 126,000 two-wheelers, 3,600 cars, and approximately 400 buses were sold, totaling 130,000 units. The increase of 20% has mostly come from electric two-wheelers.

Mercom has been consistently tracking the infrastructure development for EVs, and this year has seen tremendous progress. Stay updated with all the latest e-mobility tenders through Mercom India’s Tender Tracker and keep a track of all regulatory changes subscribing to Mercom’s India RE Regulatory Updates.

 

Image credit: Muc10 / CC BY-SA

Harsh Shukla is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.

More articles from Harsh Shukla.