Bajaj Chetak is best-selling e2W in first three weeks of December

The first three weeks of the last month of CY2024 are over and we are just 10 days away from the dawn of the new year 2025. As per the latest Vahan-sourced data (as of December 22, 10am), the electric two-wheeler segment – the biggest volume provider to India EV Inc – has registered retail sales of 52,440 units. Bajaj Auto and its Chetak e-scooter, which have led the segment in the first two weeks of December 2024, have maintained their lead for the third week in a row.

In terms of market share for the first three weeks of December 2024, Bajaj Auto has 26%, TVS 22%, Ola 19%, Ather 14% and Greaves Electric Mobility 4 percent.

Bajaj Auto, which launched the new Chetak with enhanced 153km range on December 19, has sold a total of 13,840 units between December 1-21, which gives it a market-leading share of 26 percent. At this stage of the month, the Bajaj Chetak is 2,173 units ahead of the TVS iQube, 3,696 units ahead of Ola Electric and has sold 6,320 units more than Ather Energy.

With this performance, Bajaj Auto’s cumulative sales for the year to date are 188,941 units – 11,059 units shy of the 200,000 milestone. Will Bajaj manage this number in the last 10 days of this month? Looks somewhat difficult in a month when buyers prefer to buy a new vehicle in the new year.

The Chetak has topped the e2W chart for three straight weeks – Week 1 (4,988 units, 28% share), Week 2 (9,513 units, 27% share) and Week 3 (13,840 units, 26% share).

As the comparative three-week data table (shown above) reveals, the Chetak has topped for three straight weeks – Week 1 (4,988 units, 28% share), Week 2 (9,513 units, 27% share) and Week 3 (13,840 units, 26% share). From the looks of it and the lead it has over its main rivals, the Bajaj Chetak looks set to hold onto its No. 1 status for this month, which will then see the Chetak become the best-selling electric two-wheeler in India for the first time since it was launched in January 2020.

On the cumulative January 1-December 21, 2024 sales front, Bajaj Auto remains the No. 3 with  184,941 Chetaks with the best month being October (28,398 units). Ola Electric, being the first Indian EV maker to surpass 400,000 sales in a calendar year, is way ahead with 403,881 units and TVS Motor, with 214,859 units is also ahead of the Pune-based ICE and EV maker.

TVS Motor Co, which has registered total retail sales of 11,667 units in the first three weeks of December, maintains its No. 2 position, ahead of Ola by 1,523 units, and currently has a 22% market share. The iQube’s best sales month ever since its launch in January 2020 has been October 2024 (30,134 units). 

Ola Electric, which has been the No. 3 e2W OEM in each of the three weeks this month, has clocked total retails of 10,144 units between December 1-21, which gives it a 19% market share. Will the company recover numbers in Week 4 and go ahead of TVS?  

Ola had opened CY2024 with 32,424 units (up 77%) in January, hit a high of 53,640 units in March (up 150%) and maintained stellar month-on-month growth right from April through to July until the sharp drop in August (27,620 units) and September (24,745 units). It bounced back in October (41,793 units) but sales fell 30% month on month in November (29,222 units). Expect Ola Electric, which launched two new products in November – the S1 Z priced at Rs 59,999 and the S1 Z+ which costs Rs 64,999 – as well as the Ola Gig, a dedicated product for the gig economy, priced at an extremely affordable Rs 39,999, to see a strong 2025. Deliveries of the S1 Z, S1 Z+, Gig and Gig1 are slated to begin only next year, around April-May.

Ather Energy, whose EV portfolio comprises the Rizta, 450S and 450 Apex e-scooters, maintains its No. 4 rank in December Week 3 with 7,520 units which gives it a 14% market share. Cumulative retails from January till December first-half are 123,222 units. The Rizta family e-scooter launched in April at a starting price of Rs 109,999 (Rizta S) through to Rs 149,999 (Rizta Z) is witnessing growing demand. While the S version (2.9 kWh battery) has a 123km range, the Z variant (3.7 kWh) has a 160km range. The Rizta’s highlights include the largest two-wheeler seat in India and storage space aplenty.

Greaves Electric Mobility, which is seeing growing traction for its Nexus e-scooter, is ranked fifth with 2,028 units, which gives the company a 4% market share. While the rankings from No. 1 to No.5 remain unchanged, the next five rankings have changed in the past three weeks.

Bgauss Auto, which was ranked eighth in December Week 1 and Week 2, has moved up to No. 6 in Week 3 with 852 units. The company’s total retails in the year to date are 17,782 units.

Electric motorcycle maker Revolt Motors (787 units) which was No. 7 in Week 1 and No. 6 in Week 2, is back in No. 7 position in Week 3. Revolt is seeing strong demand coming its way, particularly after the launch of the RV1 and RV1+ and clocked 2,000 sales (up 197% YoY) in November.

Pur Energy, which was not in the Top 10 OEMs in Week 1, took 10^th ranking in Week 2 and is now at No. 8 in Week 3 with 786 units. Cumulative retails in the year to date are 5,237 units.

Hero MotoCorp, which launched the new Vida V2 on December 4, is at No. 9 with retails of 783 units. The Vida brand’s total retails in the first 355 days of CY2024 are 43,439 units.

Wardwizard Innovations wraps up the Top 10 list with 563 units.

The Indian electric two-wheeler industry has had a good year and at 1,125,590 units retailed between January 1 and December 21 this year, it has registered robust 31% YoY growth over CY2023’s 860,417 units, with a fortnight still left to go before CY2024 comes to an end.

With each of the Top 5 OEMs – Ola Electric, TVS Motor Co, Bajaj Auto, Ather Energy and Greaves Electric Mobility comfortably surpassing their CY2023 sales, this was only expected. As a result of e2W Inc’s strong contribution, will India EV Inc hit the 2-million sales milestone this year? Stay plugged in firmly as we bring you the latest sales updates from the world of zero-emission mobility.

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