Though China’s electric two-wheeler market at 6.9 million units in CY2024 dwarfs India’s 1.14 million units, demand fell by 8% last year in China and a number of OEMs including its largest e-2W maker Yadea are exploring growth overseas by setting up plants in strategic markets like Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil and Mexico. Between 2022 and 2024, the Indian e-2W industry has nearly doubled its sales and increased its share of total EV sales to 59 percent.
09 Jun 2025 | 775 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Demand for electric two-wheelers is slowing down in China, which remains the largest global market for zero-emission vehicles on two wheels and also the world's largest market for electric vehicles. As per the recently released Global EV Outlook 2025 report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that sales of ...
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
Demand for electric two-wheelers is slowing down in China, which remains the largest global market for zero-emission vehicles on two wheels and also the world's largest market for electric vehicles. As per the recently released Global EV Outlook 2025 report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that sales of electric two-wheelers in China fell by 8% YoY to 6.9 million units in CY2024, from 7.5 million units in CY2023. This marks the third straight year of sales decline of electric 2Ws (see data table below), albeit the sheer volume of annual sales in China dwarfs every other e-2W market worldwide.
CY2021 was when e-2W sales went past the 10 million milestone for the first time in China, registering robust 31% YoY growth. Since then, demand has fallen sizeably – down 25% in CY2022 (7.7 million units), down 2.60% in CY2023 (7.5 million units) and, more recently, down 8% YoY in CY2024 (6.9 million units). CY2024’s sales are a massive 3.3 million units lower than the 10.2 million units sold barely three years ago.
According to the IEA Global EV Outlook 2025 report, the falling sales of e-2Ws in China, in CY2024, were a result of an overall decline in the two-wheeler market. China is the world’s largest e-2W market which, thanks to the large volumes, also makes it the world’s largest EV market. Electric two-wheelers have accounted for more than half of overall 2W sales since 2020, with sales totalling 6.9 million units in 2024.
The sluggishness in China’s 2W market reflects an increasing preference for cars for personal transport, and may also be a sign that consumers are responding to tighter restrictions on 2W use in major cities. Furthermore, it is understood that the 2W market is shifting toward higher-value motorcycle models, likely indicating a change in consumer profile. At the same time, the Chinese government launched a trade-in programme for electric bicycles in 2024, boosting their sales by removing older, less-efficient e-2Ws off the roads.
CHINA’S YADEA SETS UP PLANTS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND LATIN AMERICA
China’s e-2W industry is led by OEMs like Yadea, Kamax, NiU Technologies, TailG, Sunra (Jiangsu Xinri) and Luyuan. As the Chinese market for electric 2Ws continues to decline, some of the country’s OEMs are scouting growth opportunities in overseas markets. Like a growing number of Chinese e-2W makers, Yadea, China’s No. 1 e-2W OEM which has sold over 100 million units worldwide and has been the global No.1 in sales volume for seven consecutive years, is aggressively expanding its global manufacturing footprint.
Last month, on May 16, 2025, Yadea rolled out its first vehicle at its new Ocoyoacac factory in Mexico, marking a pivotal moment in the company’s localized development strategy. The company already has a presence in Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. The Mexican facility is Yadea’s 10th production base globally and the first in North America. The plant has an investment of US $80,000,000 in 3 years and is positioned to become Yadea’s key manufacturing and R&D centre for both North and Latin America. Phase II of the plant is set to launch in 2026, expanding production capacity to 500,000 units annually.
A month before, on April 15, 2025, Yadea had launched locally manufactured models in Brazil, Latin America’s largest market where localised production will enable faster product delivery, enhanced service support, and cost efficiency.
In March 2024, Yadea had expanded its global operations to Indonesia, a key growth market in Southeast Asia. The US$ 150 million new assembly plant has a planned output of 3 million vehicles by 2028 (likely to also include e-bikes). The Indonesian two-wheeler market presents immense opportunities, with EV sales witnessing exponential growth in recent years. Recognizing this potential, Yadea's Indonesia production base specializes in manufacturing models such as GT30, GQ9-D, and GC10, equipped with the innovative Yadea TTFAR graphene battery technology. The Indonesian factory beefs up the Chinese e-2W OEM’s presence in Southeast Asia, what with it already having two plants in Vietnam.
As per the IEA report, Southeast Asia made notable progress on 2W electrification in 2024, particularly in Vietnam, which recorded 250,000 sales, in Indonesia, where there were about 105,000 sales; and in the Philippines, with more than 25,000 units. Indonesia saw its electric 2W market almost double in size, but the share of electric sales remained below 2 percent.
Vietnam’s 2W electrification success story has been underpinned by the continued rollout of increasingly affordable electric 2W models manufactured by domestic players like Vinfast (which is to begin selling electric four-wheelers in India later this year) and Pega, and now also by Chinese OEMs.
To date, several electric models are sold at under VND 20 million (Vietnamese dong) / US$ 780/ Rs 65,000 (such as VinFast’s Evo200 and Yadea’s Orla), making them price-competitive with conventional alternatives. These affordable purchase prices are partly a result of existing battery leasing options, which reduce the vehicle purchase price and can cost consumers as little as VND 350,000 (under US$ 14/Rs 1,200) per month. They can also be easily integrated with battery swap programmes. The increasing affordability of electric models, ongoing development of charging infrastructure for models without removable batteries, and Vietnam’s ambition to fully electrify its road transport sector by 2050 is likely to drive further growth in electric 2W sales in the coming years. Nevertheless, the growth witnessed in these markets is less than the stellar growth the Indian e-2W market seen, particularly in the last three years.
The IEA report states that sales of electric 2Ws in Africa grew nearly 40% YoY to reach 9,000 vehicles, marking a slim 0.5% sales share in the continent’s total 2W sales. However, domestic OEMs have invested significantly in recent years to set up domestic manufacturing facilities. In Europe, the average electrification rate of 2W sales has decreased to about 6%, despite the 2W market growing overall. With year-on-year sales growing to more than 50 000 electric 2Ws, Turkiye has secured its position as the leading market outside of Asia, followed by France and the Netherlands, despite those markets stagnating in 2024.
INDIA TURNS INTO GLOBAL GROWTH DRIVER FOR ELECTRIC 2-WHEELERS
If India’s electric vehicle (EV) industry came within a whisker of achieving a record 2 million (20 lakh) retail sales in CY2024, then it is because of the big volumes provided by the most affordable sub-segment – electric two-wheelers.
Of the record 1.94 million EVs sold across vehicle segments in India in CY2024 (up 27% YoY), electric scooters and motorcycles accounted for 1.14 million units (11,49,3855) or 59% – up from the 56% share of 2023 – recording strong double-digit growth of 33% (CY2023: 860,418 units, up 36% YoY). In a field comprising 220 players – up from 180 in CY2023 – there are four OEMs which have had the giant’s share of the market in 2024. Ola Electric, TVS Motor Co, Bajaj Auto and Ather Energy all registered six-figure sales and also their own individual best-ever annual performances.
The e-2W retail data table above shows just how sales since CY2022 have nearly doubled in barely two years. Electric 2W retails crossed the half-a-million mark for the first time in CY2022 (631,402 units, up 304%), then jumped 36% to 860,435 units in CY2023, and catered across at 33% YoY growth in CY2024 to ride past the million-units mark for the first time in CY2024 (11,49,385 units).
This performance is reflected in the e-2W share of the overall Indian EV industry rising to 59% of the record 1.95 million units sold last year. As the IEA report states, “India’s increasingly dynamic electric 2W market hosted a total of 220 OEMs in 2024, up from 180 in 2023, although the 4 market leaders accounted for a combined 80% of the 1.3 million electric 2Ws sold in the country in 2024 (6% of the overall 2W market). While the upfront purchase price of electric 2Ws remains higher on average than that of conventional 2Ws, increasing competition is prompting OEMs to offer more affordable electric models.”
India’s e-three-wheeler market is also performing very well and clocked record retail sales of 691,303 units in CY2024 and accounted for 35% of overall EV sales, second to the e-2W segment. Nevertheless, this meant that India, which overtook China to become the world’s largest electric 3-wheeler market for the first time in CY2023, maintains its No. 1 position in CY2024. In comparison, China sold around 300,000 units and posted a YoY decline of 6 percent. China, India and Southeast Asia remain the world’s largest 2/3W markets, accounting for around 80% of 2024 global sales.
ALSO READ:
India is world’s largest electric 3W market for second year in a row