Surging demand sees more e-two-wheelers sold in first half 2021 than CY2020

The high-speed electric two-wheeler industry in India, like the rest of the automotive industry, was under huge pressure in all of 2020  and clocked sales of around 25,598 units (-5.97% YoY) in the pandemic-impacted year. However, since then this vehicle segment has started to emerge stronger and despite the second wave of Covid-19 weighing heavy on the automotive industry, there is good news after all.

An analysis by Autocar Professional of the 11 leading electric two-wheeler makers in India reveals that in the first six months of 2021, a total of 29,288 units were sold, thus surpassing total sales of 2020 (25,598 units). This clearly proves that the wave of demand of electric two-wheelers has begun.

Hero Electric remains India’s No. 1 e-OEM
In terms of company-wise sales, Hero Electric has sold around 11,432 units since the start of the year till yesterday (July 7) , clocking 41 percent year-on-year over CY2020 and translating into an average of 1,633 units a month. Hero was the market leader in CY2020 with sales of 8,111 units.

It is followed by Okinawa Autotech with 5,903 units (average monthly sales of 843 units), and Ampere Vehicles with 3,899 units (average 557 units a month). These three OEMs continue to have a combined market share of 70 percent amongst them.

Hero Electric has been amongst the earliest companies to bet on the potential of electric two-wheelers and has, over the past few years, been actively engaged in developing a strong network of over 600 dealers – by far the largest for any EV brand in India. It has also invested in a 100,000 units per-annum production plant in Ludhiana, which manufactures a varied range of products at different price-points.

Interestingly, Bangalore-based Ather Energy, which is on a network expansion spree and has recently set up a new plant in Hosur, has surpassed its CY2020 sales by almost 26 percent in the first six months of CY2021. The start-up reportedly sold around 3,758 units compared to 2,972 e-scooters in 2020 and 2,290 units in 2019.

In terms of month-wise sales, March 2021 saw the highest sales in the past two years at 9,875 units.

Growth outlook
The growth prospects for the electric two-wheeler industry are looking very good. The recent hike in the FAME II subsidy , wallet-busting and constantly rising prices of petrol, which has crossed Rs 100 a litre in key metro cities, and with states such as Gujarat, and Delhi announcing strong support to electric two-wheelers, the scope and potential for the emission-free vehicles on two wheels is immense.

Understandably, EV makers are bullish about growth this year and beyond. While Hero Electric's Managing Director Naveen Munjal says EV sales are expected to hit the 30-million mark by 2030, Ather Energy’s CEO Tarun Mehta believes around 40 percent of petrol-engined scooter sales can be converted to electric scooters by 2025. And Ola Electric is all set to roll out its much-awaited scooter soon.