E2W Registrations Jump 59% In March To 1.78 Lakh Units, Ola Electric Sales More Than Double

Amid growing energy concerns triggered by the ongoing West Asian war, consumer interest in buying electric two wheelers (E2Ws) resurged in the month of March. A total of 1.78 Lakh units were sold in March till 31st, marking a 59% jump from 1.12 sales registered in February.

Important to highlight that this is the highest number of monthly E2W sales, a feat that comes after months of growth stagnation. Amid this, many top manufacturers witnessed double digit growth in sales.

Market leader TVS, which has held the top spot since last year, recorded a 47% month-on-month (MoM) increase in sales in March to 46,859 units. TVS recently launched a battery subscription model across its entire electric scooter range, which includes its flagship TVS iQube.

Additionally, the company introduced the Orbiter V1 electric scooter earlier this month, which is priced at ₹49,999 if the subscription model is availed rather than buying the battery upfront in a bid to increase adoption that is often hindered by the higher price of electric vehicles when compared to their ICE counterparts.

Trailing TVS, Bajaj’s E2W sales grew 68% in March to almost 43K units. The OEM had launched an affordable electric variant of its classic Chetak scooter in January, which has aided Bajaj in regrowing its consumer base after losing the market’s top spot to TVS late last year.

Third largest E2W manufacturer Ather Energy also recorded a 19% uptick in monthly sales to 33.6K units as it doubled down on more affordable options. The company is also planning to launch a more affordable scooter compared to its current portfolio in the coming months.

Hero MotoCorp witnessed an almost 59% jump in sales of its electric scooters to 19,764 units from 12,597 units sold in the previous month. It also launched a battery as a service model for its Vida range of escooters last year, which has propelled sales numbers by drastically reducing the initial cost of buying a vehicle.

Pressure Eases On Ola Electric

Perhaps the biggest gainer from the month’s growth momentum was Ola Electric, which jumped back to the fifth spot in March after registering a 139% increase in registrations to 9.5K units compared to about 4K in the previous month.

Towards the end of the month, Ola Electric launched a campaign to offer discounts of up to ₹50K across its portfolio, offering some variants for as low as ₹49,999. The campaign was launched on March 26 and ended on March 31.

Besides the push from the campaign, it must be noted that Ola Electric has been working toward fixing many of the issues that had marred consumer trust in the company, including a lack of widespread after-sales servicing facilities.

Ola Electric claims that its same-day service resolution facility has now exceeded 80% of all complaints. It is also offering an assured buyback value of up to 60% to ease customer hesitation, along with offering extended warranty of up to eight years.

Factors Influencing Renewed E2W Demand

Apart from a push for affordability buoying buyer interest, most OEMs also enjoyed higher sales figures as a result of seasonal sales and discounts. Similar to Ola Electric, Ather offered combined benefits of up to ₹20K during the month, which included credit card and cash discounts along with extended component warranties.

Revolt Motors, which manufactures electric bikes, also witnessed an 80% increase in sales figures during March after it offered discounts worth up to ₹25K for a limited period.

Additionally, rising concerns over increase in fuel costs amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia also attracted consumer interest for electric vehicles. With discounts, subsidies and battery subscription models, OEMs are trying to decrease the entry cost for E2W adoption, a continued barrier toward widespread adoption.

OEMs are also solving for the other bigger challenge to adoption: a lacklustre charging infrastructure. Earlier this month, Ather and Hero partnered with EV charger manufacturer IPEC India to build a nationwide interoperable charging network for electric vehicles.

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