Electric vehicle sales rise amid skyrocketing petrol, diesel rates

NEW DELHI: If rising fuel prices are having a favourable impact on anything, it is the country's small but fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) industry. According to industry executives, the current momentum is likely to continue as there are no signs of any major relief in retail fuel prices in the near future. 

"During the last quarter, we witnessed a 30 per cent increase in sales, largely attributed to the hike in petrol prices. Moreover, the number of enquiries has grown by 300 per cent during the same time period," Jeetender Sharma, MD & Founder of India's second largest electric two-wheeler maker Okinawa told The New Indian Express.

So far this month, auto fuel prices have been hiked 13 times. In Mumbai, petrol prices are 29 paise away from reaching the Rs 100 per litre mark. The central and state taxes make up for 60 per cent of the retail fuel prices.  

Yatin Gupte, CMD of Wardwizard Innovations and Mobility, a firm that sells electric superbikes under the brand name Joy E-Bike, said that running cost of an electric two-wheeler is now 30-40 paise per kilometre, significantly lower than a traditional two-wheeler.

"Apart from rise in petrol prices, new product launches and incentives provided by central and state governments will play a major role going forward," he said, adding the company plans to ell 32,000-38,000 units as against over 4,000 units sold last fiscal.

Joy E-Bike is also planning to launch three e-scooters by August 2021. Okinawa is also aiming for 3x annual growth in sales this fiscal year. In FY 21, it had sold 30,930 units of e-scooters. "With rapid improvements in technology, we expect economies of scale to play a big role and bring down the battery costs. This will make EVs more price competitive," added Sharma.