NEW DELHI: Electric vehicle (EV) sales have surged to a fresh high in calendar year 2023 (CY23) even as the two-wheeler (e2W) segment faced a severe blow following the government’s decision to lower the subsidy availed under the Fame 2 Scheme.
According to Vahan data, total EV sales in the first eleven months of CY23 stood at 1,387,114 units, a jump of 50% year-on-year (YoY). In the full CY2022, total electric vehicle sales were recorded at 10.03 lakh units.
e2W sales stood at 783,128 (up 38% YoY) units in the Jan-Nov 2023 period, accounted for 56% of total EV sales. Electric three-wheeler (e3W) sales stood at 524,949 units (up 67% YoY) and had a 38% share. At 74,290 units (up 145% YoY), electric car (ecar) share in total sales stood at 5.35% in the reported period.
The e2W industry hit a speed bump in June when sales nose-dived to 46,000 units from 1.04 lakh units in May. This came after the revised FAME-II subsidy made e2Ws expensive by up to Rs 30,000 per unit. “When the subsidy amount was slashed, the entire industry witnessed a dip in sales for a quarter considering the revised price point of EVs,” said Kapil Shelke, founder and chief executive officer of TORK Motors.
Shelke added that increased awareness along with an industry-wide impact led to a revival of EV sales and from September onwards the industry noticed growth and recorded the best sales during the festive season.
The Fame disruption also changed the market dynamics of the e2W industry. For Example, Hero Electric and Okinawa AutoTech, which not so long - ago were among the top 3 players, have seen a sharp drop
in sales.
The e2W industry is now led by Ola Electric, TVS Motors and Ather Energy. Meanwhile, Tata Motors continues to dominate the electric car segment with a share of almost 80%. “We are in the early stages of the EV transformation and although we’ve made progress, we still have a tremendous amount of work to reach mass market adoption,” said Horace Luke, Founder & CEO of Gogoro.
“Together, the industry must bring safer, more dependable, and easy-to-use vehicles to market that utilize innovative refuelling systems like smart battery swapping. The stage is set for tremendous growth and for India to be an example to the rest of the world,” added Luke whose company recently introduced its first India-made Smartscooter, the CrossOver GX250.
EV sales