Ola Electric & TVS drive E2W sales to 85,802 units in March

After growing 100 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in February, total electric two-wheeler (E2W) registrations reached an all-time high of 85,802 units in March 2023, per data available on the Vahan portal.  The EV industry crossed the 85,000 sales mark in the two-wheeler segment for the first time in a single month, and saw total registrations of 7,26,551 units during FY 2022-23, per Vahan data, a 2.8X jump over the last fiscal.

The data on the portal also suggests that the March E2W sales were nearly 60 percent higher than the 54,400 units sold in March  2022 and 30 percent higher than the 65,979 units sold in February 2023. The sales surge in March was led by Ola Electric and TVS, which recorded their highest-ever monthly sales.

Vahan only mentions the total number of vehicles which have been registered (post sales) and doesn’t include vehicles that have been booked. It also doesn’t take into account low-speed E2W sales and excludes data for Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.

Leading the sales chart for the seventh month in row was Ola Electric, which sold more than 21,274 EVs in March, while TVS retained its second position at 16,779 units. Ather Energy came third with 12,079 units.

Ampere EV and Hero Electric were in fourth and fifth positions with 9,335 and 6,653 units, respectively. Okinawa was at number six with 4,505 units.

Revolt Motors, which restarted deliveries of the RV400 e-motorcycle, delivered 1,132  units in March ’23.

Ola, TVS, Ather: all guns blazing

Maintaining its growth trajectory, Ola Electric claims to have clocked its best month-ever in March, with sales of over 27,000 units (registered sales + bookings).  The Bengaluru-based EV startup also claimed to have emerged as the fastest growing EV manufacturer in FY 2022-23.

Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Ola Electric, said, “While last year has successfully mainstreamed EVs, the next couple of years will see the EV revolution scale, and Ola will be at the forefront of this paradigm shift.”

Another Bengaluru-based EV startup, Ather Energy, stated that it had sold 11,754 units (registered sales + bookings) in March ‘23, recording a 353 percent YoY growth. The company also said that it had retailed 82,146 units in FY23.

Ravneet Singh Phokela, Chief Business Officer, Ather Energy, said, “FY23 has been phenomenal for the EV industry, with E2Ws leading the way, as expected. This is despite a very soft first six months on account of the chip shortage that severely limited our production volumes.”

With sales of 15,364 units (sales + bookings), TVS Motors also witnessed a huge increase in the sales of its iQube electric scooter last month.

Future outlook

With the sustained demand for electric two-wheelers, industry analysts reckon that the market is set to expand further in the coming months. While industry players are continuously innovating and coming up with improved products, new-age startups are also entering the space, which is further increasing competition and driving growth in the sector, according to analysts.

In March 2023, Hero Electric launched its latest range of smart, connected electric scooters – the Optima CX5.0, Optima CX2.0, and NYX CX5.0. TVS will also start deliveries of its flagship e-scooter, the iQube ST, later this year.

Ola has recently expanded the S1 portfolio to six models. Powered by 2 KWh, 3 KWh and 4 KWh battery packs, Ola launched three new variants of the Ola S1 Air, which will be delivered starting July 2023. The company has also launched the newest variant for the Ola S1 family, which uses a 2 KWh battery.

Another Bengaluru-based EV startup, River, has recently launched its electric scooter, called Indie, which comes with a price tag of Rs 1.25 lakh and is now open for pre-order for just Rs 1,250.