Electric two-wheeler registrations fall 20% in May
Alisha Sachdev
NEW DELHI: Registration of electric two-wheelers declined 20% to 39,339 in May after a surge in month-on-month sales, according to vehicle registration data on the VAHAN portal.
While industry experts said the fall in registrations in a growing market, especially with demand outstripping supply for most vehicle segments, points to muted sentiment, it may be temporary and will not last beyond June-july.
Some experts said several factors, such as supply chain disruptions, and safety concerns over EV batteries and the build quality of existing products have forced manufacturers to reassess the standards of their products, following instances of two-wheelers catching fire. Besides, e-scooter companies are also cautious as the EV battery and safety standards are likely to be rolled out soon.
“There is some apprehension in the buyers’ minds due to the numerous instances of quality issues and fires in EVS that have been reported recently. While this may not cause a lasting slowdown in demand, there has been a small dip as some customers are choosing to delay purchases, awaiting clarity from the government and OEMS in terms of adherence to the new battery safety rules,” Vinkesh Gulati, president, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations of India, said in an interview.
Hero Electric, which occupied pole position in electric two-wheeler sales till a few months ago, slid to the fifth spot in May, with 2,849 registrations.
“April was a washout month for us. We could resume production only by May 15. It took one-and-a-half month to tide over the supply chain issues we were facing. We uprooted and re-laid our production lines, and have now reached a capacity of 200,000 units. We will be back to being the top player in t h e ma r k e t n e x t mo n t h onwards,” Sohinder Gill, chief executive, Hero Electric, said. “There was a small dip in walkins for the industry in the aftermath of the fire incidents, but all leading OEMS have waiting periods now and demand continues to be strong,” Gill added.
In May, leading OEMS, barring Ather Energy, Bajaj Auto and Revolt Motor, showed a decline in registrations. Ola Electric, which is one of the top two players in the electric twowheeler market, saw registration fall 28%. TVS Motor registrations were down 69%, Hero Electric 57%, Okinawa 16% and Ampere 11%, according to the VAHAN data, compiled by Elara Capital.
EV penetration as part of total two-wheeler registrations in May stood at 3.2%, compared to 4.1% in April. “Company-wise outperformers and underperformers would vary based on which company is able to ramp up capacity,” Jay Kale, senior VP, Elara Capital, said.
Hero Motocorp, India’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, announced last week that it was postponing plans to roll out its first electric two-wheeler, by a few months and it will hit the market during the festive season, citing a chip shortage.