Top Electric Two-Wheelers India Sales Outlook So Far In 2021

The two-wheeler market in India has risen enormously but recent upheavals, owing to environmental and economic imperatives, have brought the segment to a fork in the road, and it is unquestionably ready for a total transformation.

Recent market and industry dynamics clearly signal a fresh start—the era of electric two-wheelers. The e-bikes or scooters are now challenging their petrol counterparts in the country.

According to an analysis, the electric two-wheeler business in India, like the rest of the auto industry, struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic-affected year 2020, with sales of roughly 25,598 units (-5.97 per cent year-over-year).

However, despite the second wave hitting heavily on the automobile industry, 29,288 units were sold in the first six months of 2021, indicating that this segment has begun to emerge stronger.

Here is the list of most popular two-wheelers in India based on the sales in 2021:

Hero Electric: With 11,432 units sold between January and 7 July, Hero Electric remained the top-selling original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the electric two-wheeler segment. Over the calendar year 2020, the company saw a YoY increase of 41 per cent, resulting in an average of 1,633 units per month.

As per the reports, in July alone, the company sold almost 4,500 e-scooters, a tenfold increase over the 399 units it sold in July of 2020. Hero Electric reported sales of over 6,500 units in September.

The company said in a statement, “For Hero Electric, its city speed scooters Optima and NYX in the high-speed category continue to drive the sales.”

Okinawa Autotech: After Hero Electric, another big player in this EV market is Gurgaon-based Okinawa Autotech, which said that it has witnessed an increase in sales in April, May, and June this year.

Okinawa sold about 15,000 electric scooters in the country during Q1 FY22. To be more specific, it sold 4,467 units in April, 5,649 units in May and 5,860 units in June of 2021.

According to the company, the most popular electric scooters were the iPraise Plus and Praise Pro, which topped the sales chart.

Ampere Electric: In August 2021, Ampere Electric, Greaves Cotton Limited's electric mobility division, hit a sales landmark with overall sales volumes of close to 5,000 units.

As reported, the company sold over 3,800 units of electric two-wheelers between January and early July.

The business expanded its Magnus e-scooter range in October with the addition of the Magnus EX, which has a slew of upgraded and innovative features and is priced at Rs 68,999. (ex-showroom Pune).

Ather Energy: The company, which has recently opened a new plant in Tamil Nadu’s Hosur, in the first six months of the calendar year 2021, has already eclipsed CY2020 sales by over 26 per cent.

According to reports, the startup has sold 3,758 e-scooters this year, compared to 2,972 e-scooters in 2020 and 2,290 units in 2019. With 9,875 units sold in March 2021, it was the best month for the company in the last two years.

The company’s CEO Tarun Mehta said that in recent times Ather witnessed more than a 60 per cent increase in demand month on month.

WardWizard: WardWizard Innovations and Mobility Ltd, based in Vadodara, and the developer of the electric two-wheeler brand Joy e-bike, said in early October that it has recorded a surge of 2036 per cent to 2,500 units of electric scooters and bikes. In the same month the previous year, sales totalled 117 units.

The carmaker sold 2,001 units in August 2021, with 945 units sold in July 2021. The company also stated that in the second quarter of FY22 (July-September 2021), the company sold 5,446 units, up from 1,893 units in the first quarter.

Pure EV: This electric vehicle maker, since the launch of its flagship model in February 2020—ePluto 7G—has sold 25,000 electric scooters in India.

Year-over-year sales for Pure EV have increased by 600 per cent. According to the firm, high-speed variations account for 80 per cent of revenue, with the remaining 20 per cent coming from consumer retail sales.

Revolt Motors: In June, after the Gurugram-based company opened a purchase window, it sold more than Rs 50 crore worth of e-bikes. The limelight was in RV 400, which was sold out within just 2 hours of opening online sales.

A similar incident happened in July this year, as Revolt Motors witnessed another round of massive sales with its electric motorcycles sold out within minutes after the purchase window was opened.

However, aside from the RV 400 model, the electric vehicle manufacturer also makes and distributes the RV 300 motorcycle.

Apart from these companies, there are also other electric two-wheeler makers in India which are also considered as important players in the EV market—Beling India, Komaki and Avan Motors.

However, for the electric two-wheeler industry, the future appears to be as bright. The scope and potential for these emission-free vehicles are enormous, given the latest amendment of the FAME II subsidy scheme, ever-rising petrol prices, and some state governments pledging strong support for electric two-wheelers.

EV manufacturers, understandably, are optimistic about growth this year and beyond. Navien Munjal, the managing director of Hero Electric, earlier stated that according to him EV sales would reach 30 million by 2030. As per a recent report by the end of the fiscal year 2022, the company plans to reach 1,000 sales touchpoints.

The firm will launch 300 new sales touchpoints across the country in response to the growing demand for electric two-wheelers.

Similarly, according to Tarun Mehta, CEO of Ather Energy, he believes that roughly 40 per cent of petrol-engined scooter sales will be switched to electric scooters by 2025.

Meanwhile, the most awaited Ola Electric’s S1 and S1 Pro were launched. On the first day of the sale, the company clocked Rs 600 crore in sales and claimed that it sold four scooters every second in the first 24 hours. CEO Bhavish Aggarwal later confirmed that during a two-day sale, Ola Electric sold more than 1,100 crores worth of electric scooters.

Also Read: Why Ola Electric’s Success Matters