Sales In September Up By 72%: SMEV

Electric two-wheeler industry is showing signs of revival. In September, sales of High-Speed Electric two-wheelers (HS E2W) have increased by 72% on YoY basis. The registration stood at 2544 units in September 2020, as against 1473 vehicles sold in the corresponding month of the last year.

“We are experiencing huge customers’ interest in greener vehicles as they have seen how the environment looks like when no fuel-guzzling vehicles are running on roads. The upcoming festive season will add to the pent up demand and help OEMs to recover what they lost in the quarter 1 and 2 due to Covid lockdown,” Sohinder Gill, Director General, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) said.

The first six month of the Financial Year 21 have been a roller coaster ride for the EV industry. The financial year started with an uncertainty due to Covid 19 which led to lockdown in the country. 

Between the period of April’20 and September’20, the industry registered sales of 7552 HS E2W as against 10161 HS E2W sold in the corresponding months of the last FY.

“One of the main reasons of the stagnant sales is attributed to customers not able to buy products due to COVID 19, which led to lockdown in the country. However, the industry has been quickly able to enter the positive curve soon after the government announced the unlock process,” he said.

“Lately there have been many positive news on the EV policy front from the central and state governments that has led to a higher confidence amongst OEMs, Component suppliers and investors. We look forward to a big push by the government to set right what went wrong with FAME 2 so as to assist generation of demand which is already showing some green shoots. Some of the measures that could be adopted are removal of the 'range criteria' from two wheelers for subsidy, reduction of GST on batteries from 18 % to 5% when sold separately, mandating delivery businesses to convert their fleets to EVs, promote electric mobility under ‘Swatchh Bharat Campaign’ added Sohinder Gill.

Outlook

The outlook for the FY remains positive as we hope that the recent move by the central government allowing vehicle to be sold without battery and the announcement of EV policy by Delhi govt would further help the industry to move forward. Also, extending the PMP guidelines would allow industry to ramp-up production and strengthen local component market.