Ola Electric sales fall for second month in a row

Sales of India’s largest e-scooter maker Ola Electric fell for the second straight month in September even as legacy automakers Bajaj Auto and TVS saw an increase in EV registrations, according to Vahan data.

Ola Electric sold 23,965 electric scooters in September, down 11% compared with 26,928 units sold in August. This comes a month after the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company witnessed a 34% decline in Vahan registrations.

While Ola Electric has lost its market share, legacy manufacturers have seen a jump in sales.

Bajaj Auto sold 18,933 electric scooters in September, taking over TVS Motor as the second-largest electric two-wheeler player during the month. Bajaj retailed 16,650 e-scooters in August.

TVS Motor sold 17,865 electric scooters in September, up 2.4% from 17,442 units in August.

Hero MotoCorp-backed Ather Energy clocked 12,579 EV registrations in September, up 15% from 10,919 in August. Hero MotoCorp sold 4,174 electric scooters on its own  last month compared with 4,596 units in August.

Electric vehicles currently comprise 20% of scooter sales in India. However, only 5% of all two-wheeler sales are EVs. That’s because two-thirds of India’s two-wheeler market consists of motorcycles.

Legacy automakers have been slow to launch electric motorcycles even though start-ups have entered the fray. On August 15, Ola Electric showcased a new range of electric motorcycles with prices starting from ₹74,999. However, deliveries of these motorcycles will commence from the fourth quarter of the ongoing fiscal.

While electric motorcycles from big players are still some time away, Bajaj Auto rolled out the world’s first CNG (compressed natural gas)-powered motorcycle 'Freedom' in July. The Pune-based automaker has sold over 9,300 units since. In September alone, 4,918 CNG motorcycles were registered.

“Freedom plays in a very large market which is almost 750,000 units. It straddles all the way from 100cc to 125cc. So that’s really the monthly canvas of opportunity that’s there for Freedom,” says Dinesh Thapar, chief financial officer of Bajaj Auto.

CNG motorcycles have lower running costs compared to petrol ones. However, the growth of CNG-powered motorbikes hinges on gas infrastructure development across the country.

In an interview with Fortune India, TVS Motor managing director Sudarshan Venu confirmed that the company will invest in compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered two-wheelers. TVS already makes CNG-powered autorickshaws.

When asked whether the company will launch electric motorcycles in the future, Venu says form factors and products with electric powertrains will come in all categories whether it is scooters, motorcycles and three-wheelers. “We will make electric motorcycles on our own. There will be an electric Norton as well. We will have the complete product range from e-bikes, electric scooters, motorcycles and three-wheelers,” says Venu.

Scooters have been an obvious choice for companies to invest in because that's what consumers want but electric motorcycles will come, says Venu. “It’s is still the early days for EVs at 5% industry volumes. Going forward, it will come. It’s a question of time,” he says.