Which Automobile Company Is Leading The Electric 2 Wheeler Race?

Take a moment and think about the first thing that comes to your mind when it comes to combating “Climate Change.” Switching to renewable sources of energy! Right? Well, the reason is obvious that it is environmentally friendly. The same goes for the automobile industry.

Electric Vehicles hold the top spot for a pollution-free transportation system. Not only has it terminated the emission of pollutants into the environment but also a fairly one-time investment. But do you know what the shocking fact is? Electric Vehicle is a broad industry consisting of cars, autos, and two-wheelers. And the electric 2-wheeler is a kingpin in the evolution of the automobile landscape.

So in India, which automobile company is leading the electric 2-wheeler race? Let’s find out!

Electric 2-Wheeler: The Rise of Fame

Electric cars are priced nearly double their petrol or diesel counterparts. Not just that but there are multiple reasons why people hesitate to switch to electric cars. That too, despite knowing facts about air pollution. Reason? Expensive batteries, few charging points, low mileage, low life of the car, etc. But that’s not the case with electric 2-wheelers. 

The cost of ownership of electric 2-wheelers is 9% lower as compared to its petrol variant. This data is for the distance covered over 500 km in 30 days. The ownership cost of the electric variant 2-wheeler over its conventional variant is given in the illustration below-

Two-wheelers are set for a complete transition from their petrol combustion version to an electric version. The factors responsible for this effective change are-

• Low energy requirements per driven kilometer
• Small battery size
• Ease of charging without any need for a dedicated charging infrastructure
• Supportive government policies.

Market Share of Electric 2-Wheelers in India

Unlike Western economies, our economy heavily relies on the two-wheelers. Along with fame, the market share of electric 2-wheelers is constantly rising in India. Have a look at the illustrated data below-

As you can see from the above data, the sale of electric 2-wheelers rose from 29,982 to 64,363 in the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Although this information belongs to the month of January of both years. But just see that it is such a massive jump from 2.6% to 5.1%. So what does it suggest? People are trusting the EV industry and inclining towards electric 2-wheelers. Sounds too good to be true but this is a well-checked fact! Well, we have already discussed the reasons in the above section. This 115% rise is good news for our nation, economy, as well as for our environment. This pie would eventually grow bigger and bigger! 

Automobile Companies Leading the Electric 2-Wheeler Race in India

Now here comes the most awaited part of this article. Participants of the electric 2-wheeler race in our country. Or simply the automobile companies associated with the production of electric 2-wheelers. The market share of companies in this segment is described in the following illustration-

Looks like you have got a brief idea about the automobile companies ruling the Indian electric 2-wheeler segment. Before jumping to a conclusion, let’s look at the details of the performance of these companies in the year 2022. And that too with respect to the units produced in a year.

Details

Now, let’s look at the details.

1. Ola Electric

It is a subsidiary of ANI Technologies which is also the parent company of Ola Cabs. Ola Electric Mobility is an indigenous electric 2-wheeler manufacturer whole manufacturing plant is located in Tamil Nadu. It aims to reduce the emission and fuel dependency of 2-wheelers. With its cumulative 12-month sales of 1,08,130 units Ola Electric Mobility became the leader of the Indian electric 2-wheeler industry. In the months of October to December, it observed spontaneous sales of over 16,000 units. Its monthly unit sales were-

2. Okinawa Auto-tech

It has a broad portfolio consisting of both high-speed and low-speed e-scooters. Its sales were going excellently high in the initial months of the year 2022 but slipped in the last two months of the year. Do you know, in the first ten months it manufactured and sold 87,340 units of e-scooters? It was much ahead of Ola Electic which produced 75,603 units in those months. But things got twisted in the last two months. Look at the data below-

Despite these numbers, Okinawa is receiving a huge demand for its two high-speed models namely-

• iPraise+
• Praise Pro

It has a wide network in tier-1 cities. But now it is targeting the Tier 2 and 3 cities along with rural regions of India.

3. Hero Electric

The third position is grabbed by Hero Electric. Although it was the first company to cross the sales mark of 10,000 units in March 2022. But it was unable to sustain its growth. Post March, its sales slipped. Look at the sales data below-

The company Hero Electric is keenly dedicated to expanding over India. As of now, it has over 700 outlets and trained mechanics on electric vehicles. To obtain a large consumer base, it partnered with numerous NBFCs to offer seamless financial assistance to buyers.

4. Ampere Vehicles

It has been a stable performer in the indigenous EV 2-wheeler industry. In the first half of the year, its average sales were 5,631 units. But the sales were boosted in the months of-

• October: 10,064 units
• November:12,257 units

Don’t you wonder how its sales spike up in the second half of the year? It is due to its popular model of electric scooter i.e. “Ampere Magnus.”

5. Ather Energy

This company is famous for being one of the famous Indian startups fighting for climate change. And how does it combat climate change? By producing electric scooters as discussed in the introduction! Its flagship products are exclusively designed electric scooters, namely-

• Ather 450X
• Ather 450 Plus

Apart from a high speed of 80km/h, it comprises advanced lithium-ion batteries, fast charging capability, and other smart features. Such as navigation and statistics. 

The data on its sales are given below-

It plans to install 800 more charging grids all over India. Also, it is planning to expand in Tier-2 and 3 cities.

6. TVS iQube

The next position is grabbed by TVS iQube. It is popular for conferring a silent surge of acceleration from 0 km/h to 40 km/h in merely 4.2 seconds. Do you know that you can carry along the charger too? It sold 46,277 units in the year 2022. Its best-selling months were November and December with the sale of 8,102 units and 8,720 units respectively.

7. Bajaj Chetak

The last (but not the least) one in our list is Bajaj Chetak. It sold over 24,767 units of its e-scooter. You may feel that this number is far much lower when compared to others. It has comparatively few retail outlets in India. This makes it restricted only to tier-1 cities. Now, you must have realized that the reason for this fact is genuine. Therefore, it is planning to expand its network pan India to boost its sales.

Final Words: Who is the winner in the Electric 2 Wheeler Race?

You have seen the top 8 companies that are ruling the electric scooter industry in our country. But that’s not all. There are numerous other companies working in this segment Such as Being India Energy, Amo Mobility Solutions, etc. By now, you must have realized that “Ola Electric” is the winner in the race of Electric 2-wheeler race in India. Other companies in the lead are Okinava Auto-tech and Hero Electric. So, it’s time to wrap up. 

Hope you must have found this information useful!