Electric vehicle sales rise 148% to race past 1.18 million

Electric vehicles made up 5% of total automobiles sales in the country in the year ended March 31 when EV sales crossed 1.18 million, surging 148% onyear, powered by two- and threewheelers.

EV retail sales hit a new monthly peak of 140,509 units in March, according to data on the government’s Vahan website. Fleet operators and individuals buying two- and three-wheelers are the main drivers of EV sales.

Electric two-wheelers recorded sales of 86,136 units in March, followed by electric three-wheelers at 46,941, electric four-wheelers (passenger vehicles including commercial ones) at 7,345, and e-buses at 87.

Low running costs — at a time when petrol, diesel and CNG prices are rising — along with new launches and increased availability of charging points are expected to keep EV growth rate intact in the coming years, experts said.

If the trend continues, “we will be looking at EVs easily crossing the 2-million mark in FY24”, said Gagan Sidhu, director at Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Centre for Energy Finance (CEF).

State policies have helped boost electric vehicle sales, he said. In major cities such as Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Chennai, penetration of electric twowheelers stood at 14.7% in March, up from 12.8% in February.TVS Motor Company’s e-two wheeler registrations grew by 23% monthon-month to 15,581 units in March, while market leader Ola Electric posted 15% rise at 20,283 units.

Other top performers included Ampere with 47% growth to 8,572 units and Ather Energy that saw sales rise 16% to 11,607 units last month.Electric three-wheelers, too, are gaining in popularity rapidly due to lower total cost of ownership. Industry experts expect ethree-wheeler penetration to reach about 30% by FY25.

EV manufacturers have been expanding capacity to cater to the growing demand.