Compounded by the effect of India unlocking its economy and increase in fuel price, the demand for EVs appears to be at the all time high. The EV manufacturers in India could benefit from this if they rightly address the current market change. With the petrol price crossing Rs 104 per litre in Mumbai and inching towards Rs 100 in Bangalore, people are looking at alternative and cost-effective mobility solutions. We at GaadiKey spoke to few popular names in the 2 wheeler EV industry like Ather Energy to understand the current market sentiment in the Electric two wheeler space.
A Spokesperson from Ather Energy, a Bengaluru based EV manufacturer said,
“We have seen over 3000% increase in demand in terms of enquiries in the last 3-6 months. With fuel prices going up we see more people switching to Electric vehicles.
Over the last few months, Ather Energy has aggressively expanded its network coverage to major cities like Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad. Ather also has experience centres/outlets in smaller cities like Coimbatore, Hubli, Jaipur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Nagpur, and Trichy. The general turn around time for delivery of Ather bikes is 10-15 days which is now impacted due to COVID restrictions.
Slow pace of vehicle registrations at RTOs
India was severely hit by second wave of COVID-19 virus starting from the month of April 2021 and State Governments across the country are now opening up various industries and economic activities in a limited way. The registrations of vehicles at Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) were also impacted due to this. RTOs now have a huge backlog in terms of registering new vehicles and the one which were due from past 2 months.
Amendment in FAME II scheme
The FAME II scheme is now revised with higher incentives for Electric 2 Wheelers.
The new amendment reads:
For Electric 2 Wheelers, demand Incentive will be @ Rs 15000/- per KWh.
The cap on incentives for Electric 2 Wheelers will be 40% of the cost of vehicles.
Ather 450X Price slashed
Following the new announcement from the Government on FAME II Scheme, where an additional Rs 14,500/- is available as a subsidy for Electric two wheeler owners, Ather Energy has now slashed the price of its best selling Ather 450X model. The current price of Ather 450X is at Rs 1,32,426 (Ex-showroom Delhi) and at Rs 1,44,500 (Ex-showroom Bangalore).
More EV manufacturers are expected to revise their product prices soon.
Vaccination on Full Swing
Manufacturers like Toyota, Mahindra, TVS, Bajaj and Ather are fully vaccinating their employees and immediate family members. Vaccinating everyone on the ground and those who are at the front line is the need of the hour to bring the economy back to full swing. The vaccination rate in India is expected to double starting June 21.
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