March could see the electric bike rally swelling to a record
Electric two-wheeler registrations in India are set for a record high in March, topping 100,000 units for the second time in less than a year, as the rush to buy before a possible price increases.
Vehicle registration count is a proxy for retail sales. It touched 111,964 units for electric two-wheelers on March 29 — the highest for any month — according to data from Vahan, the government's repository of all vehicle registrations in India.
The previous monthly high was 105,389 units in May 2023, when consumers had brought forward their purchase plans to avoid paying more due to a reduction in government subsidy from June.
As per Vahan data, the March registration volume is set to be up by 36% on a month-on-month basis and 30% year-on-year. In the previous six months, two-wheeler EV registrations averaged 78,353 units.
This is the second time within a year that the buying incentive has been reduced. In June 2023, it was reduced to ₹10,000 per kilowatt-hour (KWh) of battery capacity from ₹15,000 per KWh. It has now been reduced to ₹5,000 per KWh.
The majority of electric two-wheeler makers in the country are set to increase prices from April 1, the start of the new financial year.
«We are considering a price increase of ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 next month,» said an executive of a leading electric two-wheeler maker. «However, this will take care of the hit on account of lowering of the subsidy only partially.»
The price increase comes on the back of the halving of the subsidy announced by the government as part of a
