The Indian two-wheeler industry, which clocked dispatches of 4.98 million units and 20% year-on-year growth in April-June 2024, has opened FY2025 on a strong note also on the electric vehicle (EV) front. In the first three months of FY2025, total exports of electric scooters were 2,814 units compared to just 74 EVs in the corresponding year-ago period (April-June 2023), all of which were Bajaj Chetaks.
SIAM wholesales data reveals that India E2W Inc’s strong Q1 FY2025 export shipments have eclipsed entire FY2024’s e-scooter exports of 1,603 units (see data table below) and are already ahead by 1,211 units with nine months left in FY2025. And the 2,814 export EVs constitute 1.80% of total India two-wheeler exports of 155,980 units in April-June 2024.
Electric two-wheeler exports of 2,814 units in April-June 2024 have surpassed entire FY2024’s 1,603 units. TVS, with 2,772 units, accounts for 98% of them.
Leading the e-two-wheeler export charge in the ongoing fiscal year is TVS Motor Co with 2,772 units or 98.50% of total overseas shipments, with the balance 42 EVs being accounted for by Ather Energy (40 EVs) and Bajaj Auto (2 Chetaks).
TVS Motor Co’s EV exports have received a booster shot in the form of the BMW CE 02 electric scooter that it jointly manufactures with BMW Motorrad at its plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The bulk (96%) of TVS’ EV exports in Q1 FY2025 comprise the BMW CE 02 – 2,652 units – with the balance 4% coming from the TVCS iQube (120 units).
On April 15, 2024, Autocar Professional broke the news about TVS having begun export of the BMW CE 02. In FY2024, TVS exported a total of 1,173 EVs – 94 CE 02s and 249 iQubes – and accounted for 73% of India e2W exports, with Ather Energy (356 units / 22% share), Bajaj Auto (74 Chetaks / 4.59% share) and Hero MotoCorp (6 Vidas / 0.37% share).
TVS Motor Co and BMW Motorrad have jointly designed, developed and built the platform for the BMW CE 02 which rolls out of TVS’ Hosur plant.
TVS Motor Co has a lot invested in the BMW CE 02 EV, whose platform has been jointly designed, developed and built by TVS and BMW Motorrad. It is the second jointly developed platform after the 310 series which has spawned the BMW G 310 R, BMW 310 GS, BMW G310 RR, along with TVS’ flagship motorcycles, Apache RR 310 and Apache RTR 310.
The 132kg BMW CE 02 develops 15hp, travels 90 kilometres on a single charge and has a claimed top speed of 95kph. Underpinnings are fairly simple with a double-loop steel tubular frame cradling the twin battery packs, suspended by a USD fork/monoshock setup. The BMW CE 02 uses a 296mm front disc, clamped down upon by a single-piston caliper and it only gets single-channel ABS. While the equipment is fairly basic, the CE 02 does get a single-sided swingarm and sends power to the rear wheel via a belt drive. 
Export demand for TVS iQube picks up
Along with the BMW CE 02, TVS has also exported 120 units of its iQube e-scooter in the first three months of FY2025. It is expected that the bulk of these iQube exports have gone to Nepal, where TVS sells the zero-emission product through its authorised distributor Jagdamba Motors.
TVS, which is India’s second largest two-wheeler exporter after Bajaj Auto, is fast upping the ante on exports. The company, whose export footprint spans key markets across Asia, Africa and Latin America has in the past eight-odd months strategically entered new markets like Nepal, Vietnam, and France. On November 16, 2023, TVS announced its entry into the European market and signed a pact for import and distribution with the Emil Frey Group. The two companies plan to use their collaborative efforts to enter into distribution arrangements for select EU markets.
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