Electric two-wheeler registration declined both on a year-on-year and month-on-month basis during July, according to the data from the Vahan registry portal. A total of 1.03 lakh electric two-wheelers were registered during the month, representing a 4% on-year decline and 3% drop from June.
The year-on-year decline in total volumes reflects Ola Electric sales, which more than halved during the period. Among all the top electric two-wheeler makers, only Ola Electric saw its registration drop.
However, all the companies, excluding Hero MotoCorp, saw a decline in their registrations on a month-on-month basis. Industry experts and analysts attribute this sequential drop to muted demand preceding the festive period and production disruptions stemming from rare earth magnet supply challenges.
The automotive industry is grappling with a severe shortage of rare earth magnets, a critical component for vehicle motors. Crisis escalated in April when China, the world’s primary producer of rare earth elements, suspended magnet supply, forcing automakers to scramble for alternative sources to maintain their production lines.
TVS Motors retained the top spot with 22,225 units, having a 21.6% market share, followed by Bajaj Auto with 19,650 units and 19.1% share. While both TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto improved their market share on a year-on-year basis, their share were lower compared to June.
The year-on-year improvement in their market share is because of Ola Electric’s declining sales, while the sequential drop largely reflects increasing competition from Ather Energy and Hero MotoCorp.
Ather Energy and Hero MotoCorp recorded the largest growth rate in registrations as well as market share improvement during June. Ather Energy’s registrations came in at 16,231 units while Hero MotoCorp registered 10,489 units.
This robust sales growth resulted in a higher market share of 15.8% compared to 9.5% in the year-ago period and 13.9% in June. Hero MotoCorp, on the other hand, saw its market share expand more than double to 10.2% from 4.7% in July 2024, while it rose from 7.3% in June.
Meanwhile, Ola Electric is facing a persistent decline in its sales and market share. The automaker saw its registration plunge to 17,848 units from 41,800 units in the year-ago period. Its market share also fell to 17.4% from 38.8% in July 2024 and 19.1% in June.
Ola Electric, which was the market leader in FY25, is currently at the number 3 position in terms of sales. With continuous erosion in its market share, the market share gap between Ola Electric and Ather has reduced significantly to just 1.6% points, compared to 29.3% points in the year-ago period.
Having been slow to introduce new variants or products and grow its retail presence, Ather Energy has now shifted gears, aggressively expanding its store network. The automaker is targeting to more than double its retail footprint to over 750 stores by year-end.
The introduction of Ritza last year has also widened the company’s addressable market. Ather Energy recently launched a new variant of Ritza with extended range and performance at an accessible price point.
Hero MotoCorp, which is the largest shareholder of Ather Energy, is increasing its play in the electric two-wheeler market. The company recently launched its second electric scooter model under the Vida brand – the VX2 – and introduced a Battery-as-a-Service model to reduce the initial cost of the vehicle.