Govt's efforts to push EVs yielding results only in some segments & states

The introduction of new brands and government efforts to push for electric vehicles (EVs) seems to be yielding results but only in some segments of the automobile industry and in some states. 

A Business Standard analysis of data from the Vahan portal found that registrations of electric two-wheelers (E2Ws) accounted for nearly two per cent of total two-wheeler sales in the passenger segment in the last fiscal. Of the 12 million two-wheelers sold in 2021-22, 228,669 were electric two-wheelers.

Overall, though two-wheeler sales were muted last fiscal year, growing only 3.8 per cent over 2020-21, sales of E2Ws grew 480.8 per cent, though this growth was on a much smaller base. The increase in car sales was less impressive. Electric car sales only accounted for 0.5 per cent of the total private cars sold and increased by 266.6 per cent compared to last year.

In the commercial segment, though, the performance was much better. In the light passenger vehicle category, 1.4 per cent of sales were for EVs. In 2020-21, the electric cars’ share was 0.8 per cent.

In the heavy passenger vehicle segment (trailers and buses), one in ten vehicles sold last fiscal were electric. In contrast, one in three two-wheelers registered in the commercial segment were electric.

In Delhi, a sixth of the heavy passenger vehicles sold in 2021-22 were in the electric category. The Delhi government had in its 2020 policy laid down a target of having 25 per cent of new vehicle registrations in the electric category.

A state-wise analysis of data shows that four states accounted for most sales. Maharashtra alone accounted for 38 per cent of the total sales in the private car segment. The share of Delhi was a little over 10 per cent, whereas Kerala accounted for 13 per cent of total sales.

Between 2017-18 and 2021-22, the registrations for electric cars in Kerala increased 48 times, whereas electric vehicle registrations in the country increased 17 times during this period. Tamil Nadu registered a 168-times increase, whereas Rajasthan and Maharashtra recorded increases of 76 and 50 times respectively.

Karnataka, which had the highest electric registrations in 2017-18, even higher than Maharashtra, had slipped to the fourth position. Karnataka’s electric four-wheeler registrations increased six times between 2017-18 and 2021-22.

In the non-transport two-wheeler segment, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu accounted for 50 per cent of electric two-wheeler registrations. Maharashtra’s two-wheeler registrations jumped 108 times between 2017-18 and 2021-22, lower than the 122-times rise in the country's electric two-wheeler sales.

While Uttar Pradesh accounted for 22.4 per cent of electric two-wheeler sales in 2017-18, its share had reduced to just 4.4 per cent in 2021-22. The share of Haryana had come down from 14.3 per cent to 2.5 per cent.

The message is clear: State governments need to focus on building charging infrastructure to realise the goal of transitioning a large proportion of their sales to EVs.