Bajaj Auto looks to pip TVS to second spot in electric 2-wheeler market

The country’s legacy two-wheeler giants — Bajaj Auto and TVS — are fighting a neck-and-neck battle for market share, with the former threatening to dislodging its rival soon.

The Pune-based giant, which was trailing far behind TVS just two months ago in e-two-wheelers (e2Ws), has upped the ante.

It has increased its market share based on Vahan registrations from 11.6 per cent in June (when it sold only 9,046 electric two wheelers) to 19.3 per cent (when it sold 14,977 this month till August 30). This comes as Bajaj pushed distribution and launched more affordable scooters. As a result, it is nearing TVS, which saw 20.1 per cent share in August. In July, TVS had a market share of 18.1 per cent.   

Meanwhile, market leader Ola Electric, despite a successful initial public offering (IPO), has seen its share of e2Ws fall from 40.1 per cent in July to 32.9 per cent in August (till August 30). In June, it had a 47 per cent share of the market.  

But despite the share churn, the overall e2W market, which had bumped up in July, dropped by a fourth this month with registrations falling from 103,894 in July to 77,565 till August 30. 

 

In August, the success of Ola Electric’s IPO, and the roll out of electric scooters below Rs 1 lakh by Bajaj and TVS, had pushed up their volumes compared to Ola.

Two wheeler companies, however, said that they are preparing capacity for the upcoming festival season. But they expect volumes to also remain subdued because of shraddh in September when consumers in north India do not buy new assets.

Ola Electric, for instance, saw its registrations of electric scooters touch 25,580 (this month, till August 30) with a day to go for the month to end. This compares to 41,704 registrations in July, a drop of 39 per cent month-on-month (M-o-M). Legacy players face the same fate — Bajaj’s registration numbers fell by 15.5 per cent at 14,977 in August compared to 17,742 in July.

Even TVS saw a bigger fall, registering 15,658 vehicle sales till August 30 compared to 19,629 in July.

Even Ather, which started delivery of its electric family scooter from July, registered 9,745 vehicle sales till August 30 compared to 10,180 in July, even though it gained overall market share in August. However there is some good news on alternative fuel two wheelers.

Bajaj Auto, which launched the world’s first CNG-powered motorcycle Freedom 125, has received good traction, according to Vahan. The company has already seen 3,637 vehicle registrations till August 30 — a promising beginning, considering the two-wheeler was on the road from July.