Before we look at the EV trends in India, 2022, let’s look at a few highlights of the much-awaited Indian Budget 2022 recently presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmal Sitharaman. That’s because provisions and plans made in the central budget will play a significant role in driving the growth of the country’s EV sector. So, some of the vital highlights of the budget concerning India’s EV growth include,
- Authorizing building bye laws
- Enhancing charging infrastructure
- Special mobility zones for EVs
- Provision for battery swapping policy
- Clean tech in public transport
- FAME Subsidy extension
The government aims to make India a country driven by EV mobility by 2030. However, to achieve this holistic objective, India undoubtedly will have to augment EV sales, encourage new players to enter the sector, incentivize EV purchases through the FAME scheme (we’ll look at it shortly) and provide an environment conducive to EV-related imports such as the purchase of semiconductors, other vehicle parts, etc.
Let’s look at what’s happening in India’s EV sector. We’ll talk about upcoming launches, highlights of FAME 2022 and then also look at the revised norms for the pro-active setting up of EV charging infrastructure in India.
- Two-Wheeler, Three-Wheeler and Four-Wheeler EV Sales – January 2022 and Upcoming Launches in India
Based on numbers published in the JMK Research report, two-wheeler EV sales in India had a healthy opening in 2022 with 26,193 units sold in the month of January. It indicated a six percent month-on-month surge and an astonishing 435 percent YoY increase in registrations. Hero Electric, Okinawa and Ampere led the market with a cumulative sale of 16,000 units.
At the outset, let’s look at some of the expected two-wheeler launches in the country until May 2022.
- Hero Electric AE-75 – Feb 2022
- Okinawa Cruiser – Feb 2022
- BSA Electric Bike – Feb 2022
- Hero Electric AE-47 E-Bike – March 2022
- Suzuki Burgman Electric – March 2022
- Super Soco Cumini – April 2022
- Super Soco TS Street Hunter – April 2022
- Ultraviolette F77 – May 2022
As per numbers published in JMK Research report, in January 2022, 1,388 units were sold in India. It indicated a month-on-month drop of 45 percent but a YoY increase of 124 percent in registrations. Tata Motors outperformed every other EV manufacturer with a whopping 91 percent of the total registrations in 2022. Second to Tata was MG Motor, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra and then the rest.
The country has many four-wheelers as well in the pipeline expecting a launch this year. Some of them include,
- Volvo XC40 Recharge – Feb 2022
- Mahindra eKUV100 – March 2022
- Tata Tiago EV – March 2022
- Tata Altroz EV – March 2022
- Ford Mustang Mach E – March 2022
- ORA iQ – April 2022
- Mercedes-Benz EQA – May 2022
Now, what’s happening across the three-wheeler sector of the country. Well, it is equally exciting. One of the most significant indications is the sales growth. According to stats published in JMK Research for January 2022, a total of 18,176 EV three-wheelers were sold together in both the passenger and the cargo-type category. It denoted a month-on-month fall of 22 percent but a promising 71 percent YoY increase!
Seven major players of India’s three-wheeler EV market constituted 35.5 percent share of the three-wheeler EV segment of the market. YC Electric turned out to be the market leader with a share of 8.8 percent, followed by Mahindra Electric Mobility (7.4 percent) and then the rest such as Saera, Champion, Dilli, etc.
News is, Zoomroo, which is an EV brand of the Surat-based Zoomroo Electric, launched three-wheeler EVs for various use categories such as freight loading, garbage disposal, and passenger auto. The company has announced up to 30 percent of relaxation in the down payment to promote Zoomroo’s sales.
(Source for sales figures- https://jmkresearch.com/electric-vehicles-published-reports/monthly-electric-vehicles-update/monthly-ev-update-january-2022/
- FAME India Scheme 2022
FAME India Scheme 2022 is launched for the residents of India and to promote the use of electric vehicles. Some of the significant highlights Phase 2 include,
- Provision of 670 electric buses in Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Chandigarh by the Indian government
- Future provision of 241 charging stations on the streets of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and Port Blair
- Extension of the scheme until 2024 to make it applicable until March 2024
- Increase in the subsidy incentives from INR 10,000 per kWh to INR 15,000 per kWh, resulting in prices of EVs to plummet
- So far, 78045 vehicles have been sold through the scheme (59984 two-wheeler-EVs, 16499 three-wheeler-EVs, and 1562 four-wheelers-EVs)
- The government has allocated a budget of INR 10,000 crore to implement the scheme
- Karnataka leads sales under FAME 2022 Phase II with 17438 EVs, followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi
- Installation of 350 new charging stations under the scheme’s second phase. The cities where the stations were installed include Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, and Bangalore
- By July 9, 2021, the total of 3,61,000 vehicles were sold under the scheme, for which the government gave a subsidy of 600 crores
- Aims to support 10 lakh two-wheeler-EVs, 55,000 four-wheeler electric vehicles, five lakh three-wheeler-EVs and 7,000 eBuses
- The two-wheeler segment will mainly focus on the private vehicles of residents of metro cities
- Government Norms for EV Infrastructure in India
The norms aim to expedite the adoption of EVs in India by providing a safe and reliable ecosystem. Some of the revised guidelines include,
- Allowing owners to charge their EVs at their home or office through the existing electricity connections and de-licensing the setting up of EV charging infrastructure
- Any ntity is free to set up public charging stations without a license, provided, the stations meet the safety, technical and performance standards and protocols
- A revenue sharing model has been introduced for the land that will be used for the charging station. This is to address the difficulties people would face to make the development of a charging station financially viable in the growth period of EVs
- Land available with government or public organizations will be provided to install PCS (Public Charging Stations) to a government or public entity on a revenue sharing basis at a fixed rate of INR 1 per kWh. This will be paid on a quarterly basis to the agency that owns the land.
- The price of electricity provided to public EV charging stations will be a single part tariff and wouldn’t exceed Average Cost of Supply till March 2025. The same tariff will apply to BCS
- Domestic consumption tariff will be applicable for domestic charging
- As electricity is being provided at concessional rates and because subsidy is being given, the state government will fix the ceiling of service charges that the service
- PCS will tie up with NSP to enable remote or online booking of charging slots
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