E-car sales plunge 40pct in FY18 but e bikes volume soars 138pct - Report
Economic Times reported that despite the massive government push towards electric mobility, e-car sales plunged 40 % to a low of 1,200 units in FY18 over FY17, while e-two-wheeler sales zoomed 138 per cent to 54,800 unit during the same period. According to the data from the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles, the apex industry lobby for the e-vehicles industry, as of March 2018, there were 56,000 electric vehicles on the roads in the country, of which e-cars were a paltry 1,200 units, while the rest 54,800 units are two-wheelers.
In FY16, 20,000 electric two-wheelers were sold in the country, which increased to INR 23,000 units in FY17, according to the data. In the same year, 2,000 e-cars were sold and remained stagnant in FY17.
In FY16 there were only 22,000 electric vehicles on the roads, which rose to 25,000 in FY17 and to 54,800 units in FY18 and rose to 56,000 in FY18, show the data.
According to Mr Sohinder Gill, director corporate affairs at the society, the rising numbers indicate that people are accepting e-vehicles as an economical as well as a cleaner mode of transportation. Mr Gill said "Most manufacturers have started using lithium-ion batteries, which has increased the performance of e-two wheelers and has helped in gaining consumer confidence. But the absence of adequate finance mechanism, price gap between an e-two-wheelers and petrol variants, awareness among citizens are challenges which need immediate redressal."
He blamed the dip in sales of e-cars to the "lack of infrastructure, ambiguity over policy, which still remain the major deterrents for growth."
But he sounded confident about the volumes picking up this year saying this year also looks positive especially for the electric two-wheeler segment and we anticipate the sector to perform better than last year.
Source : Economic Times