Electric Vehicle Sales Reach 1.56 Lakh In India For FY-2019-2020 Despite The Coronavirus Lockdown

Published April 22, 2020
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The coronavirus lockdown didn’t stop EV sales in surpassing its previous fiscal year numbers

The auto industry may have taken a hit in sales recently due to the coronavirus lockdown, but there is a ray of positivity when it comes to electric vehicles. The Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) has revealed that 1,56,000 electric vehicles have been sold in the sales report for the 2019-2020 financial year.

EV Type	EV Sales FY- 2019-2020	EV Sales FY- 2018-2019	Difference
Two-wheelers	1,52,000	1,26,000	+ 26,000
Cars	3400	3600	- 200
Buses	600	400	+ 200
Total	1,56,000	1,30,000	+ 20,000

What’s special about this number is that it was achieved despite the final month being affected by the coronavirus lockdown. Out of these EVs, 1,52,000 were two-wheelers, 3400 were cars and 600 were buses. This surpasses the previous figure of 1,30,000 sales in the 2018-2019 financial year, consisting of 1,26,000 two-wheelers, 3600 cars and around 400 buses. The majority of this sales growth of 20 per cent is down to two-wheelers. This report does not include e-Rickshaws sales which is still largely in the unorganized sector with a reported sale of around 90,000 units.

In terms of electric two-wheelers sold this financial year, 97 per cent of them were electric scooters, with motorcycles and electric cycles accounting the rest. 90 per cent of the scooter sales consisted of low-speed scooters that can hit a top speed of 25kmph and do not need registration with the transport authorities.

Oddly enough, despite the emergence of EVs like the Hyundai Kona Electric, MG ZS EV and the Tata Nexon EV, only 3400 four wheeler EVs were sold compared to 3600 units in the previous fiscal year. SMEV narrows down the reasoning due to a lack of bulk purchases of E-cars in FY 2019-2020 and the discontinuation of one of the leading car models. However, the second half of the FY 2019-2020 saw more premium EV sales thanks to the launch of cars like the Hyundai Kona Electric, MG ZS EV and Tata Nexon EV.

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This sales report gives a good indication that India’s EV revolution is here to stay and is picking up fast. For those bummed out by the four-wheeler EV results, more EVs like the Tata Altroz EV, Mahindra eXUV300, Mahindra eKUV100 and more are being planned.