From Goa to Kerala, four states breach 10% adoption of e-2-wheelers

National average jumps to 5.6%

Four states in the country have breached the 10 per cent mark in electric two-wheeler (e2W) penetration, according to the latest data from Vahan Dashboard. Goa leads the way with 17.20 per cent, albeit with modest numbers, followed by Kerala (13.66 per cent) and Karnataka (12.19 per cent). Maharashtra, with a penetration of 10.74 per cent, is by far the largest state in the number of e2Ws sold.

Overall, India reached an e2W penetration of 5.63 per cent as of May 31, up from 4.05 per cent in 2022, with 392,681 e2Ws sold in the first five months of this year out of the total two-wheeler sales of 6.98 million, the data showed. This augurs well for the government’s target of increasing the penetration of e2Ws to 80 per cent by 2030.

In 2019, no state had more than 1 per cent penetration. However, a state-wise breakup shows some states vastly outperforming others and some others showing swathes of low penetration, especially the Northeast, whose combined penetration is 0.51 per cent.

Although Goa had the highest penetration, Maharashtra had the highest number of e2Ws sold this year up to May 31, at 76,304, followed by Karnataka with 60,620 vehicles.

Ten states have an e2W penetration higher than the national average. These are Goa (17.20 per cent), Kerala (13.66 per cent), Karnataka (12.19 per cent), Maharashtra (10.74 per cent), Gujarat (8.70 per cent), Rajasthan (7.15 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (6.44 per cent), Chhattisgarh (6.32 per cent), Tamil Nadu (6.31 per cent), and Odisha (6.17 per cent).

All except Goa, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha are also among the top 10 states in terms of the number of two-wheelers sold.

The contribution of these 10 states in the overall 630,893 E2W sold in 2022 was around 78 per cent, although their contribution to the overall two-wheeler sales was much lower at 52 per cent.

Industry experts highlight the role of incentives — tax exemption, low electricity tariffs, robust charging infrastructure, scrappage incentives, investments in battery recycling, and deadlines for each segment — in helping states gather electric momentum.

“Purchasing power and comprehensive EV policies are the key drivers of EV adoption. The states that offer the most benefits get the most favourable results,” said Puneet Gupta, director, S&P Global.

The 10 states with the highest e2W adoption have had robust EV policies. Karnataka was the first state to come up with one, in 2017. Goa is the only one among the 10 to have discontinued its EV policy, in July last year.

Of the nine states with active EV policies, six — Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha — provide 100 per cent exemption from road tax and registration fees, according to a study published in February 2023 by Climate Trends, a research-based consulting and capacity building initiative that aims to bring greater focus on issues of environment, climate change and sustainable development.

The penetration in several states, especially in the Northeast, continues to be low. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura together sold only 1,287 e2Ws in the first five months of this year. In 2022, only 2,285 e2Ws were sold in these states, giving them an electric penetration of 0.47 per cent. The picture gets bleaker as we move to Sikkim, where not a single e2W has been sold since 2019. In the Northeast, only Assam, Manipur, and Meghalaya have EV policies.

Three states had an e2W adoption rate of less than 1 per cent in 2022: Jharkhand, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. However, in the first five months of 2023, the penetration in Jharkhand and Haryana crossed 2 per cent, and was 1.84 per cent for Himachal.

There was also a mismatch between total two-wheeler sales and electric penetration. Of the 10 states with the highest e2W penetration, four — Goa, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha — were not among the top 10 two-wheeler markets.

Uttar Pradesh was the largest two-wheeler market in 2022, with a 15 per cent share of the 15.58 million two-wheelers sold in the country. But the state had an EV penetration of only 1.04 per cent last year. The story continues this year: 1.11 million two-wheelers were sold in the state till May 31, of which only 15,367 were electric, translating into a penetration of 1.38 per cent.

Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal are among the top 10 two-wheeler markets, with e2W penetration of 3.23 per cent, 1.25 per cent, and 1.49 per cent, respectively -– all below the national average.

So far in 2023, Kerala’s EV registration saw the highest uptick, rising 7.38 percentage points to 13.66 per cent, followed by Goa and Karnataka. Vahan does not have registration data for Telangana.