Ather Energy edges past Ola Electric in September, TVS cements market lead in Q2
In September, Ather Energy beat out Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric for the first time in total number of units sold during the month, as Ola struggles to maintain its 2024 momentum.
Electric two-wheelers are off to a lacklustre start to the much-anticipated festive demand. In September, the total number of EVs sold fell to 96,030 units compared to 1,04,950 units in August.
Despite the overall downtick in demand, TVS Motor managed to hold onto its market lead position, capturing a 21.9% share of the E2W market. The company has managed to consistently maintain its market leadership position in the second quarter, from July to September.
Bajaj Auto, which managed to top EV sales in February and March this year, has seen its sales numbers stagnate in the second quarter. In September, the firm managed to sell 17,972 units, capturing an 18.7% share of the market.
Meanwhile, September recorded Ather Energy’s break into the top-three list of OEMs in India, in terms of sales. For the first time, the recently listed firm sold more vehicles than its peer Ola Electric, which listed on public bourses last year.
During the month, the Hero MotoCorp-backed firm sold 16,558 units, taking hold of 17.2% of the E2W market share. Ather Energy also saw its sales numbers grow by about 49% compared to the year-ago period.
Meanwhile, Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric has had a disappointing quarter, with its sales numbers during this period plunging by almost 50% to 47,753 units compared to year-ago numbers.
In September, the company sold only 12,223 units, holding on to a 12.7% market share.
The second quarter was a challenging period for electric vehicle manufacturers in India, with many struggling with the ongoing rare earth magnetic crisis triggered by export restrictions imposed by China. All original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) had sounded alarm bells during this period, except Ola Electric. The company had said that it was developing a ferrite motor.
At Ola Electric’s flagship event Sankalp, in August, Aggarwal had said that its ferrite motor products were expected to come out next quarter, and then, over two to three quarters, all its products will become ferrite motor products.
(All data is as of September 30)
(Disclaimer: Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, is an independent director at Ola Electric.)
Edited by Jyoti Narayan