TVS’ August EV sales hold steady as competition heats up between Ola Electric, Ather Energy
Electric vehicle sales in August saw a dip amid the ongoing rare earth magnet crisis, and as consumers hold on to their purses, awaiting festive season discounts and offers.
Electric vehicle (EV) sales saw a dip in August, affecting the total sales of the four major players—TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, Ather Energy, and Ola Electric. Despite the slowdown, TVS Motor held its leadership position with a 23.1% market share.
During the month, the iQube-maker had sold 24,087 units. It also announced a new EV variant, TVS Orbiter, with a price tag of Rs 99,900, targeting young budget-conscious first-time urban buyers.
Meanwhile, competition between Ola Electric and Ather Energy heated up with the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company seeing its market share rise from 17.1% in July to 18.1% this month. Rizta-maker Ather sold 17,856 units in August, capturing 17.1% market share.
According to Vahan data, Bajaj Auto saw a sharp decline in sales numbers in August. The company, which was the second-largest EV firm in terms of sales numbers last month, managed to sell only 11,730 units in August. The company’s market share fell sharply to 11.2% from 19.6% in July.
Earlier this month, Bajaj Auto’s Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj told The Economic Times that the company could see a “zero month” of EV output in August due to the rare earth magnet crisis.
Notably, all EV makers—except Ola Electric—had hinted at possible production interruptions and a hit on sales numbers due to the ongoing crisis surrounding rare earth magnets—critical components needed to manufacture EVs. Many players are now looking for alternative supply chains and components.
Ather Energy Co-founder and CEO Tarun Mehta, during the company’s post-earnings call, said that the company sees the impact of the ongoing crisis affecting second-quarter sales.
However, during Ather Community Day on August 30, Co-founder and CTO Swapnil Jain said the company has managed to switch to rare earth magnets from heavy rare earth magnets, easing any pressure the supply chain bottleneck had on the company’s production.
According to a Business Standard report, market leader TVS Motor voiced its concerns about the magnet crisis, adding that the supply chain bottleneck is expected to affect EV sales during the festive season.
However, Ola Electric is expected to overcome the crisis, according to CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, largely due to its ongoing development of an in-house ferrite magnet-run motor.
While still under development, the company’s dual strategy of managing supplies through alternate suppliers is expected to act as a safety cushion to the volatile supply chain issues, helping the company stay clear of any possible production interruption.
(Disclaimer: Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, is an independent director at Ola Electric.)
Edited by Suman Singh