There are close to three dozen electric two-wheeler models currently available in India. Regarding who manufacturers these, Lohia and Hero Electric are two OEM names that you might recognise, while the others are largely anonymous. For the most part, electric two-wheelers in India represent cheap, often poorly-built scooters that offer very basic mobility on a budget. On the other hand, elsewhere in the world, a small bunch of electric vehicle manufacturers are trying to re-write the two-wheeler rulebook by producing cutting-edge vehicles packed with the latest electric motor and battery technologies. Here we take a quick look at the state of things globally, vis-à-vis the Indian scenario.
ELECTRIC AMBITION
On its part, the Indian government has undertaken some initiatives to try and promote electric vehicles. The National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020, announced back in 2013, was supposed encourage the production of electric vehicles in the country, with the stated aim of having more than 1.5 crore electric and hybrid vehicles on Indian roads by the year 2020, and annual sales of 60-70 lakh electric/hybrid vehicles after 2020. Of this, the vast majority – about 80 % or more – of EVs are expected to be two-wheelers. NEMMP’s objectives included the promotion of research and development in EV technologies, including battery and electric motor tech, development of software for battery management systems, development of testing and charging infrastructure and encouragement of industry participation.
Around 22,000 electric two-wheelers were sold in India last year and y-o-y growth rate is expected to be about 10-15 % (as opposed to a predicted y-o-y growth rate of 45 % and above predicted for electric two-wheelers globally for the next three years). Most mainstream Japanese, European and Indian two-wheeler OEMs have not taken much interest in developing electric two-wheelers for the Indian market. On the other hand, smaller players like the Bengaluru-based Ather Energy, Coimbatore-based Ampere Vehicles and Pune-based Tork Motors have taken it upon themselves to develop electric two-wheelers that can match (or at least come closer to) conventional IC-engined bikes and scooters in terms of performance and range. In terms of per km running costs, battery charging costs work to much lower than paying for petrol, and most of the parts replacement, maintenance and upkeep associated with petrol engines is eliminated with electric powerplants.
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