It was in 2001 when India’s first electric car Reva was launched by Chetan Maini. Since then, 100,000 electric cars have been sold in the country. This milestone took 22 years to reach, but the next 100,000 cars will be sold within one year.
With exciting new electric models from car makers and customer preferences changing, sales of electric cars are zooming. Affordable new models such as MG Comet EV and Tata Tiago EV, both under `10 lakh, only add to the interest.
Tata Motors currently leads the pack with about 80,000 electric cars sold, followed by MG Motor India at over 10,000, another 2,000 by luxury players such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Volvo and JLR, and the rest by Mahindra, Hyundai and Kia.
“In the race to the first 100,000 units, volumes started coming only after Tata Motors launched the Nexon EV, priced a little over `10 lakh, in early 2020, followed by the Tigor EV in 2021 and Tiago EV in early 2022,” said an analyst.
“Tata Motors is currently selling about 5,000 units per month, and with the semiconductor shortage behind the industry, sales will pick up further,” said the analyst, adding, “To add to those models, Mahindra launched the XUV400 and MG the Comet EV this year.”
MG Motor India, in fact, is targeting EV sales of close to 20,000 units in calendar year 2023. Its spokesperson recently told FE that in 2023 MG is looking at overall volumes of more than 80,000 units, with a contribution of 25-30% from its electric models, including the Comet EV and the ZS EV.
Vivek Srivatsa, head, marketing, sales and service strategy, Tata passenger electric mobility, told FE that the launch of the Nexon EV brought about a revolution in the Indian EV industry. “It became the first mass market EV in India to expose customers to the benefits of this new technology. With superior on-road performance and advanced features, the Nexon EV has single-handedly driven India towards its electrification journey,” Srivatsa said. He added that Tata Motors has already crossed the landmark of 50,000 annual sales in the EV space — a milestone that seemed distant a few years ago.
Analysts feel that with Tata Motors expected to launch the Punch EV later this year, the next 100,000 sales mark could be reached earlier than mid-2024.
