Three of India’s top four legacy two-wheeler brands are finally cranking up their presence in the electric vehicle (EV) segment to challenge a host of startups currently dominating this space. Thanks to improved availability of semiconductors and easing of supply chain issues, legacy players are stepping on the pedal.
TVS Motor Company, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp, who together control 60% of the domestic two-wheeler market, are planning multiple EV launches, raising EV output and increasing their market reach by adding more towns and cities to the distribution list.
Chennai-based TVS Motor Company has raced ahead to emerge as the leader among its peers. On the back of strong demand for electric scooter iQube, the company plans to ramp up production more than four-fold to 25,000 a month from the current 8,000 a month.
Speaking to analysts, KN Radhakrishnan, director and CEO, TVS Motor Company, said, “We had the capacity, now we are ramping up. Demand is very robust (for the iQube). We are confident of moving to 10,000 a month (in November) … and to 25,000 a month by March. We have confirmed bookings of 25,000 for iQube.”
A majority of the Rs 750 crore capital expenditure earmarked by TVS for the current year will be pumped into the EV business. The company, in fact, has stopped adding manpower to its petrol-powered two-wheeler business division and routed resources to the EV vertical.
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“We are not adding any more people in ICE (internal combustion engine). All additions have been for software development and technology for EV. There will be more launches, quarter after quarter in this space,” Radhakrishnan said.
Bajaj Auto, the first among the legacy players to enter the EV space, will not only expand the production capacity of the Chetak, but increase the market reach for the model to many more cities as well as introduce one new EV every six months at an average. Bajaj will increase monthly production of the Chetak to 6,000 from 4,000 and double the market reach to 85 cities from 40.
Rakesh Sharma, executive director, Bajaj Auto, told analysts after the Q2FY23 results, “The volumes are ramping up quite smartly and largely because we’ve got better supply chain visibility. Over the next 18 months or so, you will see three or four introductions which will attack new segments, but it will be under the Chetak umbrella.”
Hero MotoCorp, the country’s largest two-wheeler maker, plans to start selling the Vida range of electric scooters in eight more cities before March from the current three. The company, which has the largest dealership footprint in the country, plans to have model offerings in a more affordable pricing bracket in the coming period as against the current entry price of ?1.45 lakh.
Ola Electric, which has no dealerships, emerged as the largest electric two-wheeler maker in October, followed by Okinawa, Ampere Vehicles and Ather Energy. These startups control 65-75% of India’s electric two-wheeler market.
However, with the component supplies getting better, market watchers feel legacy players will not just have an upper hand with regards to market reach, but also when it comes to brand recall.
Manish Raj Singhania, president, Federation of Automobile Dealers Association, said, “The legacy players are well established in the network and the acceptance of their products will be much faster. In light of recent safety-related incidents, consumers would rather bank on an established brand for product safety and reliability.”
