MISSING THE SPARK

Electric two-wheelers haven't quite taken off the way the industry predicted. Can Ola Electric's motorbike charge up the scene?

- SURAJEET DAS GUPTA

On October 22, 2022, Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal posed a challenge to legacy two-wheeler players. In a bold Twitter post, the maverick entrepreneur declared his mission: To end the sale of internal combustion engine (ICE) two-wheelers by 2025. He also put out a poll asking people whether they thought he would succeed in his mission.

The response was overwhelming― 69.8 per cent believed he would either achieve the target earlier or "get very close to it", while about 30 per cent felt he would fall short of the goal. Aggarwal promised to revisit this vote in a few years to assess how accurate his prediction was.

Three years on, ICE vehicles are far from obsolete. On the contrary, they still dominate two-wheeler sales. According to the government's vehicle registration website Vahan, electric two-wheeler penetration stood at just 5.4 per cent in 2023-2024 (FY24), and it is projected to remain below 6 per cent in FY25. The data for April 2024 to February 2025 shows it at 5.8 per cent. This includes both electric scooters and motorbikes.

Among these, while e-scooter penetration is better, growth remains slow. Industry estimates place FY24 penetration at 15 per cent, with FY25 (till February) figures hovering around 15.5 per cent.

As for motorcycles, the electric vehicle (EV) revolution hasn't quite touched them. That says something, considering that motorbikes account for 64 per cent of the total two-wheeler sales in FY25 (until now). Barely a few thousand EV motorbikes have been sold.

Ola Electric hopes to change this. Though it has started delivering its longawaited range of electric motorbikes, their success is yet to be determined.