When it comes to EV investments, Tamil Nadu is at the top of the list, but how does the state fare when it comes to EV sales? According to a recent survey by CEEW-CEF, Tamil Nadu(TN) ranks No. 4 in sales and is much behind the top three (Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka) in terms of EV markets in India. Tamil Nadu (TN) actually has the lowest EV adoption among the top five EV market states.
Nevertheless, the majority of EVs sold in Tamil Nadu are two- and three-wheelers, whereas e-rickshaws make up 33% of sales in Rajasthan and 86% of UP’s EV sales.
Two-wheeler sales make up 90% of EV sales in TN and Karnataka and 84% in Maharashtra. While EV sales in TN are just 3.5% of all two-wheeler sales, compared to 6.2% in Karnataka and 4.6% in Maharashtra, EV sales in TN are 12.7% of all three-wheeler sales, which is somewhat higher than Karnataka’s 12.5%.
In other words, better-value items with a larger local company presence make up TN’s EV sales. Also, according to experts in the business, the recently announced EV strategy, which includes incentives for locally produced goods, would boost total sales.
Tamil Nadu based EV producers are preparing for a competition
It should come as no surprise that leading EV manufacturers with a basis in Tamil Nadu are getting ready for a race. “It has been heartening to see how well-liked premium electric two-wheelers are in Tamil Nadu. From April 2022 and February 2023, Ather delivered more than 8,500 automobiles, with Chennai, Coimbatore, and Trichy leading the pace. By February 2023, we had grown by 223% year over year and had taken 23% of the state’s market. We have more than 180 charging grids and 19 shops. In November of last year, we launched a second production plant in Hosur, bringing our annual capacity up to 420,000 units, “Nilay Chandra, head of sales at Ather Energy, adds
Ampere (Greaves Electric Mobility) also believes in supporting locally produced automobiles with financial aid. “We opened our largest EV production facility in Ranipet in 2021, and we have the capacity to increase output to 1 million units annually. We have sold almost 18,800 electric two-wheelers in Tamil Nadu, and we have the second-highest number of registered electric scooters in the state, “the CEO and ED of Greaves Electric Mobility, Sanjay Behl, said. He claims that the current run will gain momentum from the EV policy since, up to now, the state has been operating without consumer subsidies.
“A policy concentrating on EV production, parts, battery swapping facilities, and charging infrastructure was recently introduced by the government.
As a result, Tamil Nadu will quickly become one of India’s top markets for EV sales, “Behl says.
The Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles’ director general, Sohinder Gill, says: “The prolonged road tax exemption through 2025 and the special state incentive for commercial sales will both increase B2B sales. It is quite deflating that the demand incentive is only available to Manufacturers situated in Tennessee.”
Businesses expand their sales networks even when they have no local production presence. Okinawa Autotech’s founder and MD, Jeetender Sharma, says: “We now have 50 dealers and have sold more than 250,000 vehicles nationwide. 9% of these sales were in Tennessee.”
The new regulatory initiative will provide e-mobility access
The new regulatory push, according to EV marketers, will provide e-mobility access to public transit as well. In comparison to TN, which has no electric bus penetration, UP and Maharashtra both have 11% and 15.4%. “The new legislation would expedite EV penetration in the bus sector, which is estimated to be over 20% by FY27,” according to Mahesh Babu, CEO of Switch Mobility, the electric division of Ashok Leyland, “allowing Tamil Nadu to be one among the top three states in spearheading the EV revolution in India.”
The infrastructure for charging EVs is also expanding as EV sales increase. According to Raghav Arora, co-founder and CTO of the charging startup Statiq, which has installed 7000 chargers across 12 states, “We are going to spread, reaching tourist destinations such as Tirupati.” He continues by saying that this network would link up with places like Bengaluru and Hyderabad to form a southern network.
