Trend of electric vehicle sales across Indian cities | Apr-Jul 2023

The shift towards electric mobility continues in prominent global markets, driven by robust governmental policies, technological advancements, wider availability of models, and consumer demand. Similar to numerous cities worldwide, urbanization, motorization, and growing congestion are challenges faced by Indian cities. This analysis delves into the trends of EV sales in different Indian cities, utilizing city-wise sales data from EVreporter Data-portal. It showcases the category-wise distribution of EV sales in some leading Indian cities.

Electric vehicle sales in various Indian cities (April 2023 – July 2023)

Data Source: EVreporter Data Portal, Vahan Dashboard, Telangana Open Data

Note – EV sales data for Mumbai pertains to the 4 RTOs in the city itself and does not include Mumbai Metropolitan Development Area.

The chart above illustrates the electric vehicle sales categorized by city population during April 2023 to July 2023. In the case of major cities like Delhi and Bengaluru, which boast populations exceeding 5 million, EV sales figures of around 20,000 over four months are observed. However, Mumbai stands out as an exception, with EV sales nearly being one fifth of Delhi and Bengaluru during the same period of 4 months.

For metropolitan cities, the range of EV sales varies from 7,000 to 16,000 units, while large towns recorded EV sales around 2,000 units over 4 months between April and July 2023.

Vehicle category-wise split in EV sales in Indian cities (April 2023 to July 2023)

Data Source: EVreporter Data Portal, Vahan Dashboard, Telangana Open Data

Note – EV sales data for Mumbai pertains to the 4 RTOs in the city itself and does not include Mumbai Metropolitan Development Area.

• In Mumbai, e-2W and e-4W, made up approximately 97% (3983 units) of the total EV sales volume (4128 units) during the 4-month period of observation. Sales of e-3W and electric buses e-buses are not prominent in the city.

• In Delhi, around 65% (14,980 units) of the sales are attributed to e-2W and e-4W, while e-3W accounts for about 33% (7,445 units). e-bus sales constitute 1.5% (336 units) of EV sales.

• Bangalore’s sales are largely centered around e-2W, constituting a substantial 88% (16,057 units), with e-4W and e-3W contributing around 6-7% each.

• The Pune PCMC region and Hyderabad exhibit a similar EV sales pattern, both prioritizing e-2Ws (84%), followed by e-4Ws (15%), and e-3Ws making up around 4%.

• Lucknow, however, diverges from the aforementioned trends, sells more of e-3Ws (76%), particularly those falling under the Low-speed L3 Category. e-2W and e-4W models follow, comprising 19% and 5% of EV sales, respectively.

• Chandigarh and Guwahati had noteworthy e-3W sales, 894 units in Chandigarh and nearly double in Guwahati with 1657 units. Chandigarh recorded e-2W sales of 605 units and e-4W sales of 300 units, compared to Guwahati’s 264 e-2W units and 81 e-4W units.

• In Thiruvananthapuram, e-2W sales account for 79%, followed by e-4W at 20% of EV sales. e3W constitutes only 1.5% of the total EV sales over the period of observation.

Vehicle category-wise split in EV sales in select Indian cities (April 2023 to July 2023)

Data Source: EVreporter Data Portal, Vahan Dashboard, Telangana Open Data

• We selected three categories of Indian cities for this analysis. Both Megapolis and Metropolitan cities sell more of electric 2Ws and 4Ws which together constitute about 80% of the total EV sales in these cities. Large towns show a larger uptake of e-3Ws.

• Megapolis and Metropolitan cities attribute approximately 19% of their sales to e-3W. On the other hand, cities classified as Large towns attribute around 48% of their sales to e-3W.

Note: The analysis was conducted using the data of 9 cities from EVreporter Data Portal. It’s important to note that the ratio of category-wise sales split is subject to change as the number of cities in the sample increases.

This article was first published in EVreporter Sep 2023 magazine.

Also Read: India’s Electric Vehicle Sales Trend| August 2023