India: E2W Market Hits a New High
The March closing data (Registration data from Vahan) shows that the Indian E2W market crossed 130k in registrations. This is the biggest month yet for E2W sales
Bajaj Consolidates its Market Leadership
Bajaj consolidated its market leadership and registered 34,863 scooters in March. This is a 62% jump from last month, even though it did lose some share of the market as everyone else grew.
TVS managed a 61% improvement in sales and remains the second lead with 30,454 registrations.
Ola Electric registered 23,430 scooters, followed by Ather Energy with 15,446 registrations.
The real gainers were at the bottom of the chart, as Hero MotoCorp (Vida) managed 7977 registrations. Last month, they were at 2692 only. The company has been going through turmoil as there have been senior leadership changes, including the CEO, and the Vida unit has been carved out in a separate entity.
Then there are the Others – 174 brands, mostly all Chinese importers – that accounted for a cumulative sales of 18,113 units in sales.
The Mystery of Ola Electric Numbers
Last month, Ola registered 8,653 scooters, a sudden collapse from its normal run-rate of 20- 25k scooters per month. The company attributed this to renegotiating contracts with its registration partners (that is true) and claimed that it sold 25,000 units in the month (that is questionable). This was communicated through an exchange filing. Since it was an exchange filing, we took it at face value and suggested the following on X for Ola’s numbers.
(India) Vahan numbers indicate Ola registered 8390 scooters in Feb and was down to the 4th spot. The company claims more than 25k sales with the difference not yet registered. If they sort out their registration problems soon, and sales stay stable, they would be registering…
— Insight EV (@editor_ev) February 28, 2025
With only 23,430 registrations in March, Ola is nowhere close to the 43,000 numbers we had forecasted. There may be three reasons:
- February 2025 numbers were nowhere close to the 25,000 that Ola had reported to the stock exchanges, and this (misreporting) should be a regulatory issue.
- Sales crashed between Feb and Mar, and we see the actual numbers play out now. If we count about 17k pending registrations from Feb that Ola claims have mostly been cleared in March, it seems only about 7k scooters were sold in March. The company aims to clear the Feb- Mar backlog (buying time?) in April.
- Ola has yet to master the registration process that it had moved in-house. So there is a lot of registration backlog – gap between sales and registration – in the system. However, manufacturers cannot hold sold vehicles in the system beyond a specific time, as that violates rules. This is something that the media has been calling out actively.
We reported extensively on this issue a couple of weeks back.
Whatever the present situation may be, Ola has lost significant market share. From a 52% share of the market in Apr 2024, Ola now has a market share of less than 18%.
Impact
Over the last two years, Ola has driven sales through an aggressive push and heavy discounting. Even though there were issues with product quality and service, Ola could maintain the sales momentum due to the sheer size of the market and the aggressive pricing, even as they racked up losses on every scooter sold. It seems that persistent product issues are heavily influencing the customer, the competition has upped the ante, and the market has run out of early adapters.
In short, it’s serious trouble for Ola Electric. The March sales gap between Ola and the first placed Bajaj Auto was quite telling. It looks even worse if we consider that out of the 23,430 scooters registered by Ola in March, nearly 17k were pending from February. This reduces March sales to about 6,300 units, pushing Ola to the fifth spot.
Yamaha acquires Brose’s e-bike drive unit.
Yamaha has strengthened its electric bicycle business by buying out Brose’s e-drive unit.
From the press release:
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 7272) announces that it has signed an agreement with German automotive parts manufacturer Brose to acquire its bicycle drive unit (e-Kit) business subsidiary. This acquisition is premised on the acquisition of the clearances, permits, etc., required by competition laws and other regulations, and is scheduled to be completed by June 2025. In conjunction with this acquisition, Yamaha Motor eBike Systems (hereinafter “YMESG”), which was newly established this month in Germany, will begin operating in June and aim to build market presence and expand the business.
Brose is a German automotive parts manufacturer specializing in door systems, electric motors, and other devices. It has been manufacturing and selling bicycle drive units since 2014.
Yamaha Motor will leverage Brose’s e-Kit development capabilities to further strengthen the planning and development of new products. At the same time, establishing a development base in Europe is how the Company aims to quickly grasp market needs, build an operation that can respond swiftly to local customer demands, acquire new customers, and improve procurement capabilities within the key European market. Additionally, by utilizing Brose’s extensive service network of over 600 locations, the Company will strengthen its after-sales service capabilities for customers.
The Company has positioned the electrically power-assisted bicycle business, which is expected to see long-term growth, as a strategic business in the new Medium-Term Management Plan (2025-2027) announced in February 2025. This acquisition is part of the Company’s efforts to establish a unique position for competitiveness and achieve the business growth outlined in the new Medium-Term Management Plan.
Impact
Yamaha was an emerging player in the electric bicycle e-drive unit business, especially in the mid-drive motors market. However, it was nowhere close to the market leaders – Brose, Bafang, BOSCH, and Shimano. That changes now with the acquisition of Brose’s e-Kit business. It would also allow Yamaha access to 600 service points (Brose) in Europe, the most lucrative market for electric bicycles.
The acquisition also puts Yamaha in a better position against emerging players like Porsche, Mahle, and Panasonic.
The electric bicycle business has moved towards mid-drive systems, which may be expensive but provide a much better user experience than cheaper hub motors.
