India's Electric Two-Wheeler Market: Rise, Reset and What Comes Next

For me, the more exciting phenomenon is the electric 3 wheeler, AKA the electric auto-rikshaw/tuk-tuk.

Hired 3 wheelers are the primary affordable last-mile option in cities big and small in Asia when you don't have or can't drive a car or 2-wheeler (school children, the elderly, or anyone who doesn't want to deal with the insane traffic). They tend to have 2-stroke engines, a huge source of local air pollution.

But there are increasingly electric versions these days. I asked one e-rickshaw driver whether he saves money by driving it, and he said yes, but also it's a lot more comfortable for both him and his customers vs the vibrations of the 2 stroke petrol engine.

His only concern was the depreciation and it's effect on resale value.

Curious how this impact air pollution? My understanding is that the largest contributor of air pollution in cities is vehicles. And if predominantly the vehicles are cars and 2 wheelers and of that the higher percentage is 2 wheelers and if those are changing from petrol to electric then it should make a dent in pollution. As such air pollution could be a proxy of how e-2w benefit the country…

Price seems to be a pretty big factor, as well as the lack of any charging infrastructure. There’s also the fact that a lot of scooter owning families don’t have dedicated parking spaces in/outside their homes - not even enough to put up a charging point

The other problem is that the pricing for any decent eScooter starts hitting the same price range as a mid-range (for India) bike

The Ola S1 Pro has the same price as Bajaj NS200.

In the Indian context, bikes have way more street appeal. Even a cursory glance would tell you that the Bajaj NS200 looks way cooler than Ola S1.

So at that price range, a consumer essentially has to decide between a cool 150-200cc motorcycle from a trusted manufacturer, or a rather uncool electric scooter from a brand new manufacturer with reports of unreliability, poor charging infrastructure and unknown long term longevity

Main issue is having a parking space with a charger and/or having to pay for it, and price of the new e-motorcycles.

Charging on the side of the road is a no go with motorcycles. I can fill my tank in a few seconds, I wouldn't want to wait more. Until I had a way to charge in an indoor space the only e-motorcycle I considered was the Silence S02 which has a removable battery that you can move as a trolley luggage. But it is still heavy, if you have stairs to climb which was my case until very recently: game over.

I looked at the market to replace my motorcycle, a 300cc scooter, now that I have an indoor parking space where I could in theory install a charger. Most japanese brands are very timid, honda only produces a 50cc equivalent. BMW and Kawasaki are expensive as is Zero motorcycle. To my knowledge Suzuki or Yamaha do not produce any.The rest are mostly chinese brands and many of them are using pretty much scaled up e-bicycle technology with motor in the hub and more importantly zero reliability/service record. And you pay the price of a 125 to get the performance and size of a 50cc moped.

So basically you have the choice between trusted brands and reliable gas powered bikes or do a leap of faith with no insurance that it won't be a shitshow like the aliexpress/amazon e-bike batteries that randomly catch fire. On paper electric stuff should be more reliable but well maintained 125cc bikes tend to be rock solid.

Range is frequently noted as a limitation for these vehicles, which is understandable.

In NYC there's a (somewhat informal) swapping economy where riders exchange their dead battery for a charged one. There are city run programs and under-the-table ones which are cheaper and less guaranteed. This is how people will do 12h DoorDash shifts without stopping to charge.

I think it's a pretty interesting idea.

China's EV-2W sales graph shows a peak in 2021 and then a declining trend in past few years. Curious to know what's happening there. I couldn't find any explanation in the article (admittedly I just skimmed).

Anybody own an electric Two-Wheeler ? What has your experience been ? Pros and Cons ?

Pity the Tata Nano failed in India.

I've heard from friends who are into electrical vehicles that electrical motorcycles aren't a good option economically, because the gas savings are offset by the cost of battery wear and battery replacement.

A gas powered motorbike in comparison will run for decades without having to do any expensive engine maintenance.