In March, the share of EV in total vehicle sales has crossed 5 percent.Image Credit source: Google Gemini
According to the country’s well-known electric vehicle manufacturing companies, due to concerns over fuel availability and price fluctuations amid the US-Israel-Iran war, Indian car buyers are now preferring electric vehicles (EV). According to data collected by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) from the government’s ‘Vehicle’ portal, the share of EV in new car sales increased to 5.1 percent last month from 3.5 percent in February. Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, said that customers are feeling that fuel availability and prices may become an issue. He attributed the company’s 20-30 percent increase in demand for electric cars last month to customer concerns over the West Asia crisis.
How much was the surge?
Anurag Mehrotra, Managing Director of JSW MG Motor India also agreed with this. Mehrotra said in the ET report that in the last few months, we have seen that more customers are considering electric vehicles as their first choice when visiting the showroom. Also, those who were indecisive till now are also rapidly moving towards electric products. The biggest reason for this is the want of protection from fluctuations in fuel prices. JSW MG recorded a 26 percent increase in customer interest in March, while the average for January-February was less than this.
68 percent jump in registration
Industry officials said that even though India has not increased fuel prices yet, customers fear a price increase after the ongoing state elections. For this reason, there has been a rapid increase in inquiries and sales of electric vehicles. According to ‘Vahan’ data, registration of electric cars in the local market in March increased by 68 percent to 22,490 units as compared to last year. This change in customer preferences has come at a time when oil and gas prices are skyrocketing in the global markets due to US and Israeli attacks on Iran. Due to this war, there has been a huge interruption in oil exports from the Strait of Hormuz. Usually, about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passes through this strait.
Planning of big companies
There have also been reports of serious damage to energy infrastructure in West Asian countries. Industry experts say that it may take several years for the energy supply to be completely restored. For a country like India, which imports most of its crude oil needs, its impact could be huge. Mehrotra said that customers are now beginning to find choosing an electric vehicle a responsible and financially wise decision.
Mehrotra reported in ET that JSW MG Motor plans to strengthen its portfolio of new energy vehicles, increase production capacity, promote localization and develop the charging ecosystem, so that the hidden potential of this sector can be taken full advantage of. At the global level, due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia, demand for electric vehicles is also increasing in markets like Europe and America. Shailesh Chandra, who is also the head of Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, said that people in these markets are already struggling with the impact of rising petrol prices.
