Sales of electric vehicles in the domestic market increased by 20%
Sales of electric vehicles
aevt 
Sales of electric vehicles in the domestic market increased by 20% to 1,56,000 units in FY20 on the back of rise in sales of electric scooters. In FY19, sales of such zero-emission vehicles stood at 130,000 units, according to data released by the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV).
The Union government had in FY20 introduced a subsidy worth ₹10,000 crore through the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicle (FAME) scheme, to promote local manufacturing of electric vehicles.
Sales of electric scooters increased by 20.6%, year on year, to 152,000 units, while e-bus sales jumped 50% to 600. Sales of electric cars declined by 5.5% to 3,400 units.
The lobby group did not include sales of low-cost electric three-wheelers in its data.
According to SMEV, electric scooters formed almost 97% of the electric two-wheelers sold in FY20 and a very small volume of motorcycles and electric cycles made up the rest. Scooters with a top speed of 25 kmph that do not need registration with the transport authorities constituted 90% of all the electric two-wheelers sold.
“In the electric four-wheeler segment, 3,400 units were sold compared to 3,600 units in the previous fiscal year. The decrease in numbers is attributed mainly to the lack of bulk purchase of e-cars in FY20 and discontinuation of one of the leading car models. The acceptability of electric cars in the premium segment in the second half of the year was a positive signal for a quantum jump in FY21," the lobby group said in a statement.
