India Sees Decline In Sales Of Electric Vehicles By 13 Per Cent In August

However, the sales figure still remained the third-highest monthly number in the year, after March and July which clocked sales of 213,000 units and 178,900 units respectively

The pattern of the sharpest fall in sales and the highest growth were both recorded in months following policy changes made by the government. (Image Source: Pexels)

Source : Pexels

India saw a decline in the sales of electric vehicles in August, official Vahan data released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways revealed. The sales of EVs touched 156,199 units in August, declining 13 per cent, the data showed.

However, the sales figure still remained the third-highest monthly number in the year, after March and July which clocked sales of 213,000 units and 178,900 units respectively, reported Business Standard.

Collectively, in the first eight months of 2024, the vehicle sales crossed the 1.23 million mark. However, this year has seen a decline in monthly sales four times this year when compared to the preceding month. During February, the sales inched lower by 2.3 per cent against the figures reported a month earlier in January. Similarly, sales in June dipped by 0.5 per cent in comparison to May, while April saw a 45.6 per cent decline in sales against units sold in March. 

The pattern of the sharpest fall in sales and the highest growth were both recorded in months following policy changes made by the government. Last year in May, the sales soared after the government announced that it would lower the maximum subsidy under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (and Hybrid) Vehicles (FAME) scheme for electric two-wheelers to Rs 22,500. This policy change came into effect from June 1 and resulted in a sharp uptake in sales in May, while June saw a 35 per cent fall in the sales.

In the current year, the FAME subsidy ended on March 31, followed by the launch of the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024 which resulted in further lowering the subsidy by half. This resulted in causing the steepest decrease in sales seen in the year. The EMPS scheme was initially scheduled to expire on July 31, however, the authorities informed that this deadline has been extended by two months.