Kerala charges ahead with highest penetration of e-2Ws and e-cars in FY24

Kerala has emerged the No.1 State in the adoption of electric two-wheelers and electric cars in the country in FY24.

The southern State has been at the forefront of electric car adoption in the past two years and retained its top position in electric passenger vehicle adoption with an improved share in FY24.

Now, Kerala also leads in electric two-wheeler penetration as it overtook Karnataka and Delhi in registrations of battery-powered vehicles in the year that ended on March 31, 2024. Kerala was in third position in electric two-wheeler penetration in FY23.

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Double digits

The electric two-wheeler penetration in Kerala stood at 13.5 per cent in FY24 (8.4 per cent in FY23), followed by Karnataka at 11.5 per cent (9.2 per cent in FY23), Maharashtra at 10.1 per cent (8.2 per cent) and Delhi at 9.4 per cent (9.5 per cent). So, three States have seen the E2W penetration cross double digits for the first time, while one State is on the verge of reaching it.

However, Kerala’s total electric two-wheeler sales are significantly lower at 65,000 plus units in FY24 when compared with 1.84 lakh units in Maharashtra and 1.5 lakh units in Karnataka in the same year.

• Also read: Tamil Nadu pips Gujarat in total EV registrations in 2023

Kerala was one of the first few States to come up with an EV policy in 2019, which is valid till 2024. It also offered free vehicle registration, exemption on road tax on electric vehicles, toll exemption, and free parking. All these helped spur the initial adoption of EVs.

“In addition to demand incentives, the EV policy focused on providing capital subsidy for charging infrastructure too. Along with this, a high customer awareness about lower TCO (total cost of ownership) and the government’s focus on improving charging infrastructure has supported the adoption of EVs,” Kumar Rakesh, Analyst - IT & Auto, BNP Paribas Securities India Pvt Ltd, told businessline.

PV segment

In the passenger vehicle segment, EV penetration in Kerala increased to 5.2 per cent in FY24, up from 2.3 per cent in FY23. Delhi occupied the No.2 position with a share of 3.2 per cent (2.1 per cent in FY23), while Karnataka was nO. 3 with 3.1 per cent (1.3 per cent in FY23), according to a report by BNP Paribas.

Interestingly, three States reported higher penetration in March 2024 – Kerala (6.4 per cent), Delhi (6 per cent), and West Bengal (6 per cent), it said.

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