In September, one in two vehicles sold in India was powered by an electric motor, compared with 8.5% of cars and 11.6% of two-wheelers. More than half of the tricycles sold on Indian soil now run on electricity.
The gap with other segments remains clear. Electric cars and two-wheelers remain in the minority, while tricycles have crossed the threshold of half of monthly registrations.
The first “e-rickshaws,” the English name for these vehicles, appeared about ten years ago on the streets of New Delhi. They were then the work of ingenious tinkerers.
These “tuk-tuks,” which weave through traffic jams, have been part of the urban landscape for decades. They long contributed to the din and pollution of megacities.
Except that these mopeds, traditionally fitted with internal-combustion engines, have switched to electric power within a few years. The shift now affects a majority share of tricycle sales.
The sector remains highly dependent on China, however. Beijing has imposed restrictions on its exports of rare-earth magnets, which are essential to electric motors.
These lower running costs explain part of the surge, without erasing geographic disparities. Electric tricycles are far less present in the western megacity of Bombay (Mumbai) than in the north of the country.
Production has since changed scale. Industrial groups, including Mahindra, manufacture these vehicles in series.
In Hyderabad, Mahindra can turn out a “tuk-tuk” every 90 seconds. The move from the craft workshop to the industrial assembly line has accompanied the rise in sales.
While they remain significantly more expensive to buy, their operating cost would be twice as economical per kilometer, according to calculations by the Indian think tank CEEW.