identify the needs that would influence Indian consumers’ purchase of e-two-wheelers THE E-TWO-WHEELER MARKET IN INDIA India was the world’s largest market for scooters and motorcycles. For the fiscal year (FY) ending March 31, 2018, annual domestic sales of scooters and motorcycles exceeded 19 million units—six times the number of cars sold over the same period.17 However, between April 2018 and March 2019 (FY 2019), only 760,000 EVs were sold in India, and the EV market was dominated by three-wheelers (83 per cent); e-two-wheelers comprised only 16.4 per cent of the market, representing just 124,640 units18—a tiny fraction of the 21 million two-wheelers sold in India during the this period.19 However, despite these low sales numbers, the Indian e-scooter and e-motorcycle (e-bike) market was expected to reach $698.3 million20 by 2025—a compound annual growth rate of 36.3 per cent during the forecast period. Planned government initiatives to promote EVs and implement stringent emission regulations were the major driving factors for this projected growth. In addition, the launch of several new e-scooters,21 as well as increasing numbers of female two-wheeler riders, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, were also contributing to increased demands for e-scooters.22 In May 2019, India had a larger market for e-scooters than for e-bikes, chiefly because e-scooters were cheaper and came in a wider range of models.23 E-scooters were also much cheaper than electric cars, since they were lighter and thus required smaller (and therefore cheaper) batteries. E-scooters also took much less time to charge than electric cars, and they could often use existing plug points in residential homes. In fact, e-scooters were priced comparably with petrol-powered scooters.24 Research on Indian purchasing behaviours had found that social class, reference groups, and opinion leaders were very important and had much more influence, due to higher group conformity tendencies. Indian consumers were also very value-conscious and were exceptionally sensitive to pricing. In addition, successful Indian marketing strategies required paying attention to local cultural nuances.25 India’s government wanted to use the EV mandate rollout to turn India into a manufacturing base for EVs and EV batteries. The government sought to avoid entering the market too late and thereby allowing China to emerge as the global manufacturing hub for those products, as had happened for electronic goods and mobile phones. The government think tank, NA, had suggested offering a variety of concessions to domestic EV battery manufacturers, including income tax incentives and a customs duty matrix.26 To facilitate the dissemination of EVs in India and address the lack of charging points across the country, the government also wanted to establish a framework for enormous battery-manufacturing and charging infrastructures, the latter of which would also include the presence of petrol pumps at electric charging points
identify the needs that would influence Indian consumers’ purchase of e-two-wheelers
THE E-TWO-WHEELER MARKET IN INDIA
India was the world’s largest market for scooters and motorcycles. For the fiscal year (FY) ending March
31, 2018, annual domestic sales of scooters and motorcycles exceeded 19 million units—six times the
number of cars sold over the same period.17 However, between April 2018 and March 2019 (FY 2019),
only 760,000 EVs were sold in India, and the EV market was dominated by three-wheelers (83 per cent);
e-two-wheelers comprised only 16.4 per cent of the market, representing just 124,640 units18—a tiny
fraction of the 21 million two-wheelers sold in India during the this period.19
However, despite these low sales numbers, the Indian e-scooter and e-motorcycle (e-bike) market was
expected to reach $698.3 million20 by 2025—a compound annual growth rate of 36.3 per cent during the
regulations were the major driving factors for this projected growth. In addition, the launch of several new
e-scooters,21 as well as increasing numbers of female two-wheeler riders, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3
cities, were also contributing to increased demands for e-scooters.22
In May 2019, India had a larger market for e-scooters than for e-bikes, chiefly because e-scooters were
cheaper and came in a wider range of models.23 E-scooters were also much cheaper than electric cars, since
they were lighter and thus required smaller (and therefore cheaper) batteries. E-scooters also took much
less time to charge than electric cars, and they could often use existing plug points in residential homes. In
fact, e-scooters were priced comparably with petrol-powered scooters.24
Research on Indian purchasing behaviours had found that social class, reference groups, and opinion leaders
were very important and had much more influence, due to higher group conformity tendencies. Indian
consumers were also very value-conscious and were exceptionally sensitive to pricing. In addition,
successful Indian marketing strategies required paying attention to local cultural nuances.25
India’s government wanted to use the EV mandate rollout to turn India into a manufacturing base for EVs and
EV batteries. The government sought to avoid entering the market too late and thereby allowing China to emerge
as the global manufacturing hub for those products, as had happened for electronic goods and mobile phones.
The government think tank, NA, had suggested offering a variety of concessions to domestic EV battery
manufacturers, including income tax incentives and a customs duty matrix.26 To facilitate the dissemination of
EVs in India and address the lack of charging points across the country, the government also wanted to establish
a framework for enormous battery-manufacturing and charging infrastructures, the latter of which would also
include the presence of petrol pumps at electric charging points
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