Mandates and incentives alone would not be sufficient to expedite the shift to electric motorcycles, experts and industry experts said, highlighting gaps in the upfront pricing when compared to internal-combustion engine-run vehicles, financing options, charging infrastructure and battery-swapping interoperability, amid Delhi’s plan to register only EV two-wheelers from April 2028.
“Having reliable charging availability can be one of the levers for increasing the two-wheeler demand. It is clear that only giving mandates will not help achieve goals. However, he acknowledged a difference in financing terms between two-wheelers using internal combustion engines (ICE) and electric two-wheelers. “Financing for ICE bikes allows for long EMI tenure but for EV, it is shorter, up to three years.
Subrata Mitra, head of government relations at Bengaluru-based electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy, said the usage pattern of electric motorcycles varies from scooters, with some motorists travelling 60-100 kilometres a day. For most two-wheelers, this increases their EMIs and therefore, the cost may be inhibitive,” she said.
So, it is important for the government and the industry to meet the finance needs and improve charging infrastructure, especially for the category of people who will buy two-wheelers,” Mathur said at the summit, organised by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). He said that while two-wheelers are generally charged at home, there was a need for facilities where vehicles could be charged overnight for use the following morning. Paroma Bhat, head of public policy and government relations at Uber India and South Asia, said that the economics of electric two-wheelers were already favourable for some commercial applications, particularly ride-hailing. For gig workers, the charging experience must be comparable with conventional fuel stations to minimise concerns about downtime, she said. “We need a mix of models, financing and charging solutions for making e-motorcycles feasible for gig workers,” Bhat said. He said charging remained a concern for users who did not have access to infrastructure at home.
