The increasing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has been in line with the government’s push towards adopting cleaner fuels to control pollution through subsidies given to alternative fuel vehicles, finds the latest report by the hyper-local search engine Just Dial.
Among electric vehicles, e-scooters witnessed the biggest YOY jump in demand of 220.7%, followed by e-cars (132.4%), e-motorcycles (115.3%), and e-cycles (66.8%). Among Tier-1 cities, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru topped the list with maximum demand for e-scooters, followed by Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, and Kolkata.
The top-10 Tier-2 cities witnessing maximum demand have been Mysore, Indore, Jaipur, Surat, Agra, Jodhpur, Sangli, Vadodara, Nashik, and Chandigarh.
According to the Just Dial Consumer Insights, demand for e-motorcycles is higher in Tier-2 cities vis-à-vis Tier-1 cities. Surat, Rajkot, Amravati, Nagpur, Vijayawada, Salem, Kolhapur, Pondicherry, Varanasi, and Bhavnagar were the top-10 Tier-2 cities witnessing maximum demand for e-motorcycles. Of Tier-1 towns, most of the demand was from Mumbai, Pune, and Bengaluru, followed by Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata.
Prasun Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer, Just Dial, said, “It is extremely encouraging to see the recent surge in EVs, which can be taken as a build-up to tackle the concerning pollution levels in the capital and the nation at large, as well as the impending threat of climate change. With the lessons taken from COP26, it is evident that the world would need a strong and sustainable infrastructure to breathe cleaner air.”
For electric cars, Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru were the top-3 cities driving most of the demand across Tier-1 towns, followed by Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata. Among Tier-2 cities, Nashik, Lucknow, Nagpur, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Vijayawada, Goa, Surat, Jabalpur, and Visakhapatnam saw maximum demand during this festive season, the report identified.
The trio of Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata drove the maximum demand for electric bicycles among the Tier-1 cities, followed by Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad. Most of the demand in the Tier-2 towns was driven by Surat, Rajkot, Amravati, Patna, Nagpur, Vijayawada, Salem, Kolhapur, Madurai, and Bhopal.
In terms of cities, Delhi saw the maximum demand for both e-scooters and e-vehicles among Tier-1 towns. Rising fuel prices and increasing pollution levels have pushed up the demand for EVs, with electric scooters emerging as India's most preferred eco-friendly vehicle.
Search Trends In Luxury Segment
Interesting search trends were also observed in the luxury segment, where brands like Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche witnessed a YOY rise in demand. Bugatti was the most searched brand among all these brands and saw a 167% rise in demand this festive season. Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Pune primarily drove this demand.
The second most popular luxury brand was Porsche, with maximum YOY demand growth of 64%. Again, most demand drives were from Bengaluru, Delhi, and Pune in Tier-1 cities and Chandigarh, Nagpur, and Guntur in Tier-2 cities.
Ferrari was the third most popular luxury brand with a 51% YOY rise in demand with maximum searches from Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi. Even in Tier-2 towns like Thiruvananthapuram and Nagpur, Ferrari saw a significant rise in popularity during the festive season.
Lamborghini’s demand this festive season shot up by 21%, with Mumbai and Delhi generating maximum searches in Tier-1 cities and Surat, Bhopal, and Warangal in Tier-2 towns, the report added.