Powering up: 282% increase in sale of e-vehicles last fiscal, reveals RTO data

Nagpur: The sale of electric vehicles recorded a 282% rise in the last financial year, revealed data obtained from regional transport office (Nagpur city and deputy RTO east). In 2022-23, 11,807 electric vehicles were registered at both the transport department offices, while in 2021-22, the number was 3,088.
In 2022-23, electric vehicles accounted for 16.04% of all vehicles registered with the transport department. The demand for alternative fuel vehicles like LPG and CNG also witnessed a rise. According to the data, both the RTO offices in 2022-23 registered 73,564 new vehicles, of which 405 are LPG-run.

Umesh Patni, one of the automobile dealers in the city, said the demand for e-vehicles has increased manifold. “We sell at least 1,000 e-vehicles a month,” he claimed.
According to Patni, e-vehicles are a good option for those traveling 90 km per day. “Even the cost difference between petrol and e-vehicles is somewhere between Rs30,000 and Rs40,000. Hence, people are switching over to e-vehicles,” he said.
Out of the e-vehicles registered in 2022-23, two-wheelers took the lion’s share with 7,587 e-bikes while 393 e-cars were registered. Public transport too is slowly converting into battery-operated vehicles, which it can be gauged from the fact that 3,674 e-rickshaws and battery operated autos were registered in the last financial year.
Though private vehicles are witnessing a northward trend, transport experts, however, say lack of public charging infrastructure in the city is the main barrier for making a switch to e-vehicles.
Patni said charging of e-vehicles, especially two-wheelers, is not an issue. “Owners can charge them at their houses. It also helps reduce air pollution,” he said.