“Whatever you give me, I will sell, just send me units,” said Ravneet Phokela, chief business officer at electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy, citing conversations with dealers. The sales data reflect the intense market demand. Electric car registrations jumped 51% to 21,669 units this month as of May 27. Electric two-wheelers climbed 36% to 1,43,668 units over the same period, according to the government’s Vahan portal.
Automakers say the real bottleneck is not on the factory floor. Chandra said Tata’s in-house manufacturing is not the constraint — it is the inability of suppliers to ramp up fast enough. The company is targeting a 50% capacity increase within three to four months, taking monthly output to around 15,000 units.
Doubling Down Rising fuel prices trigger unprecedented imbalance as auto inc scrambles to fulfil surging orders
Mahindra & Mahindra tells a similar story. The company hasn’t been able to produce enough EVs, particularly the BE 9S seven-seater electric SUV, which has been in strong demand since launch, due to labour shortages at suppliers. Though Mahindra declined to comment officially, its dealers confirmed the pressure. “On an admittedly low base, enquiries have inched up 30% and conversion into sales has doubled to 20%,” said a M&M dealer.
The share of electric SUVs in Mahindra’s overall mix rose to 10% in May from 8% at the end of the March quarter. At Tata Motors, the share climbed to 18% from 14% in the same period.
Phokela explained that the supply crunch has been compounded by factors beyond the demand surge itself. A shortage of LPG that preceded the latest fuel price hikes disrupted component makers reliant on gas-fired equipment, while a wave of migrant labour returning to their hometowns due to elections in some states left suppliers short of hands even where materials were available.