Electric Vehicle Sales Dip During Gudhipadwa Festivities in Pune

Pune: As Gudhipadwa, the Marathi New Year, come, the customary fervour for purchasing vehicles during festive seasons surged. Over the span of eight days leading up to the occasion, a total of 7,336 vehicles found their way onto the city’s roads, according to data provided by the Regional Transport Department (RTO). This figure, however, reflected a notable decrease of 85 percent in the registration of electric vehicles compared to the previous year.

The RTO reported that among the vehicles registered this year, two-wheelers dominated the scene with 4,221 registrations, followed by 2,326 cars. Additionally, 245 freight vehicles, 257 rickshaws, 45 buses, and 190 taxis were among the newly registered vehicles. An additional 52 vehicles fell into the miscellaneous category.

Notably, the decline in electric vehicle registrations stood out starkly. Only 137 electric vehicles were registered during this year’s Gudhipadwa celebrations, a significant drop from the 1,049 electric vehicles registered during the same period last year. The data revealed a shift, with 88 electric two-wheelers, 46 electric cars, and 3 electric goods vehicles making up the meagre number of electric vehicles registered this year.

Surprisingly, the data unveiled a complete absence of registrations for electric rickshaws, electric buses, and electric taxis during this year’s festivities, painting a worrying picture for the adoption of electric vehicles in the region.

Sanjeev Bhor, the in-charge regional transport officer, shed light on the trend, stating, “Vehicle buying is preferred during the festive season. Therefore, every year there is an increase in vehicle sales during Padwa season. There has been no increase in vehicle sales this year, but there has been a big drop in the sales of e-vehicles.”