For a long time, the conversation around electric two wheelers in India revolved largely around one question: how affordable is the vehicle?
That is beginning to change.
As more consumers enter the EV market, the decision is no longer being made on price alone. Reliability, service support and the experience after purchase are becoming increasingly important. For manufacturers, that is changing the way products are built and businesses are run.
Jhumarmal Tunwal, Promoter, Chairman and Managing Director of Tunwal E Motors, believes the market is becoming more demanding, and rightly so.
"Affordability may get a customer to consider a product, but reliability and accessibility are what build long term trust," he says.
That shift has consequences beyond the showroom. A company can offer a competitively priced product, but if a customer struggles to get it serviced or faces delays in getting spare parts, the experience can quickly turn negative. As a result, the focus is increasingly moving towards the complete ownership cycle.
Tunwal says this has reinforced the importance of testing and validation during product development. The argument is simple: reliability cannot be addressed after the vehicle has reached the customer. It has to be built into the product.
The challenge becomes sharper as production volumes increase.
In manufacturing, scaling up is often seen as a sign of success. But higher volumes can also expose weaknesses in processes and quality control. For Tunwal, the bigger challenge is not just increasing capacity but ensuring that the vehicle produced at higher volumes remains consistent with the one originally designed and tested.
"The real test is not capacity. It is consistency," Tunwal says.
This is also where the Indian EV market is beginning to separate itself into different segments. While premium electric scooters continue to attract attention, a much larger market exists among consumers looking for practical and accessible mobility.
Tunwal believes this will remain the bigger opportunity, particularly outside the larger metropolitan markets.
In Tier II and Tier III cities, electric two wheelers are increasingly being considered for everyday travel rather than as lifestyle products. Here, the equation is more practical. Consumers are looking at running costs, dependability and the ease of owning and maintaining the vehicle.
As technology improves and manufacturing scales up, the gap between affordability and performance is likely to narrow. That could make electric two wheelers relevant to an even wider section of buyers.
Dealers will play an important role in that transition.
For many customers, particularly first time EV buyers, the dealer remains the first point of contact when questions arise about the product, charging, service or maintenance. A weak dealer or service network can therefore undermine even a strong product.
Tunwal says the company treats dealer feedback as an important source of information from the market. Dealers are often the first to hear what customers like, where they face problems and what needs to improve.
The next few years could be crucial for the sector. Electric mobility is gradually moving from being an alternative to becoming a more regular part of India's daily transportation mix. Better infrastructure and greater familiarity with the technology are likely to support that shift.
For manufacturers, however, the challenge may now be different from the one they faced a few years ago.
It is no longer simply about convincing consumers to try an electric vehicle.
The harder task will be convincing them to stay.
