EV scooter waits cross two months as TVS, Ather and Bajaj race to add capacity

Strong electric-scooter demand is stretching delivery timelines for TVS iQube and Orbiter models beyond two months, while Ather Rizta Z waits reach up to a month. With registrations rising 68% year on year in the June quarter, manufacturers are lifting output and adding capacity.

— Source publishedFri, 7 Aug, 2026, 01:20 IST·First seen Fri, 7 Aug, 2026, 01:44 IST·Source Financial Express · BrandWagon

What happened

TVS Motor · Indian electric-scooter demand is outstripping supply, extending waits to over two months for popular TVS and Ather variants. TVS, Bajaj and Ather

Key facts

  • TVS iQube and Orbiter waits exceed 2 months, versus 2-4 weeks earlier
  • Ather Rizta Z wait: 25 days to 1 month
  • EV two-wheeler registrations: 1.19 million year-to-date
  • 2025 full-year EV two-wheeler sales record: 1.34 million units
  • June-quarter registrations: 525,000, up 68% YoY
  • EVs: 11% of overall two-wheeler market and over 25% of scooter segment
  • Ather quarterly pre-orders: 150,000, up 158% YoY
  • Ather production: about 83,000 vehicles
  • Ather dealer inventory: 3 days, down from 14 days
  • Ather receives over 50,000 pre-orders monthly
  • TVS monthly EV scooter output: 40,000 to over 50,000
  • Bajaj Chetak monthly output: 50,000 to 60,000
  • Ather Hosur capacity: 35,000 units monthly
  • Ather Maharashtra plant annual capacity addition: 500,000 units

Why this matters

Sustained demand and production bottlenecks make battery, component, contract-manufacturing and dealer-network partnerships strategically valuable targets for accelerating scalable capacity.

What to watch

  • Monthly VAHAN registrations versus manufacturer dispatches and announced production additions.
  • TVS iQube, Orbiter and Ather Rizta delivery-wait estimates by city.
  • Dealer days of inventory, especially whether Ather stock rebuilds above its current three-day level.
  • Battery-cell availability, supplier disruptions and changes in component lead times.
  • Price increases, dealer incentives or financing subvention, which would signal either sustained pricing power or emerging demand softness.
  • New model launches and capacity announcements from Bajaj, Ola, Hero Vida and Chinese-linked component suppliers.
  • Add production shifts and secure battery cells, controllers and motor supply through longer-term vendor contracts.
  • Allocate constrained inventory toward high-demand cities, premium trims and dealers with faster retail throughput.
  • Accelerate dealer expansion, service-bay capacity and technician hiring to prevent post-sale bottlenecks from damaging conversion.
  • Use financing, exchange and subscription offers selectively while avoiding broad discounts during the backlog period.
  • Increase localization of critical EV components to reduce import lead-time and foreign-exchange exposure.