Ultraviolette expects annual sales to reach $500,000 by 2030, first quarter record |

Ultraviolette Automotive recently closed out its best quarter to date. The Bengaluru-based electric motorcycle maker sold more than 1,500 vehicles between April and June this year, up from about 300 units in the same period last year. That is, the growth rate exceeds 400%.The company’s co-founders, CEO Narayan Subramaniam and CTO Niraj Rajmohan spoke to TOI Auto about the quarter and where the company is heading. Ultraviolette claims that its mid-size motorcycle sales in India have surpassed that of a rival premium motorcycle brand and are on par with another brand’s mid-size motorcycle sales, even though its dealer network accounts for only a fraction of that. “Ultraviolette now has 40 stores. Even with that distribution, we’ve surpassed (that competitor’s) sales. ” said Rajmohan. For another competitor, the statement was more cautious. “Our sales are also at the same level as (their) sales,” Subramaniam said. He added that the company sold about 650 vehicles from these 40 stores in June alone. It’s worth noting that these numbers are Ultraviolette’s own interpretation of the market.The company’s X47 crossover motorcycle is at the heart of this growth. Rajmohan said pricing the X47 closer to similar petrol bikes, rather than at a premium, was deliberate and the company has achieved quarterly growth of over 40 per cent for four to five consecutive quarters. Within Ultraviolette’s own product range, the X47 accounts for nearly 85% of sales, with the F77 accounting for the remainder. Growth is not limited to big cities. Bookings are almost evenly divided between Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, said Subramaniam, who linked the trend to the early rise and wider awareness of e-scooters. “Once the scooter segment was established, people started moving towards some of the more performance-oriented motorcycle segments,” he said. He also pointed to the company’s battery warranty, which can be extended to eight years or 800,000 kilometers, as a factor in winning over buyers outside metros.Talking about Delhi’s Electric Vehicle Policy 2.0, the policy has been approved by the Delhi Cabinet and will come into effect from July 1, 2026. The policy will stop registration of new petrol and CNG two-wheelers in the national capital from April 1, 2028, but vehicles already on the roads will not be affected. Subramaniam calls the policy an opportunity and says Ultraviolette never intended to be just a premium motorcycle manufacturer. Two other products, Tesseract and Shockwave, will be launched at more affordable prices. “We have always believed that large-scale electric vehicles will not be scooters or motorcycles, but both,” he said, adding that annual sales by 2030 would be 400,000 to 500,000 vehicles.When asked about the established players entering the electric motorcycle space, Subramaniam welcomed the competition. “This suggests that the segment will now start to grow rapidly,” he said. Rajmohan compared this to the jump in e-scooter penetration from less than 1% to nearly 15% after serious manufacturers entered the market.The founders also described widespread confusion among buyers about the government’s push for ethanol blending. Rajmohan added that, paradoxically, this uncertainty is good for electric cars because they offer “a very, very simple and easy-to-buy aspect.”