Hyundai Motor India has achieved its best-ever sales milestone in 2023 since it started operations in India, and the company expects to further grow its volumes in the coming years.
Sign Up to get access to the Financial Express Exclusive and Premium Stories.Register NowAlready have a account? Sign in
But unlike its peers in the industry, its powertrain mix – petrol, diesel, CNG and electric – does not see hybrid technology to be a very practical answer. Tarun Garg, Executive Director, Hyundai Motor India says that the “case for hybrids is not very strong due to the current taxation policy,” then there is the clear focus by the Central as well as State governments on incentivising electric vehicles.
“The base of EV adoption is faster than anticipated, it has almost doubled for the industry. At present, we should not look at volumes at face value, what is important is direction, investments and localisation. Till now, the EV models sold in the country was limited to a few players, but will see big change happening from 2025, with localisation pricing will come down and we will see mass adoption,” he said.
He believes that at present there are three key barriers to EV adoption – price difference of an EV to be higher around 40-60% of its IC-counterpart, which will come down with localisation and the reduction in global battery prices. Secondly, the range anxiety is also getting addressed with the average range offered by OEMs on EVs going up significantly. And lastly, the ecosystem getting developed with industry stakeholders also opening up to new partnerships.
Garg estimates that by 2030, EVs could garner almost 20-22% of new car sales from the present 2-2.5%.