There is a strong push for electric cars in India as many automakers are working hard to revolutionize the EV sector in the country. As now, the new EV policy unveiled by Indian government, everybody is curious to what would be the future of electric cars in India.
Earlier, only local brands were promoted, there was no competition. But the new policy has opened the doors for brands that were waiting to enter the Indian car market for the last 2-3 years. This will help foreign brands to sell EV cars at lower rates (import duty reduced by 85%) in India and the EV infrastructure will also improve.
India’s New EV Policy
Electric models made up about 2% of total car sales in India last year, and the government wants to increase that to 30% by 2030. To achieve this target, India has decided to cut import taxes on electric vehicles, which will be applicable for EVs produced by car makers that commit to invest at least $500 million and start domestic manufacturing within 3 years. This will lead to increased competition for domestic automakers from companies like Tesla, but it seems Indian automakers have a plan to compete in the EV market.
Tata Motors
Tata Motors, which commands more than 80% of India’s electric car market, currently sells four EV models (Tiago EV, Tigor EV, Nexon EV, and Punch EV) and plans to have 10 electric models in its portfolio over the next 3 to 4 years.
Mahindra & Mahindra
Mahindra, which sells an electric version of its XUV 400 SUV, plans to push ahead with new electric SUV launches from 2025, with electric models expected to make up 20 to 30% of its SUV sales by March 2027.
Hyundai
The Indian unit of South Korea’s Hyundai Motors currently sells 2 EV models, the Kona and Ioniq 5, and now plans to introduce 5 EV cars including i10 EV, i20 EV, Creta EV by 2032. The company will also grow the number of its charging stations to 439 by 2027 and plans to invest close to $4 billion in the Indian market over the next decade, including the launch of new EVs, charging stations, and a battery pack assembly unit.
Maruti
Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s top automaker by sales, plans to have six EV models by 2030. Japan’s Suzuki Motors, which holds a majority stake in the company, says the group’s first EV will be rolled out from Maruti’s plant in the state of Gujarat by the end of 2024.
JSW-MG
The Indian steel-to-power conglomerate JSW Group is a new entrant in the EV category and will set up an electric vehicle and battery manufacturing project worth $4.82 billion in the eastern state of Odisha. As now JSW partnered with MG, new EV cars of JSW & MG branding will be seen running on Indian road soon!
However, if we talk about the MG efforts, then MG has 2 electric cars that currently available in India – one is Mg comet EV (smallest and affordable) and second is Mg ZS EV.
Tesla
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was in talks with the Indian government for a long time. But high import duties and unfavorable terms were preventing Elon from selling cars and investing in the Indian market. Now in the new EV policy, Indian government agreed to reduce the import duty tax by 85%, and this attracted Musk and soon Tesla will launch Model 3 and Model Y Tesla electric cars in India (priced above $35000).
Tesla will invest $2-3 billion in India for 5 years and will also set up a plant. This will help in improving EV infrastructure, reduce prices of EV cars, reduce prices of EV batteries, reduce India’s dependence on China, South Korea and Japan for battery cells and many things will improve rapidly.
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