INDIA'S EV RACE

THE GROWING INDIAN EV MARKET IS POISED FOR FIERCE COMPETITION AS M&M, MARUTI SUZUKI, AND HYUNDAI PREPARE TO LAUNCH A CLUTCH OF NEW EVs NEXT YEAR, CHALLENGING LEADERS TATA MOTORS AND JSW MmaOTOR INDIA. IT’S GAME ON

- ASTHA ORIEL

COME JANUARY 2025 an impressive lineup of cars will murmur off the starting line into Delhi’s infamous winter smog. No high-decibel revving… They are electric vehicles to be launched by at least eight carmakers with plans to dominate the future. EVs accounted for just 2% of new cars sold in 2024. The market is big, and so is the competition.

First movers Tata Motors, JSW MG Motor and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will see the likes of Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest passenger carmaker, join the race, with Hyundai Motor and Kia India, units of South Korea’s Hyundai group, and China’s BYD, one of the world’s leading EV carmakers. The EV lure has even brought back Ford Motor of the US, which had exited making fossil-fuel cars in India in 2022 but came back in 2024—with EV export plans.

Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, an agency the government created to encourage private sector participation in the space programme, says the consumer will be spoilt for choice, and the charging infrastructure will no longer have an excuse not to grow.

Goenka, a veteran of the automobile industry with long stints at the research division of General Motors, US, and later at M&M, which he steered as MD and CEO, says, “Limited EV options for consumers and the high cost of EVs despite government incentives will no longer be excuses.”

Carmakers must address car buyers’ concerns about resale value, financing, and charging infrastructure and make budget-friendly models.

A PRICE GAP TOO WIDE?