2025 will be the year of EVs for India, say automakers at Bharat Mobility Expo

Maruti Suzuki claims that it will become the largest producer of EVs in India within a year of starting production this spring. (PTI)
Maruti Suzuki claims that it will become the largest producer of EVs in India within a year of starting production this spring. (PTI)

Summary

  • Top automakers showcase EVs as they prepare for transition to electric mobility; key worries over charging infra and range anxiety persist

New Delhi: Automakers have thrown the gauntlet: 2025 will be the year of electric vehicles (EVs). The new-energy vehicles held the centre stage across manufacturers exhibiting models at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025.

Take market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, for instance. The company showcased its first electric car for India, the eVitara, on Friday. It claims that it will become the largest producer of EVs in India within a year of starting production this spring. The company is setting up a dedicated production line at its Gujarat plant to make EVs, said Hisashi Takeuchi, managing director of Maruti Suzuki India.

However, the bulk of the units produced will find their way to Europe. The company has remained mum on its sales projections for the Indian market.

Also read | At Maruti Suzuki, small cars are back in the driver’s seat

“EV sales will go up. But how quickly is the question," Takeuchi said while answering media questions here on Friday. “The EV market will of course grow, but not 4x-5x in one year."

Tata Motors Ltd. and Hyundai Motor India Ltd have projected the Indian car market reaching 15-20% EV penetration by 2030. Tata Motors expects three out of 10 cars it sells by 2030 to be electric.

“I believe the growth (in EV sales) should now be tremendous," said Shailesh Chandra, managing director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited.

Tata Motors on Friday showcased the Sierra EV, now much closer to its production avatar than the concept shown five years ago at the same event. It also showed the electric variant of its popular sport utility vehicle (SUV) Harrier and a concept Avinya.

While the company is confident of long-term EV sales prospects in India, it will be watchful for the coming couple of quarters as the number of accessible electric cars on sales goes up.

Also read | Tata Motors: Road ahead smoother after speed bumps in Q2?

“We have to observe for the next 1-2 months how consumers respond to these launches (across automakers)," Chandra said.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, another one of early entrants to the EV market along with Tata Motors, showcased its recently launched electric cars XEV 9E and BE6. The company has a more aggressive sales projection with EVs, forming 20-30% of its car sales by 2027, according to Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director and CEO (auto and farm sector) at Mahindra & Mahindra.

Meanwhile, global automakers like Skoda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Kia also showcased a slew of EVs on sale in their global markets, many of which are to make their way to India.

India a EV manufacturing hub

Automotive industry executives were exuberant about India’s prospects of becoming a manufacturing hub for e-mobility.

“EVs will take away the handicaps of emission norms for India," said Chandra, explaining that exports to the developed markets so far suffered as these markets had more stringent emission norms. “We are becoming globally ready. The work we are doing is cutting edge," he said.

Also read | Electric vehicle sales charged up this year, and not just because of subsidies

Hyundai aims to make India an exports hub for its operations in emerging markets given. “We will export not only ICE (internal combustion engine vehicles) but EVs also we will export," said Unsoo Kim, managing director of Hyundai Motor India.

Maruti Suzuki has similar plans for EV exports from India. In fact, the European market needs India-made eVitara “quickly," making a case for the company to expedite the car’s production, said Takeuchi.

“Soon, India will become the manufacturing hub for not only automobiles but all goods," he said.

Charging, other woes persist

Even as most automakers firm up their India EV plans, they remain circumspect of the key handicaps of EVs, including range anxiety, a lack of charging infrastructure and consumer concerns over residual value of these vehicles.

“We think focus on customer is needed to remove customer anxiety and pain points," said Takeuchi.

Executives at Hyundai and Tata Motors voiced similar concerns.

Also read | Mahindra closes in on Tata Motors as EV sales falter

“Selling EVs is not like ICE (internal combustion engine vehicles). You need to manage the ecosystem," said Tata Motors’ Chandra.

To address range anxiety, Maruti Suzuki will give more than 500-kilometre range on its EVs, Takeuchi said. It will also install chargers at its dealers across top 100 cities to ensure there is a public charger every 5-10 kilometres, he said. And  to address concerns over residual value of a car, Maruti Suzuki is considering battery-as-a-service model as an option.

 

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