The company has begun surveying the feasibility of producing electric compact SUVs and sedans in India.
It is a well-known fact by now that India will see an influx of electric vehicles in the year 2020. Various indigenous and foreign manufacturers like Maruti and Toyota have already committed to being among the first one in the race to capture the electric vehicle market. But Hyundai, which has enjoyed great success in the mass market segment with its models like the Creta and Elite i20, doesn’t want to be left behind. Thus, the company has begun the process of studying and surveying the ease of manufacturing electric vehicles here.
The Hyundai Kona compact SUV will be the flag bearer of the company’s electric vehicles as it will be the first one to be introduced in India. The Kona is already on sale globally and will help the company get a great start here. The price of the compact SUV is expected to be around the Rs. 20 – 25 lakhs mark. But the company wants more people to have access to an electric car and hence is looking to produce cheaper models too like a sedan or another compact SUV.
Hyundai India is being optimistic about the FAME II scheme under which a demand aggregation will be attempted for city buses, electric 4-wheelers and electric 3-wheelers. Subsidies between 20-25 percent will be given to companies working on zero emission vehicles. These things are currently not precisely in place which is also the reason why the manufacturers have been vary of bringing their electric vehicles to India.
Hyundai has also begun finding local electric parts suppliers for its electric vehicles. An attempt to localise the manufacturing is a clear indication of the aggressive pricing that the company wants to give to its products. The cars like the Hyundai Kona will initially be assembled in India as completely knocked down units at the company’s Chennai factory which also happens to be running at nearly full capacity. As earlier reported by us, the South Korean manufacturer has already planned an investment of 1 billion dollars in India to introduce eight new cars here.
If the electric vehicle manufacturing plan does go as expected, the company will have to pump in more money into its India operations. But the dividends will be huge considering the fact that India has a very nascent electric car market and if the company gets its formula right, it just might become the leader of the electric segment. Hyundai has even announced that it will launch thirty-eight green vehicles globally by 2025 and although not all of them will come to India at first, some of them will. India also accounts for 15 percent of the company’s total global production which is also why Hyundai isn’t taking this market lightly.
Hyundai Electric Vehicles
– The company is planning multiple electric compact SUVs and sedans for India
– The Hyundai Kona compact SUV will be the first among these
– Thirty-five new green vehicles set for global launch by 2025
Source – ETAuto.com
