Italian design house Pininfarina, known for designing Ferrari, has said it will be introducing an electric car in the Indian market by 2014.
The company would launch an electric car, exclusively for the European market, by 2010. The designing of the car is currently being carried out in its Italian facility. “After the launch of the electric car in the European market, it will be marketed in the US. Then we will evaluate the demand for the car from other markets too, including India, and will launch accordingly,” Pininfarina SpA Chairman and Managing Director Andrea Pininfarina said.
Asked when the car would hit the Indian roads, he said the company would introduce it in other countries, including India, after achieving a sales target of 15,000 units by 2014 in the European and US markets. “It (the launch) can be before 2014 also. As soon as we achieve our target of selling 15,000 units of the electric car, we will evaluate other potential markets, including India,” Pininfarina said.
The car would be fully battery operated and would run 250 km in one charge, he added. “The concept model of the electric car would be showcased in Paris Auto Show in September this year,” Pininfarina said. The Italian firm has also tied up with Tata Motors to set up an engineering development centre in Pune, which would be operational by 2009. Pininfarina, which had earlier announced its plans to set up a global design centre in India, has decided to go slow on this front. “Our priority and visible target is to start the engineering centre in Pune by 2009 and make it a competitive one. But only after that we may think, but it is not confirmed yet,” Pininfarina said.
The company already has an association with India’s National Institute of Design (NID) and intends to absorb more local talent in its design centre. Pininfarina has trained Indian students at Fiat, Italy, in association with NID. Pininfarina has 14 designing centres in seven countries across the world. What i don’t understand is whats the delay in the India launch and why is the car being launched in India when it will be outdated in the other parts of the world?
