Hyundai set to enter India’s EV race with Ioniq brand
NEW DELHI: Hyundai Motor India Ltd will introduce its electric vehicle brand Ioniq in India to tap into India’s ambitious plans to have an all-electric fleet in the country by 2030.
Ioniq, the brand under which the South Korean car maker sells electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars globally, is expected to be showcased at the forthcoming Auto Expo scheduled to be held in February 2018, two people privy to the matter said.
Hyundai sells Ioniq in the US, Europe and East Asian markets.
“We will bring electric cars to India and will meet the timeline given by the Union government. Hyundai has the technology required for electric vehicles so we will bring them in all the segments we are present,” Rakesh Srivastava, director, sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India, said in an interview.
He, however, declined to comment on the introduction of the Ioniq brand in India.
The move comes days after an announcement by Suzuki Motor Corp on November 17 where the Hamamatsu-based car maker said it will manufacture electric cars for India and supply some units to Toyota Motor Corp with technical support from the latter. The first electric car from Suzuki, which has a 56% stake in Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, is expected to be introduced in the country in 2020.
“We will surprise the market (when it comes to electric vehicles),” Srivastava said.
Through a policy-driven move the Indian government has compelled domestic car makers to launch electric cars in the country leading to frenetic activity in the space after the state-controlled Energy Efficiency Services Ltd invited bids to procure 10,000 cars. The bidding process saw cut-throat competition between Tata Motors Ltd and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Tata won the tender, which was matched by Mahindra later forcing EESL to award the tender to both companies. EESL has said it will come out with another tender to procure 10,000 more electric vehicles around April 2018.
“Any manufacturer bringing these vehicles to India will essentially be showcasing models. As of now we don’t have a market for pure electric vehicles,” said Anil Sharma, principal analyst, IHS Markit.
In the current year, Hyundai plans to manufacture 6.72 lakh vehicles and can stretch its capacity by another 30,000 units in the next year. During April-october, volume sales of the company has increased by 4.5% to 314,053 units while the overall passenger vehicle industry led by Maruti grew 7.67% to 1.91 million units.