Stellantis plans to make India hub for EV exports
Global automotive major Stellantis plans to make India a hub for export of electric vehicles initially targeting South-east Asian markets, according to a senior company official.
Stellantis India on Thursday commenced export of its Made in India ‘E-C3’ electric car with the shipment of 500 units to Indonesia and is seeking to leverage on India’s cost competitiveness in manufacturing to increase its overseas shipments. “We will be the first ‘multinational OEM’ in India to achieve this feat (to export EVs). We also have plans for a couple of other markets, Nepal and Bhutan. This is just the start...the plan is to take it from there,” Stellantis India CEO & MD Aditya Jairaj told PTI.
Highlighting the significance of commencement of exports of the E-C3, he said, “We have a dedication to the government-led ‘Make in India’ initiative. We are focusing on this as a very important aspect for Stellantis as a comelectric pany. Moreover, he said, “This is also aligned with Citroen’s ambitions of democratizing mobility. The idea of this is to increase adoption of sustainable and clean modes of transportation.
Stellantis, which was formed after the merger of Italian-American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and French PSA Group, currently sells its Jeep and Citroen brands in India.
With “Make in India” at the centre of the company’s strategy, Jairaj said, “It is also important for us as a player in the Indian automotive space to be competitive. We want to leverage India as a ‘best cost country’, which is what we call ‘India for the world’.”When asked if Stellantis would expand the export market for EVs further, he said, “We’re also evaluating some other markets where the EV acceptance is at a good level, where we can send our cars.”
At this point, he said, “We are at advanced stages of evaluating exporting the E-C3 to other South-east Asian markets. If we see today, in Southeast Asia the EV penetration is significant in several markets and there is customer demand.”