India's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, will soon roll out its first-ever electric car. Maruti Suzuki announced plans to roll out its mid-size electric SUV in the market during the 64th annual session of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers or SIAM. The vehicle, eVX, will be powered by a 60-kilowatt-hour battery and has a driving range of 500 km on a single charge. eVX, which will hit the streets in January next year, will compete against the likes of Tata Curvv EV, which was launched just a month ago.
Not just this, the company said it will also address issues pertaining to the mass adoption of electric vehicles. These dilemmas include range anxiety—how long someone can drive on a single charge, charging infrastructure—whether there are enough charging stations en route, and the resale value of battery-powered cars—what the residual value of an electric vehicle will be after 10 or 20 years. However, Maruti said it will launch a holistic customer support system to allay these fears and also provide after-sale assistance.
But Maruti's focus is not just on electric vehicles. During the event, the company also announced plans to drive strong hybrids, hydrogen, and biofuel-powered vehicles in the Indian market in order to reduce oil consumption and carbon footprint.
Talking numbers, Maruti expects one-fourth or 25% of its car sales to come from hybrid vehicles by the year 2030. Envisioning a bright future for hybrid cars, Maruti expects the share of hybrid sales to be higher than that of electric cars, contributing to 15% of total passenger vehicle sales.
However, India's Road Transport and Highways minister, Nitin Gadkari, seemingly has different ideas. On earlier occasions, Gadkari highlighted the importance of reducing the GST on hybrid vehicles. However, he seems to be more in favor of the adoption of electric vehicles. For context, India levies 5% GST on electric vehicles and 43% tax on hybrid vehicles.
While speaking during the same SIAM event, Gadkari said a leading Indian carmaker did not respond to his earlier appeals to push for electric vehicles. While Gadkari did not mention the company's name, he was likely referring to Maruti Suzuki.
Gadkari further said that those automakers who are not ready to embrace change, such as EV technology, stand to lose out on future business prospects. He emphasized the need to bring in environmentally friendly technologies, mentioning that those organizations that have not done so already may be in a tough spot in the future.
The overall EV penetration in the country in FY24 stood at 6.8%, compared to 5.3% in FY23..............................................................................................
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