Hyundai has made no secret of its plans to conquer the Indian EV market, and while it may have started late compared to some, it's now looking in a hurry.
The Korean carmaker is going all out, announcing this week
that it will introduce a new “Creta EV” for the mass-market which will be
revealed in India by the end of next year.
It'll be vying for attention in what is becoming an increasingly crowded but still very significant space: the rapidly growing mass-market EV segment in India.
Creta EV Will be the First Affordable EV from Hyundai in India
The Hyundai Motor Group is well-known as one of the most
pro-active players in the field of electrified mobility.
But while its Kia subsidiary has already unveiled several
electric vehicles (EVs)- including a couple that will be launched in India soon-
Hyundai itself hasn’t introduced a pure EV under Rs 20 lakh compensation.
That’s about to change over the next two years, as Hyundai
intends to offer an option that is meant to stack up more favorably with early
entrants like MG Motor's ZS EV and Maruti's eVX (not revealed yet).
The new Creta EV will get a 45 kWh battery pack from LG
Chem, which is known for supplying cells for some of today’s best electric
cars.
This will help it compete against models like the midsized MG ZS EV, which features a bigger 50.3 kWh battery, as well as Tata Motors' Nexon EV (with a 40.5 kWh battery).
Learn More: Ioniq 5 eN1- Hyundai’s Concept Cup Race Car!
Creta EV Global Debut Expected by Early 2025
Hyundai has assured that additional details about the new EV
will be shared by the end of next year. It is expected to make its global debut
and announce prices in early 2025.
According to Kamran Rizvi, secretary of the Ministry of
Heavy Industries, India aims to be a leader in electric vehicles globally by
2030.
Mr. Rizvi noted: "India aspires to continue being a prominent global player in EVs, with a target for all vehicles on the road [to] be battery-powered by 2030." The ambitious goal was announced earlier this year.
India’s EV Market is One of the Fastest Growing Globally!
There’s a very strong community of EV owners in India, one
that is rapidly growing. According to a recent survey from Bloomberg, electric
vehicles make up just over 2.4% of new car sales in the country. While this may
seem low, it’s not much further behind what many more developed countries are
seeing.
In total there are now around 1 million EVs on Indian roads
– although nearly 90% of these are two or three-wheeled machines rather than
cars. Nonetheless, Hyundai obviously sees potential for a mass-market model in
such an environment.
We’ve seen other nations– most notably China and somewhat
less notably the UK– pull back on incentives for electric vehicle buyers in
recent months and years. However, being engaged with clean transport remains
important to India at both national and local levels!
Electric vehicle sales more than doubled in the first nine months of the year compared to 2020, but still only accounted for 2.4% of total car sales, according to research firm JMK Research. Most EVs sold were priced below $20,000. Last month, Hyundai announced that it had delivered over 1,100 units of its IONIQ electric SUV in India.
Learn More: New Prices Look Attractive- Starts at $34,010!
The Bottom Line
Hyundai is not the only automaker aggressively investing in
the Indian EV market.
Tesla also plans to significantly expand its presence in the
country, CEO Elon Musk said it was likely that there would be "quite a
significant" portion of the company's revenues from India over time.
A Bloomberg report last month indicated that Tesla has made
an approach to Indian authorities about setting up a $2 billion factory in one
of the southern states.
So, let’s see how this new Hyundai affordable EV fares
against its rivals in the Indian market!