India’s second largest car manufacturer, Hyundai has several popular products in their portfolio. As we already know electric vehicles are gaining popularity around the world and things are not different when it comes to India as well. One of the world’s most popular EV brand Tesla has also announced their official entry in Indian market. Hyundai already has one product in the EV portfolio and that is Kona EV. According to reports, the Korean manufacturer is now planning to introduce a mass market EV in the market in the next three years. The only sub-4 meter electric SUV sold in India currently is the Tata Nexon EV.
Current electric vehicle that Hyundai offers in our market is priced quite expensively and that is reflecting in its sales as well. The main reason behind this expensive price tag is the import duty. Hyundai Kona EV is sold in India as CBU and that translates into higher price tag. Currently Tata’s Nexon EV is India’s best selling electric SUV. Hyundai has not shared any information regarding the upcoming electric vehicle but, most probably it is going to be a sub-4 meter SUV which will compete with the Tata Nexon EV in its segment.
It is quite possible that Hyundai might introduce an electric version of Venue SUV which is already a popular SUV in the sub-4 meter SUV segment. Hyundai has not shared official information regarding this new plan. The brand recently inaugurated their new corporate headquarter in Haryana’s Gurgaon. This is a greenfield project that is spread across 28,000 square meters.
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The new headquarters of Hyundai has 14 EV charging units in their parking lot. This includes three DC fast chargers and 1 AC normal chargers. Hyundai Kona EV owners can visit the headquarters to recharge their vehicles at these stations. On the inauguration day, Hyundai showcased Nexo and Ionic 5 at the headquarters but, the company has no plans to launch it in Indian market anytime soon.
Electric vehicles are going to be the future of mobility but, there are several hurdles in front of it. In a country like India, charging infrastructure is one of the main problems. Range anxiety is currently one of the most common issues that most of the EV owners might face in the country. The reason for that is the lack of charging infrastructure. In comparison to a petrol and diesel car, running cost of a electric car is very low which is a good thing considering the fact that fuel prices are skyrocketing.
Government is promoting electric vehicles and have also asked several govt. departments to use EVs. State government’s are also offering subsidies to EV buyers but, import duties on these electric vehicles is too high. Recently Tesla had appealed Indian government to lower duties on imported EVs for encouraging the growth of EVs in the country. Hyundai also supports Tesla’s request in reducing the duties on imported EVs. Currently a car sold in India as a CBU demands around 60 to 100 percent customs duty depending upon various factors. This increases the price of the vehicles tremendously that in turn becomes a challenge for manufacturers.
via: Carwale
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