INDIA TAKES GREEN ROAD, BUT COSTS STILL A BARRIER

Though carmakers have reduced the prices on EVs, they are still costlier than their fossil fuel cousins. Higher prices and infrastructure still affect their popularity

- Sutirtha Sanyal

When Elon Musk, the maverick CEO of Tesla Inc. came out with his very futurist-looking boxy Cybertruck in 2019, it heralded the beginning of an era in the automotive industry. It drew the attention of the automotive world to the possibility of the adoption of passenger electric vehicles (EVs) on a wider scale. Until then, the adoption of EVs had primarily been confined to public modes of transport, starting from the days of the Cold War era.

As policies turned green-focused, major automakers across the world indicated that they would be shifting to EVs or a form of hybrid by the 2030s. Some even hinted at stopping further research and production on fossil fuel engines.

The India story

The EV journey in India began with Reva, which was launched in 2001. Nine years later after being acquired by auto major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) and a new launch a few years later, the public response, however, remained tepid.

But things have changed a lot since then and there is increased interest in the EV segment. Tata Motors, India’s largest automobile company, has ramped up EV production like none other, including launching SUVs, mid-size, sedan and smaller models as EVs. The existing EV models from the Tata stable are from the  Nexon, Punch, Tiago, Tigor line-ups.

Though a few other automakers have jumped on to the EV bandwagon of late, they have mostly been confined to the upper end of the price bracket.

Hyundai came out with the IONIQ5 priced at Rs 45.95 lakh, ex-showroom Mumbai and the Kona priced at Rs 25.30 lakh (ex-showroom India). Kia Motors has the EV6 priced upwards of Rs 60.95 lakh, ex-showroom Mumbai. MG Motors has two models, the MG Comet and MG ZS EV, priced at Rs 6.98 lakh and Rs 18.98 lakh, (ex-showroom, Mumbai) for the base versions.