THE ROAD AHEAD...

…is full of electric vehicles, if you go by the latest edition of Auto Expo; but there may be surprises in store

- K. SUNIL THOMAS

Deepak Pandit, an academic at BML Munjal University in Gurugram, is a bit confused. He is looking for a new car, and despite being an expert on the matter, he is not sure whether to go for an electric vehicle (EV) or a tried-and-tested internal combustion engine (ICE) car.

“The future is bright for EVs, but there are fundamental issues—there aren’t enough charging stations. And once everybody starts charging vehicles, do we produce that much electricity?” asked Pandit, who is the chair professor at the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the university. “Infra for charging is not there beyond urban areas, and how do you even claim the subsidies? Regulatory and scrapping [of used batteries] issues still remain. I am [still] debating.”

It is a debate almost all Indians go through. India’s auto industry hopes the Auto Expo 2023, from January 13 to 18, will help put these doubts and debates to rest.

But will it? Or is there more than meets the eye?

Maruti Suzuki, the nay-sayer among the electric crowd, kicked off its Auto Expo outing by unveiling its first electric SUV. The concept car is not immediately for sale, though. Maruti launched two ICE models as well, for the actual market.

Others, too, have jumped on the bandwagon, in tune with the Expo’s themes of sustainability and connectivity. While Hyundai launched its much anticipated IONIQ 5 EV, Tata Motors, which has an early-mover advantage in India’s nascent EV car segment, launched EV versions of Harrier and Sierra.