Electric vehicles are a hot topic in the Indian automobile industry, so much so that they found their own sweet space in the Union Budget 2019. While the government is making consistent efforts to make them mainstream, automobile manufacturers are divided on the idea of whether India is for them or not. Renault, has recently picked the latter.?
The French car manufacturer recently confirmed that it will be bringing its EV offerings to India but not before 2022. For this, it even wants the government to step up its actions towards making India a more EV-friendly ecosystem.?
In a recent report by PTI, Renault India Operations Country CEO and MD Venkatram Mamillapalle mentioned that "launching EV cars even now in India is halo". "Giving wrong promises that we will launch EV tomorrow and having the cars in the garages makes no sense," he added.
He believes that the day India will be ready for an electric vehicle is the day the ecosystem will support a travel of Mumbai to Delhi in an EV. Until then, "having the cars in the garages makes no sense,¡± as per him.?
(Representative Image: BCCL)
Renault is not the only one reluctant to mark its entry in the Indian EV space. Tesla, widely considered to be the one that woke up all the auto makers from their slumber towards EVs, has also mentioned challenges. Only last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had tweeted that India has ¡°some challenging government regulations¡± thus preventing the electric car maker from entering the country¡¯s market.?
That is only one side of the story. While Renault is hesitant, others have already come up with their electric vehicles in the country. Hyundai, for instance, recently came up with the country¡¯s first all electric SUV - Kona. While the range anxiety is prevalent in the country for now, Hyundai managed to tackle it with a considerable range offering on its car.?
Then there are others who have promised a similar experience in the near future. MG Motor, for instance, had announced eZS, its own electric SUV for the Indian market by the end of this year. Audi is coming up with the eTron next year. BMW has hinted at i3. Nissan will also soon be launching the world¡¯s most sold EV, Nissan Leaf, in India soon. And let¡¯s not forget our indigenous?OEMs, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, which already have EVs on offer in the country.?
So as the debate rages on, some have already put their foot forward than others and it will be interesting to see how the EV market in the country pans out as more and more OEMs join the race.