Honda To Bring In Hybrid Cars To India First, Cite Lack Of EV Infrastructure As Hindrance

Honda is a little late to the race for electric vehicles in India. Having announced earlier that it will be coming up with its first all electric vehicle in India by 2023, the Japanese auto maker has now given a reason for the plan. Absence of supporting infrastructure, it says.

Therefore, Honda will first introduce its hybrid vehicles in India, as an intermediate in the transition to electric vehicles, meaning the next two years will see Honda bring in hybrid offerings, as per a senior official of the company.

The hybrid technology will have one big plus over all-electric vehicles, they can be powered by conventional fuels as well in case the battery is out of charge. Honda India sees it as a necessary enabler for the time being, as the charging network for electric vehicles is scarce in the country and citing the same, the market might outright reject the idea of such a vehicle. Hybrid vehicles, on the other hand, can still be opted for, given the retention of a conventional fuel system.

"In India, we will follow the EV direction set out by the central government. EV is surely the way forward for mobility technology and we expect that with government¡¯s initiative, energy sources will shift to more renewable ones in the next few years," Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) Senior Vice President and Director Rajesh Goel told PTI.

Be that as it may, a hybrid technology in Honda vehicles will still be able to reduce emissions. As of now though, Honda only offers its hybrid technology in a Honda Accord model in India. Globally, only two other Honda makes come with a hybrid tag. So it is unclear as to which hybrid models the company aims to bring into the country. Some might be in the works, but no official launch details have come up till now.

Honda Accord Hybrid (Image: Honda)

Also read: Indian Auto Giant Ashok Leyland Wants To Team Up With Tesla For Electric Cars In The Country

Why no electrics?

"Till such time and also till the development of suitable charging infrastructure in the country, we feel that hybrid vehicles can be considered as good intermediate technology in electrification initiatives. Accordingly, we will begin our electrification journey in two years with hybrid technology," Goel told PTI.

The interesting part is, hybrid vehicles have not been allotted much concessions under the FAME scheme that is supposed to push the Indian automotive landscape towards an electric drivetrain. So as and when Honda launches its hybrid models, the models will be placed in the same category as big petrol and diesel cars, meaning a 28% GST with a cess of 15%. There are, however, some concessions offered applicable, mostly related to the production of hybrid vehicles in the country, including the batteries and the electronic systems used in them. This means that the price of hybrid vehicles might see a slight drop from the usual.

The lack of such concessions is also the reason why not many auto makers are planning to bring their hybrid vehicles to the country.

Honda Clarity Electric (Image: Reuters)

Also read: Audi Electric Push May Turn R8 And A8 Into All-Electric Cars From 2025 Onward

Current focus

With the BS-VI emission norms coming into effect next year, the current focus of the company is compliant engines for the same. Goel told PTI that the company is ¡°on course¡± for technology and safety features upgrade as per the BS-VI norms. "Smooth run-out of BSIV vehicles and switchover to BS6 vehicles will be a key task during this financial year. HCIL will progressively introduce BS6 compliant models from the fourth quarter of FY19-20," he added.

The electric vision

Honda has already made its plans for its upcoming electric vehicles public. The agenda has been termed as Vision 2030, under which the company aims to comprise two-thirds of its global automobile unit sales in 2030 with electric vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs).