Indian Automotive Industry to Go Beyond Electric Vehicles

News Highlights

• Traditional fuel vehicles are witnessing a continuous slowdown.
• In comparison to 14 in FY20, the automotive industry saw 24 CNG passenger vehicle debuts in the current financial year.
• The CNG vehicles currently report 26 percent of Maruti sales, with robust hybrids at 1 percent.

The Indian automotive industry is going beyond electric vehicles, as carbon neutrality is a hot topic in the industry. Recently, the electric vehicle segment has seen a sharp rise, and companies are launching passenger vehicles in the alternative fuel space: CNG, electric, and hybrids. While traditional fuel vehicles are facing a continuous slowdown,

In comparison to 14 in FY20, the automotive industry saw 24 CNG passenger vehicle debuts in the current financial year. In FY20, only seven models were launched, while in the current FY, there were 31 PV debuts in the electric sector. For the very first time in the previous two months, sales of strong hybrids have also increased. According to Jato Dynamics, the launch of the petrol model was down by 21 percent at 111, and the diesel model launches were lower by 61 percent at 54.

Read more: Rolls-Royce to Switch to All-Electric Vehicles by Early 2030s

According to several leading automobile manufacturers, even though electric vehicles will play a crucial role in the industry, with a considerable share of ICE (internal combustion engines) vehicles and NEVs (new energy), various technologies will co-exist. The senior executive director of Maruti Suzuki, Mr. Shashank Srivastava, expects that by 2030, for the country's largest automobile manufacturer, 15 percent of the portfolio will be electric, along with 25 percent robust hybrids and 60 percent a mixture of CNG, petrol, flexi-fuels, and biofuels.

The CNG vehicles currently report 26 percent of Maruti sales, with robust hybrids at 1 percent. For now, Maruti Suzuki doesn’t have any electric models, and the company comprises ICE models.

Due to their lower running costs, CNG, hybrid, and electric vehicles are expected to be adopted by the masses. Customers prefer hybrid and CNG vehicles. Electric vehicles cost more than CNG and hybrid vehicles, as the charging infrastructure is lacking in the country.

The Deputy of MG Motor, Mr. Gaurav Gupta, stated that “we will focus on sustainable mobility." As the second largest electric vehicle seller in India, “our EV portfolio contributes 25 percent of complete sales volumes.”

The COO of Hyundai Motor, Mr. Tarun Garg, stated that Hyundai’s 70 percent of sales come from automobiles with turbo and petrol technologies. This is followed by CNG at 11 percent and diesel at 18 percent. The company’s electric cars account for less than 1 percent of total passenger car sales. Moving forward, “we believe electric contributions will flourish with higher localization and more new models in the electric space.” From 2023 to 2032, Hyundai Motor has allocated 20,000 crores.

The president of Jato Dynamics, Mr. Ravi Bhatia, stated that India’s vast population relies heavily on a limited budget for new transportation infrastructure, imported oil, and a lack of battery raw materials, necessitating a multipronged approach to fuel diversification.