- Hyundai Motors plans to launch six EVs in India by 2028.
- The affordable EV from Hyundai will follow more expensive models such as the IONIQ 5 premium EV crossover.
- Hyundai is aiming for high levels of localisation to achieve affordability.
Hyundai Motors India has started working on a new, affordable electric car for the Indian car market. The car is a part of Hyundai’s larger plan to launch six electric cars in India by 2028 at an investment of USD 512 million. The South Korean automaker has plans to launch multiple models this year both in electric as well as ICE powertrain options in the premium end of the car market. However, in the future, Hyundai aims to deliver compact and affordable electric cars for the Indian market, as per an executive at the company.
Automakers across the globe have shown interest in the Indian car market, especially in the EV space as electric-powered vehicles rise in popularity in the country. The affordable electric car space is yet to be tapped and MG India has already readied a pipeline for affordable EVs for India, and so has Citroen.
Hyundai working on an affordable EV for India
Hyundai Motor India’s Director of Sales, Tarun Garg, has told Reuters that the company is working on an affordable EV for the Indian market. The team is working towards solving issues pertaining to the charging ecosystem, sales network, manufacturing and the kind of assembly process that the company must adopt to facilitate the vehicle.
The top executive also said that Hyundai would be working on maximising the localisation to keep costs of sourcing and production in check to keep expenses low. While the timeline of the said vehicle is still unclear, Tarun said that the timing for the product has to be right to price the vehicle suitably.
The ambition to create small and affordable EVs forms part of Hyundai’s larger objective to invest $512 million and launch six electric vehicles in India by 2028. The IONIQ 5 premium EV and Hyundai Kona EV will soon make a debut in India followed by cheaper models. Tarun added, “When it was about cars with internal combustion engines, we had this bottoms-up approach. In electric, we are trying the top-down approach”.
