Kolkata, Dec 04 :
Hyundai, India’s second- largest car maker, will go electric for most of its new models by 2035 in India. The Korean giant, which partly owns Kia Motors, unveiled ‘Strategy 2025’ on December 4 that outlined the roadmap to transition into smart mobility solution provider. “By 2025, the company aims to sell 670,000 electric vehicles annually, comprising 560,000 BEVs and 110,000 fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The goal is to electrify most new models by 2030 in key markets such as Korea, US, China, and Europe, with emerging markets such as India and Brazil following suit by 2035,” the company said in a statement. Hyundai is also planning to launch hydrogen-powered cars (FCEV) in India besides testing other technologies. This is the first major development by Hyundai after it made its Indian subsidiary a regional headquarter. The company has only two other such headquarters in US and Europe. Product planning, sales, marketing, finance and customer approach is defined by the regional headquarters independent of the mother company in Seoul, Korea. “Hyundai will address vehicle electrification by first targeting younger demographics and enterprise customers with affordable battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to achieve economies of scale. The company plans to achieve balanced and steady growth with a portfolio that takes into account various regional and product needs”, added the statement. Hyundai’s sister concern Kia Motors is exploring ways to tie-up with Hyundai to jointly address the affordable electric vehicle space. Kia is yet to draw up plans for an EV foray for India.
Hyundai became the first foreign auto company to launch a fully electric car – Kona – in July this year. Despite the high price tag of Rs 24 lakh, the model has been a runaway hit with the quota allotted for India for 2019 getting fully exhausted.
Hyundai will begin supplies of affordable and mass market range of electric vehicles to India’s ride hailing giant Ola in 2022-23. These vehicles, which are tailor-made for Indian buyers, will be based on a new vehicle platform that is aimed at keeping cost of manufacturing low and making them affordable. The vehicle, which will be sold to commercial buyers (like Ola) and to personal buyers, could be priced under Rs 10 lakh.
Hyundai aims to secure leadership in electrification by selling 670,000 electric vehicles annually and become one of the world’s top three manufacturers of battery and fuel cell EVs by 2025.
To this end, Hyundai will earmark KRW 61.1 trillion of investment until 2025 for research and development and further exploration of future technologies.
In India, Hyundai commands a market share of around 20 percent in passenger vehicles. The company during last financial year clocked sales of 5.45 lakh, an increase of 1.7 percent compared to 5.36 lakh sold during 2017-18.
