For EVs to grow, more products needed in sub 4-meter category: JSW MG Motor

Indian customers want electric vehicles (EVs), but there are not many options available in the market, especially in the sub-4 meter or below ₹12 lakh category where EV body style is very rare, and therefore more vehicles are required in this price bracket so that the EV penetration grows, a top official at JSW MG Motor India said.

For instance, as per industry figures, in the sub-4 meter category, there are around 35 vehicles available in the form of internal combustion engine (ICE) that also in multiple trims, but when it comes to EVs, there are not even 10 models available in this category right now.

“There is a lot of gap in the sub-4 meter...when you glance through the models, there is a stark difference between sports utility vehicle (SUV) style and EV body style. It is not new though...if you go back in time, in 2014 the SUV penetration in India was less than 5 per cent, today it is 65 per cent of the overall cars sold in the country,” Anurag Mehrotra, Managing Director, JSW MG Motor India, told businessline.

He said every original equipment manufacturer (OEM) has brought multiple SUVs in these last 12 years with multiple pricings, so similar trend has to come for the EVs, so that share of EVs grow in the domestic market.

Right now, only 7-8 per cent penetration is there for the EVs so every OEM can play for the remaining 92 per cent of the passenger vehicle market in the country, he noted.

“So, the challenge is not on the demand side, but supply side. The amount of conversations on EV cars has gone up in the last 6-12 months. Earlier a year or two ago, people would not have asked you, but today, everyone is asking around, and some customers have even bought EV as their first car,” Mehrotra added.

Maruti Suzuki India has the highest number of ICE vehicles in the sub-4 meter category with models including Alto K10, S-Presso, WagonR, Celerio, Swift, Ignis, etc but no EV in that category. Similarly, Hyundai Motor India has five models in the sub-4 meter category but no EV. Others such as Kia India, Honda Cars India, Skoda Auto/ Volkswagen Auto India and Toyota Kirloskar Motor also don’t have a single EV in that category.

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