While EV sales growth in India is also slowing, rising 20 per cent in 2024 from a year ago to about 100,000 units, it outpaced the overall car market growth of 5 per cent over the same period
Automakers operating in India plan to launch close to a dozen new electric car models this year, many in the premium market, with longer driving ranges and faster charging times, to attract buyers as demand for EVs slows down globally.
Electric cars will take centre stage at India’s five-day auto show in New Delhi starting Friday with models from new Vietnamese entrant Vinfast shown alongside domestic brands Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra as well as global rivals BYD, Toyota and Hyundai.
India’s EV market leaders Tata Motors and JSW-MG Motor, part-owned by China’s SAIC Motor, will showcase an expanded line-up in the world’s third-largest car market where tighter emission norms starting from 2027 are forcing a move to cleaner cars.
India’s EV market is small, with electric models making up about 2.5 per cent of the 4.3 million cars sold in 2024 as high prices and a patchy charging network hold back buyers.
The government wants to grow this to 30 per cent by 2030.
Globally, electric car sales growth slowed to 13 per cent in 2024 from a year ago but crossed 10 million units for the first time, according to data from research firm RhoMotion.
While EV sales growth in India is also slowing, rising 20 per cent in 2024 from a year ago to about 100,000 units, it outpaced the overall car market growth of 5 per cent over the same period.
Auto industry executives say new models with longer ranges and faster charging times could lift demand, with analysts forecasting electric car sales in India to double this year.
The first EVs in India, mostly from market leader Tata Motors, were gasoline cars converted to electric, delivering a range of up to 300 kilometres (186 miles) on a single charge, which many found inadequate for inter-city journeys.
The majority of new launches are designed as EVs from the start at a minimum range of 400 km. Some automakers, such as Mahindra, are offering more than 600 km and fast charging from 20 per cent-80 per cent in under 20 minutes.
Mahindra’s two electric SUV launches for this year are priced at $22,000 to $35,000. The average price of a car in India is around $12,000, with more expensive models growing at a faster pace than affordable ones.
EV maker VinFast, which is building a car factory in southern India, will display its mini-SUV VF3, a three-row MPV, the VF9, among others.
“India’s burgeoning middle class, coupled with strong government incentives to promote EV adoption, makes it a natural focus for VinFast’s global expansion,” the carmaker said.
South Korea’s Hyundai will showcase the India-built electric version of its popular Creta SUV, which it hopes will help take on rivals, while BYD will display its Sealion 7 electric SUV.
Maruti, India’s largest carmaker by sales, will display its first EV, the e Vitara SUV which will launch later this year. The car has been jointly developed by Maruti’s parent Suzuki Motor and Toyota.
Some carmakers also plan to show other clean fuel technologies such as plug-in hybrid cars, flex-fuel models, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and gas-based cars alongside EVs.
“The path to a faster electric takeoff really works better if you have all electrified vehicles being encouraged in a proportionate manner,” said Vikram Gulati, country head and executive vice president for corporate affairs and governance at Toyota’s India unit.
Suzuki
Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation plans to enter the electric small car segment in future after gathering experience from its first EV, SUV e VITARA which will make its global debut in India which will be the company’s production hub, its Representative Director and President Toshihiro Suzuki said .
The Japanese carmaker also believes that despite declining sales, small cars will not cease to exist in India, where its subsidiary Maruti Suzuki India is the market leader, as “one billion people” who are likely to upgrade from two-wheelers to four-wheelers in future would still need affordable cars, Suzuki told.
Maruti Suzuki India will unveil the e VITARA on Friday at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025 being held at Bharat Mandapam.
“Although we are launching our first EV, e VITARA, my personal feeling is that the compact vehicles will be the best for EVs… (but) I think first one has learn and master properly the manufacturing techniques of EVs…So, after grasping it fully we would like to shift to EVs for small cars as well, like the others. We do have plans of having EVs in the small car segment,” Suzuki said.
He was responding to a query on the EV road map for Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), which is known globally for its small cars.Asked for a timeline for entry into small electric cars, Suzuki did not elaborate but said after launching the e VITARA the company would like to get feedback from customers on the vehicle and Maruti Suzuki will also try to understand customers’ response, then only it would go ahead with plans for small electric cars.
Suzuki also said SMC’s two-wheeler arm Suzuki Motorcycle India will also unveil electric scooter e Access at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo besides the e VITARA.
“These BEVs (battery electric vehicles) represent global models and India will be the production hub for these vehicles,” he said, adding India’s significance as an export hub for four-wheelers and two-wheelers for SMC is “increasingly becoming more important than ever before”.
“We would like to export not only EVs but the other models also. We would like to develop India as an export hub for all the models,” Suzuki said.
On the rationale for making India the export hub, he said, “For Suzuki, the scale merit in India is our strength, and we will fully leverage this advantage to supply high quality and appealing products across various regions, such as Europe, Japan, the Middle East and Africa, Central and South America and Asian countries.”
The e VITARA will be exported to Europe and then Japan followed by the other markets in the world.
Suzuki said Maruti Suzuki India resumed exports to Japan last year with Fronx and there is a pending order of 15,000 units and currently the model is exported to over 70 countries from India. In 2024, the company achieved exports of 3.26 lakh units, which was the highest ever irrespective of calendar or fiscal year.
Asked about the outlook for small cars, which has seen a decline in sales in India with SUVs growing faster, Suzuki said, “When we look at the market the sales of Maruti Suzuki’s small cars are comparable to the SUVs which are being currently sold by other manufacturers. So it’s still selling.”
He further said, “I don’t think small cars would cease to exist (in India). There are 1 billion people who are likely to upgrade from two-wheelers to four-wheelers in future and they would need an affordable, good car in the small segment.