Did Nitin Gadkari take a dig at India's largest carmaker for dragging its feet on EVs?

Nitin Gadkari requested automobile companies to help contribute to enhancing safety initiatives through their CSR projects

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on September 9 said that a large Indian carmaker didn't take him seriously when he was pushing for developing more electric vehicles ingeniously in the past and now they may have missed the bus.

"A good friend of mine who is a giant in the automobile industry... I kept telling him to adopt electric vehicles, but he never made the decision," Gadkari said. "Now, my friend tells me (that) back then we didn't take you seriously cause our experience related to politicians was not very credible."

The road minister added that he is confidant now that the company has missed the bus. Gadkari was speaking at the 64th Annual Session of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA).

He stressed that automobile companies that are willing to adopt the best technology in the world, which is cost-saving and helps reduce pollution at a reasonable cost, will have a good future in the industry.

While the road minister did not name Maruti Suzuki directly, his comments painted quite a clear picture. "Those companies that currently have good sales, a good market cap, but don't want to change... I wish them all the best. I think they will face issues in the future," Gadkari said.

The minister's comments come at a time when India's largest carmaker is doubling down on its stance on hybrid vehicles, insisting that strong hybrids should be considered as a replacement for petrol and diesel models, and not as a competitor to electric vehicles.

Last month, in its annual report for 2023-24, Maruti Suzuki Chairman RC Bhargava had underscored the potential of a supportive policy framework in significantly reducing the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles, thereby curbing emissions. He pointed out that given India’s abundant resources and unique socio-economic conditions, a multifaceted approach is the most effective way forward.

Maruti Suzuki plans to introduce electric cars soon, encouraging the adoption of strong hybrid technology, CNG, ethanol, and biogas vehicles. Bhargava emphasised the importance of renewable biogas, which has no import content and is carbon-negative. The company has started a trial of biogas production and hopes that government policies will support this development.

The country's largest carmaker, which has historically made vehicles for the masses, is often questioned for not launching a fully electric vehicles till now, when the country records a sale of 6,338 electric vehicles in August 2024, and 1.5 million in 2023, at a 50 percent surge year-on-year.

The overall share of EVs in India's auto sales has risen sharply to 6.38 percent in 2023 from 1.75 percent in 2021, reflecting a growing consumer preference for electric vehicles over a two-year period.

Not only is Maruti Suzuki one of the few mass-market carmakers in India to offer a hybrid option, the brand is set to expand its petrol-electric portfolio, starting next year.

"The debate is not between EV and strong hybrid. Both are excellent technologies. Both need to be encouraged. The debate is between strong hybrids and IC engines. I cannot imagine a situation, and nobody can justify why IC engines should be preferred over strong hybrids,” Maruti Suzuki’s executive director, corporate affairs, Rahul Bharti, had insisted in June.

He added that a recent report by a think tank, claiming that hybrids do not reduce emissions and that strong hybrids are mostly used in pure petrol mode, was factually incorrect. "In a strong hybrid electric vehicle, it is the computer that optimises both drivetrains, the IC engine and the battery motor combination, and there is no option given to the driver to run in pure ICE mode," Bharti said.

The executive director has also said that Maruti’s Grand Vitara and Invicto hybrids produce 26 percent and 30 percent lower CO2, while increasing fuel-efficiency by 36 percent and 46 percent, compared to their petrol counterparts. “So, definitely strong hybrids are a very powerful way to cut oil imports, generate energy efficiency, and reduce CO2 immediately without the pressure of range anxiety or lack of charging infrastructure,” Bharti insisted.

Maruti Suzuki's comments come at an important interjection for the electric vehicles industry in India, when the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme has been discontinued and electric passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales have declined for four months in a row.