Open to the idea of exploring sub-Rs 20 lakh electric car segment: Tarun Garg, COO, HMIL

Tarun Garg, Chief Operating Officer , Hyundai Motor India Limited

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), the country's second-largest passenger vehicle maker, is looking to grab a sizeable share of the fledgling electric car market. A senior company official said that sub-Rs 20-lakh models dominate the passenger e-car market and it is keen to tap this segment.

The India arm of the South Korea-based automaker has already announced that it will be investing Rs 20,000 crore over 10 years to roll out new electric vehicles (EVs) and ramp up output at its Sriperumbudur facility, besides setting up a battery packing assembly unit and charging stations.

“We have already said that we want to be present in all segments of the EV market going forward. The battery (manufacturing) is going to be the biggest contributor to bring this cost down,” Tarun Garg, chief operating officer (COO) of HMIL, said recently.

Garg revealed that while Hyundai has adopted a bottom-up approach in the ICE or the traditional internal combustion engine segment, its approach in EVs will be top-down. Without sharing any specifics of the upcoming e-cars, he indicated that while the bigger, more premium Ioniq 5 was launched at Rs 45.95 lakh, the Kona Electric (which came earlier), is available at Rs 23-25 lakh, and the third model could be sold with a much lower price tag once the battery localisation kicks in.

“I can only say that you will see electric cars from Hyundai in more and more segments. The approach when we entered India, it was Santro and then we moved to Tucson. For EVs, it was about Kona, Ioniq 5 and then probably we will move to the other segments because these two models have really helped us to understand the (EV) market and ecosystem. For mass adoption of EVs, we really need to be prepared for the cost structure. So, we are not saying no to anything in EVs, including a sub-Rs 20-lakh segment,” added Garg.

Asked about the outlook for EVs, Garg said that while the government projects a 30 percent penetration, some independent analysts expect 15 percent by 2030. However, the company’s estimation is that the proportion of EVs to be 20-22 percent by 2030.

“Right now, we are at 2 percent (EVs as a percentage of the total passenger vehicle market). But there will be a trigger and it will accelerate. The biggest trigger is that the costs should come down and localisation is the best way for the costs to come down. The localisation of battery packs would be a very big trigger for Hyundai,” said Garg.

He noted that more and more charging infrastructure is being created to bring more EVs into the market. The company has sold over 1,000 units of the Ioniq 5 in the country so far, Garg said.

HMIL is also looking at ending 2023 with its highest-ever cumulative annual sales of about 7.6 lakh units (domestic+ exports), up from the previous best of 7.1 lakh units recorded last year. Thanks to the overwhelming response to its bestselling models such as the Creta, Venue, Grand 10 Nios and the newly-launched Exter micro-SUV, the South Korean carmaker is looking to sell 6 lakh units in the domestic market this year.

Garg noted that SUVs were playing a big role in the company's sales volume in the country. "We are going to end the year with the SUV range accounting for 60 percent of sales. The industry percentage would probably be around 50 per cent," he said.