Taiwan tech giant Foxconn, which announced its entry into the electric vehicle space on Monday by unveiling three concept vehicles, is looking to manufacture its EVs in India, Brazil and Europe, among other places, chairman Liu Young-way said today.
Foxconn has set a target to provide components or services for 10% of the world’s EVs by 2027. The Indian automotive industry is the fifth largest in the world and is slated to be the third largest by 2030.
India was the world’s fifth-largest auto market in 2020, with about 3.49 million passenger and commercial vehicles sold, according to a report by India Brand Equity Foundation. It was the seventh-largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in 2019.
American electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc. is also looking to manufacture its vehicles in India. It incorporated its subsidiary, Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt. Ltd, in Bengaluru in January. However, the issue of high import duty on cars is delaying Tesla’s full entry into India.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter in July that a local factory in India was “quite likely” if the company was successful with vehicle imports, but added that taxes on them were too high.
At present, cars imported as completely built units (CBUs) attract customs duty ranging from 60-100%, depending on engine size and cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value less or above $40,000.
India’s EV plans
India has set an ambitious target of achieving 100% electrification by 2030. According to a CEEW Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF) study, the Indian EV market will be a $206 billion opportunity by 2030 if India maintains steady progress to meet its ambitious 2030 target.
The government is also prioritising the shift to clean mobility. Realising the potential, leading players such as Ola Electric, Ather Energy and Mahindra Electrics are rapidly growing their market presence. Meanwhile, states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are rolling out investor-friendly EV policies.
India’s top EV makers
If and when Foxconn and Tesla do set up manufacturing plants in India, here’s what they’ll be up against.
Ather Energy
In February 2021, Ather Energy moved its $86.5 million factory from Bengaluru to Hosur in Tamil Nadu. Ather is looking at a monthly production of around 3,000 units, which is planned to be expanded to 8,000 units by 2022. The factory supported by the Tamil Nadu EV Policy has a capacity to produce 100,000 units annually and is scalable to half a million units.
Tata Motors
Earlier this month, Tata Motors said it will invest $2 billion in its electric vehicle business over the next five years, after raising funds from private equity firm TPG. Tata Motors dominates EV sales in India with its electric SUV Nexon and Tigor compact EV, and plans to launch 10 new electric models by 2025.
Ola Electric
Another significant player in the electric two-wheel segment is Ola Electric. The company had announced a Rs 2,400-crore investment last year for setting up its first electric scooter factory in Tamil Nadu. When fully completed, Ola Electric claims that its plant would have an annual capacity of one crore units, that is 15% of the world’s entire total two-wheeler production.
Hero Electric
Hero Electric has rolled out more than a dozen EVs in India. The company has been among the front runners in the EV segment and has electric two-wheelers as well as electric three-wheelers.
Mahindra Electric
Mahindra spearheaded India’s EV revolution with the Reva electric car. Over the years the company has forayed into other segments and offers a range of electric vans, electric autos and e-three wheelers.
India’s EV market
According to a report by JMK Research & Analytics, overall EV sales surged in September to 34,316 units, signifying a month-on-month increase of 18.7% and a year-on-year jump of 222%. This was the first time ever that monthly EV sales crossed the 30,000 units mark.
The report also said that EV registrations in September were driven by electric two-wheelers and passenger three-wheelers, which together accounted for 92% of total registrations in the month. These categories were followed by cargo three-wheelers (5%) and e-cars (4%).
Uttar Pradesh continues to see the highest number of registered EV sales, accounting for 21% of total sales in September 2021. Karnataka was 2nd with a 12% share, followed by Tamil Nadu (10%), Rajasthan (9%), Delhi (8%) and Maharashtra (7%).
Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
