Volkswagen To Launch Its First EV In India By 2024 By 2030, Volkswagen reportedly expects 25-30% of its total sales in India to come from EVs and the rest from internal combustion engine vehicles
By Teena Jose
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
German carmaker Volkswagen plans to bring its first electric vehicle in India next year with the launch of premium electric SUV ID.4 to tap the opportunity in the fast growing electric mobility space in the country, according to a PTI report, citing a senior company official on Tuesday.
By 2030, Volkswagen reportedly expects 25-30% of its total sales in India to come from EVs and the rest from internal combustion engine vehicles. Also, the company, which has introduced a slew of new variants of its existing conventional engine models, Taigun and Virtus, is looking at a sales growth of 40-45 per cent this year.
"The company is following a two-pronged strategy of premiumisation and electrification to strengthen presence and enhance its position in India. Our strategy is very clear. One is premiumisation and the second has to be naturally in line with global positioning, electrification," Volkswagen Passenger Cars India Brand Director Ashish Gupta told PTI.
Validating that electrification has to be "done now", he said, "You have to start doing it now to be able to bring a mass electric car, in the timelines that the industry is looking at somewhere in between 2026-27. That's what most of the market is looking at in terms of mass electrification. We are looking at similar timelines."
Furthermore, the report added that Gupta said electric mobility in India has grown faster than expected and VW believes that by 2030 the level of EV penetration in the passenger vehicles segment in the country could be around 18-30% of total sales on the basis of different studies. As for VW, he said the company is on the more optimistic side and EVs share to its overall sales in India could be around 25-30% with the rest coming from internal combustion engine vehicles by 2030.
According to Gupta, electrification will come in steps as the ecosystem is currently not ready in India. He added that, "The supply base is not ready. About 50% of the car cost of an electric car is the battery and unless mass localisation of battery manufacturing happens in India, none of the OEMs, not only us, will be able to do mass electrification."
