Despite the aggressive push towards electrification of the fleet by the government with various policies, incentives and GST benefits, Electric Vehicle (EV) technology is still not viable for the mass car market in India because of the cost-conscious customers and other fundamental problems associated with it, said CV Raman, Senior Executive Director (Engineering), Maruti Suzuki India in an exclusive interaction with Mobility Outlook. 

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Highlighting the fundamental issue around the cost of acquisition of electric cars, he said, “We need to make a viable proposition to the customer. Ultimately we need to treat each and every segment differently and look at how we bring electric vehicles in these segments. The price absorption capacity is different for the customer who buys a vehicle for INR 40-50 lakh vis-à-vis a customer purchasing a vehicle for a basic commute at a price of INR 6.5-8 lakh. A hike of INR 5-10 lakh for electric vehicle technology will impact both sets of customers differently.”

He further added that the rise in the cost of the vehicle should also resonate with the range of the vehicle and efficient charging infrastructure. Out of a total of 2,711,457 units of passenger vehicles sold in FY21, 53 per cent of them fall under the mass car market (PVs sold below INR 10 lakh) category, as per the SIAM Data.