Honda aims to launch EVs in India by early 2020; hopes two-third of its global sales to attribute to EVs by 2030
Honda is gearing up to become one of the early entrants in Indian EV market before the country adopts zero emission pure electric mobility by 2030. The Japanese auto giant is ready to roll out its electric cars in India in early 2020. The brand has already set up a special team for the research and development of India-spec EVs.
Honda is also saying that a clear roadmap to achieve all-electric mobility is needed to properly develop the electric cars focusing the Indian market. The separate wing in its R&D department will not only emphasise on the electric powertrain, but on the bodyshell as well. Interestingly, Honda is expecting to see two-third of its total global sales attribute to electric vehicles by 2030 and India being one of the major markets is likely to play a significant role in that total global sales.
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However, Honda also clears that its EV strategy for Indian market depends on several factors like a clear roadmap from government, standardization of specifications and availability of charging infrastructure. Honda also emphasises on bridging the current internal combustion technology with fully electric powertrain tech by hybrid powertrains. The automaker believes, this will make the transition to pure electric mobility smoother.
Currently Indian EV market is ruled by Mahindra with its zero emission vehicles like e2o Plus, e-Verito and e-Supro. The automaker is attempting to roll out two more EVs in the domestic market in next two years and one of them is going to be the electric version of KUV100. Among other auto majors, Tata Motors too are working aggressively to launch its EVs.
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Nissan has declared that it will bring the Leaf EV here. In this scenario, Honda can’t afford to waste time as it wants to grab a sizeable chunk of the EV space of the country. However, it is not sure, whether the Japanese brand will introduce electric versions of the current models or completely new EVs here.