Volvo
India is charting an aggressive India strategy while Honda Motorcycle and
Scooter India’s (HMSI’s) electric scooter is almost ready for launch, and
speculation is rife that it may cost less than Rs 70,000, a tad lower than its
popular petrol model Activa.
80% of Volvo cars in India to be EVs by 2025
Volvo is chalking out a quick plan for India, where it is eyeing 80
per cent of its total sales to be electric vehicles (EVs).
 |
| Volvo XC90 mild hybrid petrol car would cost Rs 95,00,000 (Rs 95 lakh) -- Photo source: Volvo. |
This, within a very short period, that is, the next three years.
It is targeting the luxury segment — which it thinks would adopt
hybrids and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) at a faster rate and sees the mass
market for EVs to be sluggish currently.
Rolled out in July 2022, Volvo’s only EV in India is the XC40
Recharge and the company plans to bring at least one EV a year into India for
the next few years.
Volvo currently sells around 1,800 cars in India every
year. This figure is likely to touch 5,000 units by 2025 (when it would
mainly sell EVs).
Volvo’s e-cars are set to be imported as completely-knocked
down (CKD) units.
They would be assembled at its facility around Bengaluru.
CKDs attract 30 per cent duty against imported cars, for which the figure is
100 per cent.
Volvo is among the smallest luxury car brands in volume terms
in India, and it seems, it wants to be one of the biggest luxury EV sellers in
the years to come.
Volvo just launched the 2023 petrol mild-hybrid vehicle of
its compact luxury SUV, the XC40, for Rs 45.9 lakh (Rs 45,90,000), ex-showroom.
It also rolled out the luxury sedan S90 (Rs 66.9 lakh/Rs
66,90,000), mid-sized luxury SUV XC60 (Rs 65 lakh/Rs 65,00,000) and the
flagship luxury SUV XC90 (Rs 94.9 lakh/Rs 94,90,000, ex-showroom).
With these roll outs, Volvo has transformed into a maker of
petrol mild-hybrids.
It is aiming for a fast transition to EVs as they attract
only 5 per cent goods and services tax (GST).
Also, EVs enjoy a lot more benefits in India — they do not
attract registration fees or any road tax. Unlike the fully-imported
models — that attract 100 per cent duty — CKD kits attract only 30 per cent.
So, it can price its cars cheaply. Volvo’s luxury
electric cars would have certain advantages over others in the pack like
Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Audi.
They would be comparatively cheaper — like the current XC40
Recharge, which is priced competitively at Rs 55 lakh (Rs 55,00,000), while
competitor cars could be around Rs 10 million (Rs 1 crore).
Also, on safety features, Volvo is one the best,
globally.
Honda India’s first electric scooter by next financial year
Honda India’s first electric scooter will roll out by next financial year and HMSI India has revealed that a slew of models of Honda scooters are
in the production stage.
 |
| Honda Activa 6G petrol version costs Rs 70,000-Rs 75,000 -- Source: Kun Honda. |
According to the company, it has set aside a target of selling over a million electric vehicles by 2030.
If it is able to achieve this feat, Honda would be having a
share of just below one-third in India's scooter market.
Sources said that Honda may be using the Activa brand name
for its electric scooter also.
It would keep a provision where its electric scooter can swap
the battery. Honda intends to make its e-scooters affordable and would be
sourcing components from the local market.
The maximum speed of its first scooter could be around 70 km
per hour. The company has remained mum on the range of its e-scooter as well as
other details on its launch.
Honda’s Activa 6G petrol scooter costs in the range of Rs
70,000-75,000 and is propelled by a 110-cc engine.
CBS braking comes as standard on the scooter and there are
130 mm drum brakes in the front as well as the rear.
So, Volvo’s aggressive India plan and Honda’s cheap electric scooter
strategy would definitely make these two companies formidable players in India’s EV space.
No comments:
Post a Comment