India is emerging as an electric vehicle market with great potential

According to the Korea Times, car companies are paying more and more attention to the Indian electric vehicle market, and as India accelerates the solution to air pollution and reduced dependence on oil, it is expected that the electric vehicle market will grow significantly in the next few years.

According to market tracker Mordor Intelligence, the size of the Indian electric vehicle market is expected to reach $17 billion by 2026, up from $5.47 billion in 2020. The Indian government has promised that electric vehicles will account for 30% of private cars by 2030. With the world's second-largest population after China, India is seen as a blue ocean for electric vehicle makers in the long run.

Automakers are moving quickly to take advantage of opportunities in the Indian EV market. Hyundai, along with local businesses, has participated in an incentive tender to invest $2.4 billion to build an electric vehicle battery factory, According to Reuters.

The Indian government is seeking to build a facility to store 500 GWh of batteries over the next five years. The report said that India is also seeking south Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Energy Solutions to participate in investment.

Hyundai is preparing to enter the Indian electric vehicle market. Hyundai motor said last month that it plans to invest 620 billion won in research and development funds in India and launch six electric vehicles in the Indian market by 2028.

Mercedes-Benz said it would produce the EQS series in India and start selling them in the fourth quarter. Tesla is also seeking access to India, with Musk tweeting last week that the company was working with the Indian government to "tackle many challenges." These challenges include high import tariff differentials of up to 100%. It is reported that Tesla plans to sell imported cars first, and if successful, it will establish a production plant in the local area. If Tesla wants to compete with local automakers' low-cost models, lowering import tariffs is a key task. The Indian government also wants Tesla to build a factory in India.

India's EV charging infrastructure needs to be significantly improved to meet the target of 30% eviction market share by 2030. The high price of electric vehicle batteries is also seen as a stumbling block to accelerated transformation. Since electric vehicle batteries are imported, the price is still high. In order to ensure low-cost batteries, the Indian government is promoting the establishment of battery production facilities in the local area.

(Proofreading/Sharon)