'India will see 1 million electric cars on road by 2030': Shashank Srivastava

With the exponential rise in adoption of electric mobility, India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki expects that country will soon have 1 million electric cars on roads by 2030. According to Shashank Srivastava, Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales) the share of electric cars in the overall passenger vehicle market in India will jump to 17 percent from current 1 percent by 2030.

"Our estimate is this market which is 1 percent today will be around 3 percent in 2024-25, and will be about 17 percent in 2030 which is about out of 6 million cars, 1 million will be EVs in 2030,” Srivastava said while speaking at the second edition of ABP's Ideas of India Summit in Mumbai.

However, looking at the big picture he pointed out that the cost of ownership still remains a major concern for potential EV buyers. “EVs will become mainstream but when they will become that is unpredictable. Cost of the acquisition is one of the important factors impeding EV adoption in India," Srivastava highlighted adding that “If a normal car is 100 then EV is 160 due to the high cost of batteries. Maruti Suzuki is trying to bring down battery costs.

He further stated that the company will launch six EVs in different segments by 2030. In the recently held Auto Expo 2023 the company unveiled its first battery electric SUV eVX for the Indian market. Maruti Suzuki India has also chalked out a plan to achieve a powertrain ratio of 15 percent BEVs, 25 percent HEVs and 60 percent hybrids by the end of this decade.

“I think the attitude of trying to be better and that is also something we have learnt from the Japanese system of Kaizen, which is you have to improve continuously and competition in one way helps that Kaizen and the desire to improve continuously and that is why we welcome the competition. One of the biggest strengths Suzuki has is its market share and we are looking forward to strengthening our SUV space,” Srivastava said.

Underlining the market demand, Srivastava said that Maruti is 60 percent by volume for the overall Suzuki Motor Corporation, it's a great achievement of India. "It shows the upswing in the Indian economy. Our demography is very young. In consumption terms, We expect car consumption in India will continue to increase. Our projections show almost 6 million by 2030 from current 3.8 million in 2022," he added.