Reportage : continuous loop | STERN.de

When Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, invests more than $500 million in an emerging market like India, many of its competitors get excited. After all, India has found it harder than ever to jump on the global Autoexpress for three decades, despite forecasts to the contrary. Especially after the boom in China, analysts and manufacturers have high hopes for the mobility market in India, which for decades was almost exclusively dominated by bicycles, motorcycles and the ubiquitous ambassador. With almost three million new vehicles per year, India is one of the five largest automotive markets in the world. According to current forecasts, the market could grow to up to five million vehicles by 2030. So far, the market has been dominated by vehicles with diesel or petrol engines. However, at the 2021 climate summit in Glasgow, India committed itself to only permitting zero-emission vehicles from 2035. The electrification of the passenger car segment should therefore gain significant momentum in the coming years. Industry experts assume that by 2030 more than half of all new vehicles will be pure electric cars.

Toyota Group India has now signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Karnataka government to invest US$530 million in electric vehicles. “Toyota Group’s investment will strengthen the electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem in India. It is evident that the Indian EV industry is gaining momentum and most of the existing automakers are currently striving to be in the race,” explains Bakar Sadik Agwan, Senior Automotive Consulting Analyst at Global Data, “At present, the domestic automaker is TATA Motors the frontrunner in India’s EV market, but Japanese passenger car manufacturers are also slowly preparing to set up R&D facilities, manufacturing facilities, component manufacturing and the supply chain needed to bring more EVs to the Indian passenger car segment bring to market.”

Volkswagen and Mahindra are currently exploring the use of MEB components in Mahindra’s new “Born Electric Platform”. Both sides recently signed a cooperation agreement to evaluate the scope of the cooperation. Mahindra wants to equip its Born Electric Platform with MEB components such as electric motor, battery system components and battery cells. Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen Group Board Member for Technology: “Mahindra is an electric pioneer in India and a strong partner for our MEB electric platform. Together with Mahindra, we want to make a significant contribution to the electrification of India, a huge automotive market with enormous growth potential and great importance for climate protection. It is further evidence that the MEB is fully competitive both technologically and economically. It is increasingly developing into the leading open platform for e-mobility and is achieving significant volume and economies of scale. In the world of e-mobility, this is of central importance for every company and the key to competitive solutions for our customers.”

So far, the Volkswagen Group has preferred to use small combustion models in India. The Indian area is managed within Volkswagen by Skoda. A notchback sedan in the A0 segment, the Slavia, was recently introduced as the second Skoda model after the Kushaq. Like the Kushaq, the Slavia also uses the variant of the Group’s modular transverse matrix that Skoda has specially adapted for India. The new Skoda Slavia – available with either 115 or 150 hp combustion engines – was developed in the Pune Technology Center.

Maruti Suzuki, the number one manufacturer in India, recently presented its plans for the electric models of the coming years, according to which the first purely electric vehicle from Maruti Suzuki is to celebrate its market launch in 2025. The local giant has said the government’s target of 30 per cent electric vehicles by 2030 could prove difficult. The company assumes that the market penetration of electric vehicles will at best be between eight and ten percent by 2030. Since the 30 percent announcement by the Indian government in 2018, India has intensified efforts to boost the entire EV ecosystem, but EV demand and supply have remained manageable given the prevailing low-cost market. There are currently only a few purely electric cars on the market.

Competitor Honda launched a hybrid version of its top model on the local market a few months ago, the Honda City. Toyota’s investment is part of the global strategy to be carbon neutral by 2050, well beyond some of its competitors. The company aims to establish its own electric vehicle supply chain in India to meet both domestic and export needs. The Japanese carmaker has been producing a hybrid version of its mid-range Camry model in India since 2013. Toyota also wants to use the Camry’s delivery network for its electrical plans.

“Toyota also has a global EV alliance with Suzuki Motors and there has been much speculation that the two will launch an affordable EV model for India with a common platform,” according to Bakar Sadik Agwan, “the forecast data for Hybrid – and EVs from Global Data predict that Toyota will launch an electric car in the second half of this decade, potentially including a B-segment SUV and an electric sedan. An EV version of the Glanza and Urban Cruiser models acquired from Maruti Suzuki is also expected by 2030.” Toyota plans to invest US$70 billion in the launch of 30 new electric vehicles over the next decade. In India, only the manufacturer who also manufactures locally will be successful, as the government’s production-related incentives are considerable.

Stellantis also still has big plans in India. Since 2015, however, just one billion euros have been invested across all group brands. “We are fully committed to expanding and strengthening our presence in India and making this strategic market a key pillar of our international ambitions as part of the ‘Dare Forward 2030’ plan,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. “I am proud of our 2,500 employees in India who work every day to make Stellantis a major player in the automotive industry, providing clean, safe and affordable mobility solutions to its Indian customers while leading the way to a paving the way for a sustainable future for generations to come.” Stellantis operates three manufacturing facilities (Ranjangaon, Hosur, Thiruvallur), an ICT hub (Hyderabad) and a software center (Bengaluru) in India, as well as two R&D centers in Chennai and Pune. As with other brands, the Digital Hub in India has grown into one of the largest digital organizations within the company.