From Demand side , the market is growing but making a affordable EV is difficult due to High cost Battery and Technologies.
As we know the automotive market is under revolution phase with electric vehicles in India. And in this journey Maruti Suzuki’s first Electric car will hit the Indian market by 2025. But there are still many challenges to meet the customer needs.
In a recent interaction with media , Maruti suzuki’s new CEO and MD Hisachi Takeuchi said that it would be difficult to bring Electric vehicle (EVs) under 10 lakh in India even by the 2025 while Maruti’s first EV will hit the road.
He blamed the high cost of battery and technology for the high price of EVs and there are no any chances for prices to come down within next three years.
Takeuchi told ETAuto in his media interaction ” Maruti Suzuki is the only company which bring affordable EVs in Indian Market. But he said at current technology , it is quite difficult to a make a affordable EV.”
He also said ” EVs under 10 lakh is difficult because of the cost of Battery. It can be possible , if customer accepts a very small battery, but then there will be lower range anxiety. “
In a Electric vehicle , Lithium ion batteries accounts for 40 % of the cost of EVs. If we go for small battery , than it will serve lower range to the customer and that is a very big concern.
So the main challenge in EVs is to build a lower cost electric vehicle with higher drive range.
He further added ” A very small battery in a less expensive car can be sold only if the infrastructure is everywhere and there’s always a quick charger available wherever you go.But at present market environment is not ready for that and it will take more time.”
While mentioning the future of EVs, Takeuchi said that Maruti Suzuki has been conservative on EVs as compared to other companies but it would have leadership position even in EV segment.
“We are the company that is taking a very conservative approach to electric vehicle technology , but we have been testing our vehicles for long time now because it must be perfectly safe for our customers. The EV market is growing also from the demand side but the numbers are very small as compared to overall market. The infrastructure should be developed properly to make it popular “.
Takeuchi , CEO Maruti Suzuki
As the prices of Lithium ion batteries are continuously rising , so it is tough to bring EVs in affordable range in India.
Now all the market is depend upon the low cost of raw material , battery and technology. And the main challenge is to provide a economical range so that customer can adopt the EVs in the changing environment.