Volkswagen plans to launch its first electric car in India next year with the launch of the premium electric SUV ID.4, a senior Volkswagen official said on Tuesday, as it seeks to capture opportunities in the country’s fast-growing electric vehicle segment. By 2030, Volkswagen expects 25-30% of its total sales in India to come from electric vehicles and the rest from internal combustion engine vehicles.
The company has launched a range of new variants of existing conventional engine models Taigun and Virtus and expects sales to grow by 40-45% this year.
Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, said the company is adopting a two-pronged strategy of premiumization and electrification to strengthen its business and position in India.
“Our strategy is very clear. One is premiumization and the other is that it must be naturally aligned with global positioning and electrification,” he told PTI in an interaction.
Asserting that electrification must be “done now,” he said, “You have to start doing it now to be able to launch a mass electric car between 2026-27. That’s what most markets are looking at in terms of large-scale electrification. We are looking at similar timelines.” When asked further about product types and launch timelines, Gupta said:
“India’s road to large-scale electrification starts with the adoption of global quality products. This is where ID4 comes in.” He further said, “We are working hard to achieve this goal, and if everything goes well next year, I want to bring it here.” ID4 will be assembled at the Aurangabad plant in India, with imported parts.
Gupta said that electric vehicles are growing faster than expected in India and Volkswagen believes that the penetration of electric vehicles in India’s passenger car segment may account for about 18-30% of total sales by 2030, according to different studies.
As for Volkswagen, he said the company was more optimistic that the share of electric vehicles in its total sales in India could be around 25-30% by 2030, with the remainder coming from internal combustion engine vehicles.
Gupta said electrification will be done in a step-by-step manner as India’s ecosystem is not ready yet.
“The supply base is not ready yet. About 50% of the vehicle cost for electric vehicles is batteries and unless there is massive localization of battery manufacturing in India, any OEM No manufacturer (not just us) can achieve large-scale electrification.” Talking about the overall sales growth prospects in 2023, he said, “The first quarter is good for us. Compared with the first quarter of last year, we have increased by almost 15%. This year, our plan is to grow by about 40% to 45% over last year.” He added that Volkswagen will sell about 41,000 vehicles in the domestic market in the first quarter of 2023.
Gupta said the company will focus on premiumization and network expansion, as well as adding new models to existing ones, to further drive its growth.
“We are expanding into new segments because that is where the growth is… With new variants, we are now making the technology more accessible. We have introduced more price points in our range, which will definitely increase sales…” he said.
Gupta said the semiconductor shortage, which caused Volkswagen to lose about 18,000 vehicles in production last year, has not been completely resolved but has improved.
