India’s electric vehicle sales face challenges of affordability, charging
Hyundai Motor Co. launched India’s first electric SUV this summer with a quirky TV commercial urging millennials to Drive Into the Future. A few months later, the automaker finds itself on a lonesome road.
In a nation of about 15 crore drivers, only 130 Kona SUVs were sold to dealers through August. That slow pace is emblematic of the difficulties carmakers face in establishing an electric foothold in the fourth-biggest auto market, even with committed government support.
The Kona sells for about $35,000 while the average Indian earns about $2,000 a year — and the best-selling gas guzzler costs $4,000. Yet Kona’s sticker price only kicks off the conversation about why EVs aren’t gaining traction in India — there’s also a lack of charging infrastructure, a reluctance by banks to finance purchases and an unwillingness among government departments to use EVs as directed.
