German auto giant Volkswagen has begun to test some ŠKODA EVs in India. As per a senior official of the company, the step aims to analyse the feasibility of introducing these electromobility products in the Indian market. While ŠKODA will look after this emerging sector in India to target the mass segment, the German auto major will drive further innovation in the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The Managing Director of ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India, Piyush Arora explained the company’s belief that bringing EVs at a large scale will depend on the ecosystem and infrastructure development in the country. Arora further added, “We recognise that there is demand in India for electric vehicles, so we have already launched Porsche Taycan and the Audi e-Tron which are doing extremely well in the Indian market.”
While responding to a query on VW group’s plans for the sub-luxury segment of the Indian EV market, he stated, “We are also evaluating for Skoda and Volkswagen and what products should we bring into the Indian market for electromobility. We have already run some test vehicles for the Skoda brand, we will evaluate the right time to introduce them in India.” Regarding the potential of EVs in the country, he opined, “India is a very peculiar market, the growth in India will come from both fossil fuel vehicles and electric vehicles.”
The Road Ahead
When asked about the way forward, Arora said that their first focus is to consolidate ‘India 2.0’, making it sustainably profitable, and capturing the desired market share that they have set for. He further stated, “We have begun evaluating the overall opportunities for both ICE and BEV (battery electric vehicles) as a future growth engine for us. And once we prioritise, given that resources are always limited, you cannot develop or localise all of your products at the same time. The next round of investment will be based on the products we prioritise.”
