The government should encourage hybrid technology as the half step before full electrification.
Auto companies need volumes if they are to localise electric vehicle and electric vehicle components in India, said Maruti Suzuki MD Kenichi Ayukawa on Wednesday.
Speaking at the ACMA meet in New Delhi, he urged the government to encourage hybrids for passenger cars to allow the volumes to go up enough for localisation to become viable.
Volume over subsidy
Japanese companies like Suzuki and Toyota have long urged the government to encourage hybrid technology as the half step before full electrification.
Ayukawa explained that Maruti is enthusiastic and dedicated towards maximum localisation of EVs and EV parts. He also confirmed that that the largest factor which can help localisation is volumes for volumes are more important than the subsidy itself.
In cars, he informed that the components like battery, motor and inverter are common to electric vehicles, strong hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Ayukawa further explained that if India encourages hybrid vehicles, then the volume of these core components goes up and auto majors will be able to achieve a much higher depth of localisation of these parts.
