The German automaker, Volkswagen has begun testing SKODA Electric Vehicles in India. According to official sources, the reason behind testing these electromobility products into the Indian market is to check the feasibility. While SKODA will focus on this emerging sector in India in order to target the mass market, the German automaker will continue to drive innovation in internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Piyush Arora, Managing Director of SKODA AUTO Volkswagen India, said the company’s belief that bringing Electronic Vehicles to a large scale will be dependent on the country’s ecosystem and infrastructure development. “We recognise that there is demand in India for electric vehicles, so we have already launched the Porsche Taycan and the Audi e-Tron,” Arora added.
On Volkswagwagen group’s plans for sub luxury segment of the Indian Electric Vehicle market he said,“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.”
Arora further added 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.”
