South Korea's Hyundai to launch more EVs in India

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group said on Tuesday it plans to launch more electric vehicles (EVs) under the Hyundai and Kia brands in India, in a sign that it is betting big on the world's third-largest auto market. Hyundai, already India's second-biggest carmaker by sales, will introduce five EV models by 2032 to add to the two it already sells -- the Kona and Ioniq 5 sport utility vehicles (SUVs). It will also grow its charging stations to 439 by 2027.

Kia will start producing small EVs in 2025 and develop EV charging infrastructure as well as double its sales network, aiming to boost its domestic market share to 10 per cent eventually, from 6.7 per cent currently, Hyundai Motor Group said in a statement. Hyundai has already laid out plans to invest $2.45 billion to beef up EV production in the country and is bullish on the local appetite for EVS.

"The country is becoming an increasingly important centre for electric vehicle production and sales," Hyundai said.

It expects EV sales to hit 1 million units by 2030, a massive jump from the 48,105 EVs sold in the country in fiscal 2023, according to government data quoted by an industry body.

That could include Teslas, with the Elon Musk-run company planning to sell locally-made EVs, starting at $24,000.