CIOInsider India Magazine

The Indian automotive industry is gearing up for an electric vehicle innovation feast with new innovation strategies, thanks to the government's push for eco-friendly mobility solutions with the new policy. This includes new battery technology and more sustainable transportation options. Major players in the industry, such as Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, among others, are already innovating on new EV models to meet the needs of various sectors.

Despite the spike in commodity prices, the passenger vehicle segment appears to be witnessing high demand, sparking excitement among automakers to work on new technologies with the e-mobility domain in particular, as it is said to bring new launches in both two and four-wheeler vehicle categories. The boom in the nation’s electrification dream is expected to make it fulfill its commitment to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) towards reducing emission intensity by 45 percent by 2030.

Why the Demand is High for EVs Right Now
The public’s and business communities’ liking for electric mobility is the main reason beckoning a major change in the Indian automotive industry. Once it became clear that EVs are the sustainable transportation choice of the future, a lot of domestic and foreign automakers began showing interest— they knew the time was right for an investment in this space now. It also means a change in new transportation options for the logistics industry, demanding more eco-friendly options, which is set to increase demand for electric commercial vehicles. To start with, let’s find out what India's largest EV maker, Tata Motors, is doing on the charts for its EV plans, which decided to split its businesses into separate entities focusing on specific vehicle segments.

How the Demerger is Working Out for Tata Motors
According to reports, Tata Motors is believed to be busy in the works of launching 10 EVs in two years from now. As for this year, the company plans to roll out four EV models, including a Curve EV and the Harrier EV, assuring everyone that it has been busy with its electrification goals for its product lineup. The company is already on a winning track in the passenger vehicle segment, with a market capital of Rs3.28 lakh crore, which has doubled in recent years, thanks to strong performance. Today, Tata Motors is on equal grounds with Hyundai for the second spot in the nation’s passenger vehicle market, the fourth largest in the world. But this year, news broke that the company’s board of directors decided to demerge Tata Motors Ltd into two separate listed companies, one for commercial vehicles and the other for passenger vehicles, including EVs and JLR.

Each Business to Focus on Its Own Goal
The demerger is believed to support the growth of the two businesses' goals. Making its passenger vehicle business into a separate entity was done in 2020 and has since been leading the market capitalization growth for Tata Motors.

The following year, its additional subsidiary, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, delivered a valuation of $9.1 billion after investment from TPG Rise Climate. Also, in the next few years, Tata Motors’ electric arm is anticipated to go public once the demerger is complete. Currently, Tata Motors is India’s largest EV maker, with a market share of nearly 80 percent.

An EV SUV is in Progress for Maruti Suzuki
India’s leading carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, is working on its upcoming SUV in Gujarat, with a new plant planned for Halsanpur. Suzuki Motor Gujarat Private Ltd (SMG), responsible for running a car manufacturing facility in Hansalpur, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Maruti, which is said to have been in operation since 2017.

Heavy Duty Going on for the New EV SUV
The work for the new SMG plant commenced in 2022, when the parent company, Suzuki Motor Corporation, inked an MoU with the Gujarat government to invest Rs 3,100 crore in the Hansalpur plant. As per reports, it was revealed that the carmaker’s first electric SUV venture out of SMG’s Gujarat plant in 2024-25. The plant currently boasts three plants, and the carmaker plans to manufacture the new EV SUV in a brand new plant by adding a production line there. The upcoming product will be produced at the SMG plant and exported from there. The specifications of the new EV SUV reportedly include its 550 km range on just a single charge and a 60-kilowatt-hour battery. Further, it is said the SMG plant crossed a milestone of about three million cumulative production with its three millionth car rolled out on December 4 last year.

Hyundai’s Ambitious Plans in EVs and Infrastructure
Hyundai’s plant is seated at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, is believed to be one of the first units by any industrial player that is set to be poured in with a Rs.26,000 crore investment during the celebration of its 26th year of operation. Housed at Sriperumbudur, 40 km southwest of Chennai, it has a mix of rural life, industrial activities and metropolitan influence. Big names like the iPhone maker Foxconn, Samsung, Royal Enfield, Dell, Mitsubishi, and Nissan, among others, have manufacturing factories there. As for Hyundai Motor India, the company plans to turn its global passenger vehicle production hub into an advanced manufacturing unit by bringing in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and virtual reality (VR) technologies.

A Glimpse of the Technology Revolution Happening Inside the Factory
Insider estimates indicate that the inclusion of technologies like the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and AI has brought a five percent reduction in maintenance time, providing quality traceability of critical parts and process improvement quality by one percent. A poster inside the plant with the tagline, ‘Smart employees power the smart factory!’ invites expiration into its interiors to showcase its technological progress. In fact, its chief manufacturing officer said that the company’s work in this zone represents its effort to take a path deemed uncertain and difficult. Even during its inception in 2019, the plant saw the flourish of seven shops, connecting over 2000 critical equipment and over 1,000 intelligent sensors on the shop floor.

Mercedes-Benz Prepares to Launch New Models, Including EVs
Mercedes-Benz, a high-end German automaker, plans to invest Rs 200 crore in India by 2024 and is preparing to launch over a dozen new models, including electric vehicles, this year. Mercedes-Benz India intends to launch more than twelve new cars in 2024, including three electrified versions. Roughly 50 percent of these new releases would be in the top-end vehicle (TEV) sector, with prices starting at Rs 1.5 crore. In India, Mercedes sold a record 17,408 vehicles in 2023, 10 percent more than in 2022. In the next five years, Mercedes anticipates that electric vehicles will account for 25 percent of its sales in India.