Hyundai bets big on Creta EV, sees accelerated EV penetration in India in 2025-26

Hyundai Creta EV is the latest buzz in the Indian passenger vehicle market, with the electric SUV slated to make its debut at this week's Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025. The South Korean auto giant is betting big on the Hyundai Creta EV not only to boost its own sales numbers but also to accelerate the Indian electric car market in 2025-26.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. COO Tarun Garg believes the Indian passenger vehicle market will see an accelerated EV penetration in 2025 and 2026. His comment comes at a time when Hyundai is ready to enter the Indian mass-market electric car segment with the Creta EV, which will come as the pure electric iteration of its popular Creta SUV. Hyundai plans to bring four electric cars in India in the near future across different segments, including the category below the mid-sized SUV segment.

Speaking to PTI, Garg hinted that an internal study by the OEM and also based on some of the external consultants, EV penetration in India by 2030 could be 17 per cent. "India is at an early stage of electrification. Last year, we ended with about 2.4 per cent electrification. I personally feel that 2025 and 2026 are going to be great trigger points in terms of electrification, and Creta EV is going to drive it," he said, further adding, “This is my belief that 2026 will be the year where a big jump in this EV penetration can come in, probably, we can see a doubling of EV volumes." However, on a monthly level, he said that this growth will take place towards the end of 2025 itself but for the full year, maybe 2026 is the right option.

Why Hyundai thinks 2026 will see a big leap in India's EV journey

On the reasons for the expectation of the Indian electric car market seeing a major leap in 2026, Garg said that during this period very strong OEMs and very strong brands are going to launch their very strong products in the EV space. Interestingly, Garg's comment comes at a time when Maruti Suzuki e Vitara, the first electric car from Hyundai's arch-rival in India is gearing up for its debut at the Bharat Mobility Global Auto Show 2025. Besides that, Mahindra has recently launched the XEV 9e and BE 6 SUVs as well as working on the XUV 3XO EV, which is the next generation iteration of the XUV 400 EV. Tata Motors too is readying the models like Sierra EV and Harrier EV among others.

Hyundai betting big on Creta EV

Garg believes that the Hyundai Creta EV will play a significant role in the electrification drive of the brand as well as the Indian auto industry. He said that EV customers in the country have been looking for a very strong brand from proven OEMs with strong reliability with a good range that addresses the range anxiety issues. "I think Creta EV is providing everything," he said, citing the range of the Upcoming model which has a range of 390 km and 473 km for the two variants and the strong brand equity of the Creta ICE, which has sold over 11 lakh units cumulatively.

Garg also hinted that Hyundai is looking to electrify the segments below the Creta as well, which indicates that the automaker may bring an EV in future that will be positioned below the mid-size SUV category. “We are looking at 'Creta minus' as well as 'Creta plus' segments," he said, further adding, “We are also looking at dedicated EVs as well as derived EVs. We want to be as strong in the EV space as we are in the ICE space...we believe that we have the capability to do the same in EVs as well."

Check out Upcoming EV Cars in India.