Skoda has EV plans for India. But 'unlikely' in next 5 years

While most carmakers are looking to add at least one electric vehicle option in their product line-up in India, Skoda seems reluctant as of yet. Though the Czech carmaker says that it has its plans of bringing in electric car models to the country, but it is unlikely to happen any time soon.

Zac Hollis, Brand Director at Skoda Auto India, while replying to one of the users on Twitter said, "Yes we will bring an EV to India but I cannot tell you when, unlikely within the next 5 years." In an interview recently, he said an electric car needs to be priced less than ₹20 lakh for it to work in India, and that it also needs to come with a range of at least 400 km on single charge.

Skoda has recently launched its first electric vehicle globally - the Enyaq iV SUV. The Czech carmaker offers sedans like Rapid, Superb and Octavia, besides SUVs like Karoq and newly-launched Kushaq for Indian customers. Out of the two SUVs, Skoda has unlisted Karoq from its official website, which means the car will be available only in the resale market.

Skoda's EV plan for India is not too different from its parent company Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen had earlier said that it is happy to play the wait-and-watch game before deciding when to bring its electric vehicles to India. The carmaker's EV plan for India is quite opposite of its aggressive EV stance globally, where it aims to compete with segment-leader Tesla.

Speaking to HT Auto recently, Volkswagen India's Brand Director Ashish Gupta had said it will still take some years for India to develop the right environment to make electric cars a more viable option. "The inflection point, I think, in India will come somewhere around 2025-26 when most of us OEMs will also start looking at electrification in India," he said.

Yes we will bring an EV to India but I cannot tell you when, unlikely within the next 5 years.

— Zac Hollis (@Zac_Hollis_) August 21, 2021

"The first form of electrification has started in India, and that wave will be mostly driven by two-wheelers and four-wheelers. I think, over the next three or four years, electrification in India will be fuelled by two-wheelers and commercial vehicles to a large extent. That's how it has happened globally. If you see the other comparable large economies like China, electrification was fuelled by two-wheelers and mostly commercial vehicles," said Gupta.

Some of the luxury brands from Volkswagen Group who have presence in the country, like Audi and Porsche, have either at least one electric model in India or are in process to bring in all-electric model soon.