By Hyundai India is the second-largest manufacturer in the Indian market and its portfolio includes petrol, diesel and electric vehicle options but the company has yet to introduce Hybrid vehicles in the Indian market even though globally Hyundai offers strong hybrid and plug-in Hybrid models we haven’t seen it in the Indian market yet. Hyundai COO, Tarun Garg has confirmed during a media interaction that the Korean manufacturer is not planning to introduce Hybrid vehicles in India even though the technology is already ready with the company.
One of the reasons for not introducing Hybrid technology in India is the taxation structure which is 43 per cent while electric vehicles attract just 5 per cent tax, which makes the latter a cheaper option compared to the Hybrid. Currently, Toyota and Maruti Suzuki both sell hybrid vehicles in India, even though numbers are not very high but still, the technology is now accessible to more people. When compared to regular models, the price of Hybrid vehicles is high which is why people are not choosing it over the other.
Even though Toyota had approached the Central Government to reduce tax on Hybrid vehicles the government has yet to take a final decision it. This is the prime reason why most of the manufacturers are planning to introduce electric vehicles in India rather than Hybrid as it is not a great option compared to ICE variants. In coming years, maybe we can expect the Hybrid tax to be changed until then the Hybrid models in the Indian market will be limited but on the other hand, so many new electric vehicles are coming to India.
