Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) said the current taxation regime is not logical to bring in hybrid vehicles and the company will look at launching them when some concessions are offered.
Currently, there is no tax benefit on hybrid vehicles and they attract the same 28 per cent GST as any other petrol/diesel vehicle in the country, while the electric vehicles attract only five per cent. But, companies like Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Honda Cars India have more line-ups in hybrid category, and several of them are working on flex-fuel strong hybrid vehicles.
“As far as India is concerned, it seems the government wants us to invest in battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and that is what we are doing. At the current taxation structure, BEV looks much more logical than hybrids. We have hybrids globally and in case government wants us to bring hybrids we can,” Tarun Garg, Director (Sales, Marketing & Service), HMIL, told BusinessLine.
Taxation is high and people will not buy if prices are high....price has to be good, he said adding that “At this is tax structure it will be really difficult to offer good price to the customers.”
The company has only one electric vehicle – Kona Electric – and is launching the Ioniq 5 during the Auto Expo next week.
Sales performance
Meanwhile, HMIL has recorded the highest-ever domestic sales of 5,52,511 vehicles in calendar year (CY) 2022, which is even more than pre-Covid levels of 2018, when it sold 5,50,002 units, Garg said.
“Our relentless pursuit to redefine customer experience and a strong product portfolio aligned with consumer trends has led to HMIL recording its highest-ever domestic sales CY 2022, a growth of 9.4 per cent year-on-year. Despite strong headwinds in the last few years, we have continued to challenge existing boundaries and establish new Industry benchmarks,” he said.
Sports utility vehicles (SUVs) now contribute to more than 50 per cent of the company’s overall volumes and Creta registered its highest ever annual sales volume of 1,40,895 units in CY 2022 since its introduction in 2015, Garg said adding that 45 per cent of Hyundai cars are now in the bracket of ₹10 lakh plus as compared to 21 per cent in 2018.
“On the back of Indian customers’ rising affinity for SUVs, we further strengthened our SUV line-up with the introduction of three new trend setting SUVs – all-new Hyundai Venue, Tucson and Venue N Line, to spearhead transformation in the Indian automotive industry,” Garg added.