[volkman10]

Audi eyes the Indian EV market.

Audi India Chief speaks,

In the coming years, you are going to see a refresh of our entire portfolio. There’s also a lot of exciting things coming in terms of electrification

With Tesla also speculating to enter India, Audi will be interested to have a stake in the luxury EV segment with added benefits since the Indian market is tending to be hostile to diesels.

This move will also help Audi address any fuel-related issue in India like the diesel ban in Delhi, which is threatening to cover other Indian states too.

Audi's move will also benefit from the government’s focus to promote electric/hybrid vehicles. India is not a significant electric vehicle market yet, but it could be in the coming years as the government has also laid down a framework to promote this industry.

The A3 Sportback e-tron, Audi’s first plug-in hybrid, could be one such car. The model offers 150 kW (204 bhp) of system power and a purely electric range of 50 kilometres. Combined with the 1.4 TFSI with 110 kW (150 bhp) engine, the car has a total range of 940 km.

http://www.autocarpro.in/news-nation...v-market-20190

[holysmoke]

Bring it on! The Govt is unable to speed up crude refining to BS-VI early. With that, they cannot pressure manufacturers to adopt to BS-VI early, and even if they do, whats the point if the fuel is not available pan India. Hence Govt sits on its donkey, and takes no action.

National Green Tribunal wakes up, takes drastic measure of banning diesels above 2000c in Delhi and proposed 12-13 more towns. Who suffers? Car makers like Audi, Mercedes, Toyota etc.

What's the way out? Instead of/In addition to a negative (ban all engines above 2000cc) solution, it wont be long before the automakers lobby for a positive one. Specially the bigger ones who are affected here, who have these technologies. I can see lobbying starting on reduction of import duty for clean vehicles. It is imperative that their eyes will go the other side of the line once they are sure that this ban is here to stay.

Meanwhile, Tesla has already taken bookings for the model 3 in India.

Piyush Goyal, the power minister is tirelessly fixing India's power issues. Keep an eye out for him.

This should be fun.

[hybridpetrol]

Originally Posted by holysmoke

Piyush Goyal, the power minister is tirelessly fixing India's power issues. Keep an eye out for him.

This should be fun.

With large players hinting about entering into EV market in India, let us hope the necessary infrastructure is getting built up for the same.
We have too much of problems with the electricity right now, and the infrastructure for electricity will only add to it.
Problems such as Range, Charging Stations, has to be addressed first by both the Government and the manufacturer, and the manufacturer should also ensure that the vehicle power ratings (top speed, 0-100km, etc) are not affected very much due to the new technology in comparison to their existing diesel cars.
Once the luxury market adopts the same, within a few years, as the technology becomes cheaper, mass market players would enter the market with much cheaper cars thus making the technology viable to all.
Like you said, this should be fun to watch for the next few years!

[GTO]

Whoever cracks the hybrid code for India has the potential to be a game-changer. Hybrids are built for exactly our driving conditions (low speed, bumper to bumper, smaller distances compared to the west). The key will be localisation of components and price.

Hybrids are perceived as being cool, tech-friendly and green. Image, very important when it comes to cars, is taken care of.

I thought Toyota would be that player since they have the highest investment in hybrids, but Toyota India is too slow. In the luxury segment, it's going to be either Audi or Mercedes. Both are aggressive, so lets see who brings it here first.

Originally Posted by hybridpetrol

With large players hinting about entering into EV market in India, let us hope the necessary infrastructure is getting built up for the same.

If manufacturers wait for the infrastructure, they'll - well - keep waiting. Plug-in can be an option, but not everyone has a plug point at the parking spot. The non-plugin hybrids should also be offered in India.

[VeluM]

I wish Tata would bring out their Hybrid based on the Manza displayed in the 2012 (was it?) autoexpo. Ideal candidate would be something like the 1.2 Turbo engine from the Nexon with a hybrid-electric power train. Electric RWD and petrol FWD. That would truly be a hybrid for the masses, especially if they keep costs low by making the electric motor range 50kms (smaller batteries, lower weight and cost) and the power output from the petrol engine good enough to be exciting. Truly the best of both worlds.

Audi/VW has a range of hybrids abroad, but they're pretty expensive. I think the Golf GTE is the cheapest they have. That is not going to be affordable for the majority of Indians, which will not help scale or reduce costs.

[volkman10]

Audi e-tron name confirmed for first EV model.

The e-tron name will stand for a 'pure electric driveline structure' set to feature first in an EV SUV, but also a hatchback and saloon models.

Link

[volkman10]

Audi will introduce electric vehicles and A5 family in India.

India could be among the top 10 global markets for Audi within the next decade and we are also looking to double sales in the country in a faster time frame than earlier (plan of 10 years).

Link