The India unit of Volkswagen-owned Audi said on Friday that any possible reduction in import taxes on electric vehicles (EV) would help the German carmaker better experiment with models and prices in the world’s third-largest car market. “If we get a period of three to five years where the government can reduce duties, we can experiment with which models make sense for India and help in terms of price points,” Balbir Singh Dhillon, head of Audi India, told Reuters. on the sidelines of a showroom launch in Bengaluru.
Reuters reported last month that the Indian government is working on a new EV policy that would lower import taxes for automakers committed to some local production.
Dhillon said the Indian arm is in talks with the German parent company to assemble “some” of its electric cars locally, but declined to give details on the timeline or possible models.
Audi is trying to catch up with its colleagues, BMW and Mercedes, in the transition to electric. Currently, the Indian arm of the company only locally makes combustion engines, which are used in petrol cars.
Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said earlier this week that the government will consult with the industry and come up with a new policy to attract greater EV investment.
The efforts come as India strives for greener mobility, with the government hoping to increase electric car sales to 30 percent by 2030, up from the current nascent level of 2 percent. Luxury electric vehicles represent a fraction of this.
After four models launched last month, six of the sixteen models in Audi India’s lineup are electric cars, which are fully imported and sold in the country at prices between $136,000 (approximately Rs. 1.12 crore) and $234,000 (approximately Rs. 1.94 crore).
© Thomson Reuters 2023
