September 1st, 2022, Lesley Simeon
Earlier this month, Ola Electric announced it will be launching a 500 km-range electric vehicle (EV) in India by 2024. Around the same time, Volkswagen revealed it had started testing EVs under its sister brand, Skoda, in India. Similarly, Mahindra & Mahindra unveiled two new EV brands in the run up to the launch of a new range of Mahindra EVs by the end of 2024.
India’s EV landscape has seen a number of major announcements in recent weeks, but what do Indian consumers feel about this space?
While cars with petrol engines are still the most preferred, EVs come a close second. According to YouGov Profiles - which covers demographic, psychographic, attitudinal and behavioral consumer metrics - 51% of Indians who intend to purchase a new car would consider a petrol vehicle. About 44% of respondents are considering an electric vehicle and 32% could consider a diesel one.
Around 20% of the general Indian population would consider purchasing an EV to protect the environment. For 45% of Indians, opting for an EV might help tend to a number of cost-related factors. These include low running costs, low purchase prices and rising costs of petrol and diesel.
But when it comes to factors that discourage Indians from considering buying an EV, 13% of the respondents blame the lack of variety in EV models to choose from. Charging and battery-related issues are other key dampeners. While 11% of Indians would not consider purchasing an EV because of the time required to charge the vehicle, 10% of them cite the lack of capabilities or space to charge the car at home.
But given that most respondents feel the range of models to choose an EV from is too small, reports of automakers unveiling plans to launch and test new EV models in the country is welcome news for the market.
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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for India is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.