After Mahindra, VW And Skoda, Tata Motors Getting Ready To Build Hybrid Cars: Details

The Indian automotive landscape seems to be making a slow shift towards hybrids. Many manufacturers including Mahindra and Volkswagen and Skoda are currently mulling over introducing hybrid models in the future. Tata Motors has now spoken on the topic as well. It has confirmed that it would consider adding hybrid powertrains if the market demands it.

Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility said in a statement "We will be hoping to use the technology to deliver value to the customer, and obviously, it (hybrid powertrain) would be under consideration for different products at different points in time,”

The Indian government is reportedly considering a major policy amendment that could strongly favour hybrid vehicles in select states. The updated policy is expected to offer huge incentives and registration tax waivers to qualifying hybrids. States like Uttar Pradesh already have it in place while Karnataka is now contemplating the scope of the same.

A Closer Look At Tata's Hybrid Plans

This Indian carmaker has always been an advocate of electric vehicles. It was the first to enter the mass market EV space and continued to dominate it in terms of sales and portfolio size. It looks like the carmaker will not take its focus off EVs.

Chandra even voiced concerns that incentivizing hybrids (which the draft policy proposes to do) could potentially harm India's 'broader' EV ambitions. He believes that hybrids are already commercially viable.

"We exist in a market to compete, we're not against a technology, we're against the use of incentives in benefit of a technology which is self-viable" says Chandra.

The MD also assures that Tata Motors will not shy away from rolling out hybrids if competitiveness in some segments requires them to do so. Tata's hybrids, he says, won't be focussed solely on reducing emissions, but will also have performance advantages.

On the powertrain mix front, Tata Motors classifies hybrids under 'petrol'. Even today, the most number of sales come from the petrols only. Despite being a leader in the EV space, Tata's internal powertrain forecasts says that all-electric models amount to just 30 percent of the total Tata cars and SUVs sold. These analytics, together with the managing director's words, tell us that Tata's hybrid adoption will be segment-specific and time-dependent.

Tax Slabs For EVs And Hybrids: Current Landscape

At present, 5% GST is levied on electric vehicles, while that on hybrids is a whopping 43 per cent. Some states which control vehicle regsitration taxes, are trying to narrow this gap, to favour manufacturers who are betting big on hybrids. These car brands have already welcomed the move. Manufacturers like Volkswagen and Skoda have already confirmed their hybrid plans, which interestingly, could include localisation as well.

Japanese giants like Toyota and Maruti Suzuki are also actively working on hybrids. We expect Suzuki to launch a series hybrid versions of popular models like the Baleno and Fronx which will use the 1.2-liter Z12E petrol engine as the generator for its battery. These plans could have been delayed slightly by the recent Chinese curb on rare earth metal exports. But we know for a fact that these are coming!

Another Indian EV major Mahindra had earlier seen the upcoming policy amendment as a threat to the EV momentum in the country, but recently confirmed that they will soon join the hybrid game. When they do, we may get to see series hybrid versions of the BE6 and XEV 9e rolling out, with a 1.2L turbocharged petrol engine neatly mounted on the INGLO platform that they are based on.

Talking of the Koreans, Kia is known to be working on the next generation of the Seltos SUV, which is expected to get a hybrid powertrain.

At present, the hybrid space is quite limited in its magnitude and scope. Toyota and Maruti Suzuki continue to dominate it with the strong hybrid versions of the Hyryder, Hycross, Invicto and Grand Vitara.

Off late, the footfalls to this segment have increased. If the uptrend in adoption is here to stay, we will see manufacturers like Mahindra, Tata and Volkswagen/Skoda come up with competitive products and disruptive pricings....

Source: Autocar Professional