One in every five cars sold in the country’s top metros is electric, hybrid or runs on CNG as the share of alternative powertrains has more than doubled in the last three years amid high petrol and diesel prices.
Growing consumer awareness about environmental challenges and improving infrastructure and availability are expected to speed up this trend and carmakers are gearing up to meet the growing demand.
The market share of alternative powertrains – or, those not exclusively based on internal combustion engines – has increased to 12.95% in urban centres this year from 4.68% in 2020 and to 8.39% from 3.75% in rural centres, data collated by automotive consultancy Jato Dynamics shows.
Combined share of diesel and petrol vehicles has dropped by 8.27% and 4.64%, respectively, in urban and rural centres during this period.
A higher number of model launches powered by alternative powertrains, better availability of dispensing stations for CNG and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, and lower cost economics of these vehicles are driving the shift away from conventional fossil fuels, industry observers said.
“Diesel in any case is declining. For us, we are very clear that we have defined our net zero in 2040, which means a very fast acceleration of EVs. Our focus is that,” said Shailesh Chandra, managing director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility.
The company is accordingly looking at doubling its portfolio to have on offer six EVs in the next few months.
While the share of diesel in total sales of Tata Motors has declined to 15% from a peak of 88% a few years back, that of electric has risen to 14-15%. This is expected to go up further to 25% by 2027 and 50% by the end of the decade, Chandra said.
In the last five years, the company has seen growing consideration for electric vehicles among prospective buyers on the back of validation from existing users, he added.
