South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. is set to invest 7 billion rupees ($84 million) to build an electric vehicle battery pack assembly plant in Chennai in the Indian state of Tami Nadu, according to media reports on Monday.
The local affiliate Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) is planning to complete phase 1 of the plant construction by 2025 and start production of up to 75,000 battery packs on a yearly basis.
Hyundai Motor forecasts localization of battery packs will cut EV prices and boost the adoption of the vehicles in India. The company aims to increase EV penetration in the local market from the current level of 1-2% to 20-22% by 2030, reports said.
Hyundai Motor will invest 200 billion rupees in Tamil Nadu over the next decade, the company said in May of this year. Alongside the battery pack assembly plant in Chennai, it is planning to install 100 EV charging stations across the southern state of India over the next five years.
The auto giant aims to expand its EV lineup to 13 by 2030 from the current six models. It will also strengthen research and development and help build an EV infrastructure in India.
India is one of the fastest-growing electric car markets in the world.
EV uptake in the country sharply rose last year, with sales quadrupling to 48,000 vehicles from 12,000 in 2021, according to International Energy Agency (IEA) report in April of this year. Delhi aims for 25% of new vehicles to be EVs by 2024, according to the municipal government website.
India beat Japan to become the world’s third-largest auto market last year, with sales of 4.3 million vehicles.
Hyundai Motor’s wholesale ranked fourth in the Indian car market last month, following Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra. Hyundai Motor sold 68,728 units in October, up 18.5% on-year, according to the Indian affiliate.
