NEW DELHI: India’s electric vehicle exports rose sharply in the first quarter of the current financial year, with shipments increasing to 15,641 units from 1,122 units in the same period last year, reflecting robust global demand for India-made EVs.
Industry data showed that exports during the April-June quarter accounted for more than half of the 28,652 electric vehicles shipped during the entire previous financial year.
The surge was largely driven by Maruti Suzuki’s e-Vitara, which emerged as India’s third most-exported passenger vehicle during the quarter. The automaker exported 15,210 units of the electric SUV to 47 countries, with the UK and South Africa emerging as its largest overseas markets.
Maruti Suzuki also entered 20 new export markets, most of them in Europe, during the quarter and plans to introduce four additional electric vehicle models by 2030 to strengthen its global EV portfolio.
“Maruti Suzuki exports more cars from India than the rest of the 17 car manufacturers combined,” Rahul Bharti, Senior Executive Officer at Maruti Suzuki, said. He added that the company exported nearly 125,000 vehicles across all models during the quarter to about 120 markets and has already shipped more than 40,000 units of the e-Vitara since exports began.
Bharti said India-made vehicles are gaining acceptance in developed markets such as Europe and Japan because of their quality and technology.
Other Indian automakers are also stepping up overseas expansion plans. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, which recently started exporting electric vehicles to neighbouring South Asian countries, is preparing to expand shipments to additional markets across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Pacific.
The company has announced plans to invest up to ₹40,000 crore over the next five years to increase annual production capacity to 1.3 million vehicles by FY31 from around 900,000 units currently. It also plans to expand its EV portfolio to 10 models from six during the same period.
According to industry sources, Tata Motors is preparing to introduce premium electric vehicles based on its Avinya platform in Europe within the next two to three years. The company is working with its British subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover on vehicle engineering and software development to meet regulatory and customer requirements in advanced markets. The UK is expected to be among its first major export destinations.
Mahindra & Mahindra is also developing export versions of its BE 6 and XEV 9e electric SUVs for the UK, aiming to leverage opportunities arising from the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
The company said it will initially focus on right-hand-drive markets before expanding into left-hand-drive markets in Europe and other regions through a phased strategy.
