Currently, Honda sells just one hybrid model (Accord Hybrid) in the domestic market.
Japanese auto major Honda will use hybrid vehicles as intermediates in the next two years in India before going for full electric vehicles (EVs) as it expects setting up of supporting infrastructure such as charging stations to take time, according to a senior company official.
Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) Senior Vice President and Director Rajesh Goel told PTI that in India the auto major will follow the EV direction set out by the central government.
Roadmap ahead
Goel is optimistic that with the government’s initiative, energy sources will shift to more renewable ones in the next few years.
Till such time and also till the development of suitable charging infrastructure in the country, the company feels that the hybrid vehicles can be considered as good intermediate technology in electrification initiatives. Accordingly, the carmaker aims to begin their electrification journey in two years with hybrid technology.
As per its Vision 2030, the company strives to electrify two-thirds of its global automobile unit sales in 2030 with its range of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEVs), battery electric vehicle (BEVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs).
The company sells just one hybrid model (Accord Hybrid) in the domestic market. Currently, not many auto companies in India are keen to introduce hybrid models as under the GST regime, such vehicles have been put in the same category as big petrol and diesel luxury cars, attracting 28 per cent rate with a cess of 15 per cent.
