Nissan Motors seeks discount from Govt to manufacture cheapest e-cars in India

After Suzuki, Toyota pact to bring electric cars in India by 2020, another Japanese automaker Nissan Motor is planning to start manufacture all-electric cars in India.

The firm is also betting on making one of the cheapest e-cars with the price being considered at around Rs 7 lakh. The price tag will compete with Mahindra & Mahindra's e2O mini car.

According to the Nissan's Global Director for electric cars, Nicholas Thomas, if the company wants to sell e-cars with significant volumes in India, it has to manufacture locally, reported TOI.

The Japanese auto major is also considering exporting locally-made e-vehicles and selling it to other Asian countries for huge profits due to India's inexpensive manufacturing process.

Amid the hodgepodge of policy on electric vehicles, Nissan is keeping an eye on the growth of e-vehicles and expects that Indian government comes up with clarity on electric vehicles and give them concessions.

Earlier this month, the minister of state for heavy industries Babul Supriyo said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, “There are, at present, no plans under consideration of the Department of Heavy Industry to make all vehicles in the country powered by electricity by 2030.”

The response from Babul Supriyo was in complete contradiction to Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement, who earlier had told that India will be moving to an all-electric car fleet by 2030. According to Goyal, the government under NITI Aayog is working on a roadmap to ensure all-electric car fleet in the country.

Meanwhile, the Indian government has finalised its think tank NITI Aayog to frame the policy for electric vehicles while all concerned ministries will implement them.

Talking about the cost, Thomas said though the price of the batteries has gone down it may still take some more years to reach the affordable level.

Until then, the company seeks subsidies from the government to promote the sale and mass adoption of the e-vehicles or the shift to cleaner vehicles will take much more time.

India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki also needs more government incentives to make electric vehicles (EVs) affordable as the country moves towards the eco-friendly solution for mobility.

Nissan is planning to launch 12 variants of electric car globally. Its flagship product 'Leaf' is one of the most successful e-cars, which has sold over 300,000 vehicles globally. The company may sell Leaf in India in future but will not manufacture locally due to high cumulative duties in the country.