NEW DELHI: Japanese carmaker Nissan is firming up plans to bring Leaf, the world’s best- selling electric car, into India.
“We have a project in place to launch the Leaf. We are making the business plan and talking to some partners who will set up charging stations,” said Guillaume Sicard, president of Nissan India.
Nissan might launch the Leaf within a year. However, it will not be manufactured in India, neither will it be sold in high volumes. “For now, it is just to show our capabilities,” Sicard said.
Nissan will need the government’s help in form of subsidy to bring down the cost of the electric car. “The electric cars are more expensive than regular cars – in some cases three to four time as much,” said Sicard.
In the UK, the Leaf at £30,990 (₹27 lakh) is more expensive than most cars in its segment, but the buyer gets a £5,000 (₹3.35 lakh) subsidy, and is exempted from road taxes.
In India the government doesn’t give any such subsidies. The country also lacks the infrastructure needed to support growth of electric vehicles (EVs). Across cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata there are just 100 charging stations. In comparison, the city of Singapore alone has more than 2,000.
However, all this will not be possible without local manufacturing of EVs. Sicard does not see return-on-investment in setting up a plant for EVs. “Why will we invest $100 million without any infrastructure or government’s assistance,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}However, all this will not be possible without local manufacturing of EVs. Sicard does not see return-on-investment in setting up a plant for EVs. “Why will we invest $100 million without any infrastructure or government’s assistance,” he said.
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