Renault Considering Only Ground-up EVs For India

Currently, the EV-space in India is slowly but surely growing with the likes of MG Motor India, Hyundai and Tata Motors making waves. But Renault is yet to join the party despite us expecting the all-electric iteration of the Kwid to show up here. But a recent report suggests that the Kwid EV isn’t coming, and instead, we may be getting dedicated EVs.

CEO and MD of Renault India, Venkatram Mamillapalle, stated in a recent report, “When we bring, we bring EV. We don’t try to put EV into an ICE modification and things like that. We have to bring a proper EV.” 

By dedicated EVs, we mean electric vehicles that don’t have an ICE counterpart. The problem here is that Renault’s global lineup doesn’t have a lot of EVs, and only the Zoe is a dedicated electric vehicle. This could mean that the Indian market is getting a made-for-India EV.

Another reason why we think it’ll be a made-for-India EV is because the carmaker’s major hurdle to add an EV here is via localisation, as components such as batteries, electric motors, and battery modules are imported, pushing up the price tag. 

While this isn’t a clear-cut confirmation of Renault dipping its toes in the EV space, it has hinted that unless localisation is possible, we’re going to have to wait a bit longer to get a Renault EV in India. 

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