The Indian market has been seeing a lot of action in the EV space lately. Central and state governments are releasing attractive schemes, hotly anticipated two-wheelers like OLA scooter have caught the public’s eye and luxury carmakers are bringing the best of their EV SUVs here to give us a taste of their technology. The very well priced Tata Nexon EV is the best selling EV SUV in our market right now and people have come to appreciate the strengths of an EV. However, a lot of people don’t focus on the luxury EVs here because of the price. A common man may think of owning the Nexon EV for once but he may be hard pressed to think of an Audi E-Tron in his garage one day. Let’s see if these luxury EVs are actually of any significance:
Choices, Choices
Now, who doesn’t like choices? The more the choices, the more a consumer gets to learn about the different options. It won’t be fair for just the common people to have an option for EVs. There are many people in the upper middle class category as well who would love to adopt to an EV. A simple Tata Nexon just wouldn’t cut it for them and they wouldn’t mind spending close to ₹1.10 crore on the sleek Jaguar I-Pace. This way the market would have everything for everyone from the VFM Nexon to the sexy I-Pace.
Trickling down of technology
Nobody imagined that we will get to see ventilated seats in mass market cars today. Heck, only the CBU imports like the S class come with it even today! Electric mobility technology is growing and evolving day by day whether it’s the battery charging times, battery capacity, durability or the effective range. The Luxury EVs today offer upwards of 300km of real world range with their higher capacity batteries. One shouldn’t rule out the possibilities of an EV hatchback going further than this mark and at an affordable price in the near future.
A Testbed
Every new technology takes time to gain the public’s trust. EVs currently have a long way to go before they are accepted by everyone. Range anxiety, lack of performance(top speed) and price are a few of the many concerns that people have when they consider EVs. Many people cannot afford to own an EV as their primary people. Whereas customers of luxury EVs already have one or even more cars at their disposal. They would never worry about the above factors due to their other cars for their other requirements. Even If things go wrong with their vehicle, they can afford to get it fixed or have the downtime of not having the EV in their garage. This way the experience can slowly trickle down to the common people by the time the technology has improved.
Aspirational value
The EV craze has single-handedly started with Tesla. It redefined what EVs could do and be. They’re fast, full of technology, have excellent range and have a huge fan following from everyone. With their news of coming in India and the Tesla model 3 mules being spotted, Indian Telsa fans couldn’t be happier. Though Tesla may launch its range upwards of ₹60 lakhs, many people would aspire to own one. If not a Tesla, many people would buy the more affordable EVs due to the influence of Tesla. It’s like buying a red car since you love Ferrari but cannot afford one.
Brand building
Launching the latest and greatest is a good opportunity for brands to show what they are capable of. Launching the E-Tron would help Audi in staying relevant and be known as a proactive carmaker that brings in its newest products. Since these EVs are CBU, it is easy for manufacturers to get them to India and sell them. It’s also beneficial for the consumers of the same brand. The Audi virtual cockpit display was available only in the TT when it was first introduced and now even the cheapest car in Audi India’s range i.e. the Q2 gets it! Owners would aspire to upgrade to the newer and more technology packed models from the manufacturer’s line up.
Conclusion
These Luxury SUVs are far from a ‘PR’ exercise for brands and consumers. They’re a look into the future and a taste of what the common people would experience years from now. In the end, these ₹1 crore luxury SUVs are doing more than what we think whether we buy them or not.