G. Srinivasa Raghavan, Nexus: “In five years’ time, a million fleet vehicles will be electric in India”

G. Srinivasa Raghavan: Sustainability is supported by three factors: a clear instruction from the government, as India is an active international member of the various climate transition summits such as COP 29 (and the G20 held in New Delhi in 2023). With specific targets for electrification, recycling and the green economy (Green Actions). In India, two- and three-wheelers account for 80% of vehicles, with over 200 million of them on the road! By 2030, 50% of this segment will be electrified. Most of the other vehicles are fleets that transport our goods around the country. In five years' time, a million of these fleet vehicles will also be electrified. These decisions have led TVS Mobility to propose new solutions, such as our ‘Mobility as a Service’ platform, and to propose leasing of electrified vehicles (including two- and three-wheelers), insurance products, etc. We are working in collaboration with battery manufacturers to recycle their products, recondition vehicles, etc. We have even developed an ecosystem of start-ups to recycle the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.

G. S. R.: We have public and private infrastructure, as well as mobile charging. We need to set up infrastructure at a faster rate than the electric vehicle fleet is growing. We ourselves need to provide solutions for fleets, so therefore all our service outlets have charging facilities. To go even further with charging solutions, we have created TVS Sirius Controls with battery manufacturer Sirius and its network to extend the number of chargers available in the country. These portable solutions remain private. We are not a public supplier.

G. S. R.: Market penetration in this segment is very high. There are two types of private label in India: brands like NEXUS' Drive+, for example, which we have just launched and which we target specifically at commercial vehicles. A single brand but multi-product and very strong in each segment. And then there's a whole raft of private labels that focus on a single new product, as in the UK. I would estimate that there are around 30 to 40% private labels in India, because of our manufacturing capacity to produce them for the whole world.

G. S. R.: India is a country where the world's manufacturers come mainly to have their vehicles made, which they then export around the world (MG, VinFast, Skoda, Renault, Nissan, etc.). However, our Indian brands dominate the domestic sales market. In the Top 6 brands, three are Indian, including Maruti Suzuki which has a 54% market share. Maruti Suzuki dominates both sales and aftermarket, with more than 6,000 service outlets in the country. In terms of foreign competitors, Stellantis makes the electric C3, for example, and tried to launch its Eurorepar Car Service with the backing of a partner, but it didn't work. They will certainly be back. Finally, we have players like Bosch, which has announced that it has nearly 300 Bosch Car Service garages in India.

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