India lacks ecosystem for electric cars: Volkswagen official

India does not have a “clear vision” and “ecosystem” in place for the promotion of electric cars, German auto major Volkswagen’s senior executive said. Steffen Knapp, director of Volkswagen Passenger Cars (India), also said that the government needs to provide subsidies to make the electric vehicle (EV) segment attractive for the industry to invest in India.

“India needs to have a political framework and a clear vision for electric cars... For (promotion of electric cars), there has to be a lot of subsidies,” Knapp said at an event in the city.

He was here to mark the company’s 10 years of association with Automark Motors, one of carmaker’s leading dealers.

Commenting on the requisite infrastructure for EVs in the country, he pointed out that there was no clear policy or standardisation with regards to (battery) charging stations.

He said industry representatives are in talks with the government regarding the same and things are in process. “Our concept for going from classical combustion diesel and petrol engine to electrified car is massive.  We will launch in coming years around 70 EV products,” Knapp said.

He also said that the company has announced Rs 8,000 crore investment for development of products in India in the next five years. “The first product will come out in 2020,” he said.

He also said a development centre is coming up at Chakan near Pune, which already has a manufacturing facility.