Hyundai and Kia of South Korea will launch the first electric cars made in India next year

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group will launch its first electric vehicles made in India by 2025. The parent company of the Hyundai and Kia brands wants to strengthen its presence in the growth market dominated by Tata Motors.

Production of Hyundai’s locally made electric cars will begin in late 2024 and launch in 2025 along with the Kia electric car made in India, Hyundai Motor Group said in a statement on Thursday, adding that it will have five models by 2030. on the market.

Both brands will use batteries from Exide Energy Solutions to power their electric vehicles, they announced earlier this month.

India is the biggest market outside of North America and Europe for Hyundai, where the company is targeting a $3 billion IPO – the largest in the country.

Hyundai, India’s No. 2 automaker, known for its SUV ‘Creta’, currently sells two electric models in India, the Kona and the IONIQ 5, both of which are not made in India. Kia’s only electric model, the EV6, is imported.

The company also reiterated Hyundai’s goal of reaching an annual production of 1 million vehicles by 2025, adding that it will increase Kia’s capacity from about 300,000 to 432,000. The combined capacity will increase to 1.5 million units.

Earlier this year, Hyundai completed the takeover of a former Chevrolet plant in the western state of Maharashtra to increase production to 1 million units.

The announcement came during Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chairman Euisun Chung’s visit to India – his second visit in less than a year. (Reporting by Nandan Mandayam and Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami)