Indian Electric vehicle market is going through an interesting phase. While on one hand, we have international brands like Tesla, Triton etc. planning to enter the Indian market, the leading auto manufacturers like Maruti and Honda etc. appear to be happy to miss out.
In continuation with the bizarre approach, we heard that Chinese smartphone makers under BBK group are keen on investing in this segment, and we even came across random reports that not one but three of its subsidiaries have filed for trademarks for electric bikes, cars and more.
Now, another report suggests that Oppo is already planning to introduce its EVs in India by 2024. The 91Mobile report cites a known tipster who states that “OPPO’s plans for electric vehicles for India are indeed real” and that the “launch is slated between 2023-end and early 2024.”
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While this may come as a surprise to some, we believe it to be a natural progression for Oppo, which has already entered categories such as home entertainment, computing, and consumer durables. The smart electric vehicles would be an obvious choice for the company as it sets sights on the a certain persona that can afford and purchase the entire range of electronics.
We’ve come across many reports around Apple working on an autonomous car, Foxconn making smart EVs, Huawei introducing such vehicles in China and even Xiaomi has officially announced its EV plans –suggesting that what Oppo and its other sister brands are planning to, is doable.
Massive market with limited options
Though there is very little that we know about Oppo’s EV plans as of now. The company might partner with contract manufacturers or even import the parts to assemble in-house – however, the Indian EV market has a massive scope as of now.
A recent report revealed that while the EV sales in the last six months outnumbered the total EV sales for the previous fiscal year, however, in comparison to the ICE vehicles its market share is a mere 0.45 per cent. This means that though people are willing to switch to zero-emission vehicles, the acceptability is still low owing to the premium pricing and limited options.
The story is similar in the electric two-wheeler segment, where though there are a few makers offering premium vehicles, affordable no-nonsense vehicles are still absent from the market. And this is precisely what these Chinese smartphone makers want to target by launching a smart electric vehicle that can be a part of its smart devices ecosystem with the smartphone at its core.
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