We all know of the Ubers of this world which have virtually revolutionised the way we travel. In COVID times, it probably took a backseat, but it is the future and will come back with a vengeance.
After a few years, you will see more and more experimentation and innovation and shared mobility as a concept. Mobility as a service will become very prevalent and it will happen in India too. In our own way, at MG we have joined hands with all top technology companies and also the EV ecosytem companies to ensure that we start on a solid footing.
Talking of global automotive innovations and the way firms are racing up, just imagine the way Tesla has revolutionised the world – their market cap has moved from $ 184 billion to $ 884 billion as of August 2022. This is equal to the combined market cap of the top eight or nine auto players put together.
Some tech companies exploring the automotive future are Nio, Sony, Google, Apple, Rivian, Ola, Uber, Intel and Sharp. They are trying to get into all kinds of solutions. In future, people will not talk about a car’s horsepower, number of doors or torque, etc. Instead of mileage, people will ask about the range of a vehicle, how fast you can charge it, what happens to the battery after some time.
The form factor of cars will also change, and the people who now talk of the shape of cars will not care if it is two-door or four-door as long as it serves the purpose. Young customers will only look for a mobility solution. As more tech companies come in, the old conservative companies will perhaps become the factories of the world, while the software will be owned by some of the innovative new firms, or there will be a collaboration between the two.
In the global passenger vehicle market, India was the fifth largest in 2020 and I am reasonably confident that it will be at No. 3 by 2026-27. India’s share is made up of primarily hatchbacks and SUVs, with a big shift to SUVs happening as we speak.
So how would it look like, after five or six years later, especially with talk of electrification? There is a lag in my opinion, whatever is happening in the US, China, Europe, Japan etc. now will come to India in five to six years.
When we launched MG Hector four years back, we were the first connected car. Now entry level cars are connected. In 2030, probably 96% of cars will be connected. As for EVs, customers are ready to buy them, but the choice offered by OEMs is limited. More choice will improve the penetration level of electric cars. Now, it is barely 1%, but by 2030 I expect it to be 25-30% in the car segment.
By 2030, branding, sourcing, manufacturing, sales, distribution, after-sales service of cars will get impacted in a big way. Thanks to COVID, digitisation has been accelerated, and that is getting manifested in each and every aspect of car manufacturing and selling.
Car, industry and driver, all will go through a massive change as we go forward. India has a golden chance to be part of it all. Car as a platform – that is the concept coming in now. Maybe the car will come free and you have to pay for services.
(Rajeev Chabba is MD, MG Motor India)
