Toyota Motor plans to make India a manufacturing hub for electric vehicle (EV) parts to meet demand there as well as for export to Japan and some ASEAN countries, Reuters reported.
The carmaker plans to start by producing e-drives or electric powertrain parts used by different electric vehicle types, including battery EVs, plug-in hybrids and other hybrid models, Vikram Gulati, executive vice president at Toyota Kirloskar Motor said.
“The aspiration is to make India the manufacturing hub for cleaner technologies. This is about creating the building blocks,” Vikram Gulati said.
Toyota Motor recently said it will invest $621 million in India to localise the supply chain for EVs, and is also part of its broader 2050 carbon-neutrality goals.
The world’s biggest carmaker said in December it plans to invest $70 billion to electrify its automobiles by 2030, including developing battery EVs as it plays catch-up with global automakers investing billions of dollars in the shift to cleaner vehicles.
In India, Toyota is more focussed on launching its hybrid models first, which it believes are better suited to the country’s aim of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and carbon emissions.