Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker said the company will start selling its Ocean electric SUV in India in July next year and may start producing cars locally in India in the next few years. in an interview, Fisker said the pace of selling electric cars in India will accelerate by 2025 to 2026, and Fisker wants to gain a first-mover advantage. “India will eventually go electric. Electrification in India may not move as fast as the U.S., China or Europe, but we want to be one of the first to enter the space.”
Currently, India sells about 3 million vehicles annually, with electric vehicles accounting for only 1%. Inadequate charging infrastructure and high battery costs are some of the reasons for the slow growth of electric vehicle sales in India. The Indian government hopes to increase the share of electric vehicle sales to 30 percent by 2030 and provide billions of dollars in incentives to companies that produce electric vehicles and related components locally.
Tesla shelved plans to enter the Indian market after failing to secure lower tariffs on car imports. Tesla and Fisker are on the same page, wanting to test the market by importing cars first before deciding whether to build them locally.
Fisker acknowledged that importing cars into India is “very expensive,” but the company wants to use Ocean to build its brand, and its higher pricing could limit car sales.
The Fisker Ocean retails for about $37,500 in the United States. But Fisker’s import of the Ocean into India would add logistics costs and 100 percent import duties, which would make the car unaffordable for most Indian buyers since most cars in the Indian market sell for less than $15,000.
Fisker said, “If you ultimately want to have greater sales in India, it seems like you have to put the car into production here, or at least do some assembly.” Fisker also revealed that the company is considering producing its next electric car, the PEAR, in India, but not until 2026.
He believes that “if we can sell cars in India for less than $20,000, that would be the ideal situation. Then we will gain some sales and market share.” He added that if they find the right local partner, the time to put the car into production locally could be even shorter. He also said that Fisker could require an investment of $800 million to set up a plant in India with an annual production capacity of 50,000 cars.
Fisker has signed an OEM manufacturing agreement with Magna International, which will produce Ocean at its Austrian subsidiary and ship it to India. The company also has an agreement with Foxconn for OEM production of PEAR.
Fisker also said it is looking for a suitable location to open a showroom in New Delhi and is meeting with auto parts suppliers to source parts for its global production.
