WHO IS GWM?

Product Strategy

In order to sell more cars in India, we really need to stand out. There are four aspects that we are focussing on. First, of course, are our breakthrough designs - this is important for us because design is the first aspect of a vehicle that a customer evaluates. The second aspect is the performance of the cars – we are making sure that the engines & transmissions that we have are worldclass and ahead of all others. The third important focus area is the ‘premium feel’ of both the interior & exterior of our cars – something that we wish to disrupt. Lastly, safety has become very crucial for all consumers and we are bringing a host of intelligent safety features, which not only take into account passive safety but also active safety.

At the core of every automotive organisation is the product. We recently had an exclusive meeting with close to 50 select dealers from across the country, and some of them happened to be premium car brand dealers as well. When they saw our products, they remarked that everything, from the look to the finish & quality of the cars, was top-level, and they could be easily compared to any premium product out there.

When you have such a solid product at the core of your strategy, I think consumers are going to love it. Judging by the look on the visitors’ faces when they saw our products at the Auto Expo, I’m very confident that they are going to love the brand and latch on to it once it’s launched.

Electric Drive

There are three critical aspects to watch out for when it comes to EVs. The first is the range of the vehicle or battery capacity. I think an EV requires a minimum of 250-300kms of driving range based on Indian conditions, because if you’re planning a long journey, you wouldn’t want to stop on the way to charge the vehicle – a plausible scenario if your car’s range is only about 100125kms. So, a 250-300km range is the bare essential. The second aspect is the charging infrastructure. Obviously, when you’ve exhausted the range and you wish to charge the car overnight, then the infrastructure should be easily accessible. Third, and the most important aspect, is the cost of ownership. There’s no doubt that the government is working hard to make EV adoption mainstream via multiple subsidy options. If you look at the GST rates, EVs attract about 5% whereas a conventional ICE-powered vehicle is taxed at about 40-45%. Despite this big gap in taxation, the initial cost difference between an EV and a conventional car is still too high, at about 70-80%. I feel that unless this initial price gap is brought down to below 25-30%, people will continue to shun the idea of owning an EV as the price increase still won’t be justified. The localisation of parts & batteries, especially, is important to achieve this. I think as soon as all these pieces come together, only then will we see the required change.