Hyundai Motor India to launch Creta EV on January 17

Hyundai Motor India is to use the upcoming Bharat Mobility Show 2025 in New Delhi as the platform for the launch of its Creta EV, the electric avatar of India’s best-selling midsize SUV. On the outside, the electric SUV will be largely similar to the facelifted Creta launched in January 2024, but it will get a few EV-specific touches like a closed-off ‘grille’, all-new front and rear bumpers, and new aero-optimised alloy wheels.

The Creta EV will rival the newly introduced Mahindra BE 6e (which could be renamed the BE 6), the Tata Curvv EV, the MG ZS EV and Maruti Suzuki’s upcoming born-EV SUV, the e Vitara (which will also be showcased for the first time at the Bharat Mobility Show).

Unlike some of its rivals, Hyundai has played it safe with the Creta EV, especially in the styling department, sharing most of it with the standard Creta. It will get some styling tweaks like a new-look closed grille, new design for both bumpers, different looking alloy wheels and EV-specific badges.

On the inside, the differentiating bits will be the three-spoke steering wheel from the latest-gen Hyundai Kona EV, a drive selector controller placed near the steering wheel column, a restyled centre console with two cup holders, and buttons for the electronic parking brake, cooled seats, auto-hold and 360-degree camera. Additionally, some of the equipment like HVAC controls on the centre panel will be borrowed from the facelifted Hyundai Alcazar.

The Creta EV, however, will retain the twin-screen setup for the infotainment and instrument cluster, along with a bunch of physical controls for easy accessibility. The infotainment could get more features and an updated software interface.

Hyundai Creta EV range, battery
The Creta EV will get a 45kWh battery pack, which, while less than the MG ZS EV (50.3kWh) and the upcoming Maruti eVX (49-61kWh), is on par with the entry-level Curvv EV’s 45kWh battery. The Creta EV’s single, front-axle-mounted motor develops about 138hp and 255Nm, which is similar to the latest-gen Kona EV.

Hyundai Motor India plans to produce around 24,000 units of the electric SUV every year. Expect competitive pricing from Hyundai for the Creta EV when it goes on sale next month.

Creta EV to add tailwinds to Creta sales
The Creta EV will also help energise EV sales for the Korean manufacturer. Hyundai Motor India, the second-ranked passenger vehicle manufacturer in India after Maruti Suzuki India, hit its lowest monthly EV sales of just 20 units of the Ioniq 5 in November 2024, down 88% on the 166 units sold in November 2023. The company had registered three-figure retails for the first three months of this year but having discontinued the Kona in India in the middle of the year, it has seen sales slow down substantially since then. At present, Hyundai’s sole EV is the Ioniq 5. Hyundai, whose cumulative January-November 2024 sales at 889 units are down 40% YoY (January-November 2023: 1,480 units), had sold a total of 1,608 EVs in CY2023.

The launch of the Creta EV will help add more firepower to overall sales of the Creta, which is currently the No. 2 best-selling SUV in India – 129,365 units, up 19% YoY – and hard on the heels of the Tata Punch in the April-November 2024 period. Demand for the Creta has really taken off after the launch of the new-gen model in January this year. Given the growing demand for midsize SUVS and the option of an electric variant of the Creta, the Hyundai Creta – ICE and EV variants combined – just might spring a surprise for the title of No. 1 SUV in FY2025.

(Additional inputs by Ajit Dalvi)

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