India Connected Car Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The India connected car market is anticipated to register a CAGR of about 20% during the forecast period (2020 - 2025).

Key Highlights

• Artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) were being the part of luxury and high-end cars than in the matured market such as Germany and the United States. But from the past few years, India has seen the interest of various OEMs to incorporate advanced technology in Indian cars. One of the main reasons behind the rise in the demand is that the technology is becoming cheaper and customers are willing to pay extra cost for latest technology few car manufacturers are leading the way to introduce connected car technology to India.
• The connected car requires access to the Internet for its smooth functionality. As a result, many players that have launched their connected cars in India have collaborated with telecom companies for the connected cars to become a reality in the Indian market. For instance, MG India partnered with Airtel for connected mobility solutions with an E-SIM, and the company claims that it is Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPV6) ready for the upcoming 5G.
• The connected car market is still in its nascent stage in India. It is expected to grow at a much faster rate, as the industry participants are looking at this market full of potential. As the electric vehicles are making their way in the Indian roads, connected cars will also be soon become part of the Indian market.
• The country has an ambitious target of becoming an all-electric vehicle nation by 2030. In the process of mass adoption of electric vehicles in the country, the government has announced its plan to introduce 10,000 electric buses and 50,000 electric rickshaws within the next few years.
• In 2019, the Union cabinet approved the proposal for the implementation of a scheme titled 'Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II (FAME India Phase II)' for the promotion of Electric Mobility in the country. The total fund requirement for this scheme is INR 10,000 crores over three years from 2019 to 2022.

Key Market Trends

EVs will Boost the Market's Growth

Currently, India has a minimal volume of electric vehicle sales in the passenger car, but the country is actively trying to transform its public transport greener. India is one of the largest passenger car manufacturing countries in the world, coupled with the digitalization as smartphone users were near to 500 million in 2019. Various players in the market are launching their connected vehicle technology in India. For instance,

• In January 2020, Morris Garages Motor India launched the d ZS Connected Car, which is the first electric internet SUV in India, the car has a driving range of 340 km on a full charge. The ZS Connected Car vehicle has been awarded five stars at the Euro NCAP crash tests.
• Kia Motors India launched KIA Seltos. It comes equipped with the UVO connected car technology, which offers features, such as AI voice command, stolen vehicle tracking, auto collision notification, SOS-emergency assistance, remote engine start and stops, remotely operated air purifier, geofence, time fence, speed, and valet information. KIA has launched the electric variant of Seltos for the South Korean market, and in the coming year, it will be competing with other electric connected cars in India.

SUVs Expected to Lead the Market

India is following the global pattern of the rise in sales of the SUVs, and it is expected SUV to lead the vehicle type in India over the forecast period. The surge in the sales of SUVs is mainly because of the growing demand for space and advanced technology, and people are willing to pay extra costs for the latest technology in their cars. Many new connected cars which are launched or going to enter in the market are mainly the SUVs. For instance,

• Nissan India KICKS comes equipped with NissanConnect connected car technology, and It enables smartwatch connectivity with lots of features such as tow alerts, service reminders, speed. According to the company, it is the first factory-fitted connected car that is using an embedded Telematics Control Unit and which is also able to read vehicle CAN signal.
• Hyundai Venue comes with BlueLink connected technology. Some of the features that the Venue will have in India are geo-fencing, speed alerts, SOS, panic notifications, destination sharing, and road-side assistance. Hyundai BlueLink has a tamper-proof eSIM, which is provided by the telecom company Vodafone Idea of India.

Competitive Landscape

The India connected car market is highly consolidated and has limited global players active in the market. Although, the established local players in the market are trying to introduce their connected vehicles model. New companies are coming with their technology and marking their presence in the market. For instance,

• In 2019, Maruti Suzuki, the largest car manufacturer in India, launched its Suzuki Connect. It is available as an option to the customers who can connect the car to the smartphone through the Nexa app. The car owners will get access to various features such as emergency alerts, vehicle tracking, driving behavior analysis, car assistance, driving analytics, live vehicle status, preventive maintenance calls.
• In 2019, Toyota Connected India Pvt. Ltd expanded its footprint in India with the opening of a new office in Chennai. The facility is working in collaboration with other facilities in Bangalore and other offices around the world. The company's focus is to enhance the local development capability of connected services through Machine Learning and Artificial intelligence.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support