"According to the Korea Times, automakers are increasingly focusing on India's electric vehicle market, which is expected to grow significantly in the next few years as India accelerates efforts to tackle air pollution and reduce its dependence on oil.

According to market tracker Mordor Intelligence, India's electric vehicle market is expected to reach $17 billion by 2026, up from $5.47 billion in 2020. The Indian government has promised that by 2030, electric vehicles will account for 30% of private cars. With the world's second-largest population after China, India is seen as a blue ocean for EV makers in the long run.

Automakers are moving quickly to capitalize on the opportunities in the Indian EV market. Hyundai Motor joined local companies in an incentive tender to invest $2.4 billion to build an electric vehicle battery factory, Reuters reported.

The Indian government is looking to build a facility to store 500 GWh of batteries over the next five years. The report said that India is also seeking South Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Energy Solutions to participate in investment.

Hyundai Motor is preparing to enter the Indian electric vehicle market. Hyundai Motor said last month that it plans to invest 620 billion won in research and development funds in India to launch six electric vehicles in the Indian market by 2028.

Mercedes-Benz said it will manufacture the EQS range in India and start sales in the fourth quarter. Tesla is also looking to enter India, with Musk tweeting last week that the company is ""managing many challenges"" with the Indian government. These challenges are understood to include high import tariff differences of up to 100%. It is reported that Tesla plans to sell imported cars first, and if successful, build a local production plant. Lowering import tariffs is a key task for Tesla if it wants to compete with low-cost models from local automakers. The Indian government also wants Tesla to build a factory in India.

India's EV charging infrastructure needs to be significantly improved to achieve its target of 30% EV market share by 2030. The high price of EV batteries is also seen as a stumbling block to an accelerated transition. Since EV batteries are imported, prices are still high. In order to ensure low-cost batteries, the Indian government is advancing plans to build battery production facilities locally."