Hyundai Motors India had earlier stated that it planned to launch the hybrid Ioniq along with mild-hybrid compact cars and SUVs. But as of now the Korean giant has cancelled plans to showcase the Ioniq at the auto expo next year. Instead, it has started focusing on electric vehicles.
And it’s not without a reason. Under the GST regime, hybrid vehicles have been taxed the same as big petrol and diesel luxury cars attracting 28 per cent rate with a cess of 15 per cent. The tax incidence on hybrid vehicles have gone up to 43 per cent from the previous effective tax rate of 30.3 per cent. The government has hinted that it would not review the new rate. In the earlier tax system, hybrid vehicles had attracted excise duty of 12.5 per cent, similar to entry-level small cars such as Tata Nano or Maruti Alto.
According to Hyundai, plans for introducing electric models is already under consideration with hybrid facing the axe.
