Hyundai Motor Company and Kia have signed a strategic business agreement with Exide Energy, an Indian battery specialist, at the Namyang Research Institute in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, to localize battery cells for EVs exclusively for the Indian market. April 8, 2024. [Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor Company] 

① Why India? 

② Why did the automotive industry head to India first?

③ Batteries are already finding their answers in India 

④ The next question for semiconductors

⑤ Why did the shipbuilding industry move beyond China?

⑥ Companies have moved, but the government was absent

The Reality of Electric Two-Wheelers and Lithium-Ion

The industry in India where the "post-China" era has become reality first is batteries. However, the stage is not large electric vehicles. 

India’s answer lies in electric two-wheelers. This is not a matter of technological level, but a matter of market structure.

India is the world's largest two-wheeler market. 

The cumulative number of vehicles in use exceeds 200 million, with annual sales reaching 15 to 20 million units. 

In a social structure where two-wheelers are more central to daily transportation than cars, electrification is inevitably starting with two-wheelers. 

At this point, India’s electrification path differs from that of China and the U.S. 

It is not a market that requires installing charging infrastructure for large electric vehicles first; it is a market where modes of transport that can be charged at home are being converted first.

This structure also has a direct impact on battery selection. 

In the Indian electric two-wheeler market, the key is safety, durability, and charging convenience rather than driving range. 

While Chinese-made batteries capable of low-price competition are flowing in rapidly, fire risks and lifespan issues are already becoming causes for market caution. 

The perception is spreading that while they are cheap, they are unreliable as daily transportation.

There is a common misunderstanding on this point: the perception that Korea has fallen behind in lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, where China has a strength. 

However, this was a matter of choice, not a matter of technology. 

Korean companies prioritized the balance between energy density and stability for automotive batteries and simply did not actively produce LFP batteries under the judgment that they were "not suitable for automobiles." 

Technically, they have already secured capabilities that exceed China in terms of efficiency and stability in lithium-ion batteries, including LFP.

The Indian electric two-wheeler market is making this judgment valid again. 

What is more important than high output and high density is safety and durability for repeated charging. 

This is an area where Korean batteries have strengths. 

In particular, there is a clear trend among the top 10–15% of consumers to prefer "safe batteries, even if they are a little more expensive." 

This is also intertwined with India's income structure. While the average income is low, the size of the top consumer tier is already equivalent to that of a single country. 

They choose their means of transportation based on quality and trust, not just for survival.

Another reason why Korean batteries are advantageous in the electric two-wheeler market is the absence of political and emotional risks. 

In India, Chinese companies are still powerful competitors driven by price competitiveness, but their "trust capital" is weak due to border disputes and security conflicts. 

On the other hand, Korea is a technological competitor but not a target of caution. For the Indian government and businesses, Korean batteries are a realistic option that allows them to reduce reliance on China while ensuring quality.

This market is already moving. 

The transition to electric two-wheelers in India is not just at the policy declaration stage; it is underway as a change in daily transportation. 

In that process, the battery is the component that gets verified first. 

In a market where one fire or one quality issue leads directly to a loss of brand trust, it is a natural trend to see an increase in choices that prioritize trust over price.

The important point is that all this movement is occurring not to replace China, but in a structure where one does not need to assume China's presence. 

The Indian electric two-wheeler market has independent demand that can grow sufficiently without China.

And in this market, Korean batteries are already acting not as a "possibility," but as a realistic solution.

The fact that batteries have found an answer in India first carries great significance. 

It means that India is no longer an experimental market, but one of the few places where the post-China era can be truly implemented. 

However, not all industries can keep up with this pace. 

In the next installment, we will examine an industry that still remains at the questioning stage: semiconductors. Is India an opportunity for semiconductors, or another test bed?