Asian Tech Press (Dec 10) -- South Korea's largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday it plans to invest 40 billion rupees ($530 million) by 2028 to launch six electric vehicles (EVs) in India to promote clean-energy cars in a country with some of the world's most polluted cities.

Reuters reported that Hyundai will launch affordable high-end electric vehicles, including sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and sedans, with its first electric car to be launched in 2022, said Tarun Garg, head of sales and marketing at Hyundai Motor India.

Garg said, "We want to be a key contributor to the EV story in India."

The report noted that stricter emissions regulations set by governments are driving global automakers to invest in electric vehicles. And electric vehicle sales are expected to account for about a quarter of total global vehicle sales by 2030, compared with about 2% today.

Currently, electric vehicles account for less than 1% of total vehicle sales in India, but the Indian government is aiming for a 30% share by 2030.

As Hyundai presents its plans, Tesla, the world's largest EV maker, is also preparing to sell cars in India. And it has been lobbying the Indian government to reduce import duties on electric vehicles.

As India pushes automakers toward electrification to reduce pollution and fuel imports, Hyundai, like local rivals Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, is ramping up its electric vehicle efforts, the report said.

However, the country's largest automaker, Maruti Suzuki, is betting on alternate fuels and hybrid technology and is not expected to start rolling out electric vehicles until 2025.

Hyundai Motor India is in talks with suppliers to locally source and manufacture parts for its EVs, which would help keep EVs price down.