Mercedes-Benz India managing director and chief executive Roland Folger is urging the Indian government to rethink its push to make the entire automotive industry electric by 2030. The Indian automotive industry was taken by surprised last year when the Narendra Modi run government announced its goal. The Economic Times has reported that there has been criticism from many automotive companies and related industries that this plan has not been thought out and is not economically or technologically feasible.

Siam has hinted that it will not make the switch to electrification, especially not all-electric. Maruti Suzuki stated that it was surveying the market to determine the viability of electric vehicles. Mercedes was the most vocal in its opposition, with Folger stating that “by 2040, the whole world will be driving home hydrogen cars. To me, the whole plan to go electric nationwide looks like a rushed with idea.” Mercedes is most concerned about the lack of infrastructure and the fact that with “the current coal-based power generation model, this would be more polluting as demand for electricity will jump manifold.”

Folger also questioned what would happen to the investments that many auto manufacturers had made into other technologies, such as hydrogen. He stated that “Our planners should know that over the next two decades or so the whole world will be driving hydrogen cars and not electric cars.”