Good morning. It’s going to be a busy news week. Donald Trump was just sworn in as the 47th US president, and he’s already signed a raft of executive orders and rescinded dozens of Biden-era directives. FT experts will break down what his second term means at a subscriber-only webinar on Thursday — don’t miss it.
Also busy this week is Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, who is hosting a big inauguration dinner for Trump. Meanwhile in India, his company is hoping for a temporary reprieve from proceedings against it by the country’s competition watchdog.
But first, electric vehicles are all the rage at this year’s auto expo, even if they are hard to spot on our roads.
Turbo-charged
Electric vehicles are getting a big push at this year’s Bharat Mobility Global Expo (previously, auto expo). The Indian auto industry’s biggest show kicked off with the prime minister on Friday making the case for “economy and ecology”, highlighting the government’s focus on the development of green technologies and reducing the import bill for fossil fuels.
In March 2024, the government unveiled policies aimed at promoting India as a manufacturing destination for EVs. Companies investing $500mn in production facilities in the country are allowed to import electric cars as “completely knocked down kits” (where all the parts of the car are imported and assembled locally) at a reduced customs duty of 15 per cent (from 70 per cent) for five years. Many Indian states have also announced their own incentive schemes for EV manufacturers.
Over the weekend, several companies unveiled their EV offerings for India. Chinese carmaker BYD launched its electric sport utility vehicle, Sealion 7; Vietnam’s VinFast announced it would be launching two electric SUVs later this year; and homegrown Maruti Suzuki launched an electric version of its Vitara model, among others.
While two and three-wheelers have witnessed consumer enthusiasm, the same cannot be said for cars. The government is hoping EVs will constitute 30 per cent of passenger cars in India by 2030, but they only have about 2 per cent market share now.
Battery life and charging infrastructure continue to be a significant problem. It takes nearly a day to charge a car from an AC socket. While companies do install wall box chargers, they are often vulnerable to theft. In urban India’s unpredictable traffic and road conditions, range anxiety is a real issue. Access to charging points on highways is almost non-existent, making EVs a consideration for a second car in the household at best.
This is a bit of a chicken and egg situation for the industry. Car sales have to cross a certain threshold for manufacturers to invest more in the charging infrastructure but the poor charging infrastructure is a deterrent for higher sales. Indian customers are still following a wait and watch approach. While the government’s EV push for manufacturing will drive investment and employment, it should also augment the charging infrastructure in order to make private investments in manufacturing a feasible option.
Do you own an EV? Tell me what your experience has been. Write to me at [email protected] or hit reply.
More news you should know
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Donald and Melania Trump have launched rival memecoins. The value of the president’s memecoin soared to more than $14bn over the weekend, before sinking following the launch of his wife’s.
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TikTok went dark, then partially came back on in the US. Also, meet Stanford-grad Charlwin Mao, the founder of Red Note, the app TikTokers are fleeing to.
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Citigroup is facing a €59mn lawsuit for allegedly provided “misleading” and “inaccurate” advice.
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India’s Gukesh Dommaraju played and won his first competitive game as world chess champion — but only after surviving a totally lost position.
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US regulators have sued Pepsi for providing exclusive discounts to Walmart.
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Rich bosses are increasingly isolated from the less well-off at work and that’s not good news.
Meta worse
This is a big week for Meta. In the US, Mark Zuckerberg is busy currying favour with the new administration, hosting a black-tie dinner for Donald Trump’s inauguration after ending fact-checking on Facebook and Meta’s diversity initiative. In India, on Thursday, an appeals tribunal will decide whether Meta gets some reprieve from a $24.5mn fine and stringent conditions that India’s anti-monopoly watchdog has imposed.
In November, the Competition Commission of India asked WhatsApp to stop sharing user data for advertising with other Meta entities, such as Facebook and Instagram, for a period of five years. This was after the agency’s 2021 review raised concerns that users of the messaging app could not meaningfully opt-out from their model of data sharing across platforms. The social media giant has reportedly claimed the order will force it to roll back or pause some of its services in India.
India is WhatsApp’s largest market, with nearly 500mn users, and with digital payments and ecommerce it is now more than just a messaging platform. Meta’s advertising business model hinges on accessing users’ phone numbers, transaction data and other behavioural and device information. Internet companies make it seem like personalised advertisement is a good thing for users, when in reality it is a better thing for themselves. The CCI is taking up the fight to say that just because I discussed buying a pair of shoes with a friend, I shouldn’t have to suffer being stalked by photos of those shoes on Instagram and Facebook. I, for one, am glad they have my back.
Go figure
Trump’s inauguration committee has raised record breaking funds, with tech giants and corporate leaders from around the world contributing generously. Here’s how this year’s compares to past events. (statistica.com)
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My mantra
I think it’s critical to be able to multi-task, but understand what you’re doing with full application of mind. Multi-tasking and jumping into calls is not good, multi-tasking with involvement is very critical, as is prioritisation of urgent and important matters. On top of this is client-centricity, client obsession, and client servicing. If we do that right, and if we keep the client at the centre, everything else will fall in line.
— Gautami Gavankar, president, Kotak Mahindra Bank
Each week, we invite a top Indian business leader to tell us their mantra for work and life. Want to know what your boss is thinking? Nominate them by replying to [email protected].
Quick question
Do you think a Trump presidency will benefit India? Take part in our poll here, and tell us why you voted this way at [email protected]
Buzzer round
On Friday we asked: What are adventure enthusiasts fuelling themselves with in order to be able to summit Mount Everest in one week?
The answer is . . . xenon. After inhaling a xenon blend formulation, you can fly by helicopter to Everest Base camp and start your ascent in less than two hours. (My favourite line in the story: “I’m super-excited to see if we can leave home on a Monday morning, be on the summit of Everest on Thursday night, and make it home for Sunday lunch.”) Why? Why?!
Thank you for reading. India Business Briefing is edited by Tee Zhuo. Please send feedback, suggestions (and gossip) to [email protected].
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