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Volkswagen's Skoda sees an opportunity to launch hybrid cars in India to expand its fuel choices for consumers and cut emissions, Skoda Auto's CEO said in New Delhi on Tuesday. Skoda already has four models in India, including SUVs and sedans, but this is the first time the carmaker is considering bringing hybrid cars to the South Asian nation. "We also have something in between battery electric vehicles and purely combustion engine cars," Klaus Zellmer told a conference, adding that the hybrid choice should be available.

Hybrids offer better fuel savings than gasoline models as they operate on both electric motors and combustion engines. Toyota is a global leader in sales of hybrid cars and also sells them in India, along with partner Maruti Suzuki. India's federal sales tax on EVs is just 5%, while the levy on hybrids is as high as 43%, close to the 48% for petrol cars. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government aims for 30% of all vehicle sales to be electric by 2030, from 2% last year. Other carmakers are also looking at hybrids.

Hyundai Motor is evaluating plans to launch its first hybrid car in India as early as 2026, and Mahindra said in May it was "closely looking at" hybrid technology. Zellmer stressed the need for policy to be stable in India. "We are fully committed to India's transformation to electric mobility... We want to be seen as the best selling EU brand in India, by the end of this decade, we're going to do that in a sustainable fashion," he said.