Are EVs built for India? Hyundai tests Creta Electric with 100 creators

For most Indian consumers, the doubts around electric vehicles are not about design or features—they are far more basic: Can an EV really handle Indian roads, which change every few hundred kilometres? And is the charging infrastructure strong enough to support long-distance travel?

These concerns formed the starting point of Test Driven by 100, a creator-led road journey featuring the Hyundai Creta Electric that set out to test those assumptions.

Conceptualised by Innocean India and executed by Mad Influence, the campaign took a single Creta Electric across more than 20 states, covering nearly 15,000 kilometres as it moved from one creator to another, eventually reaching Srinagar. Instead of relying on automotive reviewers, the campaign leaned into everyday creators to document what living with an EV actually looks like across India.

Why non-automotive creators

According to Gokulakrishnan Pillai, head of content and innovations at Innocean India, the decision to avoid auto influencers was intentional.

“We wanted real-time reviews from real creators – regional voices from different walks of life. People who were passionate about their own content categories, not necessarily cars,” he says.

The idea was to place the EV within familiar contexts – food, travel, and lifestyle – rather than position it as a technical product under scrutiny. “We mapped the creators to the kind of content that already performs on Instagram. The EV then became part of their day, not the centre of a scripted review,” Pillai adds.

For Mad Influence, execution was the greatest challenge. The campaign was not shot in phases or pockets – it ran continuously for over 110 days.

“This wasn’t something we could stop and restart,” says Aman Narula, chief operating officer, Mad Influence. “One creator handed over the car to the next. The chain couldn’t break at any point.”

Once the journey began, the team committed to completing every destination on the map before reaching the final stop in Srinagar. Creators were briefed about the unpredictability of timelines and asked to stay flexible.

“They kept buffer days open because sometimes we’d arrive early, sometimes late. Everyone, including creators, brand teams, and our on-ground crews, knew this had to work in real time,” Narula explains.

To keep the content credible, creators were given creative freedom with only basic guardrails in place. Each piece of content was shot independently, reflecting local culture, language, and terrain.

Putting EV fears to the test

As the Creta Electric moved across coastal highways, hilly roads, deserts, and flood-affected routes, the journey directly addressed two of the most common EV concerns.
“The first big myth was range anxiety,” Pillai says. “People didn’t believe an EV could do long-distance travel. This journey showed it could go from one end of the country to the other.”

The second concern was charging access. The journey relied on existing charging infrastructure across states, supported by Hyundai’s dealership network, to keep the vehicle road-ready.

“We wanted to show that India is more EV-ready than people assume,” he adds.
However, the journey was not without its challenges. Teams dealt with extreme weather, difficult terrain, and major disruptions like the Punjab floods, which forced last-minute route changes through Jammu.

“There were moments when we genuinely didn’t know how we’d reach Srinagar,” Narula recalls. “But we were clear—we would do it in the EV itself. The car went through potholes, blockages, and rough terrain without external intervention.”

Apart from a single convoy vehicle for the crew, the drive relied largely on the Creta Electric and backend operational support.

ROI beyond reach

While the campaign generated nearly half a billion views and close to 1,000 pieces of content over four months, both teams say the real return wasn’t just numerical.

“If people are tracking the journey, asking where the car is headed next, and wanting to meet the creators – that’s real engagement,” Narula says. According to him, shares and comments became stronger indicators than impressions alone. “More than two lakh people shared the content. That kind of behaviour shows trust.”

Creta Electric: the vehicle at the centre of Test Driven by 100 is the company’s first locally produced electric SUV for the Indian market, officially launched at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo on January 17, 2025. It arrived with multiple battery options and a claimed range of up to around 470 km on a full charge. Beyond this, Hyundai’s electrified portfolio in India includes premium EVs like the IONIQ 5.

Keeping it unscripted but not unstructured

“The idea was always to keep it organic and authentic and give creators the leverage to tell their stories in real time,” Narula says. “Even the brand was encouraging real, unscripted content.”

That said, the teams did not abandon creators alone. “What we decided was to enable creators to put out better content,” Pillai explains. “Some were already professionals, but others needed support—to improve their narrative, their storytelling, and even their confidence.”

The creators came from different tiers and backgrounds, and the campaign became as much about uplifting creators as it was about showcasing a vehicle. “For some, this association itself was a privilege. And that was reflected in how seriously they took the content.”

Narula adds that while routes and logistics were pre-mapped, content freedom remained intact. “Our responsibility was to make them familiar with what the vehicle offers. Once creators understood how to use them in real situations, the content flowed naturally.”

Digitally, the campaign was a mix of organic reach and selective paid amplification, with stronger-performing reels receiving additional push.

A template for what comes next

Post-campaign, the teams believe they may have set a precedent. “We’ve paved the way for more EV brands to take on similar challenges,” Pillai says. “If this helps clear misconceptions around EVs, that itself is a win.”

Narula sees a broader shift in how mobility brands can work with creators. “People want reality, not just feature breakdowns. Cars are emotional purchases. This campaign showed that you need to connect beyond specs – across regions, cultures, and everyday use.”

The journey wrapped up in Srinagar with a flag-in event attended by Hyundai’s leadership, followed by multiple wrap films and a forthcoming case study.