Senior executives from India’s automotive industry gathered at the Hyatt Regency Delhi for Autocar Professional’s India EV Conclave, calling for greater policy clarity, charging infrastructure investment, and a technology-agnostic approach to meet the country’s electric mobility goals.
Speaking at a panel discussion titled “Will Policy Clarity and Industry Collaboration be the Real Driver of India’s EV Transition?”, industry leaders acknowledged the progress made in recent years but stressed that significant challenges remain in scaling up electric vehicle adoption beyond the current penetration levels.
India’s EV market has grown substantially, with overall EV penetration reaching approximately 6-7% in PV, nearly tripling in two years. However, two-wheelers and three-wheelers account for 94% of total EV sales, as the four-wheeler segment continues to lag.
Rajeev Chaba, Advisor at JSW MG Motor India, noted that while EV penetration has reached around 5% [in PVs], the country could do significantly better. “We are good at making headlines but true monitoring and implementation is the key,” Chaba said, emphasizing that EVs are not the only short-term solution and that various powertrain technologies need to be considered.
Rahul Bharti, Senior Executive Director of Corporate Affairs at Maruti Suzuki India, offered a measured perspective on India’s EV journey. “India frustrates you in the short term but pleasantly delights you in the long term. This is a stage where the foundation is being built,” Bharti said. He pointed to Suzuki Motor Corporation’s decision to make India a global EV manufacturing hub instead of producing EVs in Japan as evidence of the country’s potential.
The panelists were unanimous in their call for improved charging infrastructure, particularly in urban centers. Chaba emphasized that the government needs to incentivize charge point operators to set up capacity, while Bharti warned against overambitious infrastructure deployment. “If you become too ambitious and put infra in highways where the utilisation is less, sooner or later it will backfire,” Bharti cautioned, noting that current charging station operators face very low capacity utilization.
By December 2024, India had grown its public charging station network to 25,202 stations, with Karnataka leading at 5,765 stations, followed by Maharashtra with 3,728 and Uttar Pradesh with 1,989. Despite this growth, industry executives stressed the need for a more strategic, granular approach to infrastructure deployment focused initially on urban areas with high utilization potential.
Vikram Gulati, Country Head and Executive Vice President at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, expressed disappointment about the lack of focus on research and development. “When we started out, R&D was given primary focus. Demand interventions can only kick start a segment but supply side interventions, charging infra, and R&D will help in the long term,” Gulati said.
He also highlighted the vulnerability of India’s supply chain to geopolitical risks. “In future there could be the possibility of denial of parts, raw material due to geopolitical issues. It’s about collaboration and core R&D. This can’t be done by the government alone,” Gulati warned.
The executives also called for consistency in policy formulation. Vinkesh Gulati, Chairperson of the Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC), noted that inconsistent policies leave consumers confused and hamper adoption. Bharti emphasized the need for a flexible, de-risking approach given geopolitical uncertainties, suggesting that India should keep options open for various technologies including hydrogen.
On the energy front, Nitin Sheth, CEO of New Mobility at Reliance Industries, predicted that the EV industry would follow a trajectory similar to the telecom sector. “The EV industry will become agnostic to hardware over next 6-7 years, it will be about who is giving better energy,” Sheth said. He called for government focus to shift from incentives to structural enablers such as modernizing the grid and linking solar power to reduce energy costs.
The panel also highlighted the often-overlooked issue of workforce skilling. Vinkesh Gulati revealed that ASDC started working on EV skilling five years ago but that both government and OEMs treat skilling as an afterthought. “Unless aftermarket technicians are not trained, we will see resistance toward adoption of EVs,” he warned, suggesting that all OEMs should allocate 50% of their CSR funds toward skilling initiatives.
Despite the challenges, the panelists expressed optimism about India’s EV future. Gulati defended the current 5% adoption rate, saying it “should be celebrated rather than looked down upon in a country like India.” The consensus was clear: while policy support through schemes like FAME II has provided a foundation, the next phase of India’s EV transition will require better execution, strategic infrastructure investment, consistent policies, and greater industry collaboration.