India’s EV landscape set to be transformed with key govt. initiatives

NEW DELHI — The rise in EV battery manufacturing, alongside the ‘Make in India’ initiative, will lower manufacturing costs and boost EV sales in the country, according to industry experts.

According to Liz Lee, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, India’s EV landscape is on the cusp of significant growth.

“Government initiatives such as the PLI scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC) and the recent reduction in import duties on EVs under $35,000 to 15 per cent are game changers,” said Lee.

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All this not only opens doors for Tesla but also signals India’s readiness to welcome significant investments and foster a new ecosystem for EVs and their component suppliers.

“It is a clear sign that India’s journey to become a major player in the global EV market is accelerating,” Lee noted.

The EV ecosystem is in a fairly nascent stage.

“While the conventional automobile manufacturing ecosystem is mature, the building blocks for a robust smart car manufacturing ecosystem, from the battery to infotainment to sensors to full ADAS/ADS, beckon,” said Research Vice President Neil Shah.

“This would span from the likes of Qualcomm and MediaTek designing and offering advanced auto components to BlackBerry providing safety and security software, to Foxconn reducing barriers for new entrants to India with its innovative MIH consortium-based ‘localised’ design and manufacturing model,” Shah explained.