New Delhi: To take a lead in the global EV market, India needs to focus on policy consistency, continued R&D investments, and supply chain localisation, industry leaders emphasised at the ETAuto EV Conclave 2024, held on December 11-12 here.
“Supply chain localisation and development will need to be accelerated to fully utilise the potential of electric mobility,” Shailesh Chandra, President of SIAM and Managing Director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, said.
Industry leaders also highlighted the growing need for charging infrastructure development, and how it must scale in tandem with the increasing number of EVs on the roads.
“Let the UPI movement come in EV charging,” Santosh Iyer, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said.
Acknowledging India’s innovative approach to electric mobility, Georg Enzweiler, Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy in New Delhi, shared how Germany could learn a great deal from India in the area of sustainable mobility.
EV mobility landscape
According to Mahesh Babu, Global CEO, Switch Mobility, in the global EV mobility landscape, India has an opportunity to capture a USD 100 billion opportunity by 2040 and is expected to be among the top four markets for electric vehicles.
Challenges like supply chain constraints, price parity particularly regarding raw materials for batteries, as well as concerns around the recycling and sustainability of battery production, were also highlighted. Leaders explored how automakers can address these issues by investing in research and development.
Dr. Preeti Banzal, Adviser, Scientist G, Office of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said, “India is dependent on others for rare earth elements and critical minerals, we need to reduce this dependency.”
Gopalakrishnan VC, Director for Automotive & EV Sector, Industries Department, Government of Telangana, said, “Infusion of a lot of capital into R&D, focus on supply chain development & workforce availability is required to make India a global EV hub.”
Meanwhile, Gaurav Joshi, Deputy Secretary, Manufacturing Sector, Ministry of Heavy Industries, shared how the next 10 years are going to be challenging in terms of the products to be introduced to the market.
As per Tarun Aggarwal, Head – Engineering, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, as everyone is starting from a clean slate in the EV space – whether it’s a legacy player or a startup – all are at the same starting point, creating a level playing field.
What OEMs need to focus
As OEMs in the industry adopt alternative fuel technologies, Vivek Vikram Singh, MD and Group CEO of Sona Comstar, highlighted the need for a common consensus among OEMs to focus on a single technology. “EV adoption is inevitable. If the industry unites, investment will increase. A consensus on technology is essential to achieve sustainability goals,” he stated.
Deepak Jain, Chairman, Lumax Group, said, “We are aspiring revenue share from sustainable vehicles and green mobility solutions to grow from 3% to 20% in the next 3 years.”
Need for localisation to accelerate EV adoption
Stressing on the need for localisation to accelerate EV adoption, Santanu K, Professor, Center for Automotive Research and Tribology (CART), IIT Delhi, said, “When we can make things in our country, the knowledge base is higher. When people see their livelihoods linked to EV, then adoption will be easier.”
With electrification and softwarization taking the centrestage in the industry, Shankar Venugopal, VP, Mahindra & Mahindra pointed out how cyber security will be the basic hygiene, not just for the premium SDVs but in all segments.
With regulations tightening around emissions and the shift towards zero-emission vehicles, industry leaders underscored the crucial role of innovation and collaboration in accelerating the transition to EVs. It became clear that while there are significant hurdles to overcome, the shift to electrification offers vast potential for automakers, suppliers, and consumers alike.
