India’s electric mobility push has reached a stage where the next phase of growth will depend on scale, standards, supply chains and skills, according to Bain & Co Partner Rahul Mishra.
The country had moved from early pilots to proof of concept and was now entering a phase of rapid expansion, Mishra said while at SIAM'S Global Electrification Summit. He said the focus is no longer on whether electric vehicles (EVs) would work in India, but on building a strong and competitive ecosystem around them.
In 2025, EVs accounted for 8% of India’s total vehicle sales, with volumes crossing 2.27 million units. Adoption varied sharply by segment, passenger EV penetration rose to 4%, three-wheelers led the transition with more than 60% penetration, and electric two-wheelers continued to gain ground, reaching 6.3%.
Mishra described the framework as a 'Four S' strategy, which he said would determine how the EV sector evolves in the coming years.
The first element is scale. Mishra said large-scale adoption is critical to bring down costs and make electric mobility viable without heavy support.
The second pillar is standardisation. Mishra said common standards would help build confidence among customers and operators, while also improving ease of use. “The need to drive standardization, and therefore build confidence and build interoperability and instill a lot of confidence with the end users and the broader ecosystems,” he said.
Supply chains form the third part of the strategy. Mishra said India needed to reduce dependence on imports and build more resilient and local supply networks. “The need to build supply chains which are not just global but also resilient significantly and a lot of local dependence and localization over there,” he said.
The fourth pillar is skills. Mishra said the EV transition would require a workforce capable of developing new products, technologies and business models. “Last but not the least, the need to build the ecosystem that has the skills and the capabilities to build the next generation of products and offerings and the business solutions that are needed,” he said.
Mishra said these four areas had become more important as the sector prepares to move away from reliance on subsidies. He flagged challenges such as import dependence, grid readiness and long-term economics as issues that would need to be addressed in the next phase.
He said India’s EV journey so far had been shaped by policy support, strong action from vehicle makers, rapid growth in charging infrastructure and the gradual acceptance of EVs by lenders and investors. Together, these factors had helped the market reach a point where mass adoption was possible.