Exclusive: India Set To Become A Strategic V2X Tech Market: Qualcomm

India is set to become one of Qualcomm Technologies’ key markets for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology after the government’s decision to delicense the 5.9 GHz spectrum for connected vehicle communications, according to the company.

In an exclusive conversation with Autocar Professional, Hagai Zyss, Vice President of Product Management at Qualcomm Technologies and former CEO of Autotalks, said the regulatory move clears an important hurdle for the rollout of V2X in India and creates the foundation for wider adoption across the automotive industry.

Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology allows vehicles to communicate directly with each other by sharing information such as their location, speed, direction and braking status. Qualcomm says this helps drivers and vehicle safety systems detect potential hazards that may be hidden behind large vehicles, buildings or around blind corners.

“The spectrum has now been given for safety applications, and that sends a strong message to the industry. Safety technologies should be democratised, and the delicensing allows the ecosystem to move forward,” Zyss said.

Qualcomm expects passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles to lead the first phase of V2X adoption in India, with two-wheelers and three-wheelers expected to follow over time.

According to Zyss, India’s traffic conditions make it an ideal market for the technology.

“India has a very different mobility environment compared to other regions. If you solve the India problem, you can probably solve any problem,” he said, adding that Qualcomm expects to adapt its V2X solutions for local traffic conditions and use cases while leveraging its engineering presence in the country.

Globally, V2X has already entered the commercialisation phase. Zyss said the technology has been deployed in more than one million Toyota vehicles in Japan, around four million Volkswagen Group vehicles in Europe and millions of vehicles in China, with several additional vehicle programmes expected to launch globally between 2027 and 2029.

Looking ahead, Qualcomm said the next phase for India will depend on collaboration between automakers, suppliers and policymakers to accelerate adoption.

“We call upon all our partners here in India to join forces and introduce this life-saving technology into vehicles. It can create a significant improvement in road safety because of India’s unique mobility environment,” Zyss said.