Shailesh Chandra Flags Four Imperatives to Take India’s EV Transition to the Next Level

Charging infrastructure, renewable energy integration, skills development and export capability will shape the next phase of India’s EV transition, SIAM President and Managing Director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Shailesh Chandra said at the SIAM's 5th Global Electric Mobility Summit, outlining the priorities required to move electric mobility from early adoption to scale.

While India’s electric vehicle market has gathered adoption across categories, he however cautioned that the next leg of growth will depend on how quickly the ecosystem addresses structural gaps beyond vehicle launches and incentives.

Chandra said charging infrastructure remains the most immediate constraint. “First is infrastructure must gain ambition. Public charging networks across highways, cities, and rural corridors must be ubiquitous and reliable,” he said, adding that private capital will flow only when long-term use cases and cost recovery models are clear. He stressed that coordination on planning and standards will be critical to accelerate deployment.

Electrification, Chandra noted, cannot be viewed in isolation from the energy system. How the share of renewable sources increases will be critical as the scale gathers speed.

“Energy sustainability cannot be an afterthought. Electrification achieves its full societal value only when paired with greener grid and renewable energy integration,” he said, pointing out that India’s expanding renewable capacity strengthens the life-cycle emissions case for EVs while also reducing dependence on energy imports.

The third pillar, according to Chandra, is human capital. “Skilled development should match the technological transformation,” he said, noting that electrification introduces new areas of expertise spanning factory engineering, power electronics and software integration. Ensuring workforce readiness will be essential as vehicle architectures evolve.

Export capability is identified as the fourth critical lever. Chandra said India is increasingly being viewed as a global manufacturing base not only for internal combustion vehicles but also for electric vehicles and components, with international OEMs positioning India as a strategic production and export hub.

The imperatives come at a time when India’s EV adoption, while growing rapidly, remains uneven across segments. The country registered about 22.5 lakh electric vehicles in 2025, driven largely by two-wheelers and three-wheelers, while penetration in passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles continues to trail global averages.

Addressing infrastructure, energy, skills and exports in parallel will determine whether India merely follows the global electrification curve or emerges as a competitive EV manufacturing and export centre in the coming decade.