Only days ago, the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) took 40 Indian companies to Europe for “tech days” with Volkswagen Group, MAN and Scania. Stellantis wants a similar engagement, said ACMA director general Vinnie Mehta at the Autocar Professional EV Conclave 2026 on Tuesday.
Mehta described “huge traction” from the Western world to buy more from India, which he suggested could reflect de-risking strategies. The question, he added, is “can we scale up?”
Tier-1 companies, in his assessment, are “global world-class”. Tier-2 is “a huge question mark”. He called that a “very generic statement” and extended it to electronics, “where the basic nuts and bolts are a question mark”.
Earlier in the session, Mehta said he would “like to believe” that Tier-1 suppliers are largely world-class and ready to join the EV supply chain. Supplies to EV makers are still “close to 5 percent” of the industry’s $76 billion, by his account. Small and medium enterprises, which dominate the sector, need “very attractive volumes” before they invest.
Still, he expects “more and more people supplying into the EV ecosystem” as the market deepens. Mehta also urged the industry to examine its supply-chain vulnerabilities “to the raw material level”.