Skateboard EVs and Conversion Architectures: Navigating India’s Electrified Future with Flexible Platforms

India's electric vehicle market is growing at a tremendous pace, and EV sales set a new record in FY 2025. Basis VAHAN data, a total of 107,541 4-wheeler EVs were sold in the year, an 18% increase over the year before. It is all the more important to find alternative ways to address diversified customer needs.

In the current fast-paced scenario, technology trends can actually turn dramatically. The uncertainty makes it all the more important for manufacturers to be flexible and to take approaches that not only address immediate demand but also have the flexibility to evolve further.

In driving India towards an electrified future, organizations have to find the balance between proven approaches and forward-looking flexible designs.

Two Paths, One Destination: An Overview of ICE-Converted and Skateboard EVs
ICE-to-EV conversions include retrofitting the established ICE vehicle platforms with electric powertrains. This allows the manufacturers to ride on proven manufacturing bases, thus lowering development expenditures and launching products to market in a timely manner.

Automakers can bring electric versions of cars to the market through existing supply chains and tried-and-tested vehicle platforms, which allows them to do so without the need to undertake full redesigns of the manufacturing facilities employed in EV cars.

On the other hand, skateboard EVs are tailored with a particular design. These bespoke design enable the accommodation of battery, motors, and fundamental components in a flat platform. This arrangement enables improved weight balance, strength, and efficient use of space.

Skateboard EVs enable manufacturers to have a lot of flexibility in battery packs and motor arrangements. This gives the manufacturers flexibility to design EVs with various drivetrain configurations, including front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive.

This approach offers a tremendous number of battery capacities, which enables the offering of a tremendous number of options to meet various consumer requirements.

Bridging the Gap with Hybrid and Multi-Powertrain Solutions

Apart from these two approaches, there is growing interest in flexible, hybrid platforms that allow bridging gaps and allow customers and producers to transition gradually to pure BEVs.

This is leading producers to look for new platforms, which can support different powertrain options. Manufacturers are doing this by combining the efficiency and environmental benefits of BEVs with the added versatility of the likes of Range-Extended EVs (REEVs) or Plug-in Hybrid EVs (PHEVs). While these solutions are hybrid, they offer a balanced approach that can be further fine-tuned to meet varied consumer needs.

Designing vehicles that are easily convertible to future energy storage technology or alternative propulsion systems is likely the best means for manufacturers to future-proof themselves.

In doing so, an OEM can protect its upfront investment because the platform can be created and tweaked without extreme redesigning. Most importantly, such a plan not only addresses today's changing market needs but sets the industry up to embrace innovation in this space.

Conclusion: A Call for Continuous Evaluation and Adaptation
We are in the golden age of the evolution of technology. Today, more than any time in the past, technology is enabling virtually anything the mind can conceive. As a result, in a fast-paced environment, it is only natural to move away from the proverbial “all eggs in one basket” approach.

Embracing flexibility not only makes better economic sense but also accelerates the evolution of technology by getting products to market faster.

India's EV growth reflects this very mindset. It relies on manufacturers providing a wide variety of products across various price points. In this landscape, ICE conversions and skateboard EVs are parallel solutions that make electrification scalable and inclusive, but the unpredictability of technology evolution requires continuous assessment and accepting multi-powertrain solutions.

This enables manufacturers to strategically expand their portfolio, trading costs for innovation to achieve greater adoption levels. In addition to accelerating EV adoption, this forward-thinking approach makes India's mobility ecosystem more sustainable and scalable over the long run.

Anand Kulkarni is the Chief Products Officer, Head of HV Programs and Customer Service at Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. Views expressed are the author's personal.