India can seize its automotive potential as customers seek safer, smarter vehicles, companies need faster, cost-efficient development, and long-term success depends on software.
21 Sep 2025 | 9273 Views | By Deepak Samaga, Vayavya Labs
Think about the last time your phone updated overnight and woke up with new features. Automotives are heading the same way. The modern vehicle is more a layered stack of software running on powerful electronics. Navigation learns your routines, energy management squeezes more range from the same battery, and driver-assistance ...
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Think about the last time your phone updated overnight and woke up with new features. Automotives are heading the same way. The modern vehicle is more a layered stack of software running on powerful electronics. Navigation learns your routines, energy management squeezes more range from the same battery, and driver-assistance features quietly get better with each release. Increasingly, the real magic happens after the vehicle leaves the factory.
What’s changing—and how others are moving
The industry is undergoing major changes that are significantly altering its landscape:
Markets are moving fast: Europe, Japan, and Korea have tied approvals to cybersecurity and software-update practices. China has made OTA commonplace and iterates quickly through tight hardware-software integration. US and European brands are reorganizing around software-defined vehicle platforms.
Why this matters for India
India is among the world’s largest passenger-vehicle markets and a two-wheeler powerhouse. Customers here expect connected, safe, and reliable mobility at sharp price points. That puts software at center-stage:
What India has done so far
The direction is positive. Programs encouraging advanced components and electrification have nudged investments. Test infrastructure has grown with national proving grounds and specialized labs. Several OEMs and Tier-1s now run software centres of excellence, and ship connected services at scale. A healthy start up scene is tackling battery intelligence, vision, fleet analytics, and predictive maintenance. It’s a strong base—but industry alignment and pace need to increase.
What can be done
The bottom line
India has the opportunity to capitalize on its potential in the automotive industry. The demand is clear: customers are seeking improved, secure, and intelligent vehicles; companies are in need of quicker and more affordable development; and the key to lasting success lies in software. By aligning efforts between industry, academia, and policymakers, India can revolutionize its vehicle production, and establish a reliable reputation. Now is the time to seize the advantage offered by software technology.
Deepak Samaga is Vice President of Business Development at Vayavya Labs Pvt. Ltd. Views expressed are the author's personal.