09-06-2025
Tata, Mahindra driving EV surge in India. Will global giants plug in?
Indian drivers seem to have acquired a taste for electric vehicles — the share of EVs in overall car sales is gradually increasing, and two Indian carmakers hold more than half of this share. From 2.6 per cent of the total passenger cars sold in May 2024, the share of EVs crossed the four per cent mark for the first time in May 2025, according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers IS BEHIND THE EV PUSH?The EV market is mostly driven by three major automobile manufacturers that together hold 87.4 per cent of the market share. In May 2025, Tata Motors had the highest share at 35.4 per cent, JSW MG Motors had a 30.6 per cent share, and Mahindra & Mahindra held 21.4 per cent of the EV market share. Notably, Maruti Suzuki, the biggest carmaker in India, is not in the EV race. In contrast, JSW MG Motors is not focusing on internal combustion engine car sales.
Given the limited car choices for Indian consumers, will this rise attract foreign carmakers like Tesla? If so, will that be more beneficial for customers, or a bigger threat to domestic carmakers, or both?Speaking to India Today, FADA President CS Vigneshwar said the group welcomes the entry of leading global EV original equipment manufacturers like Tesla as a 'critical catalyst for expanding consumer choice and elevating technology benchmarks within India's rapidly electrifying passenger-vehicle market'.advertisementHe added that any new entrant seeking sustainable success must adopt an India-centric strategy: invest in local research and development, manufacturing, and supply-chain ecosystems; understand price-sensitive Indian consumers; and align product portfolios with the real-world needs of the country's diverse IN INDIAUnder the new EV policy aimed at promoting Make in India, foreign carmakers will have to establish local production units to benefit from India's import subsidy regime, without which, they will incur a 70 per cent customs global companies like Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen have shown interest in the Indian EV market and are exploring possibilities under the new scheme to invest in local production. Tesla, which was in talks about setting up production in India, is now only looking to expand Watch
