Experts say India's EV momentum will grow despite major challenges

Government schemes such as the PM E-Drive initiative, with allocations of around Rs 2,000 crore for charging points deployment, are helping accelerate rollout

Range anxiety, inadequate charging infrastructure, charger uptime and maintenance gaps, battery degradation worries, evolving safety standards, and high utilisation stress in commercial vehicles remain real challenges for India’s electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem. Yet industry leaders said strong unit economics, rising penetration, improving technology, and supportive policy momentum give them confidence that electrification will only accelerate from here on.

 

During a panel discussion titled Smoothing the EV transition, moderated by Business Standard’s Deepak Patel, at the Manthan 2026 summit, VinFast India Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tapan Ghosh, Euler Motors Founder and CEO Saurav Kumar, and Bolt.Earth CEO Raghav Bharadwaj made it clear that while execution challenges persist, the direction towards electrification is unmistakable. 

Ghosh pointed to the numbers. Over the past six years, EVs in India have grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 63 per cent, he said. “I am more hopeful that it is real growth and that it is sustainable,” he said, adding that once the industry resolves current hindrances collectively, “we will reach an inflection point, and then it is going to boom”.

 

In cars, penetration has doubled from about 2 per cent two years ago to 4 per cent last calendar year. Monthly volumes have risen from 5,000-6,000 units to around 17,000 units, with annual registrations touching roughly 177,000 units. The shift, he noted, has come quickly, and momentum remains strong.

 

Kumar said electrification in commercial vehicles is less about sentiment and more about economics. “I think vehicle electrification will happen. The only question is at what pace,” he said.

 

Data from the segment, he argued, show electrification rates remain high irrespective of goods and services tax (GST) changes, which have made vehicles run on diesel and petrol cheaper -- or shifts in subsidies. EVs can now be built at a similar price point to internal combustion engine models while delivering comparable value, he said.

 

Charging infrastructure is scaling up, competition among OEMs is rising, and customers are being nudged with more incentives. “The rate of electrification might change but I think we will meet three years down the line and be surprised by the numbers that we will see,” Kumar said.

 

Bharadwaj placed his confidence in both economics and consumer behaviour. “I have no doubt that India will transition and hit its climate goals by 2030,” he said.

 

Indian consumers, he added, are extremely smart and respond to hard numbers. It is difficult to beat the unit economics of driving an EV. While the total cost of ownership (TCO) may be slightly higher at present, he expects battery technology improvements to sharply reduce costs over time. He said alternative technologies, such as hydrogen, may be discussed, but electricity already has one key advantage: it is widely distributed and available across the country.

 

Yet all three acknowledged that optimism does not erase structural challenges.

 

For cars, Ghosh identified charging infrastructure as the most significant source of customer anxiety. It is not just about increasing the number of charging stations, he said, but ensuring they function reliably, are properly maintained, and offer a seamless experience. Range anxiety, though easing with improving battery technology, still lingers in consumers’ minds.

 

Ghosh noted that EV ranges today are significantly higher than they were three or four years ago, citing models offering over 500 km on a single charge in the ₹25 lakh price bracket.

 

Battery life and long-term ownership costs also remain concerns. OEMs, Ghosh argued, have a responsibility to mitigate these anxieties through longer warranties and service support. He cited examples such as 10-year battery warranties and free maintenance packages to reassure buyers. Expanding service access beyond metros is equally important. While most OEMs naturally focus on metro and Tier-I markets, Tier-II and Tier-III cities present growing opportunities. Innovative approaches, such as tying up with third-party workshops for minor repairs, can help address customer concerns in these regions.

 

In the commercial vehicle space, Kumar said range anxiety plays out differently. Vehicles are driven intensively -- often 100-120 km daily -- quickly accumulating 100,000 km in three to four years. That makes battery degradation, thermal stress and powertrain durability central to product design. He said Euler Motors invested early in liquid-cooled battery technology in 2021 to reduce thermal stress and extend battery life from three to four years to potentially seven or eight years.

 

The company introduced a 200 km range in the cargo segment to address operational anxiety and backed its vehicles with warranties of up to seven years or 200,000 kilometres. Today, it is working towards 10-year battery life cycles in commercial use cases, which are significantly more demanding than passenger vehicles due to consistently high throttle usage.

 

Kumar stressed that EV standards and testing frameworks are still evolving from legacy internal combustion norms. Batteries, electronics, and powertrains change how vibration, thermal stress, and overload must be evaluated. While the government has updated safety and degradation norms multiple times, OEMs must think beyond three- or five-year warranty cycles, especially when customers’ livelihoods depend on vehicle uptime. He described rigorous internal testing, including extreme vibration and overload scenarios, to ensure early detection of failures, noting that in electric commercial vehicles, issues in batteries or motors tend to show up quickly if the design is flawed.

 

On the charging side, Bharadwaj said India’s vehicle mix must shape infrastructure strategy. Nearly 90 per cent of vehicles sold are two- and three-wheelers, and charging networks initially focused on this segment. Four-wheelers are now scaling rapidly. Importantly, he said, only about 10 per cent of charging happens in public settings and most vehicles charge at home or at workplaces. Public charging plays a crucial role in emergency and fleet scenarios.

 

Government schemes, such as the PM E-Drive initiative, with allocations of around ₹2,000 crore for charging points deployment, are helping accelerate rollout. However, Bolt.Earth CEO identified maintenance and uptime as the single biggest hindrance. Chargers that are deployed but poorly maintained become non-performing assets. Building a reliable charging ecosystem requires trained technicians, operational workforce depth and consistent service standards, not just installation numbers.