Electric vehicles set to get costlier from next year in India

Most EV makers, especially those of two-wheelers, are currently dependent on imports for their raw materials, with a maximum localisation of 50 per cent

While traditional automakers in India are reeling under a global shortage of semiconductors, the country’s electric vehicle (EV) makers, too, are now facing a shortage of lithium-ion batteries, a key raw material. The soaring prices of metals like lithium, nickel and cobalt, which are the primary constituents of the cell, as well as supply chain bottlenecks, are also pushing up the cost of batteries. 

Battery manufacturers say that prices have been increasing every quarter since the beginning of 2021. Compared to January 2020, cell prices have seen a hike of almost 30 per cent. The cell constitutes 70 per cent of