The industry captains included Ather Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tarun Mehta, River Mobility cofounder and CEO Aravind Mani, Euler Motors founder and CEO Saurav Kumar, Matter founder and CEO Mohal Lalbhai, and Raptee cofounder and CEO Dinesh Arjun.
“New-age, pure EV businesses are leading with investment, capacity creation, and jobs generated, and are now rapidly becoming the largest players in each segment. We had a productive discussion on how bringing new-age businesses within the ambit of PLI schemes can truly fast track this even further, particularly exports, and give them the much-needed boost and, more importantly, a level playing field,” Mehta said on a social-media platform.
He added that the conversation extended to how India’s new-age deep-tech companies were among the largest investors in research and development (R&D) and manufacturing.
The minister said in a social-media post later in the day: “Industry leaders openly shared their views and appreciated the PM E-DRIVE (PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement) and PLI auto projects implemented under his (the Prime Minister’s) visionary leadership. I have informed him that the government will extend full support to building a robust, innovative, globally competitive EV ancillary system in the country.”
This comes as an Equirus Capital report on Sunday highlighted the auto sector also witnessed a fresh wave of investment. Companies raised over ₹3,500 crore in the past four months.
India’s automobile sector continued to attract a strong investor interest alongside resilient retail demand and accelerating EV adoption, with recent capital raising, strategic acquisitions, and expansion plans highlighting confidence in the industry’s long-term growth prospects, according to the report.
The report said improving demand across vehicle segments, rising rural participation, supportive policy measures, and sustained deal activity continued to strengthen the sector’s outlook.
Recent months have witnessed a series of strategic transactions across the automobile ecosystem.
Craftsman Automation raised around ₹2,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP), with the proceeds earmarked largely for debt reduction and capacity expansion.
Ola Electric Mobility mobilised nearly ₹780 crore through a QIP to strengthen its balance sheet, expand manufacturing, and support future growth initiatives.
Bengaluru-based EV manufacturer Simple Energy raised around ₹250 crore through a Series B funding round to scale up production, while JBM Ecolife Mobility secured approximately ₹750 crore in strategic funding to expand its operational electric bus fleet from around 3,400 buses to nearly 5,000 buses over the next 12 months.
In addition, Rane (Madras) entered into an agreement to acquire Hindustan Composites’ friction business for around ₹370 crore, while Sona BLW Precision Forgings approved about ₹63 crore in capital expenditure to diversify into robotics components manufacturing.
“Together, these developments underscore continued investor confidence across OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), EV manufacturers, and auto ancillary companies,” the report added.
 "EV industry leaders with Heavy Industries Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy on Saturday")