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Charu Bahri
Charu Bahri

The View | Why India shouldn’t try to shut the door on Chinese EV makers

  • India’s demand for electric vehicles is rising, but geopolitical tensions and national security concerns are limiting Chinese EV makers’ access
  • The Indian port equipment and smartphone industries show how Chinese technology with value to India will find a way in despite these hurdles

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Workers inspect Tata Nexon electric sport utility vehicles at a Tata Motors plant in Pune, India, on April 7, 2022. The electric vehicle market in India is growing rapidly and cost-conscious consumers will be looking to new entrants to rev things up. Photo: Reuters
Charu Bahri
Chinese electric vehicle maker Leapmotor International recently declared its intention to enter the Indian EV market in the fourth quarter of 2024. This move, which will make it the third Chinese EV maker to enter India, is likely to have been prompted by the doubling of sales of battery-based passenger EVs in the country in 2023.
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Production-linked government incentives, the development of supportive infrastructure such as EV charging points and increasing urban consumer interest have been driving the sales of EVs in India.

Dealing with climate change is another motivation, one that has prompted India to sign up for the Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI), a multi-government policy forum to fast track the introduction and adoption of electric vehicles. Thirteen signatory countries have accepted the EVI’s EV30@30 campaign, whereby at least 30 per cent of new vehicle sales should be electric by 2030.

Within India’s passenger vehicle market, which saw nearly 4 million units sold in the last financial year, EVs made up just 2 per cent of overall sales, showing their substantial scope for growth. MG Motor India – the first Chinese EV company to enter the Indian market, and one which has the second-largest share of the country’s passenger EV market – saw 186 per cent year-on-year growth in 2023.

BYD, another Chinese EV maker, launched its first passenger car in India in November 2021. The firm has emerged as the second-fastest growing EV company in the segment, recording 1,538 per cent growth last year.

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‘Overtaking on a bend’: how China’s EV industry charged ahead to dominate the global market

‘Overtaking on a bend’: how China’s EV industry charged ahead to dominate the global market
A report by the New Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative, said earlier this year that every third EV on Indian roads could be made by Chinese firms in the next few years. The big question is whether those vehicles will be made in India or in China, which already accounts for more than half of global EV production.
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