TL;DR
India's rapid EV adoption and future growth are threatened by the nation's high dependence on imported raw materials for battery and motor production, creating supply chain vulnerabilities.
While India's electric vehicle (EV) market has seen rapid adoption and significant sales growth in recent years, its continued expansion is heavily dependent on securing raw materials and key components. The country's reliance on imported minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and rare earth elements exposes vulnerabilities in the supply chain, which could potentially slow down India's transition to electric mobility.
EV penetration in India has jumped from 0.5% in 2019-20 to over 6% in the last financial year (2024-25), with total sales reaching approximately 1.5 million units. Projections estimate total EV sales to hit 22 million units within the next decade. However, the supply chain for materials critical to battery production and motor manufacturing remains a crucial challenge.
Industry experts emphasize that addressing these supply chain vulnerabilities is paramount for sustaining India's EV growth trajectory. Without robust domestic sourcing or diversified international agreements for these raw materials, the ambitious targets for EV adoption in India could face significant hurdles.
