The Indian e-vehicle industry is on the verge of making some major strides in localising its battery value chain. “We can look at having a significant localisation in a couple of years. We’ll have cell manufacturing in the next year,” said Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director and CEO, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, speaking at Autocar Professional’s India EV Conclave 2026. The key raw materials may still come from outside, but there are clear signs of progress. “Our whole EV value chain is becoming increasingly localised now.
Certain components like cooling plates and busbars are being made locally,” Chandra continued. “But the cells themselves are still very much imported.” However, the company has made significant progress in localising certain components of the battery packs. Thermal management components like cooling plates and electrical connections like busbars are being manufactured in India. However, it is the cells themselves that are still largely imported. “What is not localised is cell. Within a year we will have cell manufacturing,” Chandra said during a panel session on how to scale up the EV market in India. “And then we will have cathode and anode manufacturing. So we will have localised cell production in two to three years,” he said adding that he was confident the industry would be “heavily localised”.
The localisation of battery cell manufacturing is being driven by increasing investment into the industry by local players and growth in the EV market. This means volumes are increasing and therefore local cell manufacturing can be scaled up. Chandra did however acknowledge that key raw materials will still need to be imported. China has an advantage in the EV space due to its large scale of manufacturing and vertically integrated nature. However, India does have an advantage in low labour and power costs to make local manufacturers more competitive.
Localising battery cell manufacturing will give India more control over its supply chain and reduce reliance on global markets and currency volatility. It will also increase local value addition, create jobs in the manufacturing industry and give automakers more control over their costs in the long term. As cell manufacturing plants begin to be built, localisation of materials will see the industry become more balanced. “We are not going to be completely self sufficient but there will be some real progress over the next few years,” said Chandra. Battery cell manufacturing in India will help position India as a leader in battery manufacturing and give them a solid foundation to help grow the EV industry.