India’s Electric Car Market is expected to see continued growth, with the country’s battery electric passenger car market projected to reach around 1.8 lakh to 1.9 lakh units in 2026, according to experts from the electric mobility and battery industry.
The forecast comes as India’s EV ecosystem moves beyond early adoption and increasingly focuses on battery manufacturing, supply-chain localisation, charging infrastructure and total cost of ownership.
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The projections were shared during an industry roundtable held in Pune on October 5, ahead of The Battery Show India 2026. The discussion brought together experts and companies from the EV, battery manufacturing, automation and energy-storage sectors.
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India’s Electric Passenger Car Market Continues to Grow
According to Prajyot Sathe, Research Director – Mobility – Electric Vehicles at Frost & Sullivan, India’s battery electric passenger car market stood at approximately 178,000 units in 2025, compared with around 99,000 units in 2024.
Sathe expects the market to reach approximately 180,000–190,000 units in 2026. Looking further ahead, annual passenger EV sales could reach around 1.5 million units by 2032, indicating the potential for a much larger role for electric cars in India’s passenger vehicle market.
The development of the passenger EV segment is part of a broader evolution in India’s Electric Car Market. According to the discussion, adoption has progressed from electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers towards light commercial vehicles and buses, while passenger cars are developing at a later stage.
Battery Technology and Localisation to Become More Important
The next phase of India’s Electric Car Market growth is expected to depend heavily on battery technology, domestic manufacturing and charging infrastructure.
Sathe said LFP has emerged as the dominant battery chemistry, while sodium-ion, lithium-sulphur and solid-state batteries are being explored for the next four to six years.
Battery component localisation is currently estimated at around 50–60% and could increase to approximately 80–90% over the next five to six years. However, battery and power electronics localisation is expected to remain below 60%, highlighting the need for deeper domestic manufacturing capabilities.
The focus is therefore shifting from simply increasing EV sales to developing a stronger domestic value chain covering batteries, components, power electronics and charging infrastructure.
EV Adoption Shifting Towards Total Cost of Ownership
The industry discussion also highlighted a change in how electric vehicles are being adopted, particularly in commercial applications.
Suyog Keluskar, Senior Director at 1Lattice, said EV adoption is increasingly moving from a vehicle-focused story towards a wider national infrastructure opportunity. He noted that one in eight vehicles retailed in August 2026 was electric, while electric commercial vehicles more than doubled their share to 5.18% in a year.
According to Keluskar, this indicates that fleet operators are increasingly evaluating electric vehicles based on total cost of ownership rather than subsidies.
The same discussion highlighted the expected growth in advanced battery demand. Industry estimates indicate that advanced cell demand could rise from around 28 GWh in 2025 to approximately 272 GWh by FY30. At the same time, the grid could require around 236 GWh of battery storage by FY32, while domestic cell production remains close to 1 GWh.
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Battery Energy Storage Could Become Another Major Growth Area
The growth of renewable energy is also increasing the importance of battery energy storage systems (BESS). Companies operating in this space expect demand from grid-scale projects, commercial and industrial applications, EVs and renewable-energy integration to increase over the coming years.
Replus Engitech said it is currently deploying 1.2 GWh across various applications, including solar-plus-storage, standalone BESS and round-the-clock power projects. The company currently has 1 GWh of plant capacity and plans to scale this to 6 GWh, with the additional facility expected to become operational from January 2027.
Meanwhile, automation companies are also seeing rising demand as battery manufacturing expands in India. Patil Automation said around 30–35% of smaller battery components are already manufactured domestically, with this share expected to increase to 70–80% in the coming years.
What This Means for India’s EV Industry
India’s Electric Car Market is entering a phase where vehicle sales are only one part of the larger transition. The latest projections suggest that battery electric passenger car sales could reach 1.8–1.9 lakh units in 2026, while the longer-term opportunity could be substantially larger.
At the same time, rising battery demand, greater localisation, BESS deployment and manufacturing automation will determine how quickly India can build a self-reliant electric mobility and energy-storage ecosystem.
The Battery Show India 2026 will bring together companies and industry stakeholders from across this value chain, as India’s Electric Car Market continues to expand alongside battery manufacturing and energy-storage demand. The fourth edition is scheduled to take place from October 22 to 24 at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, alongside the Renewable Energy India Expo and Energy Storage Summit India.
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AID Editorial Desk covers the latest automotive news, car and bike launches, EVs, technology, buying guides and motorsport for Auto India Daily.