2025 emerged as a turning point for India’s electric vehicle ecosystem, marking a clear shift from early adoption toward consolidation, maturity, and long-term capacity building. Across mobility segments, energy storage, digital platforms, and recycling, the year reflected how the industry is steadily moving from experimentation to scale, driven by policy clarity, localization, and rising consumer confidence.
Neuron Energy – Pratik Kamdar, Co-Founder & CEO, 2025 proved to be a pivotal year for India’s EV and advanced battery ecosystem, with rapid adoption across two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and emerging micro-mobility platforms. Demand for safer, higher-density lithium-ion solutions increased as OEMs moved toward longer-range and smarter vehicles. Although GST on batteries remains higher than on fully built EVs, broader policy support, component price corrections, and improving supply-chain efficiencies helped moderate manufacturing costs. Looking ahead to 2026, deeper localization, stronger R&D, and wider deployment of lithium-ion technologies across mobility and energy applications are expected.
CarWale – Abhishek Patodia, President, The used-car market experienced a mixed year in 2025, marked by both growth and periods of correction. Supply improved as the average age of cars entering the segment reduced to around six to seven years, making newer vehicles more accessible. GST-led price corrections in new cars resulted in a 5–7% softening of used-car prices, impacting dealer margins temporarily. However, the long-term outlook remains positive, with 2026 expected to see stabilized demand, deeper supply, and stronger digital marketplace transparency.
EVeium Smart Mobility – Sameer Moidin, Founder & CEO, 2025 was a defining year for EVeium Smart Mobility as we strengthened our presence in India’s electric two-wheeler segment through localization, product innovation, and partnerships. Manufacturing in India enabled better quality control, cost efficiency, and faster feature integration. Rising demand from Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets shaped our focus on durability and performance. We expanded our supplier ecosystem, enhanced battery and motor capabilities, and improved distribution and service responsiveness. As we move into 2026, our focus remains on scalable growth and rider-centric innovation.
Metastable Materials – Manikumar Uppala, Co-Founder and Chief of Industrial Engineering. By 2025, the EV ecosystem began showing signs of maturity with rising adoption, stronger government support, and increased processing capacity. The National Critical Mineral Mission encouraged the recovery of critical minerals through battery recycling. Amendments to Battery Waste Management Rules and duty rationalization shifted focus toward efficiency, traceability, and process depth. OEMs increasingly prioritised recyclers demonstrating yield certainty and regulatory strength. Looking to 2026, emphasis will be on policy-to-implementation alignment, advanced technology commercialisation, and clearer standards for recycled material use in manufacturing.
One of the most notable trends in 2025 was the rapid adoption of electric mobility across two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and emerging micro-mobility platforms. Demand patterns showed that consumers increasingly preferred longer-range, smarter vehicles with improved safety and performance. This shift pushed manufacturers to adopt higher-density and more reliable lithium-ion battery solutions. While the GST on batteries continued to remain higher than that on fully built EVs, the overall policy framework for EV components, coupled with price corrections in key raw materials and improving supply-chain efficiencies, helped ease cost pressures for manufacturers during the year.
Localization emerged as a central theme across the EV value chain. Manufacturers invested more deeply in domestic sourcing, battery-pack assembly, motor development, and electronics integration. This not only strengthened quality control and reduced dependency on imports but also enabled faster adoption of new features and technologies. The impact of localization was particularly visible in Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets, where demand grew for durable, high-utility electric vehicles designed for Indian road and usage conditions. Improved distribution networks and service responsiveness further helped expand adoption beyond major urban centers.
The used-vehicle segment also experienced an important transition in 2025. Supply conditions improved as the average age of vehicles entering the resale market declined, making relatively newer vehicles accessible to a broader consumer base. However, GST-related price corrections in new vehicles led to temporary softening in used-car prices, affecting dealer margins, especially for older inventory. Despite short-term adjustments, the year reinforced the long-term potential of organized, digital marketplaces in improving transparency, pricing efficiency, and trust between buyers and sellers. These platforms are increasingly seen as critical enablers of a more structured automotive ecosystem.
Another major development in 2025 was the growing maturity of India’s battery and materials ecosystem. With EV adoption rising and domestic processing capacity expanding, attention shifted from volume-driven growth to efficiency, quality, and traceability. Government initiatives such as the National Critical Mineral Mission played a key role by incentivizing recovery of critical minerals from secondary sources like end-of-life batteries. Amendments to Battery Waste Management Rules and rationalization of duties on battery scrap further reinforced the focus on recovery efficiency, material purity, and regulatory compliance.
As the industry looks ahead to 2026, expectations are centered on deeper localization, stronger investments in research and development, and wider deployment of advanced battery technologies across both mobility and stationary energy storage applications. Stakeholders anticipate closer alignment between policy intent and on-ground implementation, along with clearer standards for integrating recycled materials into mainstream manufacturing. Together, these developments are expected to strengthen India’s position as a self-reliant EV and energy storage hub.
Overall, 2025 can be seen as a year of structural strengthening for India’s EV industry. The progress made across batteries, vehicles, digital platforms, and recycling indicates that the ecosystem is no longer driven solely by incentives or novelty but by fundamentals such as efficiency, reliability, and scalability. As India moves into 2026, the foundation laid this year is likely to support more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth for electric mobility nationwide.
