It could be termed as a fine coincidence that the World EV Day has the EV industry the world over witnessing a fall in battery cell prices below the USD 100 per kWh mark for the first time in two years. The latest average price from the Benchmark Lithium-ion battery cell price assessment is USD 98.3 per kWh approximately and the reason being attributed is the near halving of Lithium prices in China as its economic continues to slowdown. 

For India, which is touted as the world’s fastest growing electric micro mobility market in the world, the news should make the electric vehicle industry happy even though not many would be keen to immediately pass on the benefit to its customers. In India, most electric vehicles feature Lithium-ion battery packs with cells that are sourced from China, Korea or Taiwan. Those that are being made at a very small scale have the material coming from markets such as China where the prices off late have been turning quite lucrative. 

Speaking on the eve of the World EV Day, Sanjay Gopalakrishnan, Senior Vice President of Electric Passenger Vehicle Business at BYD India, said, “Today, as we mark World EV Day, we are celebrating a sustainable future in motion and charging ahead into an electrified era. Let’s embrace the power of electric vehicles to drive positive change for our planet and future generations. With the launch of our #GoGreenWithBYD campaign, we aim to inspire every individual to embrace sustainable lifestyles and contribute to a cleaner, greener future for all.”  

Sameer Agarwal, Founder and CEO, Revfin Services, mentioned, “On this special day, we celebrate not just the technology but the people and communities coming together to create a sustainable tomorrow. At Revfin, we believe that the road ahead is electric, and we're driving change.”  

Sandiip Bhammer, Founder and Co-Managing Partner, Green Frontier Capital, averred, “For India to truly embrace EVs, we must catalyse a nationwide ‘charging revolution’. It's not merely about rolling out electric cars; it's the backbone of power behind them which truly counts. The heart of our modern mobility lies in every strategically placed charging station and every innovative solution we bring to the table. We envision a landscape wherein electric chargers are as commonplace as our current petrol pumps, seamlessly integrated into the rhythm of daily life. It's a dance of technology and infrastructure, a harmony between innovation and tradition. An electrified road is no longer a distant dream, but a reality we must confront. This is the future India not only needs but rightfully deserves.” 

Namit Jain, Co-founder and CEO, Rupyy, said, “As we commemorate World EV Day, we're reminded that we stand at a pivotal juncture akin to the early days of the internet—globally symbolised by Tesla's transformative impact and Europe's robust green policies. In India, the two-wheel electric vehicle sector has exhibited a robust growth of 60 percent in H1CY23, capturing a seven-percent market share from just 1 percent two years prior. While challenges persist—ranging from high initial costs to infrastructural gaps—the landscape is ripe for disruption. One such avenue is the evolving fintech sector, which is playing an increasingly significant role in EV adoption by streamlining financing options. From a 30 percent to 40 percent surge in EV financing penetration in recent months, fintech innovations are effectively democratising access to electric mobility. Supported by government initiatives, technological breakthroughs, and financial ingenuity, we are confident that India is steering towards a sustainable and electrified future.”  

Ketan Mehta, Co-Founder and CEO, HOP Electric Mobility, expressed, “Global climate concerns have been driving nations toward sustainability. India's pledge for carbon neutrality by 2070 spurs interest in New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) like, Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Electric Vehicles (EVs), among other options. Electric Vehicles’ adoption has been gaining traction due to their lower carbon footprint and cost-efficiency. In the first-half of CY-2023, the segment has experienced consistent sales, surpassing the 100,000-unit mark each month according to government estimates. Efforts are also underway to establish a nationwide charging network by the government and companies collaboratively. We are expanding our 'HOP Infinity Energy Network’, which we piloted in Rajasthan. We are now rolling it out to other states.” 

Mayank Bindal, Founder and CEO, Snap E Cabs, averred, “At Snap-E it would be fair to say that the entire company has imbibed the CSR ethos; We believe that solving some of the most pressing transportation problem for our customers in a profitable way and leading the way to help adopt sustainable practices and helping the planet are not two different goals. They are one and the same.” With about 400 plus cabs (all 100 percent EV) in operations, Kolkata based Snap-E is among the largest EV Cab fleet owners in the country. 
Rajat Verma, Founder and CEO, Lohum, said, “Lohum's activities are driving change by building a sustainable supply of energy transition materials. By pioneering solutions that turn EV batteries and critical material waste into virtually infinite value, we pace toward a future that makes full use of its resources and takes accountability for our planet.” 

Narayan Subramaniam, Co-Founder and CEO, Ultraviolette Automotive, mentioned, “Electric mobility in India is on the rise and we at Ultraviolette are proud of our contribution to this transformation with our flagship product - the F77. We believe the value of electric vehicle technology lies not just in functional use case segments but also in exciting, performance driven segments. India is now an emerging leader in the global EV arena demonstrating rapid EV adoption consistently. We applaud the initiatives undertaken by the government and industry to bolster this transition, including the FAME II scheme and the PLI scheme. These policies not only offer financial incentives to manufacturers and buyers but also provide crucial guidance to the ecosystem.” 

Nitin Kapoor, Managing Director, Saera Electric Auto Ltd, expressed, "With 40 different types of vehicles and USD 4.23 billion market value, the Indian EV market stood at 11th position in the world on the readiness index. Thus, there is an urgent need to accelerate the EV transition of the country in line with sustainable development goals. The large market with huge domestic demand augurs a golden future for green mobility in India. Electric rickshaws, which are phenomenal in first and last-mile connectivity in metros and providing affordable commutation to sub-urban and rural populace, can further propel India’s EV industry with government support. The industry seeks a more amicable approach from the government with favourable initiatives like subsidies, lower taxes, simple financing alternatives, development of EV charging infrastructure, and establishment of uniform infrastructure standards. These measures are essential in driving India towards a more sustainable future powered by electric vehicles". 

Ankit Mittal, Co-Founder and CEO, Sheru, said, "India’s EV sales are at a tipping point, with this being the first year that sales of EVs going past the five-percent mark of all vehicles sold. This is an important figure. India’s EV sector has thus crossed its infancy stage and is poised to enter the rapid growth stage. While we look back at what has been achieved with satisfaction, we must also be prepared for what is to come next. If we implement our plans and execute it well, India’s mobility sector will witness a transformation in the coming years. Sheru is leading EV sustainability from the front". 

Ashish Deswal, Founder, EarthtronEV, averred, "With more people shifting to EVs, the Indian electric vehicle market size of USD 4.23 billion in 2023 is expected to grow at a CAGR of 68 percent to reach USD 152 billion by 2030. The country aims to achieve 100 percent electric mobility by 2030, which requires rapid expansion of EV charging infrastructure. Still, the charging infrastructure is not sufficient to provide an adequate pace for mobility transition. Besides, a move towards standardisation of EV charging connectors is necessary to benefit the EV charging industry and accelerate the transition to sustainable transportation".

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JSW MG Motor India, one of the leading passenger vehicle manufacturers, has announced that it has successfully installed 1,000 community chargers under its MG Charge initiative.

Spanning more than 470 sites across India, the milestone makes JSW MG Motor India the first automaker in the country to establish community-led electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure at this scale. The installations are distributed across residential societies, condominiums, hospitals, corporate campuses, hotels and industrial parks.

Alongside the infrastructure announcement, the company revealed that MG-branded electric vehicles have cumulatively travelled over 2.9 billion green kilometres on Indian roads. This collective mileage has offset approximately 417,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Furthermore, JSW MG Motor India has detailed an aggressive product timeline for the remainder of calendar year 2026 (CY2026). The automaker plans to launch three new New Energy Vehicles (NEVs).

This upcoming product push will mark the brand's introduction of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technology to the Indian market. The company noted that its overarching corporate philosophy views India's transition to sustainable transit as a path that can be successfully driven by balancing multiple complementary technologies.

In alignment with national decarbonisation targets, JSW MG Motor India has systematically upgraded its primary manufacturing plant in Halol, Gujarat. The site has achieved significant efficiency metrics through the deployment of Industry 4.0 digitisation and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.

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Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, has announced a major expansion of its renewable energy footprint with two dedicated biogas projects on the occasion of World Environment Day.

The company has earmarked a cumulative investment of INR 9.25 billion through FY 2030–31 toward green energy initiatives to systematically curtail its carbon footprint across in-house manufacturing operations.

The automaker is investing INR 1.5 billion specifically into these two newly detailed biogas developments, aligning its corporate operations with the Government of India's ‘Waste-to-Wealth’ mission.

It has commissioned a new 10 TPD Biogas Plant at Kharkhoda, which is scheduled to be commissioned in FY2026–27. At full operational capacity, the plant is projected to mitigate 9,490 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. The generated biogas will offset fossil fuel reliance by servicing approximately 20 percent of the total gas requirement at the Kharkhoda manufacturing site.

Furthermore, earlier this month, Maruti Suzuki India completed an expansion at its Manesar facility, scaling output from an initial 0.2 TPD to 0.7 TPD. The expanded setup is expected to generate roughly 360,000 standard cubic meters of biogas annually, avoiding an estimated 664 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

The plant leverages anaerobic digestion technology to convert organic and agricultural waste into raw biogas. It uses food waste, napier grass and paddy straw as feedstock, with a technical provision to boost output utilising cattle dung. The output will be directed into paint shop heating processes and factory canteen operations. Fermented Organic Manure (FOM) generated as a byproduct will be routed to internal horticulture or supplied back into the local agricultural ecosystem.

Beyond localised biogas projects, Maruti Suzuki is systematically scaling its solar energy infrastructure to counter liquid natural gas (LNG) volatility and supply constraints. It has progressively expanded its installed solar capacity to 79 MWp across its manufacturing facilities and targets an expansion to 319 MWp of solar-generated renewable energy by FY 2030–31.

The automaker recently replaced natural gas with biogas for approximately 10 percent of the energy requirements at its Hansalpur facility. Supported by SRDI (a wholly owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan), this transition ensured uninterrupted operations during active LNG supply bottlenecks.

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “Maruti Suzuki has been consistently working on initiatives aimed at reducing fossil fuel consumption and oil import dependence. In line with this, we are setting up a new 10 Tonnes Per Day biogas plant at the Kharkhoda facility as well as expanding the existing biogas plant at Manesar facility. At a time when the world is navigating an increasingly uncertain energy landscape, such initiatives assume greater significance. As the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India has called for reducing dependence on fossil fuels, the commissioning of our biogas project comes at an appropriate time. It enables us to contribute, in a modest but meaningful way, to the current national priority alongside several other ongoing efforts.”

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Hyundai Motor India, one of the leading passenger vehicle manufacturers, has announced a long-term strategic commitment to designate the state of Tamil Nadu as its designated ‘Flagship EV Hub for India’. The announcement includes an exclusive skill development partnership alongside manufacturing and supply chain localisation goals.

As part of this roadmap, Hyundai Motor India has reaffirmed its plan to deploy an investment of over INR 260 billion in Tamil Nadu between 2023 and 2032. This allocation is a component of the company's broader, previously declared INR 450 billion investment blueprint for the Indian market. To date, the Chennai facility has exported more than 3.9 million vehicles to over 150 countries.

The manufacturing hub will scale zero-emission capabilities via immediate product rollouts and component localisation:

• Product Rollout: Hyundai Motor India plans to introduce two new vehicle models from its Chennai facility within the year. This includes the launch of its first mass-market dedicated electric vehicle (EV) to accelerate local adoption.
• Industrial Localisation: The company has established Tamil Nadu’s first battery sub-assembly plant for EV powertrains. Hyundai Motor India is currently expanding local sourcing for power electronics and related primary components to minimise import dependency.
• Charging Network: Hyundai has deployed a direct-current (DC) fast EV charging ecosystem across the state consisting of 39 stations and 78 charging points. The high-capacity network is scheduled for further expansion across major urban centres and transit highways over the next 2 to 3 years.

The company has also aims to increase its localisation rate from the present 82 percent to 90 percent in the next 5-6 years. An additional INR 40 billion in state sourcing value from the current base, which is expected to generate an additional 2,000 jobs in the state.

Hyundai Motor India and the Government of Tamil Nadu (GoTN) have formalised a structured skill development project scheduled to commence active training operations in December 2027. The program aims to increase the global employability of the state's workforce by integrating next-generation manufacturing skills.

The curriculum will leverage partnerships with local Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), polytechnics and engineering colleges to train students in advanced disciplines:

• EV technical architectures and hydrogen mobility systems.
• Industrial robotics, digital automation and AI-enabled manufacturing.
• Smart factory workflows alongside professional workplace communication and language instruction.

Tarun Garg, Managing Director & CEO, Hyundai Motor India, said, “HMIL’s initiatives will strengthen Tamil Nadu’s leadership in sustainable mobility and automotive excellence, while also accelerating skill development to foster a future-ready workforce. We will roll out two new models from the Chennai facility, including our first mass-market dedicated EV within this year, marking a significant step towards accelerating EV adoption and building a strong EV ecosystem. Alongside, advancing EV localization, we are equally focused on developing a future-ready skilled workforce, enabling talent to support future automotive technologies."

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Maruti Suzuki India, one of the largest passenger vehicle manufacturers globally, has officially launched India’s first flex-fuel passenger car on the eve of World Environment Day.

The technology is being introduced in the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R, a high-volume model that has previously served as a platform for the company's alternative fuel options, including Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

The vehicle was unveiled in New Delhi in the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, and Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

The flex-fuel Wagon R is engineered to provide complete fuelling flexibility, enabling consumers to operate the vehicle on any ethanol-to-petrol blend ratio ranging from E20 (20 percent ethanol) up to E100 (100 percent ethanol).

The introduction of ethanol flex-fuel tech represents a broader commitment by India's market leader to scale diversified powertrain architectures. Maruti Suzuki's long-term product strategy incorporates a multi-tiered technology approach to meet carbon reduction goals, including Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), Hybrids, CNG, Compressed Biogas (CBG) and now, flex-fuel configurations.

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “The ecosystem for ethanol as a fuel in India is in its early stages, and as a market leader, we think it is our responsibility to contribute to make `India Go Flex’. Once it reaches mainstream adoption, Flex-Fuel Vehicles have the potential to cut oil imports, carbon emissions, and local air pollution while enhancing domestic value addition and farmer incomes.”

Nitin Gadkari noted, “Biofuels like ethanol are an important pathway towards reducing crude oil import dependence while strengthening our rural economy. Flex-Fuel Vehicles can create a strong and sustainable demand for ethanol, benefiting our farmers, industry, and the environment together. I appreciate Maruti Suzuki for taking this leadership step and supporting the Government’s vision of clean and self-reliant mobility.”

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