Forging India’s EV Destiny: From Industrial Backbone to Global Supply Chain Powerhouse

FAME-II has been working at the grassroots—pushing for a million electric two-wheelers, 55,000 four-wheelers, and a charging infrastructure that can support them.

November 17, 2025. By News Bureau

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Chaitanya Jalan

Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd

EV Destiny

Electric two-wheelers

ACMA

Mazars in India

I can still recall industry meetings a decade ago when someone would casually bring up electric vehicles. Most people would nod politely, make a quick comment about “long timelines,” and shift back to familiar ground—steel, diesel, volumes. EVs felt far away. Something happening in other markets, not ours. Then the numbers started changing. In 2023, over 14 million EVs were sold globally, a 35 percent jump in just one year. China, Europe and the US led the charge, according to the IEA. What was once niche had quietly become the center of the global automotive conversation?

And somewhere along the way, India stopped watching from the sidelines. We joined the race—maybe not with fireworks, but with clear intent. The direction is set. By 2030, the Indian government expects 30 percent of new vehicle sales to be electric, with 70 percent in commercial vehicles and 80 percent in two-wheelers. These are not soft targets. Reports from NITI Aayog and IBEF peg the market at USD 206 billion, growing at an astonishing 49 percent CAGR between 2022 and 2030. For those of us in manufacturing, these aren’t abstract figures. They shape boardroom discussions, capital plans, R&D roadmaps. They have already started changing how our industry looks at the next decade.

The shift, though, is not as simple as swapping engines for batteries. It is a redesign of the whole industrial logic. Components like powertrains, e-axles and magnet motors demand precision we didn’t need at this scale before. Materials are changing. Processes are being cleaned up. And expectations—from regulators, OEMs, and consumers—are sharper.

The auto component sector, currently worth USD 56.5 billion (FY23), is expected to touch USD 200 billion by FY26 (ACMA). It sounds exciting, but there is a catch. Around 70–80 percent of rare earth magnets and advanced battery materials are still imported from China. When Beijing adjusted export rules in 2023, global supply chains didn’t just shiver; in some segments, they froze. For those of us running on just-in-time models, it was a wake-up call. Dependence is not the same as strength. I’ve seen that play out up close. That moment forced companies, including ours, to rethink fundamentals. Techniques like closed-die forging, earlier seen as specialised, started becoming central. They allow material savings of up to 30 percent while delivering components that are lighter and stronger—exactly what EV architectures need.

Weight reduction is another big theme. BloombergNEF points out that cutting 10 percent of vehicle weight improves battery efficiency by 6–8 percent. That’s not a marginal gain. That is make-or-break for range. It is why aluminium forging has moved from the margins to the mainstream. Range is currency in EVs. Every gram counts.

And there is a quiet but powerful shift in how Indian suppliers are positioned globally. Multi-year export contracts with European and American OEMs are now a reality. A few years back, this kind of traction would have been dismissed as overambitious. Today, it is happening through partnerships, technology tie-ups and sheer consistency. None of this is unfolding in a vacuum. Policy support has added muscle to the momentum. The INR 26,000 crore PLI-Auto scheme has nudged manufacturers toward advanced automotive technologies, including EV systems. By mid-2024, more than 90 companies were approved, forging players among them.

Meanwhile, FAME-II has been working at the grassroots—pushing for a million electric two-wheelers, 55,000 four-wheelers, and a charging infrastructure that can support them. Add to that the emergence of indigenous EV kits for three-wheelers and smaller commercial vehicles, and you start seeing an ecosystem that is not imported but built here, step by step.

The way I see it, this transition is not just technological. It is cultural. It is about how we see ourselves as an industrial nation. By 2030, demand for EV components—particularly in the two- and three-wheeler space—is expected to surge. With a 15–20 percent cost advantage, improving quality, and manufacturing scale, India is in a strong position to become a preferred sourcing hub globally.

But there is another lens to view this through: sustainability. Global OEMs are no longer looking only at cost and capacity. They are reading ESG reports. They are asking tough questions. Green forging, powered by renewables and backed by metal recycling loops, is quickly moving from “good to have” to “must have.

For decades, our industry has worked quietly, often without the spotlight. Now, it is shifting towards us. If we combine engineering depth with resilience and a genuine commitment to responsibility, “Make in India” won’t just be printed in policy documents. It will be built into the EV supply chains of the world—literally and figuratively.

- Chaitanya Jalan, Executive Director, Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd.