From Product to Ecosystem – Building India’s Electric Vehicle Future

Preetesh Singh (Principal – Nomura Research Institute) moderated a stakeholder panel comprising India’s EV ecosystem leaders, including Neha Jain, Anshuman Divyanshu, Arth Patel, Dhairya Shah and Awadhesh Jha. This article is a recap of the insights that emerged during the discussion.

Neha Jain | Head – EVs & Innovation Ecosystem at JSW MG Motor India

• Disruptive DNA: MG entered India with the energy of a start-up, launching first connected-SUV (Hector), first pure-EV SUV (ZS EV 2019), AI-car (Astor), micro-EV (Comet) and now sub-₹10 lakh EV Windsor.

• Result: >30 % EV car sales share from near-zero in seven years.

• Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) option with Windsor EV: Slashes sticker price; now also promoting Windsor in Tier-2/3 towns.

• Partnership playbook: MG co-creates DC charging infrastructure at dealerships & highways, home and community spaces in collaboration with the CPOs.

• Next up: The luxury EV sports-car & limousine under the new “MG Select” label. Pre-bookings are already strong.

• Policy Ask: Right-to-Charge legislation to stop RWAs blocking home chargers in group housing.

Anshuman Divyanshu | CEO-EV at Exicom

• Exicom R&D muscle: 100 engineers in Gurgaon + 100 in Brisbane (post Tritium buy). The R&D prowess enables Exicom to offer a lifetime warranty on power modules in its chargers.

• Global Tailwinds for Indian R&D: Cited international wins: Gurgaon-made AC chargers from Exicom are now replacing Chinese/European units in countries like Malaysia & Thailand.

• Software edge: Gen-2 OS delivers remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, turning hardware into recurring-service revenue.

• Feels chargers need to be treated as “movable megawatt consumers”.

• Policy ask: Power-sector reform & single-window LT tariff upgrade; add EV-mobility chapter to the Electricity Act 2003.

Arth Patel – CEO, Tirex Chargers

• Tech-first identity: Arth insists “we’re a tech company, not a box-builder.”

• Tirex invests 5% of its revenue into R&D; it boasts of a 300 kW in-house simulator that tests every unit at full load across 360+ test cases.

• Efficiency Target: >97 % achievable if market accepts cost; works with OEMs/CPOs to ensure 95 % first-plug success.

Policy ask: Charger-specific PLI & government-supported testing labs to match China’s speed and cost.

Dhairya Shah – Founder & CEO, Mindra Group

• R&D intensity: 30% staff in R&D; Destructive thermal tests at 55 °C & dusty depots to guarantee 12-year TCO.

• Reliability metric: 95 first-attempt starts out of 100 sessions. data-backed reliability pitch to CPOs.

• Product roadmap: forced-air & liquid-cooling for >200 kW chargers used 18–20 hrs/day by bus fleets.

Policy ask: Charger-specific PLI and clearer electricity-grid codes for LT/HV loads.

Awadhesh Jha – Executive Director, GLIDA India

Awadhesh presented the CPO view. Asks for EV charger OEMs:

• Simulate 10–15% utilisation to prove module reliability.

• Provide real-world efficiency curves.

• Build a spare parts network in Tier-2/3 cities before scale-up.

Highlighted regulatory issues:

• Basement-charging ban (BIS 1707) should shift from risk-avoidance to risk-mitigation. Mandate fire-suppression & thermal runaway standards instead of blanket removal.

• Act fix: The Electricity Act 2003 requires a separate EV-mobility chapter to define movable megawatt consumers & 24×7 highway supply, including LT tariff slabs for>150 kW and V2G services. The current rural-feeder definition is obsolete.

Our Takeaways

Ecosystem Co-Creation Beyond Hardware

• The EV race in India depends on building a resilient, data-driven, policy-proof ecosystem.

• Industry no longer sells products; it sells ecosystems; every player is simultaneously partner and competitor. All charger OEMs now co-design with OEMs/CPOs.

• Community-charging pilots in housing societies needed to build consumer confidence.

• Share data on uptime (target: 95 % first-plug success) and efficiency curves so CPO business models don’t fail at low utilisation.

• Investments required in testing infrastructure and chargers specific PLI policies for India-made chargers to capture the ASEAN markets.

• Unify under a single industry voice backed by data to influence policy, power reforms, and bring in Right-to-Charge legislation.

Many thanks to Preetesh for deftly moderating this interaction and bringing out the informed perspectives on consumer expectations, product, ecosystem and policy.

This article was first published in EVreporter September 2025 magazine.

Also read: India’s Freight Electrification at an inflection point: Key take-aways from the panel