EV investments worth $40 billion envisaged by 2030

Gurugram, December 11 2024: No less than $40 billion of investments are envisaged over the next five or six years for the development of Electric Vehicles (EV) & ancillary industries in India. As per Colliers’ latest report “EVs in India: Renewed Vigour in Electric Mobility”, about two-thirds of the planned investments, can potentially materialize in the lithium-ion battery segment alone. Interestingly, despite slower than anticipated EV adoption, investment commitments in the EV industry rose over 3X times in the last 3 years. 

The planned investments can potentially open up multiple real estate opportunities. It would accelerate land acquisition for setting up of EV and Original Equipment (OE) manufacturing units including lithium-ion batteries. At the same time, with an uptick in EV adoption, increasing need for charging infrastructure would potentially translate into real estate demand for more than 45 million sq ft by 2030.

With an overall EV penetration rate of 8% in India, Colliers estimates sales of around 2 million EVs in 2024. Although the pace of EV adoption in the country has been commendable, it has not been as brisk as anticipated. Given the tardy progress, especially when compared with the ambitious desire of having 80 million EVs on road by 2030, attainment of set targets looks far-fetched. Although a 6x growth in average annual EV sales (2025-30) is highly optimistic, an eventual realization of EV goals necessitates concentrated efforts in overhauling the EV landscape of the country.

“While demand and supply incentives will continue to play a pivotal role in faster adoption of EVs, a multifold increase in EV sales can be fast-tracked by the reduction in production costs and improving affordability with respect to EV price points. Additionally, high-capacity original equipment manufacturing units and large-scale production of lithium-ion battery variants must be high on the EV priority list.” said Badal Yagnik, Chief Executive Officer, Colliers India.

With the rise in domestic production of EVs, about 13,000 acres of land acquisition and development plans can potentially materialize by 2030. Of the potential land development opportunities, more than 80% is likely to come from lithium-ion battery manufacturers.  

“Accelerated growth in the EV industry is bound to positively impact the Indian real estate sector. Leading developers are likely to increase their focus on state-of-the-art warehouses. Additionally, over 45 million sq ft of real estate will be required for building extensive network of public charging stations over the next five or six years,” said Vimal Nadar, Senior Director and Head of Research, Colliers India.