Union Minister for Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday, 2 September called on India's automotive and auto component industry to sharply scale up investments in technology, design, and domestic value addition, asserting that the country's electric mobility transition must be measured by far more than the number of electric vehicles sold. The minister made the remarks while addressing the 66th annual session of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) in New Delhi.

Key Developments at the ACMA Session

Kumaraswamy laid out a multi-dimensional vision for India's next phase of mobility transformation — one centred on building industrial scale, deepening domestic localisation, accelerating innovation, and positioning India as a globally competitive hub for advanced and green mobility technologies. His address came as the automotive sector continues to navigate the twin pressures of a global EV transition and intensifying competition from Chinese and South Korean component makers.

'Our success cannot be measured only by the number of electric vehicles sold. It must also be measured by how much technology is designed in India, how much value is added domestically, how many MSMEs participate in the new supply chains and how effectively Indian products compete in global markets,' Kumaraswamy said.

PLI Scheme: Progress on the Ground

The minister cited concrete progress under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the automobile and auto component industry. As of 30 June 2026, approved applicants under the scheme had reported cumulative investments of ₹45,477 crore, generating more than 67,000 employment opportunities, according to the minister. He described these results as 'encouraging', signalling that the scheme is gaining traction even as critics have historically questioned whether PLI disbursements translate into proportionate job creation.

Notably, this investment figure places the automotive PLI among the better-performing segments of the broader PLI programme, which spans multiple sectors. The auto component industry's MSME ecosystem — which anchors millions of livelihoods and feeds upstream sectors including steel, electronics, engineering, chemicals, logistics, and services — stands to benefit most from sustained domestic value addition.

The Push for Global Competitiveness

Kumaraswamy urged automobile and auto component manufacturers to invest 'more boldly' in cleaner, more efficient, and emerging technologies, with an explicit export orientation. 'India should not merely participate in the global mobility transition; India should help lead it,' he said. The call echoes a broader government push to convert India's large domestic market into a springboard for global supply chain integration — a goal that has gained urgency as Western original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) diversify away from China.

Ministry's Commitment and the Road Ahead

The Ministry of Heavy Industries committed to continuing its engagement with industry bodies, including ACMA and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), to improve scheme implementation, resolve operational bottlenecks, and foster a more investment-friendly environment. Kumaraswamy linked these efforts to India's broader ambition of achieving developed-nation status by 2047. With global EV supply chains still being redrawn, the window for India to embed itself as a high-value manufacturing node remains open — but industry observers argue it will not stay open indefinitely.