While Indian battery manufacturers make strides in domestic cell production, their reliance on Chinese raw materials and high costs challenge India’s push towards self-sufficiency in EV battery supply chains, highlighting the need for accelerated localising efforts and policy support.
India’s biggest battery makers are making real progress on lithium-ion cell manufacturing, but their supply chains are still anchored to China. Exide Industries has installed equipment across all four production lines at its Bengaluru gigafactory, while Amara Raja Energy & Mobility has opened a customer qualification plant and is preparing its research facility. Yet the most important inputs , including cathode powder, electrolyte and graphite , are still being imported, largely from China, according to NDTV Profit and related reporting.
Exide chief executive Avik Kumar Roy said on an earnings call that domestic sourcing would not scale quickly enough to remove that dependence. He said it would take three to five years for India to build a meaningful raw material base, and that the company was already talking to Indian suppliers and running pilots with them. Roy also warned that higher inventory may be needed once China’s tighter export approval regime for battery-related inputs comes into effect from November, even though he said the controls are not an outright ban.
The broader challenge is not just supply, but cost. LiveMint reported that Indian battery makers face structural pressure from cheaper Chinese imports, with analysts pointing to persistent overcapacity in China as a factor keeping global cell prices low. Amara Raja has also said Indian-made cells could initially carry a cost premium of around 20% to 25% versus Chinese products, although it expects that gap to narrow as local manufacturing deepens and scale improves.
Amara Raja’s own technology path has also proved uneven. The Economic Times reported that the company is taking a phased approach to lithium-ion production, starting with standard cells for electric two-wheelers and energy storage systems before moving into passenger vehicles later. That caution follows an earlier technology arrangement with China’s Gotion that did not proceed as planned, leaving the company more reliant on its internal engineering team. Industry reporting has also noted that Amara Raja is seeking support from a research tie-up with ISRO as it builds its lithium-ion capabilities.
For now, both companies are trying to localise as much as they can, but they are still operating in a market where the upstream ecosystem is thin. Exide is aiming to localise 50% to 60% of its battery bill of materials within two to three years, and Roy has argued that India will need more domestic players, more refining capacity and greater policy support before imports can be meaningfully restricted. Until then, the country’s battery ambitions will continue to depend on Chinese materials, even as the race to reduce that dependence accelerates.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
