India’s EV localisation scheme closes with zero applications as foreign entrants favor lighter commitments
The SPMEPCI window closed in October 2025 without an application. The analysis points to the challenge of committing major investment before demand is proven, while trade-deal tariff reductions make imports, assembly and partnerships more viable entry routes.
The development
India’s SPMEPCI scheme received zero applications when its window closed in October 2025, reflecting the challenge of requiring major investment before demand is established. Foreign automakers increasingly favor imports, assembly and partnerships, while trade deals make delayed localisation more viable.
The numbers
- three EV models
- December 1983
- 1991
- 1997
- 50%
- third year
- 70%
- fifth year
- 1995
- 1996
- 100%
- 2005
- 2007
- 2012
- 2019
- 2020
- 50% domestic value addition
- 2024
- 15% customs duty
- five years
- Rs. 4,150 crore
- three years
- 25% local value addition
- 8,000 vehicles a year
- October 2025
- 2022
- 2025
- 110%
- 10%
Why it matters to operators and investors
Explore assembly and partnership-led routes into India’s EV market, preserving the option to deepen localisation as demand and trade terms become clearer.
What to watch next
- A government extension or redesign of SPMEPCI or a successor localization incentive.
- Published trade-deal tariff schedules, quotas, and implementation dates for imported vehicles and components.
- OEM announcements of India launch timing, assembly partners, plant investment, or local sourcing targets.
- EV registration growth, import volumes, and price cuts across premium and mass-market segments.
- New battery and component supply contracts, alongside charging-network expansion in target markets.
- Track announced import, CKD, contract-assembly, and joint-venture plans separately; distinguish market entry from committed local manufacturing.
- Assess which local suppliers could win early business in assembly, batteries, power electronics, and after-sales support.
- Model competitor pricing under both imported and locally assembled cost structures, including any tariff changes.
- Watch dealer and charging-network partnerships as indicators of whether entrants are preparing for meaningful retail scale.
The counter-case
Zero applications show that this particular scheme failed to attract applicants during its window, not that foreign automakers reject Indian manufacturing or that the policy push failed overall. The scheme’s demanding investment and localisation conditions may have made it a poor fit for companies that already had other routes into India. Lower import tariffs could also increase competition for local producers rather than make market entry broadly more attractive.