Union Budget 2026: Auto industry seeks EV charging boost, PLI reforms

With the Union Budget 2026–27 around the corner, the automobile industry is calling for increased spending on public charging infrastructure and policy measures to strengthen domestic electric vehicle production.

Industry representatives say scaling up charging networks and ensuring their reliability is key to tackling range anxiety, particularly for long-distance travel, and sustaining growth in India’s EV ecosystem.

According to CS Vigneshwar, President, FADA, “It's a challenge of putting in enough chargers; it's a challenge of monitoring these chargers to keep them working. So, it's not an easy challenge to solve. Of course, the government subsidies and the government push is important so that this can accelerate. But, I find that this is not a short-term problem, it's a medium-term challenge, which the company, the industry, the government, all of us perhaps need to work on to solve it.”

On the manufacturing front, automakers and experts are seeking Budget-linked changes in the Production Linked Incentive scheme, saying current norms limit participation and need to be revisited in the upcoming budget.

Sheena Sareen, Partner, Deloitte India, “The first requirement is that if the scheme can be somehow revamped and relaxed and so that more people who applied for, they can get benefit under the scheme. And this has happened in other production linked incentive schemes where 2.0 or even 3.0, twice or thrice the scheme has been revamped with some relaxation or extended benefits. More applicants could have come in as well as the ongoing applicants could have got more benefit. That factor is yet to be seen under the automotive PLI. So, if that expands, it will be good for the time to come and more manufacturers can avail the benefit.”

Automakers are also pushing for continued budget support to localise critical EV components, including batteries, power electronics, semiconductors, and rare earth magnets, to lower costs and build a resilient supply chain.

Vikram Gulati, Country Head & EVP, Toyota Kirloskar Motor says, “We’ve also seen a host of PLI schemes coming out, not only for manufacturing of electric vehicles and hybrids in the PM E-Drive, but also in terms of encouraging the investments and localisation of key advanced green technologies through the auto PLI. Plus also now the PLI that’s come in place for advanced cell manufacturing that came out a few years back, and now with the semiconductors and many other key components, including rare earth magnets, this is definitely going to help the industry rely on the local ecosystem rather than be dependent on imports.”

Currently, the EV sector receives government support through the PM E-Drive scheme, which offers subsidies for electric two-wheelers, passenger vehicles, and buses, along with PLI incentives for automobile and advanced cell battery manufacturing.

Industry stakeholders say sustained Budget support and targeted PLI reforms could accelerate EV adoption, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and advance India’s clean mobility ambitions.