TaMo seeks govt help to ease EV raw material sourcing

Says that battery localisation remains a challenge

- DEEPAK PATEL

Spreading risks in sourcing raw materials for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing is "very critical", and the government can play a key role by enabling access to these from multiple locations worldwide, said Vivek Srivatsa, chief commercial officer at Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, on Friday while stressing the need for faster localisation, especially of batteries. He was speaking during a panel discussion at BloombergNEF summit.

India's EV ecosystem remains heavily reliant on China for critical components — particularly lithium-ion cells for batteries and rare-earth minerals used in traction motors.

In April this year, China imposed export restrictions on rare-earth magnets, creating supply bottlenecks for EV makers. Since these magnets are vital for traction motors' performance, the neighbouring country's indirect ban triggered warnings of production slowdowns across the EV sector in India.