India’s EV future depends on building, not buying, Battery Management Systems

India’s electric vehicle push is well underway. While the number of EVs on our Indian roads are growing, a large part of what goes inside them still comes from outside the country. One key example is the Battery Management System, or BMS, the integral part of the vehicle that keeps the battery safe, stable, and efficient.

Today, mostly 100% of the lithium-ion cells used in India are imported. The BMS units that manage these cells are also mostly sourced from abroad, with China being the biggest supplier. This setup may have worked when the industry was still taking shape, but now it’s a serious limitation both in terms of cost and long-term control.

The Indian BMS market was worth around $127 million last year, and it’s expected to touch $3 billion by 2032. That’s a big jump, driven by how central this component is to the vehicle. The battery and BMS together make up about 60–65% of an EV’s cost. So if we want to build EVs competitively in India, we can’t keep relying on imported systems.

There’s also the issue of performance. Imported BMS units aren’t always suited to Indian conditions. High temperatures, humidity, dust, these things take a toll. Many of the foreign-made systems just aren’t built with this environment in mind, and it shows in the way they behave on the ground.

This is where local manufacturing has a clear advantage. When you build systems for India, in India, you can design for the realities of Indian roads and climate. You also gain better control over quality, supply chains, and long-term reliability.

To its credit, the government has already stepped in with strong policy support. The PLI scheme for advanced battery manufacturing (₹18,100 crore), FAME-II subsidies for two-wheelers, and safety regulations like AIS-156 and IP67 are all helping create the right environment for domestic production. But policy alone won’t solve the problem. The industry needs to follow through—with real investment in local design, manufacturing, and talent.

A key turning point is the government’s move to mandate that the BMS be at least partially manufactured in India. This includes the assembly of electronic components, connectors, wiring, heat sinks, software flashing, and enclosure fitment all to be domestically executed. The import of fully assembled BMS units has been restricted, with only a limited transition window of up to 12 months from the date of notification.

This marks a paradigm shift. The message is clear that you can’t bring a fully assembled gadget from China and expect it to work seamlessly in a vehicle made for Indian conditions. At Webber Corp, we’ve long believed that the future of India’s EV revolution must be rooted in domestic innovation and engineering. Every element of our BMS is developed, assembled, and tested in India. While our chipsets are sourced from the USA and built to auto-grade standards, the intelligence, architecture, and system-level integration are entirely tailored for Indian requirements.

But we know that for this vision to scale, industry effort alone is not enough. We urge policymakers and stakeholders to create a stronger framework that supports local manufacturing, incentivises component-level R&D, and reduces our reliance on imports,  especially for critical elements like cells and semiconductors. The path to a truly self-reliant EV ecosystem demands long-term partnerships between industry and government, and we’re ready to lead that charge. 

Chinese chipsets, while often cheaper, pose significant issues in traceability, reliability, and long-term durability. In contrast, Indian-made solutions are steadily maturing, offering robust performance without compromise on safety or quality. With government support and evolving local supply chains, we believe India is not only ready but well-positioned to build world-class BMS systems for both domestic and global markets.

Another reason to push for local manufacturing is the vulnerability in raw material and component supply chains. China controls nearly 90% of the global rare-earth magnet output and accounts for over 80% of India’s magnet imports. Any geopolitical instability or export restrictions can jeopardise India’s EV ambitions overnight.

By building a resilient domestic BMS and battery supply chain, we can mitigate such risks. It also opens up possibilities for India to emerge as a competitive exporter of BMS units and subsystems to markets across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America regions that are similarly climate-stressed and value rugged reliability.

While current norms allow for assembly within India, the goal should be full-scale localised manufacturing. With the right push from policy and a serious commitment from the industry, we can get to a point where every part of a BMS from PCB design to software is made right here in India. We’re not there yet, but we’re moving in the right direction.

In the short term, the focus should be on building what we already have. That means scaling up our current capabilities, investing in R&D, and training people who can take this forward. Setting up a local BMS ecosystem is about building something that lasts and not merely cost-cutting. It’s about making sure we’re not dependent on others for something so critical to the future of mobility.

India is at a key moment in its EV journey. The basics are in place, strong government support, more awareness among buyers, and early signs of momentum from the industry. But to really make the most of this opportunity, we need to stop thinking of ourselves as an assembly line and start thinking of ourselves as a builder of complete systems.

It’s not enough to just put together EVs using parts brought in from elsewhere. We need to build them fully with Indian engineers, in Indian factories, for Indian conditions. That’s what real self-reliance will look like in the EV age.

Mahinder Sehgl is a Chief Business Officer at Webber Electro Corp, Views expressed are the author’s personal.

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