Latest Trends Shaping the Indian Automotive Industry in 2025

The Indian Automotive Sector is a fast-growing industry, one that is rapidly being shaped by technological advancements in the country. It is currently the fourth-largest automotive industry in the world by production and valuation. It is worth more than $100 billion and it accounts for more than 7.1% of India’s GDP.

However, despite such vast leaps in the industry, the Indian Automotive sector still has a long way to go to be at par with the global industry leaders. India’s automotive sector is expected to grow from $109 billion in 2023 to $214 billion in 2032; almost doubling the market in 9 years.

To achieve that, India’s automotive sector has to adapt and adopt several modern trends. Here are some of the trends that are currently shaping the Indian Automotive Industry, and will continue to do so in the future.

Latest Trends Shaping the Indian Automotive Industry

1. Alternate Fuels

India has always experimented with alternate fuels in their automobile/commercial vehicles sector. Be it CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), HCNG (Hydrogen CNG), or Fuel Cells.

2. Electric Vehicles

One of the biggest trends in the Indian Automotive Sector is expected to be the Evs. The conventional (fuel) vehicle sales are estimated to reduce from 97% in 2019 to merely 35% by 2035.

3. Short-Haul Changes

While India still has a long way to go with millions of investments needed to make long-haul changes, the automotive sector can make short-haul changes and make it more consumer-friendly. One example would be battery-driven vehicles and building the infrastructure around them. Things like charging stations could be built to support it.

4. Supply Chain Optimization

With the rise of technologies such as real-time data analysis, the Indian Automotive Industry need not rely on warehouses to manually register anymore. It also easily helps identity problems and delays, and optimize production, delivery times, and lower costs to meet the rising demands.

5. Fighting Pollution

Due to India’s largest population, and its extremely diverse demographics between the urban and rural areas, the Indian Automotive Industry will have to worry about solving imminent problems like fighting pollution. The aforementioned battery-driven vehicles and charging stations around it might be one of them to reduce the CO2 footprint. It could very well start in urban cities.

6. Last Mile Connectivity

It is one of the most happening trends in the Indian Automotive Industry. Last Mile connectivity is the final segment of a network that connects end users to the broader services or infrastructure. Given the numerous remote locations in India that often require services, this is a trend that India needs to harp upon.

7. Truck Crash Test Norms

India currently doesn’t have a crash test norm for trucks due to its millions of older trucks that don’t undergo scrappage. However, just like Euro NCAP’s stages of safety, the Indian Automotive Industry also needs to jump on it. It might improve the safety level of trucks and other older vehicles significantly.

8. Safety Measures

One technology would be the Distance Warning Radar Sensor or Adaptive Cruise Control – This detects the distance between a vehicle and other vehicles around it. Then the Adaptive Cruise Control uses the Radar Sensor to maintain a safe distance and adjust its speed accordingly. Some cars in India like Renault Kiger, Hyundai Exter, Tata Altroz, Maruti Suzuki Fronx, MG Astor, Mahindra Thar, and Honda City are utilizing this technology.

There are other trends like Automatic Brakes, etc. that are part of the discussion. Other than that, the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) is also a safety feature that Automakers are collaborating to develop. It includes lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking, and Adaptive Cruise Control as explained above.

Robotics

Robotics and Automation will likely boost the manufacturing of commercial vehicles in the Indian Automotive Industry by 30%.

India has previously been a bit hesitant to adopt new technological advancements in its automobiles. This is because the Indian Automotive Industry is a very price-sensitive market and most technologies are entirely profit-driven.

However, things have changed in recent times, and trends suggest that it will continue to change in the future. Speaking of changing trends, the Indian Automotive Industry also made a huge transformation in the ‘Aftermarket’ industry. Owing to the growing demand for the Indian Automotive Aftermarket, there was a transformation bubbling within the industry. Here are some of the latest trends in the Indian Automotive Aftermarket Industry.

• Genuine parts are being given to end customers. Unlike before, when customers often got handed out old, reused, or inauthentic vehicle parts upon repair, the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) now ensures that customers get authentic parts upon request.

• ACMA is trying hard to unite all the ‘Aftermarket’ parties into one large Umbrella. This way, if all of them work together, they could have a deeper penetration into the market. They could potentially reach more customers, and provide their service to them. ACMA has ensured a renewal of various components of the Aftermarket party – Emission norms, Safety norms, Digitalization, and Branding, are all taken care of under this new trend. Since there is a huge demand for vehicle spare parts, it also increased the demand for vehicle maintenance now more than ever.

• As customers are looking for everything to go digital, including a service request and repair on road, automakers all across India are working on a way to make it happen. This has been an increasingly difficult task since services are generally carried out by repairmen and not the customers themselves.

In conclusion, the Indian Automotive market is headed for some exciting times ahead. While going toe-to-toe with some of the biggest global giants of the automotive industry might take some time, India can meanwhile make short term goals and try and achieve them. Its priority lies in utilizing technology to solve its existing issues like safety and pollution. However, with the ongoing trends, the Indian Automotive Industry might grow exponentially in the future.