India Battery Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

India Battery Market Trends and Insights

Supportive Government Incentives & Policies

Multi-tiered fiscal measures are lowering entry barriers across the India battery market. The PM E-DRIVE scheme, launched in 2024 with a Rs 10,900 crore (USD 1.3 billion) corpus, extends demand incentives to e-ambulances and e-trucks, broadening the subsidy horizon beyond FAME-II, which had earlier supported 1.6 million electric vehicles.^{[1]Press Information Bureau, “Cabinet Approves PLI Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage,” pib.gov.in} Maharashtra’s 2025 EV policy adds capital subsidies of up to Rs 10 lakh per charging station, while Tamil Nadu waives road tax and registration fees until 2030 to accelerate fleet turnover.^{[2]Ministry of Heavy Industries, “FAME-II Scheme Performance Report FY 2024-25,” mhi.gov.in} These incentives shorten payback cycles for OEMs and encourage gigafactory siting in states that layer state perks atop federal grants. As a result, domestic capacity commitments reached 68 GWh in 2025, a 40% jump over 2024 announcements.

Declining Lithium-ion Battery Prices

Global pack prices fell to USD 115 per kWh in 2024 and are trending toward USD 80 per kWh by 2026, easing the cost barrier that historically constrained India's battery market penetration.^{[3]BloombergNEF, “Battery Pack Prices Fall to USD 139/kWh,” about.bnef.com} Ola Electric sources cathode precursors at spot rates 18% below 2023 averages, allowing its S1 scooter pack to retail at Rs 45,000, undercutting lead-acid alternatives across a ten-year lifecycle. Exide Industries and Amara Raja target sub-Rs 50,000 packs for three-wheelers by late 2026, signaling imminent price inflection for commercial fleets. Falling input costs thus reinforce demand-side incentives, giving the India battery market dual momentum on the supply and demand fronts.

Rapid EV Adoption in Two- & Three-Wheelers

Unit sales of electric two-wheelers hit 1.149 million in fiscal 2024-25, up 21% year-on-year, while electric three-wheelers surged 57% to 159,235 units. Lower upfront prices, urban ride distances below 100 kilometers, and densifying charge networks in Bangalore, Delhi, and Pune underpin this outperformance versus passenger cars. Ather Energy’s 3.7 kWh swappable pack ecosystem spans 1,800 fast chargers across 100 cities, proving that infrastructure density can offset range anxiety. Fleet operators in Delhi show annual conversion rates above 40%, yielding total-cost-of-ownership savings of Rs 1.2 lakh per vehicle over five years compared with compressed natural gas autorickshaws. Each incremental two-wheeler needs 2-4 kWh, whereas three-wheelers demand 8-10 kWh, creating predictable procurement pipelines that anchor gigafactory utilization.

Expanding Telecom & Data-Center Backup Needs

More than 500,000 telecom towers are shifting from diesel gensets to lithium-ion modules offering 3-5 times the cycle life and 40% lower lifetime costs. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio ordered 80,000 lithium tower-backup units in 2024, each rated at 5 kWh. Parallelly, hyperscale data-center capacity is set to reach 2,070 MW by 2025 as AWS, Microsoft, and Google deepen their India footprints, bringing 10-20 MWh UPS requirements per site. Industrial customers favor LFP batteries for thermal stability, widening chemistry diversification, and buffering manufacturers from EV-specific demand volatility.

Critical Mineral Supply Vulnerabilities

The India battery market remains fully import-dependent for lithium and cobalt, leaving domestic producers exposed to geopolitical shocks. Although lithium carbonate prices cooled to USD 12,000 per tonne in 2024, long-term contracts still track Chinese benchmarks influenced by strategic stockpiling. Government auctions of lithium blocks in Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan revealed reserves equal to just 3–4 years of projected demand at 2031 run-rates. Cobalt risks are starker because 70% of global supply comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where artisanal mining raises social and delivery uncertainties. OEMs are pivoting to cobalt-free LFP cathodes, yet premium NMC batteries still anchor high-range vehicles, keeping supply-chain fragility in focus.

Under-developed Battery Recycling Ecosystem

Only 10% of end-of-life lithium-ion packs were recovered in 2024, far below the 70% target set by draft Extended Producer Responsibility guidelines for 2030. Attero Recycling’s 12,000-tonne hydrometallurgical facility struggles with feedstock scarcity because informal scrap channels siphon 60% of discarded packs for export to Southeast Asia. Non-standardized pack designs inflate disassembly costs to Rs 22 per kilogram, double the viable threshold. The absence of clear liability rules for second-life batteries further stalls investment in circular supply chains.

Segment Analysis

By Battery Type: Rechargeables Drive Volume and Value

Secondary batteries accounted for 65.5% of India's battery market share in 2025, and this slice is projected to expand at a 15.9% CAGR through 2031 as automotive electrification accelerates and stationary storage scales. The India battery market size for secondary cells is projected to rise from USD 8.30 billion in 2025 to almost USD 18 billion by 2031, cementing its dominance. Lithium-ion chemistries make up 42% of secondary-battery revenue, propelled by OEM transitions from lead-acid starter-lighting-ignition units to traction packs that deliver 2,000–5,000 charge cycles. Ola Electric's 5 GWh block and Exide's Rs 7,000 crore lithium line exemplify capital flowing toward rechargeables.

Primary batteries still serve remote sensors and medical devices, but will grow only 3.2% annually as portable-electronics makers adopt integrated lithium-polymer modules. NiMH packs persist in select hybrids such as Toyota's Camry because of superior high-heat tolerance.^{[4]Toyota Kirloskar Motor, “Hybrid Vehicle Technology Overview,” toyotabharat.com} NiCd use is shrinking after Bureau of Indian Standards tightened cadmium limits. Flow and sodium-sulfur technologies are piloting grid projects, but high capital costs keep them niche.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Technology: Lead-Acid Incumbency Meets Solid-State Disruption

Lead-acid retained a 53.2% share in 2025, thanks to entrenched automotive SLI and UPS usages serviced by nationwide dealer networks of Exide and Amara Raja. However, safety incidents, 47 EV fires linked to thermal runaway between 2022 and 2024, fuel consumer preference for advanced chemistries. Solid-state cells, with energy densities above 400 Wh/kg and non-flammable electrolytes, are forecast to grow at a 33.5% CAGR, albeit from a low base. Log9’s graphene-enhanced quasi-solid prototypes enable 15-minute charging for fleet operators, while Reliance New Energy sees sodium-ion as a transitional step until solid-state costs drop below Rs 8,000 per kWh.

Lithium-ion held a 38% share, split between NMC 811 cathodes for range-sensitive scooters and LFP for cost-focused two-wheelers and stationary storage. Ola Electric’s 4680 cylindrical-cell architecture achieves 260 Wh/kg, enabling a 181-kilometer range in the S1 Pro scooter. Emerging chemistries such as aluminum-air and lithium-sulfur collectively hold a 1.8% share but draw disproportionate R&D funding under the National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage, which earmarked Rs 500 crore for pre-commercial validation

By Application: Automotive Electrification Anchors Demand

Automotive batteries captured 39.6% of value in 2025 and are forecast to progress at a 15.2% CAGR through 2031, driven mainly by two- and three-wheeler electrification. The India battery market size for automotive use is expected to nearly triple over the forecast window, reflecting robust subsidy support under PM E-DRIVE. Each electric scooter requires up to 4 kWh, while a three-wheeler carries 8-10 kWh, underpinning cell demand regardless of passenger-car uptake.

Industrial segments, motive power, telecom backup, and data-center UPS, held a 34% share in 2025. Operators like Airtel and Jio swapped 80,000 tower-backup batteries in 2024, cutting replacement cycles to once a decade. Portable electronics added 18%, whereas power tools and SLI batteries filled the balance. Diversified demand streams shield suppliers from single-application downturns, a key resilience factor in the India battery market.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu concentrated 72% of installed capacity in 2025, reflecting port access for imported lithium carbonate and state subsidies for capital-intensive gigafactories. Gujarat hosts Reliance’s Jamnagar complex, which will integrate 10 GWh of sodium-ion and lithium-ion lines by 2028. Tamil Nadu secured Ola Electric’s inaugural 5 GWh facility and Hyundai Global Motors’ PLI allocation owing to electricity-duty exemptions and 15% capital grants. Karnataka’s Bangalore-Mysore corridor is an R&D hub for Log9, Ather Energy, and Tata AutoComp, benefiting from proximity to high-tech labor pools.

Maharashtra’s EV policy mandates a 25% battery-electric share in state purchases, anchoring demand for Exide’s Pune line and Amara Raja’s Chakan project. Northern states, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi, contribute 18% of consumption, bolstered by e-commerce last-mile fleets run by Amazon and Flipkart using 45,000 electric delivery vehicles. Eastern and northeastern zones remain under-penetrated at 6% due to sparse charging infrastructure and lower disposable incomes. Potential reserves in Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan could seed mining-linked clusters post-2028, though commercial viability awaits resource confirmation.