As China grows more selective about technology transfer, Tata and JSW are each spending hundreds of millions to further India’s EV growth. By Stewart Burnett
Tata Group and JSW Group are each funding domestic research and development centres aimed at building in-house capability in battery and electric vehicle (EV) technology, with a combined commitment approaching US$1bn, according to a 7 May report by Bloomberg. Sources told the news outlet that the investments are intended to lower dependence on Chinese technology, a growing concern among India’s largest industrial players.
Tata’s battery unit, Agratas, is spending more than US$400m on a new research and development facility in Bangalore focused on two main chemistries: lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) and lithium-manganese-iron. Both are technologies that the automaker is currently highly dependent on China for. Beyond India most global automakers are in some way reliant on China for these particular chemistries, hence the push towards the more expensive—but higher-performance—nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) in Europe and North America.
The planned centre is being designed to help Tata develop and eventually manufacture those cells entirely by itself inside India, building intellectual property it does not presently own. Agratas already has access to NMC technology from South Korea but the cost barrier is presumably significant; NMC is generally 20-30% more expensive per kilowatt than LFP. The new investment aims explicitly to expand the automaker’s capacity into the LFP segment, where demand is sharply increased in both EV and energy storage applications.
Meanwhile, JSW Motors is pursuing a parallel investment of at least US$500m over five to six years at a research hub in Maharashtra. Chief Executive Ranjan Nayak told Bloomberg that the centre will focus on localising vehicles developed in partnership with global players, building the necessary proprietary software and connectivity function. Indian road conditions differ substantially from those in Europe, North America or China where most automotive software is developed. That makes adapting a challeng, and in many cases proprietary, region-exclusive software is the better option.
Both companies—and the Indian government—are increasingly concerned about disruptions to relations with China. Indeed, Chinese technology transfer has slowed as Beijing ring-fences core EV and battery expertise amid its ongoing trade dispute with the US. Several Indian firms, including Reliance Industries, have already encountered friction in joint ventures as approvals tighten. Neither party seems particularly willing to deescalate: BYD has only recently begun to recover from a years-long visa freeze that saw its regional executives running operations from hotels in neighbouring countries.
One of the major reasons Indian players could be pushing for LFP is the 5.9 million tonnes of lithium discovered in Jammu and Kashmir and subsequently disclosed in 2023. Unfortunately the government has thus far struggled to find a buyer across two separate auction processes, likely due in large part to border tensions with Pakistan in this region. A Reuters report from January 2026 indicated the government was planning further incentives; should they succeed it would be a major step towards reducing China’s lithium dominance.
The latest investments land against a domestic EV market that is quickly growing. India’s passenger EV segment sold 23,163 units in April—up 73% year-on-year and the second highest monthly total on record—with Tata Motors leading at 8,506 units, Mahindra second at 5,394, and JSW MG Motor third at 4,978. Full-year EV sales for fiscal 2026 reached 200,946 units, up 85%, with Tata’s market share slipping to 40% from 53% as Mahindra’s Born Electric range and JSW MG’s Windsor accelerated their own ramps.
India’s government has reinforced the growth trajectory through Production Linked Incentive schemes for automotive and battery manufacturing, a 5% goods and services tax rate for EVs against 28% for conventional vehicles, and tightening rules designed to anchor supply chains in-country.
India’s broader EV ambitions extend well beyond the domestic market. Maruti Suzuki is targeting 4 million units of annual capacity by 2028, with a growing export component; the e-Vitara was already India’s fifth most-exported SUV in fiscal 2026. Reliance Industries’ 30 GWh Gigafactory in Jamnagar is due to begin cell chemistry manufacturing in the second half of 2026, marking a shift from assembly to full-scale production. The Tata and JSW R&D commitments sit within that broader architecture—a push to ensure that India’s EV growth, now clearly underway, is ultimately underpinned by technology its own companies own.
