‘EV market to grow strongly, GST reform saw huge benefit for consumers’: Toyota Kirloskar country head

DAVOS: Toyota Kirloskar Motors Country Head & Executive VP (Corporate Affairs & Governance), Vikram Gulati gave a thumbs up to the emerging electric vehicle market, saying that the segment will see good growth.

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davis, Gulati said, “The EV market will continue to grow strongly because the clear direction is towards sustainable mobility. Of course, there are many sustainable mobility options. Of these options, whether it’s the battery electric, strong hybrid electric or even the greener alternative fuels, they’ll all have a big role to play, and we’ll see good growth going ahead”.

In December last year, it was reported that the PM EDRIVE scheme delivered 1.13 million EVs. The PM EDRIVE scheme offers an incentive of INR 5,000 per kilowatt-hour. The data shows that PM EDRIVE achieved an annualised volume of 1.13 million vehicles. This represents a huge jump in how many people buy electric vehicles. The total money set aside for the new scheme is Rs 109 billion.

The Toyota Kirloskar Executive VP also hailed the recent GST reforms saying that the reduced taxes has brought tremendous benefits to customers. “We really need to thank the government for the huge support it’s extended to the auto industry for electric vehicles in particular, from both the demand side as well as the supply side… The auto industry is very happy that all these efforts are underway to encourage this powertrain to take off in the country. What the automotive industry has seen in the past year is a huge focus on reforms”.

#WATCH | Mumbai | Toyota Kirloskar Motor Country Head & Executive VP (Corporate Affairs & Governance), Vikram Gulati says, “… The EV market will continue to grow strongly because the clear direction is towards sustainable mobility. Of course, there are many sustainable mobility… pic.twitter.com/ttH9PNwGIe

— ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2026

“We’ve seen the last budget bring in tax cuts, putting more money in consumers’ hands, followed by the GST 2.0, a phenomenal reform that has reduced taxes across the board, particularly for automotive. That has yielded tremendous benefits for consumers, enabling them to buy vehicles, and has also driven very handsome growth in the automotive sector,” said the Executive VP.

Gulati expects the Government to continue on its reform agenda in the next budget which will be presented on February 1.

“The last quarter has been phenomenal. As a result, the automotive industry’s passenger vehicles have seen a significant rise, with sales reaching their highest-ever levels for four-wheelers. The positive momentum continues. In this budget, we sincerely hope that the government’s focus on reforms, ease of doing business in India, as well as focus on infrastructure spending, continues because that is going to keep the momentum going for the entire economy,” he said.

According to a report by Nuvama, the demand upcycle in the passenger vehicle (PV) segment could continue up to FY29, supported by GST 2.0 reforms and a strong outlook for the automobile sector. The report highlighted that volumes in the PV segment saw their trough in FY21. The segment crossed its previous peak in FY23 and is now on track to create new peaks. (ANI)