Exploring Operational and Administrative Constraints in Electric Vehicle Manufacturing: Issues and Strategic Perspectives

Abstract

The Indian electric vehicle (EV) industry has moved from an experimental phase to a phase of commercial scale-up, with annual registrations crossing twenty-five lakh units and overall penetration touching approximately 8.5 per cent of total vehicle registrations in FY 2025-26. This growth, however, has not been matched by a proportionate maturing of the manufacturing base. Manufacturers continue to confront a dual burden: operational constraints arising from import dependence, thin supplier depth, capacity under-utilisation, skill shortages and validation infrastructure gaps; and administrative constraints arising from procedural complexity, delayed incentive disbursement, policy discontinuity, multi-agency clearances and compliance costs. The present study examines these two constraint domains in an integrated manner. Primary data were collected from 120 respondents drawn from EV original equipment manufacturers and auto-component units located in the Pune-Chakan-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar industrial corridor of Maharashtra, using a structured five-point Likert scale instrument. The data were analysed through descriptive statistics, reliability testing, one-sample and paired-sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA and correlation analysis. The findings indicate that both operational and administrative constraints are perceived as significantly severe, that the difference between the two domains is not statistically significant, and that perceived severity varies inversely with firm size. Constraint severity is negatively correlated with capacity utilisation. The paper concludes with a set of strategic perspectives covering supply-chain de-risking, single-window administrative reform, predictable and time-bound incentive architecture, cluster-based shared testing facilities and skill formation, aimed at converting policy intent into manufacturing capability.