MUMBAI: The West Asia war has played a key role in the faster acceptance of electric mobility in India, shifting the market from ‘a push mode to a pull mode’, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle Ltd managing director-CEO Shailesh Chandra said on Tuesday.
The company, which launched the electric version of its popular SUV Sierra at an introductory price ranging between Rs 18.79 and Rs 24.79 lakh, expects industry EV penetration in the passenger vehicle segment to be 7-8 per cent this fiscal and cross 10 per cent in FY28, he told reporters here in an interaction.
While the entry of multiple players in the EV segment and the breaking of barriers across subsegments such as pricing, range anxiety, and charging infrastructure have helped EV growth, the West
Asia war has also played a significant role, he added.
“Around the Middle East crisis, there has been a faster acceptance. I would say, if the same customers were reluctant before, say, February 2026, they are now more amenable to considering an EV,” Chandra noted.
He further said, “The Mideast crisis has shifted the market from a push mode to a pull mode, and therefore that is also definitely a force multiplier or a catalyst to the already growing EV industry on the back of some strong products and on the back of multiple players coming into this segment.”
The bookings for the latest eSUV start from Tuesday, while deliveries will commence from July 15, the company announced.
The fuel price increases, and even in some cases fear of non-availability of fuels, had made consumers consider EVs, especially in the entry segment of PVs where total running cost is a big consideration, he added.
“It (EV) is an industry which has transitioned from early adopters to mainstream, and now electric vehicles are becoming more and more mainstream,” Chandra said.
For the ongoing fiscal, he said EV penetration in the PV segment is expected to be around 7-8 per cent this fiscal, up from 4.5 per cent in FY26, and is likely to cross 10 per cent in FY28.