Aim to Make India's Auto Industry No. 1 Globally in 5 Years: Gadkari

The government's aim is to make India's automobile industry number one in the world within five years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.

The future of Indian automobile industry is very good as the country has trained manpower, Gadkari said while addressing an event here, highlighting that all big automobile companies are present in the country.

"Within five years, our target is to make India's automobile industry the number 1 in the world... it is difficult, but not impossible," the road transport and highways minister said.

Gadkari pointed out that the quality of vehicles manufactured in India is good and cost is less, so all top automobile companies are present in the country.

"When I took charge as transport minister, the size of Indian automobile industry was ₹14 lakh crore. The size of Indian automobile industry now is ₹22 lakh crore," Gadkari said.

Presently, the size of the US automobile industry is ₹78 lakh crore, followed by China (₹47 lakh crore) and India (₹22 lakh crore).

Gadkari noted that India is spending ₹22 lakh crore for importing fossil fuels and because of import of fossil fuels, "we are facing problem of pollution".

The minister said Indian companies are manufacturing electric cars, buses and trucks as they are very cost-effective.

"The cost of lithium-ion battery is also reducing. In due course of time, the price of petrol, diesel vehicles and electric vehicle will be the same," Gadkari observed.

The minister pointed out that manufacturing capacity of electric buses in India was 50,000-60,000 per year, but the country's requirement is 1,00,000 buses per year.

"We need to increase production of electric buses... There is a huge market for exports also. This is the opportunity for electric vehicle companies," he said.

Gadkari said the transport ministry is working to encourage use of flex-fuel engine in agriculture equipment vehicles.

Responding to the growing concern on social media about E20, Gadkari said the petroleum sector is lobbying against this move.

"Everywhere there are lobbies, there are interests...petrol lobby is very rich," he said.

Currently, Indian vehicles can run on E20 petrol with minor changes to the engine to prevent corrosion and other issues. In 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched petrol blended with 20% ethanol.

Ethanol, which can be produced from sugarcane, broken rice and other agricultural products, is expected to help reduce India's dependence on foreign oil. India is currently the world's third-largest oil consumer and imports about 88% of its crude oil requirements, making it vulnerable to geopolitical vagaries that can impact crude prices.

Responding to a question on the recent goods and services tax (GST)rationalisation, Gadkari said, "We can get a lot of good material, which is real metal, from scrapping. We can recycle and use it. So, it can be recycled 100%." He asked dealers to see scrappage as an opportunity that aligns with both sustainability and cost competitiveness.

"Scrapping can give us 100% recyclable material," he added.