# EV industry must focus on profitability, scale: JSW MG Motor exec 2026-08-25T16:51:10+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Biju Balendran, Deputy Managing Director of JSW MG Motor India, said the electric vehicle industry's next challenge is achieving competitiveness, scale and profitability. Speaking at the ETAuto Retail Forum 2026, he emphasised that the sector must now shift focus to affordability, dependable charging infrastructure, real-world driving range and software-led mobility. Balendran noted that while early adoption has been encouraging, the industry needs to address these areas to make EVs a viable mass-market option. He added that building a sustainable ecosystem requires collaboration across manufacturing, energy and technology sectors. ## Indian Opinion Analysis India's EV market, still less than 7% of total vehicle sales, faces a familiar post-subsidy reckoning. The FAME II scheme, which ends in March 2024, provided upfront demand support but did little to fix charging density or battery costs. Under the Ministry of Heavy Industries' 2024 EV policy, companies committing Rs 4,150 crore in localisation get import duty relief on premium EVs. The real test will be whether firms like JSW MG Motor can hit the 50% domestic value-addition target by 2029 without passing costs to buyers. The next quarterly sales data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) will show if the segment is growing or plateauing. ## Coverage - auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com Straightforward reporting of executive comments with no added slant. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Biju Balendran, electric vehicles, JSW MG Motor Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/ev-industry-must-focus-on-profitability-scale-jsw-mg-motor-exec/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/ev-industry-must-focus-on-profitability-scale-jsw-mg-motor-exec/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/