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Indian auto industry should leverage expanding trade partnerships: Commerce Minister
Sep-04-2026

In order to unlock new avenues of growth, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has said that the Indian automotive industry should leverage the country's expanding trade partnerships, growing domestic market and global shifts in manufacturing. He called for deeper localisation, increased investment in technology, innovation and research and development, and stronger export capabilities, while urging the industry to prepare itself to serve global markets. Besides, Goyal highlighted the automotive sector’s potential to become one of the major engines of India’s growth in the coming years. He pointed to the industry’s strong growth performance and said rising incomes and aspirations offered considerable scope for this growth to continue.

The Minister said India should not be satisfied with merely serving the domestic market and urged companies to think globally. He said global competition would intensify as more global car companies come to India and stressed that companies must use economies of scale in India to serve markets across the world. He observed that production would increasingly shift out of developed countries because of unaffordable costs, regulatory overburden, shortage of youth and talent, and inadequate industrial capacities. Companies that anticipate these changes, plan for the future and seize emerging opportunities would benefit, while those remaining in the comfort of their existing businesses and markets risked being left behind.

The Minister further said that India had made a best effort through intense negotiations with the European Union and that the support extended by international companies during the negotiations was noteworthy. He said the outcome provided opportunities for bilateral and multilateral trade, growing exports, improved technology absorption and adoption of the latest technologies, and urged companies to take full advantage of these opportunities. The Minister said India’s expanding trade partnerships are creating a vast new opportunity landscape for the automotive industry. He highlighted the conclusion of nine trade agreements over the past four and a half years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, covering economies with a combined GDP of around $60 trillion. He said this represented a major shift in India's approach, reflecting the self-confidence of New India, the pace of reforms and the transformation of India's ecosystem.

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