Budget Wishlist 2026: What Tata Motors PV, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India & other automakers want

As the Union Budget 2026 is round the corner, India's automobile sector has come up with a set of expectations to boost demand, accelerate electric mobility and support domestic production.

Key players like Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, along with other automakers, are looking for policy support from the government in the upcoming budget to revive overall demand in the auto sector..

Budget Wishlist 2026: Tata Motors requests incentives for entry-level EVs

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles has requested targeted incentives for entry-level electric vehicles (EVs) and support for the electric cars used in the fleet segment under the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme in the forthcoming Union Budget.

While noting that GST 2.0, the repo rate cut and tax regime changes have revived passenger vehicle demand, Shailesh Chandra, the company's MD and CEO, said the entry-level EVs continue to face pressure.

He stated that EVs used in the fleet segment contribute just 7% to the overall PV sales but account for around 33-35% of passenger kilometres.

He highlighted that electric cars used in the fleet segment were part of the FAME-2 scheme but missed being part of the PM E-Drive scheme.

"A fleet car runs five times more than a passenger car. So therefore, the support that you give to the segment has a multiplier impact at an environmental level, right in terms of particulate matter or zero emissions and on the import of oil. This is one segment which was identified in the FAME scheme, government may consider it for PM E-Drive inclusion," Chandra said.

Skoda Auto Volkswagen calls for policy continuity, customs duty reforms

Skoda Auto Volkswagen India's MD and CEO, Piyush Arora, called for policy continuity, infrastructure growth and a stronger EV ecosystem in the upcoming Union Budget.

The company, which manages the Indian operations of six brands, Skoda, Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Porsche and Lamborghini, also underscored the importance of customs reforms.

"And from that point of view, if there are some important duties in the electric (vehicle) space that can be addressed (in the Budget) going forward, it would help... Continuity is extremely important for our sector, along with further focus on infrastructure growth and building up the EV ecosystem," he said.

Volvo Group India bats for regulations to promote EVs

Kamal Bali, President and Managing Director, Volvo Group India, pitched for regulations to promote electric vehicles and clean energy vehicles. He said that the adoption of such vehicles could take time but remained confident that India as a country is looking at decarbonising its ecosystem.

"There is the infrastructure requirement: charging infrastructure, suppliers of clean power... the entire ecosystem that customers wanting and promoting clean and green transport. So I think you need and then regulations to promote EVs and clean vehicles. So I think adaptation is going to take time… it is going to be progressive, but we are confident that this will happen and as a country India is looking at decarbonising our our ecosystem quite well. But we we look forward to ecosystem development so that as EV players, as one of the prominent EV players, EV or I would say hydrogen or hydrogen fuel cells or LNG players in the CV industry, we can really make inroads in this sector as well," he added.