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India CAFE Series · Part 3 · The OEM Landscape
OEM Strategy15 Makers · FY26-FY32Net Buyers vs Sellers

Where the 15 India PV OEMs Sit on the CAFE Curve

Every passenger-vehicle OEM in India mapped against FY26 units, BEV mix, curb weight, and 5-year strategic role — from Maruti's 1.87M-unit volume exposure to Tata's structural credit surplus.

By Climate Decode · · 11 min read

OEMs covered in this view
15
The 15 PV makers tracked in this coverage (Stellantis and new entrant VinFast excluded)
FY26 industry volume
~4.7 M
Passenger vehicles, M1 category, sold in India
BEV share of industry
~4.3%
Sales-weighted FY26; up from ~2% in FY24
In This Article
Method

How to Read the Table

Four data columns and a classification define each OEM's CAFE position. Units FY26 is FY25-26 PV retail from VAHAN/FADA aggregates. BEV % is the share of FY26 units that are battery-electric (FY26 dispatch data). Curb kg is the sales-weighted average curb weight, which drives the individual target via the mass curve. 5-yr role is our classification of whether the OEM will likely be a credit-market net buyer, net seller, balanced, or penalty-leaning under base-case CAFE-III assumptions.

A note on the numbers

These figures are illustrative, derived from public sales data, VAHAN aggregates, and ARAI-published per-model CO2 values. Actual CAFE positions depend on the per-variant sales mix within each model, which only the OEMs themselves see in full. TerraNova for CAFE (Part 7) is built to capture this granularity at the variant level.

The Table

The 15 PV OEMs — Full Ranking

⚠ Public data + Climate Decode classification

Volumes are FY26 (Apr 2025–Mar 2026) VAHAN/FADA retail aggregates; BEV mixes use FY26 dispatch data (AutoPunditz). The 5-year role classification is Climate Decode's view of where each OEM likely sits in the CAFE 2027 credit market given its public BEV / SHEV guidance — not a calculation of any single OEM's filed CAFE position. The actual filed positions are known only to BEE and the OEMs themselves. Roles assume the September 2025 published draft (SHEV 2.0×); the April 2026 circulated draft's reported SHEV cut to 1.6× (Business Standard) would weaken the Toyota / Maruti / Honda hedge positions if it survives to notification.

Sorted by FY26 volume. Columns: OEM, FY26 units, BEV % of those units, average curb weight (which drives the OEM's mass-curve-adjusted Standard), and our directional 5-year role classification under base-case CAFE 2027 assumptions.

OEMUnits FY26BEV %Curb kg5-yr role — directional
Maruti Suzuki~1,870,000~0.2%~1,000Net buyer — volume-driven, SHEV-mitigated
Mahindra & Mahindra~630,000~8.7%~1,700Net buyer (improving with INGLO ramp)
Tata Motors~614,000~14%~1,300Major seller — largest nominal surplus
Hyundai Motor India~578,000~1.0%~1,250Major buyer — depends on Creta EV ramp
Toyota Kirloskar~335,000~0%~1,500Balanced — SHEV-anchored at 2.0×
Kia India~279,000~1.6%~1,400Major buyer
Skoda-VW India~110,000~0%~1,500Major buyer — pooling candidate
MG Motor (JSW-MG)~66,000~86%~1,450Major seller (per-unit)
Renault-Nissan~62,000~0.0%~1,150Net buyer
Honda Cars India~61,000~0.0%~1,200Penalty-leaning — e:HEV-only strategy
Mercedes-Benz India~18,000~9.0%~2,000Net buyer — pooling candidate
BMW India~17,000~14.0%~1,900Net buyer — pooling candidate
Audi India~7,000~6.0%~1,900Net buyer — pooling candidate
BYD India~5,400~100%~1,900Major seller (per-unit)
Volvo Cars India~3,000~55%~1,900Net seller (per-unit)
-20-10+0+10+20+300%10%20%30%40%50%60%MarutiHyundaiTataMahindraKiaToyotaHondaSkoda-VWMG-JSWMercedesBMWBYDVolvoBEV mix % (FY26)CAFE-II margin (g/km)
OEM positioning — BEV mix (x-axis) vs directional CAFE-II margin (y-axis), bubble size = FY26 volume. Gold = directional net surplus, teal = directional net deficit. Margin axis is directional only; specific OEM positions are not published. BEV-mix axis truncates at 60% — MG-JSW (~86% in FY26) plots beyond it.

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Net Sellers

The Net Sellers — Where the Supply Comes From

Four OEMs dominate the supply side of the CAFE-III credit market under base-case assumptions: Tata, MG-JSW, BYD, and Volvo. Tata is in a league of its own on absolute volume.

Tata Motors — the structural anchor

Tata sits at ~14% BEV mix in FY26 (85,405 BEVs across Nexon EV, Punch EV, Tiago EV, Tigor EV, Curvv EV and Harrier EV), with the pipeline expanding (Sierra EV, Avinya). At its public guidance of 30% BEV by FY30, the super-credit math on its ~610K-unit base produces the industry's largest cumulative surplus over the FY28-FY32 block — nominally a multi-thousand-crore position at the BEE floor on our model. In the base case, most of it gets banked rather than realised because supply outstrips demand — this is the ‘scrip nobody wants' problem (Part 6).

MG Motor (JSW-MG)

JSW Group's 2024 partnership turned MG from a niche EV play (ZS EV, Comet EV) into India's EV-mix outlier: ~86% of its FY26 volume was battery-electric (62,591 of 72,925 dispatches; FADA retail ~66K), led by the Windsor — India's best-selling EV of FY2026 at 46,720 units — sailing past the original 50%-by-FY27 target. Per-unit credit generation is the highest of any mass-market OEM; absolute volume keeps the cumulative surplus an order of magnitude below Tata's.

BYD India and Volvo Cars India

Both are essentially pure-EV plays at the India end of their portfolios. BYD's Atto 3, Seal, and Sealion 7 generate large per-unit credits but low absolute volumes (~5,000 units in FY26). Volvo's EX30, EX40, and XC40 Recharge fleet, alongside its 90–100%-electrified-by-2030 ambition (the all-EV-by-2030 pledge was dropped in September 2024), puts it on the supply side, but at ~3,000 units the absolute contribution is small.

Net Buyers

The Net Buyers — Where the Demand Comes From

Most of the volume on the demand side comes from large makers with thin BEV mixes today and high ICE/SHEV legacy positions. Maruti is the single largest net buyer by absolute exposure simply because of its 1.87M-unit base.

Maruti Suzuki — the volume problem

Maruti's CAFE-II margin looks healthy on the MIDC basis. The CAFE 2027 step-down is what bites: the FY28 standard tightens ~22% against the CAFE-II baseline on the same MIDC cycle, and a ~0.2% FY26 BEV mix (the eVitara launched only in February 2026) leaves the fleet carrying that step almost entirely on ICE and SHEV efficiency. If and when MoRTH triggers WLTP for CAFE and MoP issues the conversion factor, trade-press estimates suggest measured ICE CO2 readings rise ~18% on average (derived from the EU's NEDC→WLTP shift — not a regulatory parameter), with targets re-based separately. On our base case Maruti opens CAFE 2027 in deficit before any plan — and at ~1.87M units, each gramme of deficit creates the largest absolute credit demand in the market. The SHEV strategy (Grand Vitara, Invicto) helps materially via the 2.0× multiplier — the eVitara, eWagonR (FY27) and eSwift/eDzire later are the BEV side of the same hedge.

Hyundai-Kia — the second-tier exposure

Hyundai (~578K units) and Kia (~279K units) together represent ~860K units of net-buyer exposure. Hyundai's Creta EV (launched January 2025) did ~5.6K units in FY26; Kia's Carens Clavis EV (launched 2025) did ~4.5K. The Hyundai-Kia parent has a deep global BEV portfolio but localisation is the bottleneck — both ran ~1–2% BEV mixes in FY26.

Premium European importers

Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Skoda-VW collectively represent ~150K units but the highest per-unit CO2 readings in the market. On our model, Mercedes and Skoda-VW run the deepest directional deficits of the group under CAFE 2027 (specific margins are platform outputs, not published here). Their lobbying push is for pooling provisions (VW Group netting Audi + Skoda + VW) and for relief on the mass-curve. Without pooling, all four are net buyers at ceiling-adjacent prices.

The Tail

The Penalty-Leaning OEMs

A few OEMs sit in a structurally awkward place: too large to ignore, too small to invest in a domestic BEV platform, with a model strategy that does not match the multiplier stack. Honda is the canonical example.

Honda Cars India runs an e:HEV-only strategy through 2027 with no BEV in the India lineup. The 2.0× SHEV multiplier helps but does not close the gap on its ~61,000-unit FY26 base. Honda is likely to pay penalty rather than buy enough credits to fill the gap, unless e:N1/e:N2 imports arrive faster than currently guided. The exposure is bounded by Honda's small volume, but it is real.

BEV Guidance

What Each OEM Has Publicly Committed To

Public BEV-ramp guidance varies sharply by OEM. Below is what each maker has said in investor calls, FY26 materials, or partnership announcements. These are guidance figures, not regulatory commitments.

OEMBEV targetKey launches
Tata Motors30% BEV by FY30Sierra EV FY28, Avinya 1 FY29, Curvv EV, Harrier EV
Maruti Suzuki15-20% BEV + 15-20% SHEV by 2030eVitara (launched Feb 2026), eWagonR FY27, eSwift/eDzire later
Hyundai Motor IndiaMulti-EV by FY28+Creta EV (Jan 2025), Carens Clavis EV (2025), Inster import
Mahindra30% BEV by FY30BE 6, XEV 9e launched; Sierra EV planned (INGLO platform)
MG-JSWAlready ~86% BEV in FY26 — 50% target surpassedWindsor (India’s #1 EV, FY26), Comet, ZS EV
Toyota KirloskarSHEV-heavy bridgeHycross (~60% SHEV), Hyryder, Camry, bZ4X import possible
Honda Cars Indiae:HEV-only through 2027BEV launches FY29+ via e:N1/e:N2 imports speculative
Mercedes-Benz~38% BEV by FY32EQB, EQE, EQS scaling; localised assembly considered
BMW India~42% BEV by FY32iX, i4, i5, i7 import scaling
BYD IndiaNear-pure BEVAtto 3, Seal, Sealion 7; scaling slowly through pricing constraints
Volvo Cars India90–100% electrified by 2030 (all-EV pledge dropped Sept 2024)EX30, EX40, XC40 Recharge

For OEM Strategy Teams

Public BEV ramp guidance is what each OEM has said publicly. What it would take to actually hit those numbers is a different conversation.

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The Trajectory

What Changes Most by FY32

By FY32 the OEM mix on the supply side will look unrecognisable from FY26. Tata's structural lead narrows as Maruti, Hyundai-Kia, and Mahindra add BEV volume. MG-JSW's per-unit lead is already locked in at ~86% mix; the open question is whether absolute volumes scale beyond the current ~66K a year. Volvo and BYD likely move from major-per-unit-sellers to net contributors if import duties soften. The premium European importers depend almost entirely on whether pooling becomes legal.

The asymmetry to watch

Even by FY32, Maruti's sheer volume keeps it as the single largest net-buyer exposure in the market — even a modest per-gramme deficit at ~1.9M units is structurally larger than any other OEM's position. The shape of the credit market is dominated by what Maruti chooses to do.

Next in this series

What is still being fought over in the draft.

Part 4 covers the five open issues that will determine how the credit market actually clears — super-credit policy stability, mass-curve fairness, WLTP cycle data, pooling provisions, and the enforcement question.

Read Part 4 →Series Home
Continue in the India CAFE Series

Part 2 — CAFE-III Mechanics  ·  Part 5 — Per-OEM Cost Exposure  ·  Part 6 — The Credit Market Modelled

References & Sources

Where each claim comes from

Primary regulatory sources and verified analysis cited above.

  1. BEE CAFE 2027 draft
  2. VAHAN public dashboard — vehicle registrations
  3. SIAM industry data portal
  4. AutoPunditz — Electric Car Sales in India, FY2026 OEM-wise analysis
  5. FADA / VAHAN — FY2026 PV retail registrations (47.05 lakh, +13%)
  6. Business Standard — Small carmakers worried about CAFE-3 (Nov 2025)
  7. Business Standard — Mahindra denies penalty report

Modelling your CAFE-III position before the rulebook locks in

From per-OEM cost exposure to the 5-year credit-market view, Climate Decode helps Indian passenger-vehicle OEMs sequence the CAFE-III response with finance-grade clarity.