Former G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Friday hailed Tata Motors and Mahindra for topping a global ranking on electric vehicle energy efficiency, saying Indian engineering built for Indian roads was now setting the global benchmark.
In a post on X, Kant wrote, "Indian Automakers just topped the world in EV efficiency. Not Tesla. Not BYD. Tata and Mahindra."
Indian Automakers just topped the world in EV efficiency. Not Tesla. Not BYD. Tata and Mahindra.
— Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) August 6, 2026
Among the world's 22 largest automakers, Tata Motors and Mahindra posted the lowest energy consumption per km in 2025, beating Tesla and BYD on efficiency.
Indian engineering, built… pic.twitter.com/jPvfFkwdx8
He added that among the world's 22 largest automakers, Tata Motors and Mahindra posted the lowest energy consumption per km in 2025, beating Tesla and BYD on efficiency, crediting the study to the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and Rest of World.
The claim is backed by the ICCT's Global Automaker Rating 2025, which evaluated 22 of the world's largest automakers across 10 parameters.
The report placed Tata Motors at the top of the rankings with an adjusted energy consumption of 106 Wh/km, followed by Mahindra at 113 Wh/km.
The results put both Indian automakers ahead of established global manufacturers including Tesla, BYD, BMW, Volkswagen, Hyundai-Kia and Mercedes-Benz on this specific technology parameter, according to the ICCT assessment.
Tesla and BYD ranked third and fourth in the metric, while the average energy consumption across the leading EVs remained nearly unchanged year on year at 131 Wh/km in 2025, the ICCT ranking showed.
The report noted that Mahindra featured in the rankings for the first time this year, reflecting the increasing representation of India's passenger vehicle market on the global stage.
Amit Bhatt, India Managing Director at ICCT, said it was encouraging to see India's EV transition being led by strong home-grown manufacturers, adding that Mahindra's inclusion alongside Tata Motors highlighted the growing global relevance of Indian automotive companies.
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He said progressive and ambitious CAFE standards could help accelerate this momentum as India works towards its target of 30% EV sales by 2030.
ICCT's global programme lead, Dale Hall, said the findings reflected a wider shift in the global automotive landscape, noting that electric vehicles accounted for 25% of new light-duty vehicle sales worldwide in 2025, with most major automakers increasing their EV share during the year, Rest of world reported.
Reports have attributed the efficiency gains to the compact nature of Indian EV models, such as the Tata Sierra.ev and Mahindra BE 6, which typically carry smaller battery packs than larger EVs sold in markets like the US, allowing them to consume less energy per kilometre travelled.
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