Goyal Meets Skoda Auto to Talk EV Manufacturing and Localisation in India

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met representatives of Skoda Auto to discuss electric vehicle manufacturing and localisation in India, according to a report by Rediff MoneyWiz published on November 9, 2026.

The meeting centred on two things: building EVs in the country and deepening the use of locally sourced components. The report did not disclose what was agreed, if anything, or which Skoda executives attended.

Skoda Auto is part of the Volkswagen Group, which has a long-running presence in India through its Pune plant. The group has been weighing how to position itself in the country's small but growing electric passenger vehicle market.

Why localisation keeps coming up

India's EV policy has leaned hard on domestic manufacturing. Imported electric cars carry steep duties, and the government has tied incentives to investment in local production and sourcing. For a carmaker like Skoda, that arithmetic matters. Build here, and the cost base changes. Import, and the sticker price stays out of reach for most buyers.

Goyal has spent much of his tenure courting foreign automakers, and his ministry has pushed the message that India is open for manufacturing investment. Meetings like this one fit that pattern.

Details remain thin. No investment figure was announced. No timeline. No confirmation of which models, if any, Skoda plans to assemble or produce in India.

The wider picture

India's electric passenger vehicle segment is still tiny compared with the overall car market, though it is growing. Tata Motors leads, with MG and Mahindra in the mix. Global players have been slower to commit, citing charging infrastructure, battery costs and the difficulty of hitting competitive price points.

Skoda's parent has spoken before about India as a production and export hub. Whether that translates into electric vehicle assembly on Indian soil is the question this meeting appears to have put on the table.

The Rediff MoneyWiz report gave no further comment from Goyal's office or from Skoda Auto.