Companies hiring on all cylinders to take charge of EV market

Electric vehicle makers are revving up hiring amid an escalating battle between legacy manufacturers and startups to get ahead in India’s red-hot EV market. Companies such as Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, TVS Motor and Ultraviolette told ET they are adding talent across key functions. Others expanding their headcount include Ola Electric, Hero MotoCorp, Ather Energy, Greaves Electric Mobility, BYD India and EMotorad, said recruiters and industry officials. US EV giant Tesla also posted Mumbai job openings earlier this week, signalling its renewed plans to enter the Indian market. Senior talent is in big demand as are expatriates from Europe, Middle East and Africa region, Southeast Asia and the US, said companies. Areas of focus include EV technology, software-driven vehicles, hydrogen fuel, engineering and R&D, commercial roles, customer service, data analytics and AI.

Recruitment and search firms such as Michael Page and ABC Consultants said hiring mandates from EV makers surged 25-30% in the past quarter with hefty salaries on offer.

Platform heads are being offered Rs 80 lakh-1.5 crore salary packages while for CXO level executives, mid-sized firms are paying Rs 1.75-2crore with large companies shelling out Rs 2.5 crore to more than Rs 3 crore.


The accelerated manpower hiring comes at a time an increasing number of companies are looking to tap this growing market. Despite moderating growth, sales of electric two-wheelers climbed 33% to 1,148,529 units, crossing the one million mark for the first time in 2024, supported by government incentives, infrastructure expansion and growing consumer demand. Electric car sales rose by 20% to 99,165 units in the same period, shows data collated by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) from the VAHAN portal of the Ministry of Road, Transport & Highways (MoRTH).

As reported by ET, India is set to finalise guidelines for an incentive scheme to promote EV manufacturing, with details expected next month.

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Increased push is translating into increased hiring.

Sitaram Kandi, chief human resources officer at Tata Motors said during June-December 2024, the automaker hired a significant number of personnel for the EV vertical to support rapid growth. “Looking ahead, we plan to continue this momentum by hiring even more talented individuals to drive our EV initiatives forward,” he said.

Explaining the company’s recruitment strategy, Kandi said, “Tata Motors follows a global talent approach and actively hires professionals across industries to bring in specialised expertise and diverse perspectives. We've hired expats for EV positions and are looking for more.”

At Mahindra & Mahindra, fresh talent is being hired for its ‘Electric Origin’ SUV range for functions such as sales, customer support, and product development with a focus on advanced engineering, battery technology, and mechatronics, said Veejay Nakra, president, automotive division.

“Our goal is to build a future-ready workforce that will drive innovation and sustainable growth in the EV space,” he said.

In a recent interview, K N Radhakrishnan, CEO at TVS Motor said the company has hired nearly 500 people to bolster its capabilities in software and digital functions.

TVS is looking to explore global markets with EVs and some ICE (internal combustion engine) products. “The topline can come only with the right kind of people and investment behind people,” said Radhakrishnan.

Electric bike startup Ultraviolette Automotive will continue investing in talent across embedded systems, battery engineering, power electronics, and software development. At the same time, it is doubling down on commercial functions—strengthening sales, service, and operations to support its expansion in India besides entering the European market.

“Our hiring efforts will be aligned with this dual focus, ensuring we have the best minds driving both innovation and business growth,” said Niraj Rajmohan, chief technology officer.

Ultraviolette is tapping talent worldwide including expats and professionals returning to India, bringing in expertise from companies such as Tesla, Rivian, Samsung, and Honda, said Rajmohan.

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Amol Gangaramany, partner, automotive practice at ABC Consultants said there has been a sharp uptick in hirings and enquiries from EV makers. The recruitment firm is currently running 12-15 CXO-level searches.

Multiple factors are contributing to the surge, said Gangaramany. These include a focus by companies on growing the EV portfolio, launch of pure EV platform-based vehicles, and increased focus on electronics/ electrical components requiring related talent. “CTOs are the hottest property currently.”

According to Anshul Lodha, managing director of Michael Page India, with many EV & EV ancillary makers reaching a stage of growing their businesses, there is likely to be a further increase in mid-senior hirings.

“We are currently running around 50+ active mandates with EV & EV infra organisations, spread across finance, R&D, operations, international business, manufacturing, projects, etc,” he said.