New Delhi, April 14 (IANS) India’s automotive and EV sector recorded 35 deals valued at $745 million in Q1 2026, reflecting a stable yet selective deal environment, a report said on Tuesday.
The report from Grant Thornton Bharat said deal volumes remained largely flat sequentially and values moderated from $745 million compared to $837 million in the previous quarter.
The values moderated due to the absence of large cross-border and scale-driven transactions, with zero IPO or QIP activity during the quarter.
The sharp decline in outbound deal values was notable at $10 million in Q1 2026 compared to $4,064 million in Q3 2025. This indicates a normalisation in overall deal values, even as capital continued to be directed towards electrification, mobility platforms and enabling infrastructure.
PE activity remained the key driver of deal-making in Q1 2026, with 28 deals valued at $702 million, up 12 per cent in volumes and surging 86 per cent in terms of value.
Overall, deal-making remained disciplined, with investors and acquirers focusing on risk-adjusted, scalable opportunities, the report noted.
Saket Mehra, Partner and Auto and EV Industry Leader, Grant Thornton Bharat, said that India’s auto and EV sector is entering an inflection point, driven by improving domestic demand, accelerating electrification, and a growing focus on supply-chain resilience amid evolving geopolitical dynamics.
“Policy support continues to strengthen the EV ecosystem, particularly across energy storage and infrastructure. Against this backdrop, deal activity remains focused on future-ready themes, with investors prioritising electrification, mobility platforms, and ecosystem enablers such as charging, swapping, and battery technologies,” Mehra added.
Mergers & Acquisition (M&A) activity remained muted in Q1 2026, with 7 deals valued at $43 million, down 22 per cent in volumes and down 91 per cent drop in terms of value.
Deal activity was largely driven by small-ticket, capability-led acquisitions, and dominated by domestic deals, with limited outbound activity (2 deals).
Acquirers continued to prioritise technology, digital capabilities, and ecosystem adjacency, focusing on platform strengthening rather than scale-driven consolidation, the report noted.
—IANS
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