(The Weekend Insight) - The EV Aftermarket Economy

In today’s deep dive, we will look at the business forming behind India’s EV boom: repairs, battery diagnostics, insurance, resale, fleet maintenance and recycling.

The first phase of EVs was about selling vehicles. The next phase will be about keeping those vehicles running, valuing them correctly, and making sure owners trust them after purchase. This is where the real service layer of India’s EV market will be built.

India’s EV story has been told mostly from the factory floor.

Who is making scooters? Who is making cells? Who is raising money? Who is cutting prices? Who is getting subsidies? Who is opening charging stations?

That was natural in the first phase. When a market is young, the vehicle gets all the attention. The launch event gets covered. The factory capacity gets covered. The booking number gets covered. The fire incident gets covered. The subsidy change gets covered.

But once vehicles start reaching the road in large numbers, a different economy starts forming quietly behind them.

Someone has to repair the scooter when the motor fails. Someone has to tell a second-hand buyer whether the battery still has life left. Someone has to insure a battery that may cost one-third of the vehicle. Someone has to keep delivery fleets running through rain, heat, bad roads and daily abuse. Someone has to collect old batteries, test them, reuse them or recycle them.

This is the part of the EV market that does not look glamorous. It does not have the same excitement as a new scooter launch or a battery factory announcement. But it may decide whether EV ownership actually works for India.

The next large EV opportunity may not come from manufacturing vehicles. It may come from keeping them alive.

India is now entering that phase.

EV registrations crossed 25 lakh units in FY2026. Electric two-wheelers formed close to 58% of that market. Passenger electric three-wheelers added another large chunk. This means India’s EV base is no longer a small early-adopter market. It is becoming a working asset base.

That distinction matters.

A scooter bought for office commute can tolerate some inconvenience. A scooter used by a delivery rider cannot. An e-rickshaw cannot sit idle for three days because a battery issue is waiting for diagnosis. A logistics fleet cannot run on hope that every vehicle will behave well. For these users, EV is not a lifestyle choice. It is an income tool.

And income tools need service.

The old aftermarket will not work as it is

India already has a huge automobile aftermarket.

Every city has local garages, spare-parts dealers, roadside mechanics, tyre shops, battery shops, denting-painting workshops and insurance repair centres. For petrol and diesel vehicles, this informal network became a strength. A rider could get an oil change, clutch repair, brake adjustment or engine check without going to the authorised service centre.

EVs change this structure.

Some old service jobs reduce sharply. There is no engine oil to change. No spark plug. No fuel pump. No exhaust. Fewer moving parts. Less routine mechanical maintenance.

That sounds like bad news for the service market. But it is only half the story.

The new work is different. Battery diagnostics, BMS faults, controller issues, motor repairs, charger problems, wiring harness checks, software errors, thermal problems and range drops become more important.

This is not the same skill set.

A local mechanic can understand a brake pad by looking at it. He cannot always understand why a scooter is showing a battery fault, why range has dropped 30%, why the charger is not communicating with the vehicle, or whether a battery pack is safe after water exposure.

The EV aftermarket will therefore not be a copy of the ICE aftermarket. It will have to build a new layer of tools, training, data access and trust.

That is where the startup opportunity starts.

The battery is the centre of the market

The most important part of an EV is also the most difficult part of the aftermarket.

The battery decides cost, range, resale value, insurance risk, financing risk and vehicle life. In many EVs, the battery pack accounts for roughly 30–40% of the vehicle cost. This makes the battery closer to the engine, fuel tank and resale certificate combined.

For an ICE vehicle, a used buyer asks simple questions. How many kilometres has it run? Has it had an accident? Is the engine okay? Are the papers clear?

For an EV, kilometres are not enough.

Two scooters may have run the same distance. One may have been charged properly, stored well and used gently. The other may have been fast-charged badly, overloaded daily, exposed to heat and pushed to deep discharge. On paper, both may look similar. In reality, one battery may have years left and the other may be close to failure.

This creates a new need: trusted battery health.

That is why companies like BatteryOK, with its EV Doctor diagnostics product, become interesting. The company positions itself around battery diagnostics for service centres, resale, insurers, financiers, OEMs and fleets. The pitch is simple. Before anyone lends against an EV, insures an EV, buys a used EV or repairs an EV, they need to know the battery condition.

This could become the EV version of a credit score.

If the battery score is trusted, it can travel across the ecosystem. A lender can use it to price risk. An insurer can use it for underwriting. A used vehicle marketplace can use it to justify price. A fleet operator can use it for preventive maintenance. A repair network can use it to detect faults early.

The company that owns this data layer may not own the vehicle, the workshop or the customer. But it can sit in the middle of all of them.

Repair is the first visible layer

The most obvious EV aftermarket business is repair.

This is already taking shape in different forms.

OEMs are building their own service networks. Ola has been forced to focus hard on service because customer complaints around repairs and response times became a business issue. Ather sells service plans through Ather Care. Tata.ev, TVS and Bajaj all depend on authorised service networks for trust, especially because EV buyers are still nervous about battery and warranty.

OEMs have an advantage here. They control the vehicle data, spare parts, warranty rules and software access. For high-value passenger EVs, this control will remain strong. A Nexon EV or MG EV owner is more likely to visit an authorised workshop because the battery is expensive and the warranty matters.

But two-wheelers and three-wheelers are different.

The volumes are higher. The customers are more price-sensitive. The vehicles are used in harsher ways. The authorised service network may not be close enough, fast enough or cheap enough for every user.

That opens space for independent EV service networks.

ReadyAssist is one example from the roadside assistance side. It already works across ICE, EV and CNG vehicles, and its network model can plug into OEMs, insurers, fleets and consumers. ev.care is a more direct EV repair example, listing services around Ather batteries, Ola motors, TVS iQube BMS faults, Bajaj Chetak charger issues and controller replacements. Apna Mechanic is trying the doorstep route for EV scooter servicing.

These businesses are not just garages. They are trying to formalise the space between the OEM service centre and the neighbourhood mechanic.

The challenge is access.

If EV repair remains software-locked, independent garages will struggle. If spare parts are hard to source, they will struggle. If diagnostic tools are expensive or unavailable, they will struggle. If poor repairs create safety incidents, customers will go back to OEMs.

So the repair opportunity is large, but it needs infrastructure behind it. Training, tools, parts, safety standards and diagnostic access will matter as much as customer acquisition.

Fleets will create the first serious service demand

The consumer EV market gets more attention, but fleets may create the sharper aftermarket opportunity.

A delivery scooter can run far more kilometres than a personal scooter. An e-rickshaw may operate every day for income. A logistics EV has to meet delivery commitments. These vehicles create higher maintenance frequency, more battery data and a stronger willingness to pay for uptime.

This is why companies like Zypp Electric, Magenta Mobility, Lithium Urban Technologies and Alt Mobility are important to study.

On the surface, Zypp looks like an EV delivery fleet company. Magenta looks like an electric logistics operator. Alt Mobility looks like an EV leasing and lifecycle company. But underneath, all of them are dealing with the same problem: how to keep EV assets productive.

They have to manage vehicle deployment, charging or swapping, rider behaviour, battery degradation, repairs, insurance, downtime and resale. If a vehicle is idle, revenue is lost. If the battery degrades faster than expected, asset economics suffer. If repairs take too long, fleet utilisation falls.

This makes fleet operations a hidden aftermarket business.

For a B2B customer, the product is not the EV. The product is reliable electric mobility. The vehicle is only one part of that promise.

This is different from selling scooters to individuals. Fleet companies cannot say, “Please visit the service centre next week.” They need faster diagnosis, preventive maintenance and replacement capacity. They need to know which vehicle is likely to fail before it fails. They need to route charging and maintenance around business hours.

That is where a fleet maintenance OS can emerge.

A small fleet owner with 50 or 100 EVs may not have the capability to manage battery health, driver misuse, insurance claims, charging cycles and repair schedules. A service platform that handles this layer can become valuable without manufacturing a single vehicle.

Battery swapping is also an aftermarket business

Battery swapping is usually discussed as a charging alternative.

That misses the deeper point.

When a company separates the battery from the vehicle, it takes ownership of the most expensive and most sensitive part of the EV. It then has to manage that battery across its life: charging, cooling, location, theft risk, degradation, replacement, second-life use and recycling.

This is asset management.

Battery Smart and SUN Mobility are the clearest examples in India. Battery Smart has built a swapping network for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers. SUN Mobility has pushed the Battery-as-a-Service model, where the user does not buy the battery upfront but pays for energy access. Its joint venture with Indian Oil, Indofast Swap Energy, shows how this market may move beyond startups into fuel-station-like infrastructure.

Yulu and Yuma Energy also show why this model works better in dense commercial use cases. A delivery rider or shared mobility operator cares about time. If charging takes hours, swapping can protect income.

But swapping is hard.

It needs enough stations, enough batteries, enough vehicles using the same format and enough daily swaps to justify the capital. Every idle battery is trapped capital. Every weak location hurts utilisation. Every battery chemistry and format difference makes standardisation harder.

Still, the service logic is powerful.

If the battery company owns the battery, it also owns battery data. It knows how the battery is used, how fast it degrades, which location creates more stress, which vehicle type performs better and when the battery should leave mobility use.

This gives swapping companies a path into maintenance, financing, warranty and second-life markets.

The battery may start as an energy product. Over time, it becomes a service relationship.

Insurance will need new repair intelligence

EV insurance looks simple from outside. It is still motor insurance.

But the risk is not the same.

In an ICE vehicle, many accidents can be repaired through body work, engine work and parts replacement. In an EV, battery damage can change the claim size sharply. Water damage, fire risk, thermal events, charging equipment and battery replacement all need better understanding.

This creates a problem for insurers.

They need to know whether the battery was damaged. They need certified repair networks. They need better claims assessment. They need to understand whether a battery fault came from an accident, misuse, manufacturing defect or poor charging behaviour.

This is where diagnostics and repair networks can become insurance infrastructure.

A battery health report can help underwrite policies. A certified EV workshop can help control claim leakage. Telematics can help price fleet insurance. A preferred repair network can reduce uncertainty for insurers.

Insurance platforms and brokers will distribute the policy. But the real margin may sit with whoever can reduce battery claim risk.

This is also where extended warranty becomes important. OEMs know that a nervous EV buyer wants battery assurance. Ather Care, Tata.ev extended warranty plans and similar products are not only service products. They are trust products.

Warranty keeps the customer inside the OEM ecosystem. It also keeps repair data, parts demand and resale confidence within the company’s control.

Financing depends on resale value

EV financing is another underrated part of the service layer.

A lender financing an EV is not only underwriting the buyer. It is underwriting the battery, the route, the usage pattern and the residual value.

This is why companies like Revfin are interesting. EV lending to drivers and small commercial users is not the same as a normal vehicle loan. The asset can earn daily income, but only if it stays operational. Battery life matters. Charging access matters. Driver behaviour matters. Resale value matters.

Leasing companies face the same issue in a sharper way.

Alt Mobility and Electrifi Mobility are not just putting vehicles on lease. They are taking a view on asset life. Their returns depend on monthly rentals, maintenance cost, battery performance, downtime and eventual resale. If the battery degrades faster than expected, the lease economics change. If used EV resale is weak, the asset owner takes the hit.

So lenders and leasing companies will eventually demand better battery data.

They may become some of the strongest customers for diagnostics startups. Before financing a used EV, they will want a battery certificate. Before refinancing a fleet, they will want usage data. Before offering lower rates, they may want proof of charging behaviour and maintenance history.

In ICE vehicles, financing could depend heavily on vehicle model, borrower profile and resale history. In EVs, battery health enters the credit model.

This is where the aftermarket becomes financial infrastructure.

Used EVs will expose the trust gap

The used EV market is still early in India, but it will become important soon.

The first wave of electric scooter and car buyers will upgrade. Fleets will rotate vehicles. Delivery platforms will retire high-usage assets. Leasing companies will look for exits. Three-wheeler owners will resell vehicles into smaller towns and lower-income markets.

That is when the trust gap will become visible.

A used petrol scooter is easier to understand. A mechanic can inspect it. A buyer can test ride it. Parts are available. Repair costs are known.

A used electric scooter needs a different inspection. What is the battery state of health? How many cycles has it gone through? Was it charged properly? Has the BMS been replaced? Is the charger original? Is the warranty transferable? Has the vehicle seen water damage? Is the displayed range real or optimistic?

Without answers, buyers will discount heavily.

That can hurt the entire EV chain. Low resale value hurts leasing companies. It hurts lenders. It hurts first-time buyers because ownership cost becomes less predictable. It hurts OEMs because customers may fear poor residual value.

This creates a clear white space: a used-EV marketplace built around battery certification.

The used vehicle market in India is already large. But EV resale cannot be built only on listings, photos and seller claims. It needs technical trust.

A neutral certificate could become the difference between a dead market and a liquid market.

The battery does not die with the vehicle

The end of a battery’s vehicle life is not always the end of its economic life.

A battery that is no longer good enough for a vehicle may still work for lower-intensity use. It can be used in stationary storage, telecom backup, solar storage, commercial backup power or microgrids if it is safe and properly tested.

After that comes recycling.

Companies like Attero, BatX Energies and Lohum sit in this part of the value chain. Their work is often described as recycling, but the larger business is circular materials. India does not control enough of the global lithium, cobalt and nickel supply chain. Recovering useful materials from batteries can become strategically important.

This also creates an aftermarket loop.

Vehicle sale leads to usage. Usage leads to degradation. Degradation leads to resale, second life or recycling. The battery keeps moving through different economic roles.

For this to work, India needs collection networks, safe dismantling, battery traceability, chemistry-level sorting and material recovery capacity. Otherwise, old batteries can leak into informal channels where safety and recovery quality are weak.

The battery aftermarket therefore stretches from the first diagnostic test to the final mineral recovery.

The missing workforce layer

There is another part of this market that rarely gets discussed: technicians.

India has mechanics, but it does not yet have enough EV technicians.

This matters because the EV service layer cannot scale only through software. Someone still has to open the vehicle, test the battery, replace the controller, repair the charger, inspect the wiring, handle a damaged pack and tow the vehicle safely.

EV repair has safety risks. Poor battery handling can cause fires. High-voltage systems need training. Water-damaged vehicles need protocols. Battery packs cannot be treated like normal parts.

This creates a skilling opportunity.

OEM academies, garage training platforms, diagnostic tool companies and certification startups can build the workforce layer of the EV aftermarket. A local garage that wants to survive the EV transition will need tools and training. A fleet operator will need in-house technicians. An insurer will need certified repair partners. A lender may eventually prefer vehicles maintained by approved workshops.

The mechanic does not disappear in the EV economy. He has to be upgraded.

This is an important India-specific point. In a country where the informal repair market is large, formal EV service cannot succeed by ignoring local garages. It may need to convert them.

The company that trains, certifies and equips EV mechanics could become an enabling layer for the entire market.

Who owns the service layer?

The answer depends on the vehicle.

For passenger EV cars, OEMs will dominate longer. The battery is expensive, the software is controlled, warranty matters and customers are less likely to trust roadside repair for serious issues. Tata.ev, MG, Mahindra and others will try to keep service inside authorised networks.

For electric two-wheelers, the market will be more open. OEMs will own warranty-period service, but independent EV service networks can emerge in dense cities. The volumes are large enough. The pain points are frequent enough. Customers will pay for convenience if the repair is reliable.

For electric three-wheelers, the service layer may be controlled by a mix of battery-swapping companies, financiers and fleet operators. The user is often income-dependent. Downtime matters more than brand loyalty. If a swapping or leasing platform can offer battery, maintenance and financing together, it can own the relationship.

For delivery fleets, fleet operators may own the deepest service data. They know vehicle usage, rider behaviour, route stress, charging cycles and maintenance needs. Their business depends on uptime, so they have the strongest incentive to build preventive maintenance.

For batteries, the winner may be neither the OEM nor the fleet operator. It may be the diagnostics company, swapping company or recycler that understands battery life better than everyone else.

This is why the EV aftermarket will not produce one winner.

It will produce control points.

The OEM controls warranty and software. The fleet operator controls usage. The swapping company controls the battery. The insurer controls risk. The lender controls capital. The diagnostics company controls trust. The recycler controls end-of-life value.

The most valuable companies will be the ones that connect more than one of these layers.

A repair company that only fixes vehicles may become a decent business. A diagnostics company that helps repair, resale, insurance and lending can become more powerful. A leasing company that understands maintenance and residual value can build better asset economics. A battery-swapping company that manages batteries from first use to second life can own a larger share of the value chain.

The real startup opportunity

The Indian EV market has spent years asking one question: who will sell the most vehicles? That question still matters. But it is no longer enough.

A large vehicle base creates a second economy. Repairs, diagnostics, insurance, lending, leasing, resale, second-life batteries and recycling all become recurring markets. Some of them are small today because the vehicle base is still young. But they will become larger as the first wave of EVs ages.

This is how most mobility markets mature.

The first money goes into manufacturing and distribution. The next money goes into service, finance, insurance, parts and resale. The aftermarket often becomes more stable than the original sale because it follows the vehicle throughout its life.

India’s EV aftermarket will be shaped by a simple fact: most EVs are not expensive passenger cars. They are scooters, three-wheelers and commercial vehicles. They run on thin economics. They are used by people for whom downtime has a cost.

That makes the Indian opportunity different from the Western EV story.

The service layer will not be built only around premium car workshops. It will be built around delivery riders, fleet depots, e-rickshaw stands, battery-swapping points, roadside assistance vans, used-scooter buyers, small financiers and trained local mechanics.

This is not the shiny part of EVs. But it may become the most durable part.