India and Europe must move beyond traditional supplier relationships and build a long-term technology partnership to strengthen their position in the rapidly evolving global automotive industry, Nasscom Vice Chairperson and KPIT Technologies Co-founder, Managing Director and CEO Kishor Patil said at ELIV 2026 in Germany.
Calling for a “technology superhighway” between the two regions, Patil outlined a collaborative mobility model extending to 2035, centred on joint investments in emerging technologies, software and validation capabilities, and the development of products for global markets. The automotive industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation driven by artificial intelligence (AI), software and engineering, making cross-border collaboration increasingly important, he said.
Industry projections indicate that India and Europe could together account for 23.1 million new-car sales by 2035, equivalent to nearly one in four cars sold globally. The two regions also have the potential to export more than 7.5 million vehicles combined, creating opportunities for shared technology development, manufacturing partnerships and wider access to international markets, Patil said.
India’s technology ecosystem offers scale
Europe brings established automotive engineering expertise, research and development (R&D) capabilities, and decades of product and manufacturing leadership. India, meanwhile, offers software and AI capabilities, a large engineering talent pool and a growing domestic market.
Patil cited India’s $315 billion technology industry in FY26 and its 2,117 multinational technology and R&D centres as indicators of the ecosystem available to support deeper collaboration. He called for long-term commitments covering joint R&D, product and platform ownership, intellectual property creation and global technology mandates, rather than project-by-project engagements.
AI-defined vehicles open new investment avenues
The transition from software-defined vehicles to AI-defined vehicles could accelerate design, software development, testing and validation while enabling new services throughout a vehicle’s lifecycle. Investment opportunities span software-defined vehicle platforms, automotive AI, semiconductors, batteries, cybersecurity, digital validation, factory robotics and autonomous mobility.
Patil also highlighted lessons from China’s automotive development model, including standardised platforms, parallel hardware and software development, virtual testing and closer integration across the industry ecosystem.
“The next decade of mobility will reward ecosystems that combine complementary capabilities, rather than geographies that try to build everything on their own,” Patil said, adding that closer links across R&D, manufacturing and industry could accelerate innovation, strengthen supply chains and create globally competitive products and platforms.
ELIV 2026, the International VDI Congress for Automotive Electronics, was held in Baden-Baden, Germany, on October 14-15. The 2026 edition partnered with Nasscom to strengthen engagement between Europe’s automotive community and India’s technology ecosystem.