Cummins India Invests Heavily in Electric, Hydrogen Tech to Counter Chinese Rivals and Secure Post-2030 Growth

Diesel engine maker Cummins India is accelerating investments in battery-electric systems, fuel blending solutions and hydrogen-powered engines as it looks to ensure growth beyond 2030 and to face intensifying Chinese competition, its managing director said.

“We see a clear growth path until 2030,” Shveta Arya told ET, adding that the company expects growth to remain ahead of the broader economy, supported by infrastructure spending and rising power demand.

Cummins Inc Group USA holds a 51% stake in Cummins India. Foreign and domestic institutions together own around 40%, while retail investors hold 8.68%.

The company has a market capitalisation of Rs 1.57 lakh crore and is almost debt-free. It delivered a 20% compound annual growth rate in profit after tax over the last five years.

Cummins supplies engines and power generators across sectors such as commercial vehicles, railways, mining, defence, oil and gas, construction equipment and power generation. Cummins Inc has manufacturing facilities in India, China, Europe and the US.

Arya said given geopolitical uncertainties, companies can no longer assume uninterrupted access to critical materials and components.

“Manufacturers are now examining supply chains several tiers deep to identify vulnerabilities, especially in areas such as rare earth materials, electronic components and specialised industrial inputs,” said Arya, adding that the world is far more focused on resilience today than it was a decade ago. “You have to think about what happens if a key supplier or country suddenly stops exporting.”

Acknowledging growing competition from Chinese manufacturers, Arya said Chinese firms are benefiting from scale, cost competitiveness, and government-backed industrial policies, making them a formidable rival in the global engine and power equipment markets.

“Chinese companies are becoming stronger and more global in their outlook,” she said, adding that they are not just competing on price anymore.

“But Cummins’ reliability, service support and decades-long customer relationships remain important differentiators, especially in mission-critical applications,” she said.

The company is investing in multiple future technologies, including battery-electric systems, natural gas engines, fuel blending solutions and hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines.

Cummins also sees growing opportunities from India’s emerging data centre industry, although it noted that the largest boom remains concentrated in the US and China.

“India could also develop unique local AI applications and business models, potentially creating a new wave of digital infrastructure demand over the coming decade,” she said.

On Cummins’ future beyond 2030, Arya said the long-term outlook will depend on how India balances energy security, affordability and decarbonisation goals.

“We have solutions across all major technologies, thanks to Cummins’ global investments across diesel, natural gas, battery-electric and hydrogen platforms,” Arya said, adding that the question is not whether the technologies exist, but how and when India chooses to adopt them.