Electric vehicle market and stocks

India’s push toward electric vehicles is creating opportunities for companies in ancillary spaces such as battery manufacturing, according to an analyst at diversified financial services firm Motilal Oswal.

The move toward electric vehicles is “inevitable” globally as well as in India, where higher fuel prices can make owning cars that run on electricity comparatively more affordable, Siddhartha Khemka, head of research for retail, said Monday on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia.”

“The acceptability will increase once you have the infrastructure,” he said.

There are two basic types of electric vehicles: Those that rely on batteries and the hybrid vehicles that use both batteries as well as plugging into an external source of power, such as a charging station.

Khemka said Motilal Oswal prefers Motherson Sumi and Exide Industries, which are up roughly 29% and 11% year to date as of Monday’s close, respectively.

Motherson Sumi works with automakers around the globe in areas like wiring harnesses, rearview mirrors, cockpits, bumpers and more. Exide sells automotive and industrial lead-acid batteries.

The EV sector in South Asia’s largest economy is likely to receive a boost from Tesla.

The U.S. firm last month incorporated Tesla Motors India and Energy Private Limited with a registered office in the tech hub of Bengaluru in Karnataka, Reuters reported. The news wire reported Sunday that a state government document claimed Tesla will open an electric car manufacturing unit in Karnataka.

CEO Elon Musk previously said on Twitter that Tesla cars would be available in the country starting this year.

For its part, India is attempting to reduce its dependency on oil and also decrease air pollution. That may spur the push into electric vehicles. In the latest annual budget, the finance minister announced a voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old vehicles that contribute to the country’s poor air quality.