Industry practice
Automotive Recruitment in India
Hiring in Automotive
We recruit across vehicle OEMs, tier-one and tier-two component manufacturers, electric vehicle businesses, and dealership and aftersales networks.
Electrification has split the talent market. Battery systems, power electronics, embedded software and charging infrastructure skills are scarce and expensive; traditional powertrain capability is abundant. Most automotive briefs now need a deliberate position on which side they are hiring from.
What makes Automotive hiring difficult
EV skills are scarce and priced accordingly
Battery, power electronics and embedded software talent commands a premium. Budgets set on traditional benchmarks will not clear the market.
Cross-sector competition for software talent
Automotive software candidates are also being courted by product technology firms with different pay and work models.
Plant locations constrain the pool
Manufacturing roles are tied to plant geography and need a relocation strategy from the outset.
Aftersales and dealership hiring is volume work
Network-level hiring needs a throughput model, not an executive search process.
Roles across the sector
Grouped by function. Adjacent roles are almost always in scope.
Engineering & R&D
- Vehicle Design Engineer
- Powertrain Engineer
- Battery Systems Engineer
- Embedded Software Engineer
- Testing & Validation Lead
- CAE / Simulation Specialist
Manufacturing
- Plant Head
- Production Manager
- Process Engineer
- Quality Head
- Supplier Quality Engineer
- Maintenance Manager
Supply Chain & Sourcing
- Sourcing Manager
- Supplier Development Lead
- Logistics Manager
- Cost Engineering Specialist
- Materials Planning Manager
- Procurement Head
Commercial & Aftersales
- Regional Sales Manager
- Dealer Development Manager
- Aftersales Head
- Service Manager
- Spare Parts Manager
- Network Operations Lead
How we hire for Automotive
Permanent Recruitment
Specialist hiring for professional and mid-management roles.
Turnkey Recruitment
Whole teams, new sites and new functions, built end to end.
Executive Search
Confidential, research-led search for roles that define a business.
Staffing Services
Contract, temporary and payrolled talent, compliantly managed.
What we are seeing in Automotive
- 01
Pune, Chennai, the Delhi NCR belt and Ahmedabad hold the densest automotive talent pools.
- 02
EV-specific engineering skills carry a significant premium over equivalent traditional roles.
- 03
Embedded and software talent is competed for by technology companies, not only automotive peers.
- 04
Aftersales and dealership hiring is best structured as continuous volume recruitment.
Automotive recruitment, frequently asked
Yes, battery systems, power electronics, embedded software, charging infrastructure and EV manufacturing roles, alongside traditional automotive engineering.
Yes. Network and aftersales hiring is handled as continuous volume recruitment rather than individual search, usually through our turnkey or staffing practices.
We prioritise regional talent pools and advise on the relocation support needed to make a plant-based role competitive.
Start hiring
Hiring in Automotive?
Brief the consultant who covers this sector. You will get an honest read on the market before we start, not after six weeks.