Towards sustainable automobile ecosystem in India: Integrated analysis of technical, economic, and ESG dimensions

Global environmental concerns are leading to paradigm shift in the automobile eco-system. This comprehensive study of the automobile ecosystem, incorporates technical, economic, and environmental-social-governance (ESG) dimensions. An “integrated multi-criteria decision-making” (MCDM) methodology using “interpretive structural modelling” (ISM) and “fuzzy analytical hierarchy process” (FAHP) is deployed, The ISM models highlights prominent drivers and critical barriers, establishes their hierarchy, and depicts interrelationships. The FAHP rankings for drivers favours electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel vehicles over others, while barriers promote hybrids and alternate fuels like Biofuel, CNG/LNG. Unlike previous works, this study considers all eco-system factors, both critical drivers and barriers, and demonstrates hierarchy using a unique V-model. This is an innovative extension of V-model from traditional systems engineering to strategic project management domain. This holistic approach, in sync with the natural state of things, will enable government, industry, and academia in formulating a strategic framework towards future automobile sustainability. •Identified the critical factors for sustainability of automobile solutions in India.•Established contextual relationships among the drivers and barriers.•Proposed alternative automobile solutions for sustainability.•Prioritized alternatives with respect to the drivers and barriers from strategic perspective.•Proposed a V-Model for manufacturers, policy makers and decision makers.