For many Spanish companies, India has traditionally been viewed as a large but complex market: attractive in size, but difficult to understand from the outside. That perception is now changing.
India is not just a consumer market anymore. It is becoming a manufacturing hub, a renewable energy powerhouse, a digital economy, an infrastructure-led growth story, and a strategic supply-chain alternative for global companies.
For Spanish businesses evaluating international expansion, India presents a very different opportunity today than it did a decade ago. The country’s GDP stood at USD 3.96 trillion in 2025, with annual GDP growth of 7.6%, according to World Bank Open Data. India also recorded USD 81.04 billion in FDI inflows in FY 2024–25, a 14% increase over the previous year, with manufacturing FDI growing 18% to USD 19.04 billion.
The message is clear: global companies are not just watching India. They are investing in it.
The Spain-India Momentum Is Already Building
Spanish companies are not starting from zero in India. Spain is already an important European partner for India, with more than 280 Spanish companies operating in the country and around 94 Indian companies present in Spain. Spain is also the 16th-largest investor in India, with cumulative FDI stock of USD 4.29 billion between April 2000 and March 2025.
This relationship has gained further momentum after the 2024 visit of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to India. The two countries announced outcomes across defence manufacturing, rail transport, customs cooperation, culture, tourism, and artificial intelligence. One of the most visible milestones was the Tata-Airbus C295 aircraft facility in Vadodara, developed in collaboration with Airbus Spain.
For Spanish decision-makers, this is important because India is no longer only a market-entry discussion. It is becoming a bilateral growth corridor.
Why India Aligns Naturally with Spanish Strenths
India’s current development priorities align closely with Spanish industrial capabilities.
In renewable energy, India is working towards 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030. As of March 2026, India had already installed 283.46 GW of non-fossil capacity and ranked third globally in renewable energy installed capacity. This creates significant opportunities for Spanish companies in solar, wind, storage, grid technology, green hydrogen, engineering, and energy infrastructure.
Infrastructure is another natural fit. India’s public capital expenditure is proposed at ₹12.2 lakh crore for FY 2026–27, up from ₹2 lakh crore in FY 2014–15. The government is also introducing mechanisms such as the Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund to strengthen confidence among private developers. For Spanish companies with expertise in roads, railways, metro systems, tunnels, water management, smart cities, mobility, and construction technology, India offers a long-term project pipeline.
Beyond infrastructure and energy, opportunities are expanding in automotive components, industrial machinery, aerospace, defence, ceramics, food processing, digital technology, logistics, healthcare, and premium consumer products.
From Investment to Industrial
In his conversation on Spanish companies succeeding in India, Ravi Chehel, General Manager of the Indo-Spanish Chamber of Commerce, points to growing Spanish interest in renewable energy, automotive and industrial technologies. His observation reflects a wider shift: Spanish companies are increasingly evaluating India as a long-term industrial market rather than only an export destination.
The opportunity is not limited to capital investment. It lies in technology partnerships, local collaborations and ecosystems where Spanish engineering and innovation can combine with India’s manufacturing scale, supplier base and skilled workforce. This creates scope for co-development, localisation and, over time, using India as a production or sourcing base for regional and global markets.
Chehel also emphasises that the relationship is becoming more two-way. Both governments are encouraging Spanish investment in India as well as Indian investment in Spain. For companies, this strengthens the case for building institutional relationships early through chambers, sector networks and experienced local advisors who can help translate bilateral momentum into commercially viable projects.
But India Cannot Be Treated as One Market
One of the biggest mistakes foreign companies make is assuming that India can be approached as a single, uniform market.
India is a continent-sized economy made up of very different regional markets. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh each offer different advantages in terms of industry clusters, logistics, labour, incentives, supplier ecosystems, and customer access.
A renewable energy company may evaluate Gujarat, Rajasthan, or Tamil Nadu. An automotive company may prioritise Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, or Karnataka. A defence or aerospace company may explore Gujarat, Telangana, Karnataka, or Uttar Pradesh. A technology or SaaS company may look closely at Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurgaon, or Mumbai.
The first strategic decision is not simply “Should we enter India?” The better question is: “Which India should we enter first?”
Start with Market Validation, Not Company Formation
Ravi Chehel’s perspective reinforces a practical point for Spanish companies: the opportunity may be large, but success depends on understanding how to navigate the market locally. Market entry should therefore begin with ecosystem understanding, customer conversations, sector events, partner mapping and regulatory assessment before rushing into formal establishment.
This groundwork helps a company understand not only whether demand exists, but also which relationships, adaptations and operating capabilities will be required to convert interest into sustainable business.
Before incorporating a subsidiary, Spanish companies should ideally run a structured 90-day India validation exercise. This should include competitor mapping, customer interviews, pricing validation, distributor assessment, regulatory screening, state-level comparison, import duty analysis, and partner identification.
This approach helps answer the most important questions early: Is there real demand? Who is the buyer? What is the price sensitivity? Is the product suitable for India as it is, or does it need localisation? Should the company export, appoint a distributor, enter through a joint venture, or establish its own entity?
Choose the Right Entry Model
There is no single India entry model that works for every Spanish company.
Some companies may begin with exports and local distributors. Others may require a representative office, a wholly owned subsidiary, a joint venture, contract manufacturing, local assembly, or acquisition of an Indian company.
For capital goods, industrial machinery, renewable energy, infrastructure, and regulated sectors, a light-touch distributor model may not be enough. Buyers often expect technical support, after-sales service, local responsiveness, spare parts availability, and long-term commitment.
In India, presence builds confidence. The more strategic the sector, the more important local execution becomes.
Compliance Must Be Built into the Strategy Early
India has become far more investor-friendly, with most sectors open for 100% FDI under the automatic route. However, it remains a compliance-driven market.
Spanish companies must evaluate FDI rules, GST, customs duties, transfer pricing, BIS certification, labour regulations, sector-specific approvals, data rules, import restrictions, contract structures, and local tax implications before committing to a market model.
In many cases, the cost of non-compliance is not only financial. It can delay operations, disrupt customer relationships, affect tenders, and weaken credibility with Indian partners.
Local Leadership Is the Difference Between Presence and Progress
India cannot be managed only from Madrid, Barcelona, or Valencia.
The companies that succeed in India usually invest in strong local leadership. A good India head does more than manage sales. They interpret the market, build relationships, navigate regional differences, identify risks, manage teams, and translate the global strategy into local execution.
This is especially important because Indian business culture is relationship-driven. Trust takes time. Decision-making can involve multiple stakeholders. Procurement cycles may be longer than expected. Follow-ups, in-person meetings, and local credibility matter.
Partnerships Should Be Built Carefully, Not Quickly
Finding a distributor, dealer, JV partner, or acquisition target in India requires patience and due diligence.
As Ravi Chehel’s remarks suggest, institutions, chambers and local advisory ecosystems play an important role in helping foreign companies identify credible connections and build confidence. But introductions are only the beginning: potential distributors, dealers, joint-venture partners or acquisition targets still need to be tested for strategic alignment, financial strength, operational capability and reputation.
For Spanish companies, this means partner selection should include commercial, financial, legal, operational, and reputational due diligence. The right partner can accelerate India entry. The wrong partner can slow the company down for years.
India Rewards Commitment
India is not the easiest market to enter, but it is one of the most rewarding for companies that approach it with clarity.
For Spanish companies, the opportunity is supported by strong macroeconomic growth, rising FDI, government-led infrastructure investment, renewable energy expansion, and improving bilateral relations between Spain and India.
But India should not be treated as a short-term export market. It should be approached as a strategic growth market.
The companies that win in India will be those that validate before investing, localise before scaling, build partnerships carefully, understand regional differences, and commit to long-term execution.
For Spanish decision-makers, the question is no longer whether India is important. The real question is whether they are preparing early enough to participate in India’s next decade of growth.
How Maier+Vidorno and ALTIOS Can Support Spanish Companies in India
Entering India requires coordination between strategy at headquarters and execution on the ground. Maier+Vidorno, part of ALTIOS International, supports Spanish companies through an integrated presence in Spain and India. With an ALTIOS office in Madrid and Maier+Vidorno’s multi-city team in India, decision-makers can work with advisors who understand both the Spanish business context and India’s operational realities.
Support can begin before incorporation through market research, opportunity validation, competitor and customer mapping, route-to-market design, partner or distributor searches, regulatory screening and state or site comparisons. Once the entry model is selected, the team can assist with company formation, accounting, tax, payroll, recruitment, compliance, supply-chain development, sourcing, industrial location selection and ongoing subsidiary management.
This two-country structure reduces the gap between the strategy discussed in Spain and the execution required in India. Whether the objective is to export, build local sales, establish manufacturing, identify suppliers, recruit an India team or scale an existing subsidiary, Maier+Vidorno and ALTIOS can provide one coordinated partner across the full India expansion journey.
Planning your India growth strategy? Speak with our teams in Spain and India to validate the opportunity and build a practical roadmap for entry and scale.
