Citation: Harun, Z.; Molla, A.H.; Mansor, M.R.A.; Ismail, R. Development, Critical Evaluation, and Proposed Framework: End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling in India. Sustainability 2022, 14, 15441. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su142215441 Academic Editor: Paolo Rosa Received: 26 September 2022 Accepted: 3 November 2022 Published: 21 November 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). sustainability Article Development, Critical Evaluation, and Proposed Framework: End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling in India Zambri Harun 1 , Altaf Hossain Molla 1, * , Mohd Radzi Abu Mansor 1 and Rozmi Ismail 2 1 Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, Malaysia 2 Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600, Malaysia * Correspondence: altafhossain1994@gmail.com; Tel.: +60-1123-307-859 Abstract: Over the last couple of decades, the automobile sector in India has seen dramatic growth, following the phenomenal booming of engenders rapid proliferation of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs). Therefore, efficient and sustainable handling of ELVs is paramount. India has been striving to establish a practical regulatory framework to handle ELVs sustainably. This study explores India’s current ELV recycling system to promote sustainable development. Subsequently, this article evaluates the present ELV recycling system to determine the existing issues in ELV recycling to prevent failure and enhance and standardize the processes involved in ELV recycling to achieve the optimum standard for product and process quality. This paper proposes pragmatic frameworks and offers recommendations for setting up an efficient ELV recycling system to resolve current issues and expedite sustainable development. This study has been performed through a mixed-method approach; a literature and policy review accompanied by detailed structured interviews with major stakeholders and industrial visits. This investigation reveals that India’s ELV recycling system is at the embryonic stage and struggling against numerous inherent impediments. However, the proposed frameworks, together with practical recommendations, provide a paradigm for expediting materials recycling from ELVs and resolving perennial issues. This research may assist the government of India in implementing any upcoming regulatory and legal framework. Keywords: end-of-life vehicle (ELV); recycling; framework; sustainable development 1. Introduction An end-of-life vehicle (ELV) is a vehicle that must be disposed of since it is no longer functional, owing to a mechanical issue [1]. ELV recycling has been particularly resonant in recent decades [2], as ELV incorporates a plethora of precious metallic and non-metallic substances [3–5]; these are economically significant and industrially essential [6,7]. As well as having substantial salvage value, it also encompasses noxious pollutants that impose threats to society in a myriad of aspects, to a substantial degree [8–10]. Hence, addressing ELVs in an effective and sustainable way is imperative. India has witnessed a phenomenal expansion of the automobile industry, rapid economic prosperity, and extensive industrial- ization, prompting an overwhelming demand for vehicles. Consequently, the number of cars on the road is proliferating, eventually contributing directly to the corresponding ELVs. In 2021–22, India manufactured 22.9 million vehicles encompassing passenger, commercial, two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and quadricycle vehicles; India’s domestic and import auto- mobile market is snowballing significantly to 17.5 million domestic sales and 5.6 million exports, respectively [11]. Table 1 enumerates vehicle production in India from 2016 to 2022. Figure 1 depicts India’s domestic sales and export of automobiles from 2016 to 2022. Sustainability 2022, 14, 15441. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215441 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability