Speeding vehicles remain a menace, cause accidents
The city is reeling under the relentless menace of speeding vehicles, causing a wave of accidents. In Feb alone, four lives were cut short in separate incidents, with numerous others left injured due to excessive speeding.

Tata Motors to demerge CV and PV business into two separate listed companies
The Board of Directors of Tata Motors (TML) has approved the proposal of demerger of Tata Motors into two separate listed companies housing the Commercial Vehicles business and its related investments in one entity and the Passenger Vehicles businesses including PV, EV, JLR and its related investments in another entity.

Tata Motors demerger: What’s in it for investors?
The announcement of a demerger of the CV (commercial vehicle) and PV (passenger vehicle) business by Tata Motors is not a complete surprise. This is just the culmination of two earlier moves – one, the carving out of a separate vertical for EVs (electric vehicles) in mid-2018 and then, the decision to hive off its domestic PV business into a separate subsidiary (housing the EV vertical) in end-March 2020 just when Covid was shutting down the world. With yesterday’s announcement, the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) business also comes into the mix for PVs, leaving investors who want to bet purely on domestic economic growth prospects with the CV business. The company’s decision came when Tata Motors was firing on all cylinders, with domestic PV, CV, EV and JLR doing well. Reflecting this, the stock has had a stellar run, more than doubling in the last year. Since the news is not entirely a surprise, the market may have factored this into the stock price to a good extent. While common sense may indicate that the CV business may get assigned a lower multiple than PVs in this vertical demerger, the real value market assigns to each entity may be known only on their listing which may happen a year or more later. At that time, the domestic auto cycle may have peaked out.

Tata group will remain committed to integrity, innovation, social responsibility: Chandrasekaran
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Sunday said the conglomerate would continue to uphold the legacy of its founder Jamsetji Tata, and remain committed to the principles of integrity, innovation and social responsibility. Chandrasekaran was addressing a gathering at the Postal Park in Bistupur in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur after paying homage to Jamsetji Tata on his 185th birth anniversary. He was accompanied by Tata Steel CEO and MD TV Narendran.

India at the centre of, ride-sharing start-up, Sooorya EV’s global gameplan
Singapore-based electric vehicle start-up Sooorya EV has revealed its plans for India and the global market. It aims not only to ride the green mobility wave but also to focus on manufacturing green vehicles in India for the domestic and export markets.

M&M, Ola Electric, Tata Motors to get first mover advantage under PLI-Auto, FAME-II
New Delhi: Vehicles manufacturers including Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Ola Electric and Tata Motors will get the first mover advantage of benefits under two schemes – production-linked incentive (PLI) and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME-II) – under the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI).

JSW-Volkswagen JV hangs in balance on localization, cost model
New Delhi: Homegrown conglomerate JSW Group and Europe’s Volkswagen Group are currently at odds over key issues involving pricing of parts and localization as they negotiate a potential strategic deal for the German auto giant’s India operations, said people privy to the discussions.

Is the EV market ready to remove the mask of subsidies?
New Delhi: Government subsidies aided the smoother acceptance of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in India by helping the OEMs make them affordable for the buyers. But the recent subsidy reduction is said to be dampening the EV sales growth.

Passenger vehicles, two-wheelers maintain positive run
New Delhi: Auto sales maintained the trends, with passenger vehicles and two-wheelers maintaining a positive run, whereas commercial vehicles and tractor segment sales momentum continued to be weak, Kotak Institutional Equities said in a report.

National Safety Week: Mumbai-Pune expressway sees 58% reduction in crash rate since 2016
In its 53rd year, today, March 4, marks the beginning of the National Safety Week, which was conceived to raise the awareness about principles of safety across sectors, including road safety, workplace safety, human health safety and environmental safety.

Vehicle registrations in the slow lane, dragged by CVs
Chennai: Sales of motor vehicles, as captured by registrations on the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Vahan portal, appears to be on the slow lane. The number of new vehicles registered between April 2023 and February 2024 was 2.20 crore, registering 8.96 per cent increase compared with the same period last year. The growth was primarily led by two-wheelers while registrations of new commercial vehicles declined.

Bharat Semiconductor Research Centre will be announced soon: Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Chennai: A ‘Bharat Semiconductor Research Centre’ will be announced soon, said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Electronics and Information Technology, and Jal Shakti, said on Monday.

Bajaj Auto to buyback shares worth INR 4,000 cr
Bajaj Auto Limited, a leading automobile manufacturer, has revealed plans for a significant buyback program. The company aims to repurchase up to 40,00,000 fully paid-up equity shares at a price of INR 10,000 per share, totalling INR 4,000 crore. This move is part of the company's strategy to enhance shareholder returns and improve key financial metrics.

Here's why you should keep an eye on Tata Motors shares on Tuesday, March 5

The board of Tata Motors Ltd (TML), after market hours on Monday, gave approval to a proposal to demerge the automobile maker into two separate listed companies.

Auto industry body forecasts increase of 2.3 per cent in car sales at 4.3 million in 2024-25
 

Economic growth to help Maruti grow small car segment; aims to capture 50% SUV market share: Shashank Srivastava
Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, says for the whole year, the market should end up this financial year at around 42.1 lakh wholesale numbers. That should be a growth of about 8.2% over last year's figure of 38.95 lakh. Next year projections seem to be just about 43 lakh. So the growth projections on a very large base is a little smaller for next year than what we have seen in this year.

Trial by fire: How crash tests make our cars safer
Of the 100-odd car models available in India, only 13 have received 5-star crash safety rating by Global NCAP – the agency that crashes cars into a barrier to rate how safe these would be in the event of an accident.

50% car buyers want to opt out of ICE
New Delhi: Almost 50% oF Indian consumers intend to move away from internal combustion engine (ICE), and 24% are inclined towards hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs)as their next vehicle, a new study has found. The Deloitte 2024 Global Auto-motive Consumer Study (India findings), released on Monday, noted that affordability, environ-mental consciousness and high fuel prices are becoming major concerns for Indian car consumers. Rajeev Singh, partner & consumer industry leader, Deloitte Asia Pacific, told FE that even though the preference for battery electric vehides (BEVs) is high — 58% customers planning to buy a car in the Rs.10-25 lakh range said they can consider a BEV — they are mindful of challenges such as long charging time, not enough public chargers and battery safety, and therefore would instead buy an HEV. "Despite a positive trend in BEV adoption, infrastructure remains a challenge. Consumers are eco-conscious and look to OEMs committed to sustainability. But in addition to BEVs, they are also open to new technologies such as HEVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs)," Singh said."A clear trend is that they want to opt out of ICE, but not necessarily towards BEVs: HEVs have a small battery, an electric motor and an ICE (usually petrol). HEVs start on ICE, which charges the battery, and when the battery is full, they shift to electric mode (they usually have an electric-only range of 5-10 km, post which the cycle is repeated). Current HEVs in India are Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara,Toyota Hyryder and Honda City e:HEV, among others. PHEVs,on the other hand, have a big battery (but smaller than EVs) that can be charged externally.
 

Hyundai Creta N Line vs standard Creta: What’s the difference?
Hyundai is all set to launch the Creta N Line on March 11. This will be the Korean manufacturer’s third N Line model in India after the Venue N Line and the i20 N Line. Hyundai has already opened the bookings for the Creta N Line at Rs 25,000. We find out what differentiates the Creta N Line from the standard version. 

CEO's Take On 2024: Tech-driven auto industry targets to be smarter, greener, says Prashanth Doreswamy
Edited excerpts:

New-gen Honda Amaze launch this year: What to expect?
Demand for sedans has depreciated significantly over the last few years with the market warming up to SUVs and high-riding crossovers. Only a handful of sedans are now left on sale in the market with only a few of them bringing in decent volumes. One of them is Honda Amaze rivalling the likes of Maruti Dzire, Hyundai Aura, and Tata Tigor.

Level playing field on tax outgo in rupee terms should be created for hybrid variants: Gulati, Country head and executive vice-president, Toyota Kirloskar Motor
As India aims to become self reliant from an energy perspective and reduce pollution levels and carbon emission, Vikram Gulati, country head and executive vice-president, Toyota Kirloskar Motor told Sandeep Singh that the Hybrid vehicles can speed up the entire process of adoption and localisation as it has the same electrified parts that can be used in a BEV, a hydrogen fuel cell car, an electrified flex fuel car etc. Stating that the government had already provided some benefits when the GST regime was announced, he called for a more level playing field with the incumbent technology in terms of tax outgo in rupee terms for the consumer buying a hybrid variant. Edited excerpts:

Maruti to double down on Jimny's off-road prowess
Mumbai: The Tagline of a popular television commercial of Maruti Suzuki's Jimny says,"There are places in the world only the Jimny can go? But nine months after its launch in the country, the jimny, touted as a global off-roading sensation, finds itself at a crossroads in the country. At just 370 units, the average whole-sale volume per month in the last couple of months is, in fact, one-sixth the sales target of 2,000-2,500 units. 

MG Hector gets 2 new variants— base price now Rs 95k lower
MG Motor is on a roll. The company recently garnered limelight by slashing down prices of its entire lineup in a bid to become more competitive against rivals. Now, the Chinese-owned British brand has rolled out another dice by decreasing the prices of Hector. In addition, the carmaker has introduced two new variants of the mid-size.

Tata relaunches Dark Edition of SUV range— Nexon, Nexon EV, Harrier, Safari
Tata Motors has brought back the Dark Edition range for its SUV lineup. The all-black variants of Nexon, Nexon EV, Harrier, and Safari were available in their pre-facelift iterations but weren’t upgraded when all these models received comprehensive upgrades last year. The Dark range starts with the Nexon Dark, priced Rs 11.45 lakh (ex-showroom), onwards.

MG Motor India to launch 2 all-new cars in 2024, one EV
Off-late, MG Motor has been in the news quite often. The carmaker recently slashed prices across its entire lineup in February making them quite an attractive proposition against rivals. Last year, the company announced diversification of its shares in order to include more Indian stakeholders.

2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 facelift revealed: Bigger battery, N Line trim
Hyundai has announced the updated Ionic 5 will be launched. The Korean auto giant also said that the 2024 Ionic 5 will also get a sporty N Line trim. The Ioniq 5 will now be available in three variants — standard, the new N Line and N. Both the 2024 versions will hit the Korean market this month (March 2024). The new Ionic 5 is more than a nip-and-tuck job and here are all the details. 

BYD to launch its premium electric sedan, Seal, in India today. Here's all about it
BYD Seal electric sedan India debut tomorrow: Here’s all you need to know
The Financial Express

Indian bus industry to value INR 104,000 cr by 2026: IAMAI & Grant Thornton report
The report highlights that surface transportation services, including bus and rail travel, offer significant potential for online travel agency (OTA) service providers by delivering value-added services beyond basic online ticketing.

Spotlight swings to e-buses in green transport push
After scooters, electric buses are India’s next big focus when it comes to accelerating the country’s slow shift to cleaner transport. Auto manufacturers are getting on board. Ashok Leyland Ltd, the flagship company of conglomerate Hinduja Group, broke ground last month on a manufacturing plant for electric commercial vehicles in Uttar Pradesh. The Chennai-based firm says the facility will have an initial capacity of 2,500 vehicles with production climbing to 5,000 annually over the next decade. It should be ready to start operations by the end of 2025.

New Holland launches Project Saksham to provide skill development for youth
New Delhi: New Holland, a brand of CNH, has launched project "Saksham", to train and empower underprivileged youth in rural area. This is aligned with the National Skill Development Mission and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Mahindra Farm Equipment sector domestic sales fall 19% to 20,121 units in February 2024
New Delhi: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s Farm Equipment Sector (FES), part of the Mahindra Group, has reported that its domestic sales in February 2024 were at 20,121 units, as against 24,619 units during February 2023, which saw a decline of 19%.

Top 6 two-wheeler OEMs in Feb— Hero, Honda, TVS, Bajaj, Suzuki, RE
The two-wheeler segment is the largest contributor to the Indian automobile market in terms of volume. Hence, we get to see a lot of activity in this segment throughout the year. Let us look at the top 6 OEMs from the two-wheeler industry for the month of February 2024.

Two-wheeler exports got a jump-start in February. That may not last
In the automobile sector, the two-wheeler segment has been leading the pack for quite some time now, driven mainly by a revival in domestic demand. Exports were a worry.

Kawasaki offering huge discounts on Ninja 650 and 400
After launching the updated versions of the Z650 RS and Z900 in India, and launching the all-new Ninja 500, Kawasaki India is offering discounts on the Ninja 400 and 600. The Ninja 500 is expected to replace the 400, while the Ninja 600 could get an update for 2024.

Ola Electric extends offers on S1X, S1 Air, S1 Pro until March 31
Ola Electric has extended the price cut on its electric scooters untill March 31.

Ola S1 Pro gets DVA certification under PLI Scheme
Ola Electric has announced that it has received another milestone for its flagship product, the S1 Pro, receiving the Domestic Value Addition (DVA) certification under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for the automobile and auto component industry.

ICAT awards PLI – Automotive Certificate to Ola Electric
New Delhi: International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), Manesar has awarded its first PLI – Automotive Certificate to Ola Electric Technologies Pvt. Ltd. under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme of MHI for Automobiles and Auto Components.

Ather Rizta electric scooter teased again, biggest seat claimed in billboard
Ather Energy will be introducing its next big product this year on the Ather Community Day later this year. Named Rizta, Ather has already teased the upcoming e-scooter on a couple of occasions earlier this year ahead of its launch April 6, 2024. 

Panel to examine auto cos' requests for quarterly incentives, more components under PLI: Official
New Delhi: A government-formed panel will examine requests from auto manufacturers seeking quarterly incentive payouts and inclusion of more components under the production-linked incentive scheme, according to an official on Monday. "This year, the incentive (under Auto PLI) will be given annually but a committee has been formed in the ministry that will look into the requests of OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers).

Chinese battery giant CATL looks to set up R&D centres in Hong Kong to underpin technology exports
Chinese battery giant CATL is in discussions to set up research and development centres in Hong Kong to create new technologies that can be licensed abroad and within the industry, its chairman told reporters on Monday.

XLRI Delhi-NCR to setup India’s first institute dedicated to automobile design and management
XLRI, one of the oldest B-school in India founded in 1949 is setting up the ‘Indian School for Design of Automobiles’ (INDEA) – a first-of-its-kind dedicated finishing school for automobile design in India in association with XLRI alumnus and automobile industry expert Avik Chattopadhyay.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurates India's first green hydrogen plant in stainless steel sector
Union Minister of Civil Aviation & Steel, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, addressed a gathering at the inauguration of India's first green hydrogen plant within the stainless steel sector in a landmark moment for India's industrial landscape.

StoreDot claims its extreme fast-charging EV batteries are winter-proof
StoreDot, a silicon-dominant extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles (EVs) company has said that its battery cells offer consistent and reliable winter performance.

With a new cockpit tech integrating ADAS, Visteon also ups its India bet for manufacturing, engineering
New Delhi: The pillar-to-pillar display and the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) suite in the Mahindra XUV 700, launched two and a half years ago, are the much-talked about features of the model. It also made it to be the highly priced model from an Indian OEM, and a successful one at that. Visteon may take some credit for it as it’s the display supplier. Now the American major wants to embark on some horizontal integration of ADAS and cockpit functions.

MRF cuts the price of its main-line truck tyre
Chennai: Leading tyre-maker MRF has announced a price reduction for its main-line truck tyres. The reduction is about ₹350 per tyre and the price revision has been decided to meet the market requirements, the company said. The selling price of its 1000-20 S3C8+ tyre is ₹25,250 and after the price reduction, is expected to sell at ₹24,900.

Saudi extends voluntary oil cut of 1 mn barrels a day
Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday it would extend oil supply cuts through June as part of a bid to prop up prices.

Put up 'Modi ki guarantee' hoardings at all pumps, govt 'nudges' state-run fuel retailers
New Delhi: State-run fuel retailers are replacing existing hoardings of central welfare schemes at all petrol pumps with new ones saying 'Modi's guarantee means a better life' - a play on BJP's poll slogan 'Modi ki Guarantee' - and a photo of the Prime Minister handing over an LPG cylinder to a beneficiary of the 'Ujjwala' scheme, govt's flagship energy justice programme.

Budget hatchback demand could rebound by 2026, says Maruti
Source Credit: Autocar India

The small car segment has been on a decline for years, but Maruti Suzuki is expecting a turnaround in 2026 with an improvement in the affordability factor. The share of small cars has been reducing because of a disproportionate increase in the cost of vehicles in the segment.

Tork Kratos R price reduced by Rs 37,000
Source Credit: Autocar India

The Kratos R will now be available at Rs 1.50 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune) until March 31, which is a Rs 37,000 reduction.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 facelift revealed with larger battery
Source Credit: Autocar India

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 has received a facelift in international markets, less than three years after the model was first introduced. In select markets, the EV SUV is available in standard, N Line and full-fat N form; some design details from the Ioniq 5 N can be seen on the facelift.

Bike, scooter sales February 2024: Hero, Honda sell over 4 lakh units
Source Credit: Autocar India

Sales figures for the six heavyweights in the Indian two-wheeler market for February 2024 have been released and here’s how each manufacturer fared:

Ola S1 discounts extended till March 31
Source Credit: Autocar India

Ola had announced a discount on its products in December 2023, which was expected to last till February 2024. However, Ola has now updated and extended the discount period until March 31, 2024. The Ola range of scooters has seen a price slash across the range, and they go as follows:

Hyundai Creta diesel waiting periods stretch to 6 months
Source Credit: Autocar India

Just 45 days after Hyundai launched the Creta facelift, the midsize SUV has already racked up 75,000 bookings, says the brand. Tarun Garg, COO, Hyundai India, revealed a number of details about the Creta including buyer preferences, waiting periods, pending bookings and sales.

XLRI to set up auto design and management school in Delhi
Source Credit: Autocar India

India is set to get its first dedicated automobile design institute, the Indian School for Design of Automobiles (INDEA). Set to begin by late 2025, Xavier School of Management (XLRI) will set up the institute in collaboration with automotive expert Avik Chattopadhyay. It will be located at the XLRI Delhi-NCR campus.

Honda Elevate gets Rs 50,000 discount this month
Source Credit: Autocar India

Honda is offering attractive benefits on the City and Amaze sedans this month, but, for the first time, is also offering discounts on the Elevate SUV. The benefits include cash discounts or accessories, exchange bonuses, corporate bonuses and even a loyalty bonus. Here’s a closer look at the offers available on each model.

Tata Nexon, Nexon EV Dark Editions launched
Source Credit: Autocar India

Tata Motors has launched the Nexon Dark and Nexon EV Dark, with prices starting from Rs 11.45 lakh and Rs 19.49 lakh, respectively. This confirms out report from last month that the launch of the Nexon facelift Dark Edition was imminent.

MG Hector prices now start at Rs 14 lakh, Rs 95,000 lower than before
Source Credit: Autocar India

MG Motor India has introduced two new trims to the Hector line-up – Shine Pro and Select Pro – that replace the Shine and Smart, respectively. The Shine Pro is priced from Rs 16 lakh and the Select Pro is priced from Rs 17.30 lakh (both prices ex-showroom, India). However, the bigger news is that the starting price of the Hector is now Rs 14 lakh, Rs 95,000 less than before. This is the second price cut it has received in the last six months.

Nissan could invest USD 400 million in ailing Fisker brand
Source Credit: Autocar India

Luxury EV brand Fisker is in financial trouble and Nissan is reportedly in talks to invest USD 400 million (about Rs 3,315 crore) in the company. Fisker recently announced that it has paused the development of its affordable compact EV, the Pear, having made a loss of USD 463.6 million (about Rs 3,840 crore) during the fourth quarter of 2023.

Hero Vida V1 Plus relaunched at Rs 97,800
Source Credit: Autocar India

Hero initially launched two electric scooters under its Vida sub-brand – the V1 Plus and the V1 Pro. However, in just a few months, the company discontinued the V1 Plus, and has now reintroduced it at Rs 97,800 in Delhi.

VW battery unit rules out IPO until factories running, unified cell in use
Volkswagen will not consider a stock market listing for its battery unit until its factories are up and running and its unified battery cell is in use, the division's boss told Reuters, essentially ruling out a possible IPO before 2026.

Japan antitrust watchdog to warn Nissan over underpaying contractors-media
Nissan Motor on Monday said it was awaiting a final report from Japan's antitrust watchdog, which local media reported had found the automaker unilaterally reduced payments to dozens of subcontracted parts manufacturers upon delivery.

Nissan gets antitrust warning for underpaying suppliers
Nissan Motor Co on Monday said it was awaiting a final report from Japan’s antitrust watchdog, which local media reported had found the automaker unilaterally reduced payments to dozens of subcontracted parts manufacturers upon delivery said a report by Reuters.

Mercedes-Benz delivers special truck eEconic for aircraft refuelling at Stuttgart Airport
Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks handed-over an all-electric refueling vehicle based on the Mercedes-Benz eEconic at Stuttgart Airport. The vehicle will be used by the refuelling service provider Skytanking.

JLR plans to meet quarter of UK power needs from renewable energy sources
JLR will generate more than a quarter of its UK electricity needs from new onsite and near site renewable energy projects, slashing energy bills and reducing reliance on grid energy.

Olympian Motors is making minimalist EVs for drivers sick of screens
In an automobile landscape where cars seem to grow ever larger and more visually aggressive, Olympian, whose first vehicles are now available for pre-order, is leaning heavily in the opposite direction. Its cars are designed not to intimidate but to delight, and the company is hoping to both rebrand luxury for drivers and produce an electric vehicle that can turn a profit.

Gravity opens fastest EV charger in US to public in New York City
Google-backed EV infrastructure startup Gravity Mobility has opened the fastest charging solution in the United States to the public, as it looks to attract fleet customers.

China's BYD prices new version of best-selling EV lower than predecessor
China's leading electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD on Monday launched a new version of its best-selling car at a price lower than the final price of its discontinued predecessor, as a price war rages in the world's largest automobile market.

US funding bill blocks China from buying oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve
A measure in the US funding legislation unveiled by congressional leaders on Sunday would block China from buying oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

How Chinese automakers are churning out EVs faster than others