The big news of the past fortnight was all about the PSA Group returning to India after 20 years. While Autocar Professional broke the news on January 24 about the French car major tying up with the CK Birla Group for its renewed passage to India, the February 1 issue’s cover story reveals further details of the make-in-India game-plan. Things like the CK Birla Group’s Avtec already having developed BS VI-compliant 1.2- petrol and 2.0 diesel engines which could go into the Peugeot cars for India.

The past fortnight was also about new sets of wheels – two, four and more – from Indian automakers. Tata Motors is targeting the premium car buyer with its Hexa crossover – does it have what it takes to win big on the sales front? Find out.

Hero MotoCorp, whose Vision 2020 sees it targeting production of over 100 million units in cumulative production and 20 manufacturing and assembly plants worldwide by 2020, took another step in that direction with the global launch of the new 125cc Glamour motorcycle in Argentina, the 35^th market in its rapidly growing global footprint. 

Meanwhile, Yamaha, which is bullish on the India market, sees no wrong in going after Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor Co and Honda motorcycles with its all-new FZ25 launched at an aggressive Rs 119,500. We take a close look at the latest made-in-India Yamaha which bids fair to make news.

Ahead of the Union Budget FY2018, commercial vehicle major Tata Motors revealed a raft of eco-friendly buses, betting big on the growing demand for electric and hybrid buses in the country as also those powered by alternate fuels. Our detailed product analysis reveals the potential of these gentle giants.

If Tata Motors is around, can Ashok Leyland be far behind? The country’s second largest CV maker, now fully in charge of its LCV fortunes after exiting the three JVs with Nissan, relaunched the Guru ICV and Partner LCV. We speak to Nitin Seth, president – LCV & Defence, to find out the bigger game-plan.

As India gets better roads, more and more people are crisscrossing the vast country by hopping onto comfortable buses. Hakan Agnevall, president of Volvo Bus Corporation, reveals why hybrid buses are ideal for India and how the UD bus brand can enable improved BRT services, among other topics.

US-based tech firm Nvidia supplies high-end graphics to automakers for product design, infotainment and autonomous driving requirements. Jaap Zuiderveld, vice-president (Sales & Marketing) EMEAI, Nvidia, explains how ‘Deep Learning’ will be key to autonomous driving.

SIAT 2017, the biennial technology forum and expo held at AAI Pune, was just what it promised to be. A tech tour de force. Our detailed review gives a glimpse and more of the exciting advances in store for the auto world, and for India.     

Selling cars is not the easiest task in the world but recognising sales trends can be a function of facts and figures. With this issue, Autocar Professional in association with Fast Lane Automotive begins an exclusive feature which homes in on a specific state in the country. Find out what you don’t know about Karnataka. For instance, nearly one out of every 10 PVs sold in India is bought in this southern state.

The spotlight of the past fortnight was firmly set on India’s automotive Oscars – the Autocar India Awards 2017 – which was attended by the who’s who of the Indian automotive industry at a gala nite in Mumbai on January 19.

There’s lots more in this first issue of February, including a truly exciting News section.  

Stay abreast of the latest in the automotive world – read Autocar Professional. 

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