Autocar Professional’s April 1 issue is a ‘Green Industry Special’

This April 1 issue of Autocar Professional is a milestone edition in its own right. It is exactly one year since the BS VI emission norms were introduced and a little over a year that the entire country went into lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19.

This ‘Green Industry Special’ highlights how India Auto Inc is taking forward its growth story with a renewed consciousness to cut down carbon footprint. Of course, this high-quality content-laden issue also kicks off a brand-new financial year.

A new innings
It’s a new start for auto industry veteran Dr Pawan Goenka too, as his 27-year-long innings with Mahindra & Mahindra end on April 2. Often called the ‘Father of Scorpio’, Dr Goenka reminiscences about his journey, the high points and also a few disappointments of his career and shares some management mantras too.

• Adjudged as Autocar Professional’s ‘Man Of The Year’ twice, Goenka was also honoured with Autocar India’s Lifetime Achievement Award for helping turn the company into the global automotive giant it is today.
• He is currently looking forward to his new role in the Government panel on manufacturing.

As M&M’s drive in the petrol SUV space strengthens in a post-BS VI phase and the new Thar is named as Autocar India’s ‘Car of the Year’, R Velusamy, Chief of Global Product Development, M&M says be it petrol, electric, or diesel, product development, “at the end of the day, it is all about the passion to develop new products for the future, and the passion for physics.”

Green Industry Special
Here’s an interesting mix of interviews and special stories—

• Tata Power: India’s largest integrated power company is taking big strides towards expanding the charging infrastructure for EVs.  Sandeep Bangia, Head — EV, HA & ESCO Business, Tata Power, says it is working closely with state and Central governments to make highways EV-ready.
  
  
• Econovus: We reveal this Pune-based company’s green packaging solutions.
  
  
•  Jindal Aluminium: As aluminium takes on the role of a poster boy in the race to improve efficiency while cutting vehicle weight, Naveen Mehta, Senior Vice- President, Extrusion Operations at Jindal Aluminium says, effective usage of aluminium cam lead to “40-45 percent reduction” in vehicle weight.
   
• Ampere Vehicles: Greaves Cotton’s electric subsidiary Ampere Vehicles expands operations to Ranipet to further its prospects. We speak to Nagesh Basavanhalli, Group CEO and Managing Director, Greaves Cotton.
   
• Hexagon Group: Find out why US-headquartered Hexagon Group sees huge potential for CNG and hydrogen as options to fuel CVs in India.
   
• AG&P: Singapore-based Atlantic Gulf & Pacific has outlined a Rs 8,500 crore investment in India to expand the CNG retail station network.
  
  
  
• iPower Batteries: As the race for lithium-ion as a viable battery option gathers pace, this Delhi-based company is experimenting with various battery chemistries to work out a viable solution for India.

One Year of BS VI
This past year has been an year of transition in more ways than imaginable- Autocar Professional tracks this BS VI journey with OEMs, component makers and testing agencies.

• ACMA’s Director General Vinnie Mehta says better-planned transition to the new emissionnorms could have helped reduce component imports.
   
• FEV India’s Managing Director, Vijay Sharma says the, “challenge forOEMs will be to invest resources to prove emissionsover the entire powertrain operation.”

One year of lockdown
It’s been a year since the lockdown was imposed across India to tackle the spread of Covid-19. Despite the phased unlock, many small businesses and entrepreneurs suffered deep losses.

Even as cases start surging across India, Autocar Professional takes you through the many sidewalks, alleyways and bylanes bringing forth their stories of survival and economic revival.

In-depth analysis
The past fortnight saw lots of Policy and Strategic action across the automotive world.

• As the government shares details of the Vehicle Scrappage Policy, industry players and veterans raise concerns about challenges involved including the scale of scrap yards required to match the vehicle load and identifying locations.
• Meanwhile for bikemaker, Yamaha the global supply chain constraints may pose a key challenge in the face of rising demand post-Covid.
  

There’s more to read in the news pages too, starting with what Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said at the 2021 Autocar Awards nite. Grab your copy today.

How you can read this issue 
Autocar Professional magazine is also available through all good newsagents and for download from Magzster. You can also buy one-off copies of Autocar Professional magazine – contact Ganesh at ganesh@haymarketsac.com. Alternatively, never miss an issue – subscribe to Autocar Professional magazine today