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How One Tax Cut Fuelled Every Car Maker Except MG Motor

Anurag Chaturvedi — Mon, 04 May 2026 17:08:40

The September 2025 Goods and Services Tax (GST) rationalisation lifted nearly every segment of India's passenger vehicle market in the second half of FY26. But the size of the lift ran from 23 percent at one end of the showroom to a near-doubling at the other. It redrew the pecking order in one of the country's most competitive sub-segments and left one original equipment manufacturer (OEM) finishing the year below its starting volumes.

MG Motor was the sole brand to finish with lower numbers than it started. The company's Windsor electric vehicle (EV), its primary volume driver, saw average monthly sales fall 13 percent in the post-reform period. MG did not change its product or its pricing. What changed was the competitive arithmetic around it.

Before September 2025, a small petrol car in India carried an effective tax burden of roughly 31 percent, comprising 28 percent GST and a compensation cess of about 3 percent. An EV was taxed at a flat 5 percent. The 26 percentage point gap between the two had been central to the EV value proposition in a price-sensitive market. After the reform, small petrol cars moved to a flat 18 percent with zero cess while EV taxation remained at 5 percent. The differential consequently halved to 13 percentage points. For cost-conscious buyers weighing an EV against a similarly sized petrol alternative, the calculation shifted, and not in the EV's favour.

Across the segments that did benefit, the size of each volume jump tracked the depth of the rate cut it received, and the pattern ran cleanly from the bottom of the price ladder to the top.

The deepest gain landed at the bottom of the price ladder. Micro hatches, a sub-segment that contains the Maruti Alto, came closest to a 100 percent jump in average monthly volumes between October 2025 and March 2026. The move translated into a saving of ₹50,000 to ₹65,000 on a ₹5 lakh car. No other sub-segment saw a proportional uplift of that size.

Moving up the ladder, the four-metre MUV sub-segment was the second-largest mover. The Renault Triber and its newly launched sibling, Nissan Gravite, both pitched at practical family use and both covered by the small-car rate band, benefited directly from the flat 18 percent rate.

The most telling reshuffle, however, came one rung higher, in the mid-size SUV class where median prices run above ₹18 lakh. The class as a whole grew 40 percent in average monthly volumes, posted a trailing twelve-month base of 838,000 units across about 20 competing models and is on course to cross one million units in FY 2026-27. The headline figure concealed a brisk internal redistribution. The segment's long-standing leader, the Hyundai Creta, gained just 3.3 percent, coming under pressure from the newly launched Tata Sierra. The Kia Seltos, in contrast, rose 47 percent. The Honda Elevate added 36 percent, and aided by their hybrid powertrain appeal, the Maruti Grand Vitara and Toyota Hyryder added 35 percent and 21 percent, respectively. The challengers, in other words, absorbed the larger share of the windfall while the market leader watched it pass through.

A similar challenger-led pattern surfaced in the mini SUV class. The class grew 33 percent overall, yet the Tata Punch alone rose 50 percent and cemented its position as India's most popular entry-SUV. Lower down the list, the four-metre SUV sub-segment that includes the Tata Nexon, the Hyundai Venue and the Maruti Brezza gained 28 percent, a figure matched by the utility MUV class anchored by the Mahindra Bolero and the Maruti Eeco. Medium hatches in the Maruti Swift, WagonR and Hyundai i20 mould rose 23 percent.

Even the top of the market participated, and more sharply than its price point suggested it would. Large premium MUVs such as the Toyota Vellfire and the Kia Carnival, both completely built units sold to a narrow buyer base, registered a 31 percent rise in average monthly volumes. Absolute numbers in that sub-segment are small, and the buyer profile is largely insulated from entry-level price sensitivity, which made the proportional surge unexpected.

The GST Council's decision was not aimed at any single company or powertrain. It was designed to broaden affordability across the passenger vehicle market, and on that count, the numbers clearly suggest it worked. That the same reform simultaneously narrowed the tax differential that had underpinned the EV value proposition is a consequence of the policy's design rather than its intent.

How One Tax Cut Fuelled Every Car Maker Except MG Motor

Anurag Chaturvedi — Mon, 04 May 2026 17:08:40

Across the segments that did benefit, the size of each volume jump tracked the depth of the rate cut it received, and the pattern ran cleanly from the bottom of the price ladder to the top.

How a Single GST Cut Shifted India's Car Market Out of Neutral

Anurag Chaturvedi — Mon, 04 May 2026 13:38:22

India's passenger vehicle industry added 91,000 cars to its monthly run-rate in the six months following the September 2025 Goods and Services Tax (GST) rationalisation. A permanent step-up that lifted average monthly sales from 345,627 units to more than 435,000, and turned the FY2025-26 total of five million units from a forecast into a certainty. More than the scale of the shift, it was the nature of it that carried weight. Demand at the bottom of the market had not disappeared, as purchasing-power worries had suggested through the first half of the year. It had simply been priced out.

The consistency of the recovery underlined its structural character. Between October 2025 and March 2026, monthly sales never once fell below 400,000 units. In the six months preceding the reform, the market had been virtually flat; by contrast, average volumes were lower by an unremarkable 1,327 units compared with the same period a year earlier.

The Council's intervention was narrow in design but broad in reach. Small cars, defined as those up to four metres in length with engines no larger than 1.2 litres petrol or 1.5 litres diesel, moved from a 28 percent tax with a compensation cess of 1 to 3 percent to a flat 18 percent with zero cess. On a ₹5 lakh vehicle, that change returned ₹50,000 to ₹65,000 to the buyer. Larger passenger vehicles above the four-metre line saw their cess slabs trimmed as well, which had ranged from 15 to 22 percent, though the relief there was variable. Electric vehicles, already taxed at 5 percent, were left untouched.

The response ran the length of the price ladder, from micro hatches at the entry point to large premium multi-utility vehicles (MUVs) several rungs higher. Every original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the country, bar one, posted volume gains in the second half of the fiscal year. The breadth of the gain mattered as much as its scale, because it exposed how much of the market had been waiting for the same trigger.

For years, the dominant questions asked of the Indian car market had been supply-side ones. Which new models were launching, which OEMs were expanding capacity, which segments remained underpenetrated. The post-GST surge collapsed that framing in a single quarter. The demand had always been present. A tax structure that made the most affordable new cars a financial stretch had been holding it back.

The clearest evidence came from the bottom of the market. In the months before the reform, the Micro Hatchbacks (Maruti Alto) had fallen off industry tracking charts. That near-absence worried analysts, because the Alto buyer is not typically a driver trading up from a smaller car but someone moving from a second-hand two-wheeler to a first four-wheeler. The sub-segment's disappearance was consequently read as a signal of distress in the lower middle class. After the rate change, micro hatch sales came closest to a 100 percent jump in average monthly volumes. The revival did not reflect new demand being created. It reflected existing demand that had been suppressed.

A market that responds this sharply to a single rate change is communicating something precise about the price elasticity at the base of the consumption pyramid. The ₹50,000 to ₹65,000 that the reform transferred back to entry-level buyers is often, at that price point, the difference between a loan being sanctioned and a sale falling through.

The rate change, moreover, is permanent. The step-up from 345,000 cars a month to 435,000 is therefore a structural reset of the industry's baseline rather than a festive-season tailwind or a financing-led blip. For every player in the market, the task now is to build on to the new baseline, not chase the surge that produced it.

The Wages of Survival: The Hidden Cost of the Noida and Manesar Protests

Anurag Chaturvedi — Fri, 01 May 2026 20:56:06

India's industrial corridors are among its most promoted assets. The workforce running them is among its least discussed. Noida, Manesar, Faridabad and Ghaziabad form a belt of industrial estates within an hour of Delhi, producing auto components, electronics and much more on contract for multinationals whose brands appear on the finished goods. The workforce that keeps them running is predominantly migrant, hired through private agencies on temporary contracts, and in most cases paid just enough to remain.

In early April, worker protests over wages broke out in Manesar. On April 9, Haryana raised its minimum wage for unskilled workers by 35%, the first revision since 2015. The jump exposed the pay gap with neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, and reached Noida within days. On April 13, roughly 45,000 workers walked off floors across the district. The unrest then moved to Bhiwadi in Rajasthan and to clusters in Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu.

A contract worker on a Noida auto-component line takes home between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000 a month. The contract workers on these lines have come in from Bihar, Rajasthan and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Hence, more than half of their earnings goes to rent, food and transport. "At which point you'd be better off taking an Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 job locally [in his hometown]," says Balasubramanian A, senior vice president at TeamLease Services, one of the largest staffing firms. However, the key question is: Does a revised wage number settle anything?

The Productivity Factor

Bala's reading is that wages cannot be lifted in isolation, because the shop floor underneath them is not yet productive enough to carry them. "India has a productivity problem, not a jobs problem," he says. "Earlier in my career, I would have said India has an unemployment problem. That's not the truth at all." India ranks third globally by purchasing power parity, he notes, but sits 119th of roughly 200 on per-capita output, per IMF 2026 data. Income per capita tracks GDP per capita, which means a wage floor cannot be legislated far above the productivity floor without something breaking.

Most of the firms Bala is describing, he argues, are not exploiting workers by paying minimums. Many are losing money, barely surviving, or operating on single-digit margins. Which firms fall into which bucket he does not break down, and the public filings of listed Tier 1 suppliers in the belt tell a mixed story.

The risk Bala flags is not that wages rise. It is who stops hiring when they do. "Bigger companies have the capital to invest in technology, automation and processes. SMEs don't. And ironically, SMEs are the ones who create more jobs per rupee of revenue. They are more dependent on labour than on technology." His question is direct. "Do you want higher wages and fewer jobs? It could lead to exactly that situation."

The Presence Factor

Sudhakar Sethuraman, a partner at Deloitte whose practice covers employment-linked tax and regulatory compliance at OEMs working with American, French, Japanese and Korean collaborators, suggests that the unrest cannot be seen only in terms of wages and productivity, but also a failure of connection and communication. "What is primarily required is transparent, clear communication that outlines what is in it for the individual," he says. "Not communication at the end of the year, but constant communication with people. They are not machines." An employee, he adds, should feel "that the organisation, to which they are giving 8 to 10 hours a day, which is more than 50% of their waking hours, genuinely stands with them". When a workplace issue surfaces, "somewhere, some of these fundamentals will be missing".

An earlier generation of managers, particularly in the Indo-Japanese joint ventures, built their factories around exactly that discipline. In many of those plants, there was no separate canteen for blue-collar and white-collar employees. The managing director and the trainee ate in the same space. Chief operating officers walked the operational corridor every day, stopping at stations to ask trainees about the day's production.

Industry practitioners who were on those floors recall a more prosaic source of efficiency: leadership watched how materials moved through the plant, saw that storage had been placed too far from the line, shifted it closer, and watched output rise because someone had bothered to pay attention. That habit has thinned. Contract labour is now a significant share of the workforce on Indian Tier 1 floors, inside a chain where the OEM, the supplier, the contracting agency and the worker sit as four legally distinct entities. The managerial walk, in many plants, has been replaced by HR dashboards and remote-monitoring software. Employers once knew where an employee's children were studying, whether they were looking at an ITI programme. That continuity, in Sudhakar's words, delivers "greater employee commitment and significantly higher output". Bala does not accept the communication frame. "Communication isn't exactly broken," he counters. "Both sides know what the other is thinking. They're just unable to find a middle ground. The fact that you can't resolve something doesn't mean you don't understand the other side."

Upskilling: The New Blueprint for India’s Automotive Workforce

Prerna Lidhoo — Fri, 01 May 2026 20:52:14

Not too long ago, some of the toughest jobs on an automotive shopfloor were also the most physically demanding and the most risky. Workers handled heavy panels, worked in high-heat zones or carried out repetitive welding and painting tasks in environments where consistency often came at the cost of safety. Today, many of those roles look very different. Robots take on the hazardous, high-precision work, while the human worker stands a step back, monitoring systems, responding to alerts and stepping in when judgment is required. And as Vinkesh Gulati, chairperson of Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) puts it, the real story of the future of work in India’s auto industry lies in how labour is becoming safer, smarter and far more skilled than before. “Automation does not eliminate human roles, it elevates them and that shift from doing tasks to understanding systems is already underway,” he said.

At ASDC, he adds, this has meant a complete rethink of how workers are trained. The traditional model of role-based skilling is being replaced with capability-based learning. Workers are now expected to go beyond execution to interpretation which includes reading dashboards, responding to predictive maintenance alerts and making judgment calls in real time.

“The future shopfloor professional must understand not just what to do, but why systems behave the way they do,” Gulati explains. That’s why ASDC is embedding data literacy, sensor diagnostics and process intelligence into its training frameworks aligned closely with actual factory deployments.

For millions of workers in repetitive roles, this transition could have been disruptive. But Gulati insists inclusion is central to the transition. ASDC is rolling out short-cycle, vernacular-friendly training programmes designed to help workers move up the value chain without being left behind. “Assembly workers are being trained to monitor multiple stations, interpret alerts and take corrective action. The goal is not just productivity, it is long-term employability with dignity,” he said.

AI is not replacing roles as much as redefining them. Take quality inspection which was once heavily dependent on manual checks. Today, AI handles much of the detection but humans step in for exception management, training algorithms and validating edge cases. At the same time, entirely new roles are being created as the industry shifts toward electrification and software- defined vehicles. These include battery assembly specialists, BMS validation technicians, thermal safety experts, ADAS calibration engineers and OTA validation professionals. ASDC has developed qualification packs for many of these roles in partnership with industry. “Demand is outpacing supply highlighting the urgency of scaling structured skilling interventions,” Gulati notes. Despite all the noise around robotics, India’s automotive sector is still only about 25–30% automated today, especially when the broader supplier ecosystem is included. That figure is expected to rise to nearly 50% by the end of the decade. Automation, he said, will deepen in areas where precision, safety and consistency are critical like Body-in-white, assembly lines and internal logistics, where autonomous mobile robots are likely to become commonplace.

“The real change will be in how humans interact with automated systems, rather than a complete replacement of labour. Human involvement will remain critical in assembly, customization and quality oversight,” Gulati says. He added that leading companies are investing in internal mobility frameworks, mapping employees to adjacent roles and enabling structured retraining while maintaining job continuity. However, this approach is uneven. Smaller suppliers, often constrained by tight margins, find it harder to invest in long term workforce transformation.

Hiring is Changing

While macro uncertainties, be it geopolitical tensions in West Asia or rising logistics costs add caution to workforce planning, the industry isn’t freezing hiring. Instead, it’s becoming far more selective. “There is a clear preference for multi-skilled, job-ready professionals, particularly those with digital and systems understanding,” Gulati says. Hiring for traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) roles is slowing, while demand is accelerating in electronics, EV systems, software integration and supply chain digitisation, he adds. This is also where ASDC sees its role expanding in bridging the gap between industry expectations and workforce readiness through hands-on, certification-driven training, according to Gulati.

On the policy side, India’s new labour codes are beginning to reshape workforce structures by standardising wages, working hours and compliance frameworks. For companies, this means more predictable workforce management. For workers, it promises greater income stability and protection provided implementation remains consistent. “In a sector like automotive, this balance between flexibility and compliance discipline is essential for the next phase of growth,” Gulati says.

If AI is reshaping the present, electrification and software-defined vehicles are redefining the future. Over the next 10–15 years, demand for traditional powertrain skills will steadily decline. In their place, a new cluster of competencies is emerging: high-voltage safety, battery technology, thermal management, power electronics, embedded diagnostics and even vehicle cybersecurity. The disruption will be particularly sharp in the after-sales ecosystem, which is still heavily ICE-focused today.

ASDC is working to integrate EV-focused training into ITIs and state-level programmes, but Gulati acknowledges a fundamental challenge: “The pace of technological change is faster than formal systems can adapt.” Which is why continuous, industry-led skilling, not one-time training, will define the future of labour in India’s automotive sector, he said.

How Tata Motors’ Lucknow Plant Evolved from the 407 Era to a Million-Vehicle Milestone

Shahkar Abidi — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:16:16

On April 25, 2026, the industrial landscape of Uttar Pradesh marked an important milestone as Tata Motors celebrated the rollout of its 10th lakh commercial vehicle from its Lucknow facility. This achievement is the culmination of a three-and-a-half-decade journey that began in the mid-1980s. At that time, the state government provided 6,000 acres on Deva Road, hoping a modern private-sector entrant could repair an industrial reputation then marred by labour unrest at state-owned firms. The plant’s first truck, a variant of the LP-1210, eventually debuted in late 1992, following a 1986 groundbreaking ceremony.

Strategic Entry
The decision to establish this greenfield site was deeply tied to the 1986 launch of the Tata 407. As a purely homegrown light commercial vehicle, the 407 did more than just capture the domestic market from international rivals; it effectively rescued the company from a financial crisis. The resulting surge in demand necessitated a specialised production hub beyond the traditional centres in Jamshedpur and Pune, positioning Lucknow as a critical pillar in Tata’s national strategy. Today, that strategy has evolved from simple assembly to high-tech customisation through an on-site Engineering Research Centre that validates new designs for specific customer needs.

Flexibility is Key
The facility's modern identity is defined by what leadership calls "multi-fuel" agility. Vishal Badshah, Vice President and Head of Operations at Tata Motors, notes that the plant is capable of producing diesel, CNG, electric, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the same assembly lines. Badshah describes this integrated approach as one of the industry's most innovative practices, bolstered by a Digital Command Control Centre that monitors critical manufacturing processes in real time. This technological leap allows the plant to handle everything from 4-tonne light trucks to massive 55-tonne heavy-duty haulers without traditional production bottlenecks.

Expanding the Product Portfolio
A significant portion of the plant’s legacy involves its role in the bus segment, which currently accounts for roughly 25% of total production. This capability was sharpened by a 2006 partnership with the Brazilian firm Marcopolo S.A., which focused on "fully built" buses—vehicles delivered with the body and interior complete, rather than just the frame. Although Marcopolo exited the venture after 15 years to refresh its global strategy, Tata Motors successfully integrated the expertise, continuing to manufacture the Starbus and Ultra brands independently.

Way Ahead
Looking ahead, the Lucknow facility is positioned for significant growth without the immediate requirement for physical expansion. During the last fiscal year, the plant utilised approximately 60% of its one-lakh-unit annual capacity, producing 56,000 vehicles. This spare capacity provides a strategic cushion as the market shifts towards greener technologies like hydrogen and electric power.

UCAL: How a 70-Year-Old Auto Parts Group is Re-Engineering for the EV Era

Autocar Professional Bureau — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:07:49

In June 2007, Adithya Srivatsa Jayakar was a high school graduate preparing for a sociology degree at Butler University, but his real education began on the factory floors of Illinois.

He joined Amtec Precision Products, a U.S. subsidiary of the Chennai-based UCAL Ltd., as a trainee, just two years after the Indian parent company acquired the firm to gain a foothold in the American automotive and defense markets. Nearly two decades later, after an Executive MBA from Notre Dame and a rotation through every major corporate function, Jayakar was appointed Deputy Managing Director in November 2024 to steer the legacy manufacturer through evolving technologies and market dynamics.

Today, UCAL, a company built on the precision of carburetors and mechanical fuel pumps, is aggressively pivoting toward a future defined by mechatronics and electric vehicles (EVs).

Under Jayakar’s leadership, the firm is attempting to balance the books by milking the high-margin aftermarket, while investing significantly in electronics that will keep it relevant in a decarbonized world.

Jayakar is the son of Jayakar Krishnamurthy, CMD of UCAL Ltd. His grandfather, Dr. V. Krishnamurthy, was the founding Chairman of Maruti Suzuki and also the Chairman of BHEL and SAIL.

The Survival Strategy: Aftermarkets and Exports
The shift is not just a strategic choice; it is a necessity for business resilience as legacy products phase out. UCAL’s response has been to aggressively target the aftermarket segment, which Jayakar describes as "a significant market." Unlike selling directly to car manufacturers (Original Equipment Manufacturers or OEMs), the aftermarket allows for higher margins and direct consumer reach. To achieve this, UCAL rapidly expanded its distribution channels and increased its market reach to new geographies.

Simultaneously, UCAL is leveraging its legacy expertise to fuel a surge in export earnings from regions like Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. In the more advanced North American market, it is pitching high-tech indigenous innovations like specialized fuel rails for premium cars and vacuum pumps.

“We want to play as a dominant player in newer technologies,” Jayakar says, emphasizing that the company is no longer just a component maker but an engineering-led firm.

Engineering the Pivot: From Mechanical to Mechatronics

The broader automotive component industry is currently caught in a transition between two eras. Companies like UCAL, and its competitors Uno Minda and Endurance Technologies, must master mechatronics, the fusion of mechanical systems with electronics. For UCAL, this means repurposing decades of air and fuel management knowledge into EV architectures.

UCAL has established a dedicated R&D center for electronics to develop sensors and embedded systems for green mobility. This technical transformation is backed by a heavy investment cycle; between FY21 and FY25, UCAL’s capital expenditure (capex) totaled approximately Rs 107.48 crore, peaking at Rs 45.79 crore in FY24 as new production lines were established. At its Maraimalai Nagar plant, the company has commissioned lines for high-potential components like Intake Throttle Valves, while a new facility at Mahindra World City is dedicated solely to export-bound water outlets.

Currently, core products like throttle bodies and oil pumps still account for over 50% of revenue, but the move into premium segments is gaining ground. Sales of throttle bodies alone grew by over 20% year-on-year during FY25, helping to buffer the declining demand for older technologies.

The Road Ahead: A Decarbonized Identity

As the Indian government pushes for aggressive sustainable mobility goals, UCAL is attempting to integrate sustainability into its operational identity. The company now draws more than 70% of its power from renewable sources like wind and solar and is exploring "net zero" opportunities in hydrogen and micro-mobility.

For Adithya Jayakar, the goal is to complete the transformation he began as a trainee in Illinois: moving UCAL from a local carburetor manufacturer to a global, diversified engineering powerhouse capable of surviving the electric revolution. While the transition is fraught with challenges like material scarcity and infrastructure gaps, UCAL’s proactive shift suggests a firm determined not to be left behind in the combustion era.

UCAL: How a 70-Year-Old Auto Parts Group is Re-Engineering for the EV Era

Autocar Professional Bureau — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:07:49

In June 2007, Adithya Srivatsa Jayakar was a high school graduate preparing for a sociology degree at Butler University, but his real education began on the factory floors of Illinois.

Today, UCAL, a company built on the precision of carburetors and mechanical fuel pumps, is aggressively pivoting toward a future defined by mechatronics and electric vehicles (EVs).

Jayakar is the son of Jayakar Krishnamurthy, CMD of UCAL Ltd. His grandfather, Dr. V. Krishnamurthy, was the founding Chairman of Maruti Suzuki and also the Chairman of BHEL and SAIL.

“We want to play as a dominant player in newer technologies,” Jayakar says, emphasizing that the company is no longer just a component maker but an engineering-led firm.

Engineering the Pivot: From Mechanical to Mechatronics

The Road Ahead: A Decarbonized Identity

UCAL: How a 70-Year-Old Auto Parts Group is Re-Engineering for the EV Era

Autocar Professional Bureau — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:07:49

In June 2007, Adithya Srivatsa Jayakar was a high school graduate preparing for a sociology degree at Butler University, but his real education began on the factory floors of Illinois.

Today, UCAL, a company built on the precision of carburetors and mechanical fuel pumps, is aggressively pivoting toward a future defined by mechatronics and electric vehicles (EVs).

Jayakar is the son of Jayakar Krishnamurthy, CMD of UCAL Ltd. His grandfather, Dr. V. Krishnamurthy, was the founding Chairman of Maruti Suzuki and also the Chairman of BHEL and SAIL.

“We want to play as a dominant player in newer technologies,” Jayakar says, emphasizing that the company is no longer just a component maker but an engineering-led firm.

Engineering the Pivot: From Mechanical to Mechatronics

The Road Ahead: A Decarbonized Identity

Middle East Conflict Forces India to Rethink Energy Dependence

Arunima Pal — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 14:30:25

As escalating conflict in the Middle East keeps global energy markets on edge, India will have to attempt a radical shift toward bio-energy sovereignty. Faced with an 85% reliance on imported energy and a volatile geopolitical landscape, the world’s most populous nation would have to work to establish a "new normal" that prioritizes domestic self-reliance over fragile global supply chains, remarked industry captains.

"Most of the countries that actually suffered from this (energy sourcing), they will work out a new normal for energy," said Atul Mulay, President of Corporate Strategy at Praj Industries, a leading bio-energy technology provider.

Industry experts pointed out that the anticipated shift should be seen in the context of logistical bottlenecks, including the near blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, which have made energy security synonymous with national sovereignty. New Delhi has walked a diplomatic tightrope, navigating U.S. pressure on Russian crude sourcing while monitoring shifting alliances in the Middle East.

The impact has been tremendous. Geopolitical tensions since the beginning of the Iran-US-Israel war on February 28 have not only raised crude prices but also created severe shortages of gas and commodities including those used in the automotive ecosystem. India will also have to consider a future where its neighbourhood is likely to change in the coming years with some countries forming their own 'NATO-like' regional forces, which may further complicate matters.

Automotive Friction

India's new normal will depend heavily on reducing the country's fuel sourcing needs. According to experts, this could be largely achieved through greater adoption of biofuels, which are abundant considering India remains largely an agrarian economy. For instance, the nation's ethanol blending program has been one of its success stories in the green transition with the government advancing its E20 (20% ethanol blending in petrol) targets by five years, moving the deadline from 2030 to 2025.

This trajectory has established India as the third-largest ethanol producer in the world. India’s adaptability has resulted in the production of 1700 crore liters of ethanol, significantly exceeding the 1000 crore liters required for the 2025 target, leading the government to permit exports.

As per the government data, ethanol blending has already saved an estimated 1.55 lakh crore rupees and substituted roughly 2.66 lakh metric tons of crude oil. The program has led to a reduction of 800 lakh metric tons of CO2 emissions and approximately Rs 1.36 lakh crore has been paid back to farmers for ethanol feedstocks.. There were even plans to take the blending levels to E27, E30, and even further up.

However, the ethanol blending program faced its share of challenges. Last year, there was social media outrage over the issue from certain sections of the general public and media, who worried about its corrosive nature harming the health of their vehicles. Motorists, especially those with older vehicles not explicitly designed for E20, voiced fears of a drastic reduction in mileage and long-term corrosion of mechanical components.

Anecdotal reports suggest efficiency losses of 15-20%, although official Automotive Research Association of India tests indicate a smaller dip of 1-6% , varying by vehicle and usage. Although the government denied the allegations, with Minister Nitin Gadkari even terming them "politically motivated", critics' apprehensions have not been successfully addressed.

Consequently, the ethanol blending program appears to have plateaued since then, as the government has not officially announced any policy regarding increasing the blending levels.

Bharati Balaji, Dy. Director General, All India Distillers’ Association (AIDA) stated that the ethanol blending programme assumes critical importance in this context (Iran-US-Israel war). Accelerating the adoption of higher blending levels will not only reduce import dependence but also enhance energy security and provide greater stability against external shocks. India’s ethanol industry has already made substantial investments and is well-positioned to support this transition.India’s 1800 crore litre ethanol capacity is a strategic energy reserve to explore. "A calibrated and forward-looking roadmap to increase blending targets will be essential to fully leverage the country’s existing production capacity and ensure long-term sustainability of the biofuel ecosystem" Balaji noted.

The Stalled Promise of CBG

While ethanol has flourished, India’s SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) program has languished. Originally targeting 5,000 Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants, the program has barely 130 plants on the ground.

In 2018, the Indian government unveiled an energy roadmap that was as audacious as it was green: a plan to deploy 5,000 large-scale compressed biogas (CBG) plants to convert the nation’s agricultural waste into 15 million metric tons of homegrown fuel. Seven years into the initiative, known as SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation), the arithmetic of India’s energy transition is failing to add up.

As of January 2026, only 133 plants are functional, producing a mere 926 tonnes per day. This supply crunch comes at a precarious time for the domestic automotive industry. Sales of CNG-powered passenger vehicles have surged, with market share jumping from 6% in 2020 to nearly 20% in 2025. While major manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors have moved aggressively toward gas-based models, the fueling infrastructure remains stuck in a cycle of lack of local focusl and systemic bottlenecks.

Compressed Biogas (CBG) is a renewable, eco-friendly fuel chemically identical to the natural gas (CNG) used to power cars and trucks. While standard natural gas is a fossil fuel extracted from the earth, CBG is green because it is produced from organic waste that would otherwise be discarded or burned.

Dr. DK Ojha, Deputy Director General with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG), during a recent interaction with Autocar Professional suggested that biofuels, the fuels derived from organic matter like sugar, bamboo and others, are poised for significantly faster adoption by the automotive sector than electric vehicles (EVs). This shift is not merely a matter of preference but a pragmatic response to India’s unique economic and logistical landscape.

A Circular Future

Despite the current hurdles, the strategic imperative is clear. The move toward a bio-energy-led economy is not just about fuel; it is a circular economy model that keeps capital within the country. By shifting from imported crude to domestic ethanol and CBG, India can stop billions of dollars from flowing out to foreign regimes.

“If we build our own energy, produced within our borders, from our own resources, we don’t just insulate ourselves, we future-proof the nation." A circular bioeconomy can transform India’s vast agro-produce and agro-residue into sustainable fuels, reduce import dependence, and power true energy self-reliance. This is not just resilience, it is sovereignty in action.” Mulay concludes. As the global energy map is redrawn by conflict and new alliances, India’s best defense may well be its own fields.

“Despite 25% Price Rise, Fundamentals Intact for Future Growth”: Audi’s Dhillon

Ketan Thakkar — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:25:59

India's luxury car market should have been in a far stronger place by now. Wealth is rising, aspiration is deepening, and premiumisation is visible across segments. Yet, volumes have stayed stubbornly range-bound.

The segment continues to operate at 50,000–52,000 units annually and 1–1.5% penetration of the overall passenger vehicle market. For a market of India's size, this remains disproportionately small.

For Balbir Singh Dhillon, Head of Audi India, the explanation lies in a fundamental reset. "If you see the last five years, the prices of luxury cars have gone up by about 25%. That's unusual. The starting transaction price has moved significantly higher," he said.

That shift has pushed the average price of a luxury car beyond ₹50–60 lakh, raising the entry threshold and, in turn, slowing the pace at which first-time buyers are stepping into the segment.

Part of the reason has been currency movements. The rupee has seen a sharp 15–20% depreciation against the euro over the past 12–18 months, significantly increasing import and localisation costs for luxury carmakers with euro-linked supply chains. Manufacturers have been able to pass on a significant portion of these increases to customers, supporting higher realisations, though not without tempering volume growth.

A More Staggered Path Into Luxury

The impact is not a collapse in demand, but a shift in how that demand is playing out.

What was once a relatively direct jump from mass-market to luxury has become more staggered. Buyers are increasingly pausing at ₹25–40 lakh premium offerings from mainstream manufacturers, which now deliver higher levels of features and perceived luxury, effectively stretching the upgrade cycle.

The competitive intensity at the top end is also evolving. The growing presence of EVs, along with the entry and expansion of newer players such as MG Motor and BYD, is widening the choice set within the broader premium and luxury space. This is likely to be further bolstered by JSW's upcoming automotive foray under its own brand, adding another layer of competition in the electrified and premium segments.

"Today, customers are evaluating more options before making that move. That's a natural evolution of the market," Dhillon said. However, he sees a positive side to the rising appetite for the premium-mainstream offerings. "Jumping from ₹15 lakh to ₹50 lakh is not easy. But if someone is already at ₹30–35 lakh, we are widening the base of future luxury buyers.”

Higher Prices, Stronger Realisations

Even as volumes have seen moderate expansion, or may be because of that, the per-car realisations have gone up. Buyers are increasingly opting for higher trims, greater personalisation and feature-rich variants, along with a visible shift toward top-end models within the luxury portfolio.

Hence, the top-end of the market continues to sustain strong growth momentum, indicating that demand at higher price points remains resilient even as entry-level luxury sees slower expansion.

Similarly, there is no noticeable drop in loyalty. The luxury car market is increasingly being sustained by existing customers upgrading within the ecosystem, rather than relying solely on first-time buyers. While the top of the funnel may be expanding more gradually, the conversion and retention within the segment are strengthening, improving lifetime value per customer.

"Customer loyalty today is among the highest we have seen. That's a very important indicator for long-term growth," he added. For Dhillon, one in three Audi buyers is a repeat customer. The company now sells one pre-owned car for every new car. "For every new car that we sell, we are also selling one pre-owned car. And once a customer enters luxury, 95% of them don't leave," he noted.

The Next Growth Triggers

Dhillon, nevertheless, is a strong believer in the broader story. "Last year alone, India added around 60 billionaires. In a country with about 360 billionaires, that tells you how fast wealth is getting created," Dhillon said.

Wealth creation, he believes, will get a boost thanks to macroeconomic shifts, including trade agreements such as the India–EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA). "For me, only 20% of the FTA story is about cars. The remaining 80% is about wealth creation," Dhillon said. "When wealth gets created and money comes into people's hands, luxury consumption will grow. That's the real trigger," he said.

Audi's Reset

Audi's recent performance in India cannot be viewed in isolation from its strategic choices. The brand has, over the past few years, slipped down the pecking order, exiting key segments such as diesel and facing gaps in its EV portfolio, even as rivals expanded aggressively across powertrains.

Dhillon pushed back on the idea of underperformance. "We have to look at the segments we are participating in. In those segments, we continue to have a sizable presence," he said.

The absence of diesel and the temporary gap in EV offerings have undoubtedly constrained volumes, but Dhillon framed these as portfolio choices rather than structural weaknesses, pointing to a broader product reset underway globally.

What he did confirm is that 2026 will be a defining year, with a phased rollout of new products and a clearer articulation of strategy expected in the coming months.

"This is going to be a defining year for us. We will start bringing in new products and share more details at the right time," he said. "Our endeavour will be to grow in line with the market, if not faster. The numbers will follow as the right products come in," he said.

For Audi, the path back is likely to be defined not by a single breakthrough, but by a measured rebuild of portfolio depth and market relevance, aligned with a broader industry transition that is still playing out.

Why Women-led Factory Floors Make Business Sense

Anurag Chaturvedi — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 14:47:34

Walk into a battery assembly plant in India's southern automotive belt today, and you are likely to find something that would have been unusual on a car factory floor a decade ago: most of the workers are women.

This is no coincidence, nor is it a CSR initiative. It is the result of what electric vehicles demand.

Battery assembly, sensor calibration, and electronics integration require fine motor control, sustained concentration, and accuracy. Where the internal combustion engine once valued physical strength, the EV prioritises dexterity—and increasingly, working alongside robots that perform what muscle once did. As automation takes over lifting, pressing, and torque-heavy tasks that previously defined the male-dominated factory floor, what remains is work that no longer sorts by gender. Companies have followed this logic to its practical conclusion.

The results are tangible. Women make up less than 20 percent of the workforce in heavy assembly, according to estimates from TeamLease, one of India's largest staffing firms. In component manufacturing—dashboards, instrument clusters, and electronics—that share rises to between 30 and 40 percent. The gap aligns almost exactly with where electrification, and the automation accompanying it, has advanced most.

"Manufacturing is now moving towards precision-based quality robotics, which is actually opening many opportunities for women to enter the field," says Malvika Mathur, Director at Deloitte India's automotive practice. She argues that what the industry is experiencing is not a cultural shift but a structural one: the nature of the work changed first, followed by the workforce.

The Business Case

Balasubramanian Anantha Narayanan, Senior Vice President at TeamLease, has spent years placing workers across automotive corridors. He describes the original rationale straightforwardly. Companies in these regions found that women offered comparable skills, lower attrition, and longer tenure. The business case, he states, is simple.

The retention trend has a specific shape. Many women placed by firms are second earners in their households. A small wage increase at a competitor is rarely worth risking their stable secondary income. Men, often primary breadwinners, tend to switch jobs out of necessity for the same increment. Over time, this results in female-majority factory floors being more stable and cheaper to maintain.

Regulatory changes have further influenced this calculation. Amendments to labour laws now allow women to work night shifts beyond 7 PM. "So even from your tier 3, tier 4 cities, where the employer needs to make adequate arrangements, that push has already come into play," Mathur says. Equal opportunity, coupled with proper safety and transport infrastructure, provides access to a labour supply previously unavailable on second and third shifts.

The EV transition sharpened this logic into a hiring template. Balasubramanian describes battery manufacturing plants in the South as the clearest examples. He notes that factories set up to build EV batteries are predominantly or entirely run by women. This isn't a diversity target; it is a hiring decision based on productivity in a manufacturing segment that barely existed at scale five years ago.

A Perception That the Work Has Outpaced

Malvika Mathur joined the automotive industry about fifteen years ago. "When I joined as a young trainee, there was less representation of women across the automotive sector," she recalls. "Automotive is often perceived as a man's domain because of the physical nature of the work. Everyone thinks manufacturing involves heavy lifting."

This perception is now fundamentally at odds with the industry's current state.

The shift matters because perception shapes the pipeline. For years, women avoided automotive manufacturing not because they couldn't do the work, but because the image of the work discouraged them. EV manufacturing is gradually changing that image from within. A factory floor focused on circuit boards and battery modules looks different from one centred on engine blocks and drivetrains—and it hires differently.

Rajat Mahajan, Partner and Automotive Sector Leader at Deloitte India, identifies visibility as the key mechanism that bridges this gap. "Over time, because of women in senior roles, they rise through the hierarchy," he explains. "They also come from outside and challenge the status quo, inspiring other women to see them as role models."

Data Behind the Change

Broader labour market data reflects the direction of this shift. The government's Periodic Labour Force Survey published in November 2025 reports an overall female labour force participation rate of 35.1 percent, up from 32.0 percent in June the same year. The rural female rate rose sharply to 39.7 percent from 35.2 percent. Female unemployment fell from 5.4 percent in October to 4.8 percent in November.

These numbers indicate more than increased female job seekers; industries are actively integrating women into the workforce. The rural female Worker Population Ratio rose to 38.4 percent in November 2025, suggesting that factory floors and industrial corridors are contributing more to women's paid work than office settings.

India's automotive sector accounts for 7.1 percent of GDP, roughly 49 percent of manufacturing output, employs around four million people directly, and supports an estimated 26 million jobs across its value chain. Even small shifts in gender composition translate into large absolute numbers.

The GCC layer introduces another perspective. India's automotive Global Capability Centres—engineering and technology hubs established by major manufacturers—are seeing strong female participation in engineering, product development, and software, according to Mahajan. Mathur estimates women comprise roughly 43 percent of STEM enrolment in India, while Mahajan says at least 30 percent of entry-level software engineers are women.

Geography of Change

The transformation is most visible where industrial density and infrastructure converge: Tamil Nadu's Greater Chennai manufacturing belt, the Hosur corridor on the Karnataka border, and automotive clusters in Maharashtra and Gujarat. Balasubramanian attributes this partly to the South's historically higher female literacy rates and comparatively lower stigma around women in formal employment.

Retaining women once employed has required investments the industry once overlooked. "Many factories don't even have separate toilets for women, and if they do, they're not kept clean," Balasubramanian explains. Companies are now offering subsidised transport, meals, and creche facilities. Mixed-gender security teams are also being deployed so female workers have someone they can approach if they feel unsafe.

What the Programmes Reveal

The industry's investment in developing this workforce is becoming measurable through CSR disclosures. Under the Companies Act 2013, eligible companies must allocate two percent of average net profits to CSR, including vocational skill development.

The 2026 CSR Activities of the Indian Automobile Industry, published by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, reports on disclosures from 17 member OEMs. What emerges is less a coordinated strategy and more a series of parallel efforts—all pointing in the same direction.

Hero MotoCorp's Project Saksham has trained 4,113 women as two-wheeler technicians and sales professionals across 21 states. Of these, 3,555 have been certified and 1,660 placed in jobs. The roughly 40 percent placement rate highlights both the programme's scale and the gap between training and employment.

Mahindra & Mahindra's Project Kaabil has reached over 1.1 million women from marginalised communities. Skoda Auto Volkswagen India has upgraded five all-women ITIs in Maharashtra, embedding robotics, mechatronics, and paint technologies into their curricula.

JSW MG Motor India's Wings to Fly initiative trained women to drive, linking mobility access to employment. Mercedes-Benz India's Katalyst programme supported 100 female engineering students with more than 300 hours of training and industry internships.

The Middle Gap

The challenge now is not entry but retention and progression.

Balasubramanian notes that women are most accessible within a specific life stage—between roughly 18 and 25—after entering the workforce but before marriage changes their circumstances. Many plan to work for four to six years, save money, and then leave the workforce.

This model fills entry-level roles at scale but does not create a sustainable career pipeline. "There are a lot of drop-offs happening as we go up the ladder," Mathur says. "One thing we need to focus on is how to get younger women into the fold—and how to keep them there."

There are exceptions. Balasubramanian mentions a woman who began as an apprentice at a major auto plant and, within five years, was supervising 250 people. But such cases remain rare.

The issue is structural. The industry has invested heavily in bringing women in at the entry point, but the infrastructure for what follows—flexible return-to-work schemes, mid-career re-entry after family breaks, and clear pathways from shop floor to supervisory roles—is not yet standard practice.

The EV transition has changed who the industry hires. Whether it will change how far women can advance remains to be seen.

What the Statistics Have Not Yet Captured

India's November 2025 PLFS data complicates a straightforwardly optimistic narrative. While rural female labour participation has surged, urban participation remains steady at around 25.5 percent.

The expansion of Global Capability Centres and white-collar automotive roles has not yet shifted the urban headline number. Structural shifts often appear on factory floors long before they show up in national statistics.

The factory floors of Hosur, Sanand, and Aurangabad reveal something policy debates have long sought: employer demand that precedes social mandate.

Companies themselves describe the change in practical terms.

"These things are not PR stunts," Balasubramanian says. "There is a genuine business case for it."

That distinction between goodwill and productivity is what the EV transition has quietly made possible. The industry did not set out to hire more women. It set out to build a different kind of car. The workforce followed the work.

Why India’s CBG Revolution is Stuck in Neutral

Arunima Pal — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:51:41

As of January 2026, only 133 plants are functional, producing a mere 926 tonnes per day. This supply crunch comes at a precarious time for the domestic automotive industry. Sales of CNG-powered passenger vehicles have surged, with market share jumping from 6% in 2020 to nearly 20% in 2025. While major manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors have moved aggressively toward gas-based models, the infrastructure required to fuel them remains stuck in a cycle of hyper-local and systemic bottlenecks.

Compressed Biogas (CBG) is a renewable, eco-friendly fuel chemically identical to the natural gas (CNG) used to power cars and trucks. While standard natural gas is a fossil fuel extracted from the earth, CBG is considered green because it is produced from organic waste that would otherwise be discarded or burned.

The Institutional Hurdle
The primary friction point isn't a lack of technology, but a lack of administrative continuity. Industry analysts note that waste-to-fuel projects often live or die based on the personal enthusiasm of individual city commissioners. “The commissioner may start a project with enthusiasm but then get transferred within two years, leaving the next official without the same commitment to carry it on,” one expert observed during the recent India Energy Week 2026.

This instability is compounded by a fragmented regulatory landscape. Project developers must navigate upwards of eight government departments that rarely coordinate. Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of the World Biogas Association, noted that policies across India today are very fragmented, preventing many developers from reaching financial close.

Logistical and Structural Strains
Unlike the ethanol sector, which benefits from centralized feedstock, CBG requires coordinating thousands of small-scale farmers across dispersed landholdings. For plants utilizing Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), the challenge is even more granular: inadequate pre-segregation leads to contaminated waste that damages expensive digestion equipment and suppresses gas yields.

Once produced, getting the gas to the pump is the next crisis. Currently, only 15% of functional CBG plants are connected to City Gas Distribution (CGD) networks. The remaining facilities rely on mobile cascades—pressurized cylinders moved by truck—which are expensive and logistically complex. A report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) highlighted that this method increases the fuel’s carbon footprint, potentially defeating the purpose of a green fuel.

The Economics of Waste
The financial viability of these plants is further strained by low utilization rates. While European biogas plants often operate above 80% capacity, Indian facilities frequently hover between 20% and 60% due to seasonal feedstock variability.

Furthermore, a CBG plant is as much a fertilizer factory as it is a fuel station. “CBG is a biological living ecosystem, not just a plant,” explained an executive from BPCL. For every 10 tons of gas produced, the process generates approximately 25 tons of solid manure and 80 tons of liquid waste. Without a robust local market for this Fermented Organic Manure (FOM), plants can become “physically and financially clogged.”

Policy as a Catalyst
Recognizing these gaps, New Delhi has introduced a suite of viability gap funding measures. The Development of Pipeline Infrastructure (DPI) scheme now covers 50% of the cost of connecting plants to the national grid. Similarly, the Biomass Aggregation Machinery (BAM) scheme offers 50% subsidies for procuring collection equipment.

To shore up demand, the government has instituted a mandatory blending mandate, starting at 1% for FY 2025-26 and rising to 5% by FY 2028-29. There is also a push to formalize the by-product market, with a subsidy of Rs 1,500 per metric tonne for quality-tested organic manure.

The Road Ahead
Despite the slow start, industry leaders maintain a posture of realistic optimism. The consensus is that the vision requires a more cohesive national biogas mission to bridge the gap between local waste and the national gas station.

As Charlotte Morton of the World Biogas Association summarized: “The political will and ambition are there. What is required is a coordinated effort to bring everything together.” For India’s automotive sector, the success of that coordination will determine whether its gas-powered future is fueled by domestic waste or remains tethered to imported energy.

The Car that Exists Before it Exists

Anurag Chaturvedi — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:22:56

Across four vehicle development programmes, engines built by Jaguar Land Rover, Isuzu, Mahindra, and Sharda Motor Industries, engineers using the same simulation software cut development time by an average of 58% and reduced costs by 43%. Those are not projections. They are outcomes—documented across production programmes, on hardware that is on the road today.

The numbers deserve a moment because they reframe a question the automotive industry usually treats as an engineering one. It is a question of whether a manufacturer can afford not to, particularly in India, where development timelines are compressing and powertrain complexity is multiplying.

When Mahindra launched the BE 6 and XEV 9e last year, the vehicles had already survived a Rajasthan summer, climbed the Sahyadris, and cruised the Mumbai–Pune Expressway hundreds of times. Long before the first physical prototype was signed off, the company's engineering teams had run each of those scenarios virtually — testing how Indian heat, Indian gradients, and Indian traffic would affect range, battery performance, and thermal behaviour.

They then used those findings to shape the design itself. By the time a mule hit the tarmac, it was not discovering problems. It was confirming that a design already stress-tested in ways no proving ground could replicate — at speed or at scale — had held up. An earlier Mahindra programme developing a BS6 engine through the same platform had come in at 50% of its original development timeline and 40% below projected cost.

This is system simulation in practice.

What is simulation, and how is it different from ordinary CAD?

The automotive industry is familiar with CAD — Computer-Aided Design — which produces the geometry of a part or a vehicle. Simulation is a different discipline. Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) tools model not what something looks like, but how it behaves under thermal stress, under electrical load, under the particular punishment of Indian roads, and across thousands of operating conditions simultaneously.

In a vehicle context, this means building mathematical models of individual systems, the battery pack, the thermal circuit, the engine, the HVAC, and integrating them so the software can solve their interactions together. What happens to cabin temperature when the battery is working hard on a 42-degree afternoon? How does that change the range calculation? How should the cooling circuit respond, and what does that response cost in energy?

These are not questions a CAD file can answer. A simulation model can — in minutes, not months, and without consuming a single physical part.

As Matthew Warner, Vice President at Gamma Technologies, put it at his company's annual technical conference in Pune this February: “The idea is to reuse that value you have in your CAE model to answer questions in other parts of the development organisation — controls, test, requirements engineering. One model that delivers consistent results regardless of the application.”

One source of truth, used everywhere. The 58% time saving, in large part, lives in that sentence.

Why the Urgency?

Three forces have converged to make simulation less of an engineering preference and more of a commercial necessity.

The first is powertrain complexity. The clean narrative of the green mobility transition has given way to something messier. OEMs are simultaneously developing battery EVs, hybrids, and updated internal combustion vehicles — not sequentially but in parallel across engineering teams. Each architecture demands its own simulation environment and its own validation loop. The workload has multiplied without a proportional expansion in headcount or timeline.

The second is the shrinking product cycle. “The cycle of product development has reduced significantly, from 3 to 5 years to now nearly 2 years,” said Dr N.H. Walke, Senior Director at ARAI, at the SIAT 2026 conclave in Pune, which drew a record 2,000-plus abstract submissions this year, with testing as its dominant theme. “Now it is concurrent engineering. Simulation, component development, and proving — all these tests have to happen simultaneously.”

A programme that could once afford to discover problems in sequence must now surface and resolve them in parallel. Isuzu Technical's commercial diesel programme, using the same simulation platform, cut dynamometer testing hours by 60% and costs by 45%, time that would otherwise have sat in physical test queues. Jaguar Land Rover's Ingenium 2.0L diesel programme achieved a 50% reduction in development cycle time and 35-40% cost savings.

The pattern is consistent enough across programmes to be structural rather than exceptional.

The third force is specifically Indian: the historical cost of proving vehicles abroad. For validation infrastructure that barely existed domestically, Indian OEMs travelled to European facilities — absorbing the time, the cost, and the strategic inconvenience of developing products calibrated to foreign conditions.

ARAI is closing the gap with domestic investment in crash labs, advanced battery test facilities, and ADAS proving grounds. Simulation compounds the value of that infrastructure by reducing the number of physical runs a validated design actually needs — which, in practical terms, also reduces how many flights an Indian engineering team needs to book to Stuttgart or Gaydon.

The market has priced the trajectory accordingly. Automotive simulation software was valued at $7.06 billion globally in 2025 and is projected to reach $24.35 billion by 2034, a CAGR of 14.75%, according to Precedence Research.

A Company that Saw this Coming in 1994

Gamma Technologies was founded in Illinois thirty-one years ago on a premise that was, at the time, contrarian. Most CAE vendors were building tools for single-physics, single-component analysis. GT's founders believed the more valuable problem was the system as a whole.

“Products do not exist in single physics domains — they exist as multi-physics systems,” says Dimple Shah, who has led the company as CEO since 2020 and has worked in CAE since 1991. “The underlying thesis was that with time, the complexity of systems would increase, and as complexity increases, it becomes important to understand the interdependencies of subsystems with each other.”

Thirty years later, that thesis is mainstream. GT-SUITE, Gamma's flagship platform, covers engine performance, battery electrochemistry, electric powertrain, thermal management, exhaust aftertreatment, fuel cells, and HVAC within a single integrated environment. Its user base spans every major global OEM; in India, it includes Tata Motors and Mahindra.

GTTC 2026 was the occasion to launch GT Intelligence Studio — an AI-native addition to the platform that layers generative AI and machine-learning meta-models onto the existing physics engine. The announcement raises an obvious question from engineers working in safety-critical systems: how do you trust an AI model when the output affects brake calibration or a battery management decision?

Shah's answer is grounded rather than promotional. “The quality of meta-models depends on the quality of the datasets they are trained on. Our meta-models are trained on physics data, which can also be augmented by data from external sources. Because a large part comes from physics itself, the trust in the model is high. One should not deploy meta-models blindly; just like any simulation model, you need confidence that it is applicable in the range you intend to deploy it.”

Warner adds context that matters: the machine learning component is not a new development. “We have had it in our software for almost 20 years. The usage of ML meta-models is often not deployed to an actual vehicle in operation. They are utilised within the development process of the vehicle, so in that use case they are not safety mission-critical.”

What is genuinely new is the generative AI layer and, more practically, the cloud platform GT-PLAY that places validated simulation models in the hands of engineers across an enterprise who are not simulation specialists, but control teams, test planners, and product managers.

India at par, with One Honest Caveat

The Mahindra presentation at GTTC 2026 showed what that looks like in practice, from an Indian engineering team operating at the front of the field.

On the BE 6 and XEV 9e programmes, the company's Vehicle Performance Simulation group ran integrated thermal modelling that quantified the range impact of India's climate extremes. Aerodynamic trade-off analysis mapped the relationship between drag coefficient, vehicle weight, and range across different feature configurations before a physical prototype carried any of them.

A pan-India virtual drive exercise mapped highway, ghat, and city profiles across the country's geographic zones, accounting for gradient, AC load, and regional speed distributions. The same team framed simulation as virtual calibration at the front end, battery health monitoring and predictive maintenance post-launch, and digital twins that give engineers objective data against which to audit subjective customer feedback from the field.

Shah's assessment of where Indian OEMs stand is precise: “Indian companies are truly aspirational. They are becoming very strong contenders on a global scale. At this conference, when I compare the quality of papers being presented by our community to our European, American, and Japanese conferences, I see no difference. The user community is at par.”

The caveat he offers is the right one to leave with. “Many global OEM companies look at technologies five to ten years out, building core expertise in-house. Some companies in India could do more of that. One area where India could do more is fundamental research. Today, they do it, but largely through partners and collaborators rather than in-house. That is going to be one of the key trends in the coming years.”

There is a clear distinction between using simulation tools at a world-class level and generating the foundational knowledge that shapes what those tools do next. The 58% and 43% figures were earned by engineering teams who knew how to run the software. The companies that will define the next version of that software are the ones building that knowledge in-house, ahead of the programmes that will need it.

Can Isobutanol Solve Diesel’s Dirty Emissions Secret?

Arunima Pal — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:16:04

The automotive industry's quest to decarbonize heavy-duty trucking consistently hits a wall: the stubborn efficiency of the diesel engine. While light-duty vehicles move toward electrification, the weight and range requirements of 19-ton trucks and long-haul freight make batteries a difficult sell. Amidst this struggle, isobutanol, a higher-order alcohol, is being hailed by industry insiders as a diesel-blending alternative that could bridge the gap, yet it remains conspicuously absent from commercial markets.

Isobutanol is produced using the same biological feedstocks as ethanol, rather than being a derivative of ethanol itself. These include grains, specifically maize or broken rice. Industry experts have proposed using sugarcane molasses-based feedstocks for pilot isobutanol plants to utilize excess sugar industry byproducts.

This development seems significant considering the diesel blending programme. This initiative, governed by India’s National Policy on Biofuels (NPB), was originally established in 2018 and subsequently amended in 2022. Its primary objective is to reduce the country’s heavy reliance on imported crude oil and lower emissions in the heavy-duty transport sector. The programme sets an indicative target of achieving 5% biodiesel blending in diesel by 2030. However, unlike the ethanol blending programme for gasoline, which reached its 20% target ahead of schedule, the biodiesel programme has struggled. Current blending levels are estimated at only 1% to 2%. The target has been missed frequently due to infrastructure and feedstock challenges, which include unused cooking oil, non-edible oilseeds, and fats, oils, and greases.

The issues surrounding the adoption of isobutanol were intensely debated at the recently held India Energy Week 2026 in Goa.

The Emissions Engine

Unlike ethanol, which is primarily blended into gasoline, isobutanol offers a chemical profile much closer to petroleum diesel. Recent trials suggest that when mixed with an emulsifier, isobutanol can drastically reduce emissions in heavy engines while simultaneously increasing fuel efficiency. This makes it a prime candidate for a "drop-in" fuel, one that doesn't require massive overhauls of existing supply chains.

However, the path from trial to tank is fraught with obstacles. Bharati Balaji, Director of the All India Distillers’ Association (AIDA), notes that while the potential is high, the market is still in its infancy. "Apparently, if you mix isobutanol with an emulsifier... emissions reduce drastically and engine efficiencies increase," Balaji stated, though cautioning that "it’s too nascent to give away anything" regarding commercial timelines.

The Swedish Paradox

The mystery of isobutanol lies in its successful, yet isolated pilot models. Sweden has long served as the global laboratory for isobutanol blending, proving its technical viability in real-world conditions. Despite these successful northern models, there isn't a single full-scale commercial isobutanol plant operating globally.

This lack of scale is often attributed to a "wait-and-see" approach from both governments and investors. While the technology is proven at the laboratory and pilot stages, the leap to a commercial-scale facility requires significant capital that hasn't yet been triggered by hard mandates.

Retrofitting the Myth

It is a common misconception that ethanol is converted into isobutanol; in reality, isobutanol cannot be made from ethanol. Instead, the production process is adjusted to produce isobutanol directly from the original raw material.

A central debate within the automotive fuel sector is whether existing ethanol distilleries, often called 1G plants (first-generation refineries that process corn or sugarcane), can be converted to produce isobutanol. Skeptics have called this a myth, citing the fundamental biochemical differences between ethanol and isobutanol fermentation.

Reality, however, may lie in a hybrid approach. Some energy majors are exploring retrofitting existing 1G facilities to produce both products simultaneously. Anshul Gupta, Senior Manager at BPCL, highlighted that their teams found that "if the 1G plant can be retrofitted rightly... one ton of the feed probably can produce some percentage of ethanol and some percentage of [isobutanol]." This dual-track production could resolve the issue by using the same feedstock to target both the gasoline and diesel markets.

BPCL has been working on isobutanol for the last two years. They recently conducted three months of successful trials using isobutanol in stationary engines (specifically mentioning Cummins engines), yielding clear results. To further prove the fuel's viability, BPCL has partnered with IIT and IIP (Indian Institute of Petroleum) for data validation. They are committing significant funding to test the fuel across 33 different vehicle types in India to monitor performance and blending stability. However, while technical progress is being made, oil marketing companies (OMCs) like BPCL cannot blend isobutanol beyond certain limits without a government mandate.

Even if the production issues are solved, the automotive industry faces a "chicken-and-egg" scenario. Manufacturers are hesitant to mass-produce isobutanol-compatible engines without a guaranteed fuel supply, while fuel producers won't scale up without confirmed demand. Without a mandate from oil marketing companies to ensure the fuel is available at the point of consumption, even ready-to-market technologies remain idle.

Support for Research and Piloting on the Cards?

The Indian government has indicated to the industry that if they can demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of producing isobutanol through minor tweaking and investment in existing ethanol plants, a formal policy framework, including potential subsidies, will follow. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has recommended that India provide financial support for the continued research, testing, and piloting of isobutanol to help meet diesel blending targets.

While not yet specific to isobutanol, several existing schemes for the ethanol industry are seen as potential vehicles for isobutanol production. The Scheme to Enhance Ethanol Distillation Capacity provides interest subventions (6% per annum or 50% of the bank rate) for retrofitting existing facilities. Since isobutanol can be produced by retrofitting first-generation (1G) ethanol plants, industry leaders are exploring this as a pathway to simultaneously produce both fuels.

Likewise, the Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana programme provides financial support for demonstration-scale and commercial-scale projects for new ethanol production pathways. Industry discussions suggest that higher-order alcohols like isobutanol could eventually fall under such innovation-focused funding if they leverage similar feedstocks and supply chains.

Way Forward

The future of isobutanol as a diesel saviour hinges on a delicate trifecta of regulatory certainty, technological intelligence, and infrastructure scaling. While successful pilots in Sweden and emerging retrofitting concepts in India suggest that the problems around isobutanol production are slowly being dismantled, the lack of a commercial-scale plant remains a glaring void in the green energy transition.

For the automotive industry, isobutanol offers a rare opportunity to clean up the dirtiest segments of transportation without abandoning the internal combustion engine. However, until governments provide the hard mandates necessary to unlock project financing, isobutanol will likely remain a phantom in the fuel tank — a high-potential solution that everyone talks about, but no one can buy.

RSB Group Prepares for Hyper-Growth: New Markets, Tech and Mission ₹10,000 Cr

Darshan Nakhwa — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 20:03:09

In 1973, when a young engineering graduate named R.K. Behera got a small plot in Jamshedpur from industrial development corporation neither he nor his younger brother S.K. Behera could have imagined that the modest sheet-metal unit they were building would one day become one of India’s respected driveline manufacturers. With a capital pool that barely touched Rs 1.5 lakh, the enterprise relied on tenacity and an instinctive understanding of what quality meant long before the word became corporate vocabulary.

The early years were difficult. Orders were scarce, engineering credibility had to be earned, and the Behera brothers spent much of the 1970s convincing customers that they could meet global standards. Yet the foundation they laid during those years is the one RSB Group still builds on today: never compromise on quality and on values.

More than fifty years later, that workshop has grown into a diversified group with 15 manufacturing units spread across India, the United States and Mexico. It has a reputation for disciplined engineering, machining, and product development in one of the most demanding parts of the automotive value chain. Now the company is on the brink of a new chapter, one that could reposition it as a global mobility systems player.

Standing at Inflection Point

RSB Group today is a business of scale and complexity. Its propeller shafts hold a dominant market share in India’s medium and heavy commercial vehicle segment. Its axles, gears and driveline assemblies form the backbone of marquee truck platforms. Its construction equipment aggregates supply some of the world’s best-known off-highway OEMs. It also produces suspension systems, king pin, fifth wheel coupling, and has casting and forging facilities. Further, the component maker supplies parts for passenger cars, farm equipment and industrial applications.

Yet the company’s ambitions have grown beyond being a domestic champion. It currently operates at a consolidated revenue of over Rs 3,000 crore. In the next five years, it aims to rewrite that number entirely. RSB has set a target of Rs 10,000 crore, a plan to triple topline within five years through a combination of deeper localisation, aggressive exports, a stronger aftermarket sales and selective acquisitions.

“For us, the question is simple. Either you grow, or you stagnate,” says Rajnikant Behera, Executive Director Aftermarket and Corporate Governance. “We have reached a stage where the next leap requires scale, technology, and a global mindset. That is why we needed a partner like Bain Capital.”

New Strategic Muscle

Bain Capital’s investment in 2023 brought more than financial heft. It brought a new rhythm to the organisation. Within a year, Bain and McKinsey worked with RSB to build a structured blueprint for the next decade. The focus is clear: strengthen the core, globalise the footprint, and widen the product canvas.

Behera describes it as a shift from organic evolution to strategic acceleration. “In our first twenty-five years, we built the foundation. In the next twenty-five, we climbed the value chain. The next five years will be about scaling in a way we have never done before.”

The plan involves an annual capex of Rs 100 to 150 crore. This excludes acquisitions, which the company views as essential to compress time-to-market as technologies change. RSB is scanning opportunities in driveline electronics, EV systems, defence components and rail technologies. The deals will be selective and strategically small, designed to add capability rather than bulk.

Building the Future

If the old RSB was built on steel, machining and mechanical precision, the new RSB is being engineered around software-heavy, next-generation electrified systems. The company has already developed its own EV reducers, e-axles, gearbox, motor technologies and pre-axle assemblies for electric commercial vehicles. Several powertrain solutions are under development for light EVs. In the United States, RSB has entered early-stage supply discussions for electric dirt bikes.

“We want to be present where mobility is shifting. Whether it is two-wheelers, three-wheelers, light commercial EVs or advanced hybrids, we have built the engineering bench strength to participate,” Behera says.

The group is also aiming to break into defence and railways. These are highly regulated sectors with long qualification cycles, but RSB believes its precision manufacturing heritage gives it an edge. The company is currently mapping the channel dynamics and tendering mechanisms that define government-led procurement.

The Global Play

RSB’s global presence began with a first-of-its-kind move in 2007 when it acquired Miller Brothers of Michigan. It gave the group a launchpad into the North American market and relationships with Tier-1 giants such as Dana, Eaton and Allison. As many of these customers shifted production to Mexico, RSB followed with a dedicated manufacturing base.

Today, Mexico is a critical part of the company’s export strategy. The US operation serves as an assembly, sales and customer interface hub. Europe is the next frontier. The group already exports to the UK, and internal discussions have begun on whether to establish a physical base somewhere in the continent.

“We are studying FTAs, customer behaviour and regulatory changes. For exports to scale meaningfully, we may need a presence closer to Europe. It has to be backed by strong economics,” Behera says.

How to Survive Cycles

Automotive is cyclical. Commercial vehicles are doubly so. Yet RSB has managed to grow during downturns by adding new products, entering adjacent sectors and building plants close to customers. Flexibility has become a competitive advantage.

The group’s Mexican footprint hedges against US tariffs. Its India operations hedge against Mexico’s cost pressures. Its engineering subsidiary iDesign acts as an internal R&D engine that powers speed-to-market. In a world where volatility has become structural, RSB’s diversified footprint is shaping up as a risk-management model.

The Aftermarket Pivot

For fifty years, the company’s brand recognition has been built inside OEM factories. Now RSB wants that name to resonate in workshops, retail counters and fleet hubs. The aftermarket business, currently a small contributor, is being positioned as a high-margin strategic vertical. The company wants aftermarket to eventually contribute 5 to 15 percent of the business.

“We have done the hardest part. We earned the trust of OEMs. Now we need to take that trust to the aftermarket,” Behera says.

The story of RSB is a story of a company that has moved steadily but consciously toward higher complexity. From sheet metal to machining, from machining to assemblies, from assemblies to complete systems and now to electrified mobility.

Mission 10,000 crore is the next logical leap in that trajectory. It is ambitious, but it is also calculated. It is backed by capital, a global partner with deep M&A capability, a strong engineering backbone and a sector that is transforming faster than ever.

“Our first goal is to lead in the product segments we are in. India first, world next. That is the next five-year view,” Behera says. “After that, strategy evolves. But the intent is clear. We want to build one of India’s strongest engineering companies.”

Beyond Helmets: NeoKavach Wants to Make Rider Airbags India’s Next Safety Habit

Darshan Nakhwa — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 17:16:40

India’s motorcycle culture has changed dramatically over the past decade. Riders are travelling farther, machines are getting more powerful, and protective jackets and gloves are increasingly visible on highways and weekend rides. Yet the core safety conversation has barely moved beyond helmets.

That, according to NeoKavach Managing Director Rajat Bhandari, is where the industry is missing a critical piece. “Rider safety conversations in India have largely revolved around helmets,” Bhandari says. “But real-world accident patterns show that many life-altering injuries occur in areas helmets do not protect. To meaningfully reduce injury severity, we need to think beyond traditional gear and look at intelligent protection that responds instantly during a crash.”

NeoKavach, an Indo-French venture focused on wearable airbag systems for riders, is attempting to push that shift. Its pitch is straightforward: while helmets protect the head, serious injuries and fatalities often involve the spine, neck, and torso — areas left exposed in many accidents. As motorcycles become faster and touring culture grows, that vulnerability becomes more pronounced.

From Niche Gear to Everyday Utility

The company’s strategy, however, is not to position airbags as specialist racing gear or equipment reserved for long-distance rides. Instead, NeoKavach is trying to integrate protection into everyday riding habits.

To that end, it offers two primary formats: an airbag vest that can be worn over existing riding gear, and an airbag-integrated backpack designed for daily use. The latter reflects a deliberate design philosophy — making safety feel like utility rather than an added burden.

“What’s encouraging is that riders are no longer asking whether safety is needed. They’re asking how it can fit naturally into their daily riding,” Bhandari says. “The stronger response to the backpack format shows a clear preference for protection that balances safety, comfort, and practicality.”

The backpack includes features typically associated with commuter gear — storage compartments, waterproof materials, helmet holders, and hydration packs — while housing an airbag system intended to deploy during an accident. The vest, meanwhile, is designed to be worn over existing jackets without replacing them.

The idea is behavioural: if riders already carry a backpack or wear protective gear, embedding an airbag into those habits may increase adoption.

Technology Tuned for Indian Conditions

NeoKavach’s airbag systems rely on a mechanical trigger that activates when a rider is dislodged from the motorcycle, inflating in roughly 100 milliseconds. The aim is to stabilise the neck and protect the upper body before impact.

The company says it opted for mechanical activation over sensor-based systems because Indian riding conditions can be unpredictable. Speed breakers, potholes, and rough roads may trigger false deployments in electronic systems calibrated for more uniform environments.

“World solutions aren’t always India solutions,” Bhandari says. “In our conditions, you need something that deploys reliably in an actual crash but doesn’t misfire because of rough roads or sudden braking.”

The technology itself is not entirely new. NeoKavach’s partner, Helite, has been manufacturing airbag systems in Europe for over two decades, primarily for equestrian sports, motorcycles, and motorsports. What NeoKavach is attempting is localisation — adapting the technology to Indian weather, usage patterns, and price expectations.

Ventilation, for instance, has been a key design consideration. The vest is engineered for airflow and is intended to remain wearable even in high temperatures. “If riders can’t wear it in Indian heat, they won’t wear it at all,” Bhandari notes.

The Affordability Challenge

Perhaps the biggest barrier to adoption of advanced riding gear in India has historically been cost. Imported airbag systems can run into six-figure price tags once duties and logistics are factored in.

NeoKavach’s localisation strategy is aimed at bringing prices down to levels more accessible for premium motorcycle owners. The company says its base vest starts at around ₹32,400, with backpack variants priced higher depending on configuration.

“We wanted this product to be cost-effective and used by as many people as possible,” Bhandari says. “If safety is priced out of reach, adoption will always remain limited.”

Another differentiator the company emphasises is reusability. The airbag’s CO₂ cartridge can be replaced by the user after deployment rather than sending the gear back to a service centre — something that can be costly and inconvenient with some imported systems.

“That usability matters,” Bhandari says. “If a rider has a minor fall on a trip, they should be able to reset the system quickly and continue.”

Early Signals From the Market

NeoKavach says early consumer research indicates a shift in rider mindset. Studies conducted across major cities suggest riders increasingly see advanced safety gear as a necessity rather than a niche accessory. High-risk scenarios such as highways, wet roads, and unpredictable traffic are driving interest in additional protection.

The research also suggests that practicality plays a decisive role in adoption. The airbag backpack format, for instance, scored higher in perceived everyday relevance and willingness to pay, particularly among urban commuters.

“What we’re seeing is that safety adoption is tied to how seamlessly it fits into daily life,” Bhandari says. “If it feels like an extra task, people may not use it consistently. If it feels like part of their routine, they will.”

OEMs, Riders, and the Broader Ecosystem

NeoKavach is also exploring partnerships with motorcycle manufacturers, riding clubs, and racetracks to expand awareness and adoption. The company says discussions are underway with multiple OEMs to integrate airbag systems into accessory ecosystems or co-branded gear offerings.

The long-term opportunity could extend beyond enthusiasts. Delivery riders and fleet operators represent a large and high-risk segment, though pricing and product design would need to adapt for mass adoption.

“Over time, as volumes grow and costs come down, there will be opportunities to bring this into broader segments,” Bhandari says. “But even today, among premium motorcycle owners, the willingness to invest in safety is increasing.”

NeoKavach also sees export potential. Manufacturing in India allows the company to supply products globally while adapting designs to local needs. In some cases, India-specific designs may find traction in overseas markets.

A Gradual Shift in Safety Culture

For now, rider airbags remain a niche product category in India. Helmets are mandatory by law; jackets and gloves are increasingly common among enthusiasts; airbags are still new territory.

But the trajectory of motorcycle safety in global markets suggests that incremental layers of protection tend to become mainstream over time, often driven by a mix of regulation, consumer awareness, and OEM involvement.

“As bikes get more powerful and riding becomes more widespread, the conversation naturally shifts to safety,” Bhandari says. “Helmets were the first step. We believe the next step is protecting the rest of the body.”

Whether wearable airbags become standard gear for Indian riders will depend on how quickly the ecosystem — manufacturers, riders, and policymakers — embraces that idea. For NeoKavach, the goal is to make the technology visible, practical, and affordable enough that riders begin to see it not as optional gear, but as part of riding itself.

Inside Mahindra Last Mile Mobility’s Rs 500 Crore Modular Platform Strategy

Shahkar Abidi — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 20:29:24

About three years ago, during an annual leadership conference in the coastal state of Goa, two of Mahindra & Mahindra’s top executives met to discuss a problem that had remained stagnant for nearly eight decades: the design of the Indian three-wheeler. The industry’s standard silhouette had barely changed since the late 1940s, often prioritizing basic utility over the comfort or dignity of the person behind the wheel.

During that meeting, Pratap Bose, Mahindra’s Chief Design and Creative Officer, took a simple paper napkin and began to draw. "Pratap drew a shape on a napkin for me," recalls Suman Mishra, Managing Director and CEO of Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Limited (MLMML). "We were discussing what a three-wheeler of the future would look like, and he drew a shape similar to this. Standing there, he just made it on that napkin at the table." Mishra was so struck by the vision that she carried a photograph of that napkin sketch for months.

On February 12, that airplane-inspired sketch was rendered into a sheet of steel known as the Mahindra UDO. Launched at an introductory price of Rs 3,58,999, the UDO, according to the company's top leadership, represents the culmination of a multi-year, Rs 500-crore investment aimed at creating a new crispness in last-mile transportation in India.

The Rs 500 Crore Foundation
To bring the UDO to market, Mahindra built an entirely new foundation. The company invested more than Rs 500 crore to create a modular electric vehicle platform. While the UDO is the first to debut on this architecture, the platform is designed for versatility and intended to underpin a variety of future products.

This investment extended deep into Mahindra’s manufacturing infrastructure at its Zaheerabad plant. To support the UDO’s advanced specifications, the facility underwent a massive upgrade, including an all-new automated battery assembly line with significantly expanded capacity. The production floor now features robotized lines, a new weld shop, and an upgraded paint shop designed to handle the vehicle’s unique requirements. A new Trim, Chassis, and Final (TCF) line was also installed to manage the assembly of what Mahindra calls its "autoplane."

"We have invested appropriately in this product," Mishra told Autocar Professional on the sidelines of the vehicle's official launch in Hyderabad, noting that the battery facility alone represented a significant portion of the capital expenditure. This localized manufacturing approach was essential not just for scale but to deliver advanced features at a price point that remains attractive to retail customers.

Engineering the ‘Autoplane’

The final product bears a striking resemblance to Bose’s original napkin sketch, though the intervening years were filled with intensive engineering iterations. Bose describes the design philosophy as "Intellicore," which means a balance of hardcore engineering and intelligent form and function.

"You can’t get off the most beautiful advanced airports or get off a Vande Bharat... and get into a [vehicle] that was designed in the 1950s," Bose remarks. "It needs to be something for the times and for the future."

The company management boasts that the UDO’s design is a radical departure from the "tin can" builds of the past. It features a segment-first full monocoque construction, a unified body structure that provides significantly higher structural strength and a stiffer chassis. This engineering choice eliminates the creaks and twists common in traditional three-wheelers, providing what Mahindra claims is best-in-class ride quality and noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) levels.

Visibility and safety were also primary drivers. The UDO boasts a windshield that is 200% larger than its competitors, offering the driver an unhindered view, a feature inspired by airplane cockpits. Inside, the driver sits in the pilot (driver) seat with 20% higher cushion density for long-haul comfort. For the first time in the segment, the vehicle includes features like reverse throttle and creep mode, which allow for seamless control in bumper-to-bumper traffic without constant braking.

Quick Turnaround

The journey from that napkin sketch to the factory floor was governed by the Mahindra Product Development System (MPDS). This structured framework involves multiple stage gates—rigorous checkpoints where senior management, including leaders like M&M’s Rajesh Jejurikar, review prototypes and mules (test beds) to ensure the product meets its objectives.

Perhaps another impressive feat of the UDO’s development, the company highlighted, is the speed of its turnaround. "We are able to turn around products from a sheet of paper to a sheet of steel in 30 months," Bose notes. This efficiency was achieved by utilizing 3D digital modeling early in the process, which reduced the need for physical iterations, and by collaborating with suppliers much earlier in the design phase.

Leading the Electric Charge

The launch of the UDO comes at an important junction for the Indian automotive sector. The three-wheeler category has become a frontrunner in India’s transition to green energy, with electric vehicle (EV) penetration already surpassing 35%. Mahindra, which already holds a dominant position with over 300,000 EVs on the road, views the UDO as the vehicle that will push the market toward a tipping point.

"My aspiration is that with these kinds of products... it can reach 50% electric penetration in the next two years," says Mishra.

As per Mishra, the UDO is strategically positioned to attract a new breed of customers: younger, tech-savvy first-time users who research their purchases on social media and value pride of ownership. By offering a real-world range of 200 kilometers, the highest in its segment, Mahindra is also targeting CNG users who previously suffered from range anxiety.

Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Limited (MLMML), a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., manufactures EVs like the Treo range, Zor Grand, and e-Alfa. MLMML boasts the widest portfolio of electric, petrol, CNG, and diesel last-mile mobility three- and four-wheeler passenger and cargo vehicles. Apart from EVs, the company also has the Alfa and Jeeto range of vehicles in its kitty.

Bajaj Auto and Piaggio are among other major players operating in the segment.

Way Forward

Mahindra is attempting to accelerate a market already at 35% electric penetration toward a 50% tipping point within two years. However, the success of this autoplane vision ultimately rests on whether the traditionally price-sensitive retail driver will embrace a premium shift in identity over raw, low-cost utility. Can a sketch on a napkin fundamentally change how a nation moves, or is the gap between an airplane-inspired dream and the gravity of the Indian road still too wide to bridge?

Tesla’s Test

Ketan Thakkar — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 13:58:22

For more than a decade, India has been the automotive world’s great unanswered question. A market with undeniable scale, rising household incomes, and a young, upwardly mobile consumer base, it has long teased global automakers with the promise of explosive growth. Many spoke of India in ambitious tones, but few managed to convert that optimism into meaningful success, and several retreated after painful miscalculations.

Through all of this, one company watched from the sidelines. Tesla, the world’s most influential electric-vehicle maker and a brand that has built its reputation on bending industry norms, observed India’s evolution from afar. It saw policy swings, infrastructure gaps, consumer skepticism, and the stopstart stumble of rivals. India was too big to ignore but far too complex to approach casually. That calculation has finally shifted.

Tesla’s arrival is anything but conventional. There are no splashy teasers, no lavish launch galas, and no projections of meteoric sales. Instead, the company has chosen to begin its India journey with deliberate quietude. The approach mirrors the contrarian instinct that has defined its global rise. Build the plumbing before the buzz. Prioritise infrastructure over hype. Let the everyday product experience speak for itself.

A Policy Tango, Global Pressure, and a Measured Entry

For years, Tesla’s India story unfolded more on social media than in any boardroom. Elon Musk’s periodic tweets about entering India, often accompanied by frustration over high import duties, kept excitement alive without ever providing a firm commitment.

These bursts of optimism usually coincided with conversations inside the government about creating a more accommodating EV manufacturing regime, fuelling the perception that India might tailor a policy around Tesla.

The cycle repeated so often that “Tesla is coming” became an almost seasonal headline. Meanwhile, the global backdrop was shifting rapidly. Tesla was beginning to face intense heat from BYD in China, where the local rival overtook it in quarterly EV sales. In Europe, demand softened as incentives were rolled back. Volumes plateaued in the United States and other mature EV markets.

The company that once defined hypergrowth was now operating in a world where the EV curve was bending in a different way. Yet despite noise at home and competitive heat abroad, Tesla stayed cautious on India. It resisted making premature commitments, refused to enter on unfavourable terms, and waited until commercial, regulatory, and ecosystem conditions aligned. What finally arrived was not the long-rumoured, policytriggered big bang but a measured, infrastructurefirst entry.

Tesla’s physical entry into India began almost discreetly, with a handful of experience centres and a muted rollout. There was no Elon Musk roadshow, no gigafactory reveal, and no bold targets. If Tesla followed traditional rules, India would already be flooded with investment promises, targets, and timelines. Instead, the company is focused on building an ecosystem-led foundation, in stark contrast to rivals' dealership-heavy, marketing-centric strategies.

Within months, the company opened centres in Mumbai, Delhi, and Gurgaon, each combining sales, service, delivery, and support. It launched retail, service, delivery and charging together. The goal is for an early Indian buyer to see Tesla not as a car brand but as a full-stack ownership platform.

The intent is clear. The storefront is not the centerpiece. The ecosystem is. Tesla’s strongest argument in India is arithmetic, not aspiration. A typical premium petrol car costs around Rs 20 per km to run. With maintenance, it nudges Rs 25. An EV charged at home costs Rs 1 to Rs 2 per km. Over five years, Tesla claims an owner could save Rs 15 to Rs 20 lakh, effectively reducing the real cost of a Rs 59.89-lakh Model Y to around Rs 40 lakh.

For a commuter driving 1,000 to 1,500 km a month, the math is compelling. But India’s EV narrative is not driven solely by cost. Memories of early failures, short ranges, battery degradation, outdated tech, and poor resale value shape it. Tesla attempts to counter this through software. Over-the-air updates keep the car current, a brand hallmark.

Globally, Tesla owners tend to hold vehicles longer because the product improves with age rather than declines. Building an EV business in India without solving the charging issue is impossible. Tesla knows this and is approaching the challenge differently.

Tesla is installing new V4 Superchargers capable of 250 kW and roughly 275 km of range in 15 minutes. Initially, these will be limited to Tesla vehicles. Tesla is installing them where spend time, such as malls, tech parks, hotels, and restaurants. Destination chargers on highways and hill stations aim to build confidence in weekend travel.

After-Sales Experiment

Perhaps Tesla’s boldest bet is its service model. Indian buyers typically ask, “Where is the service centre?” before asking about the price. Tesla’s answer: “You don’t need one.” Tesla vehicles have no mandatory servicing. Most fixes are delivered remotely, and the company promises mobile service availability anywhere from Ladakh to Chennai.

Warehouses and parts are already located within India, and certified infrastructure handles accident repairs. This model works brilliantly where it works. But in India, where insurance processes, repair labour markets, and body shops vary in quality, execution will be tested. Luxury buyers also tend to have high service expectations.

Pyschology over Marketing

Tesla’s biggest challenge is not BMW or Mercedes. It is India’s memory of bad EVs. Early buyers faced battery failures, laggy electronics, and crumbling resale values. Tesla knows this. The company leans heavily on onthe- ground experience, curated test drives, pop-ups, influencer walkthroughs, and a deliberate emphasis on the five-second charging handshake, which contrasts sharply with the fumbling minutes at other chargers.

Deliveries have begun. Volumes remain modest. Some early buyers are already purchasing their second Tesla, which the company cites as proof that experience outweighs price. Tesla’s India strategy mirrors its global rhythm, charging network first, desirability next, volume later.

As for self-driving, Tesla maintains that its hardware is uniform worldwide, so Indian Teslas already carry the compute and camera stack. But on India’s chaotic roads, FSD is a long-term bet, not a near-term feature. If Tesla’s India strategy succeeds, it will redefine how Indians experience cars.

If it falters, it will still build an ecosystem before building a business. In a market as unforgiving and as full of potential as India, that may be the only sustainable path.

Forvia Shifts Focus, Expands India’s Role Beyond Services

Shahkar Abidi — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 19:41:05

In the global automotive sector, where geopolitical tariffs and rapidly divergent technological paths dictate business strategy, the quest for regional resilience has become paramount. For Martin Fischer, Group Chief Executive Officer of global auto component giant Forvia, this quest has led directly to India.

Fischer, a global automotive leader with over 25 years of experience, took the CEO reins in March, quickly moving to re-evaluate the company’s decade-spanning presence in the subcontinent. What he found was a significant footprint with around 6,000 employees, split between manufacturing operations and a robust engineering base, but a return on investment that felt out of sync with India's massive growth potential.

Forvia’s involvement in India dates back to the late 1950s, through its predecessor Hella, which was one of the market’s early pioneers. However, the structure of the business had evolved primarily into an "extended workbench". Until recently, 90% of the engineering work done by the Indian teams was dedicated to supporting global programs, serving as a hub for offshoring design and administrative services.

Fischer observed that the company was not present with a full portfolio. Globally, Forvia ended 2024 with a turnover of €26.97 billion. In India, Forvia’s current annual product sales are around €400 million, or a mere 1.5%.

"When I looked at our book of business, I thought: It’s not quite representative of what the Indian market is today and what it offers also in terms of growth opportunities,'" Fischer told Autocar Professional during his recent India visit. Now, the focus is reversing the long-standing strategy, shifting India from a design service provider to a “real parts business force,” sourcing and supplying to Indian customers locally, the top executive noted.

Forvia is undertaking a major strategic push into the Indian market, setting an ambitious target to more than double its local revenue to over €1 billion (approximately Rs 10,000 crore) within the next five years. The company is growing at approximately 11% in India, which is roughly twice the market CAGR of 5–6%. This massive projected growth, up from the current product sales of over €400 million, is being fueled by a committed investment of approximately €218 million (approximately Rs 1,964 crore) focused on local manufacturing and advanced technology.

Martin Fischer, Group CEO, Forvia

Focused Investments Underpin Growth

Forvia Hella is targeting growth of over 25% in India across all its business groups — Electronics, Lighting, and Lifecycle Solutions — over the next five years. To support this ambition, the company is driving significant localization, with planned investments of more than Rs 1,000 crore (approx) in Electronics and Lighting by 2030.

The largest allocation targets the rapidly growing Forvia Hella Electronics segment, which currently generates just over €100 million in turnover and is targeted to grow four times over the next five years, aiming for more than €400 million. To support this rapid expansion, the company will allocate approximately Rs 800 crore toward installing new capacities.

"So that will go in the direction of around Rs 800 crores we put in electronics," remarked the top executive on his first visit to India after taking over the new job. Secondly, in the seating business, the company plans to launch a new facility dedicated to manufacturing complete seats. The goal is to grow this segment five times in five years, pushing revenue past €150 million from the current base of approximately €30 million.

Likewise, clean mobility (exhaust systems), which is already a leading segment for the company in India, will also see enforcement, including the construction of a new plant in the northern region to be closer to customers. The plan is to double the turnover from its current €100 million plus to over €200 million. Furthermore, Forvia is investing in a modern lighting plant specifically for passenger cars, which will offer a complete range of solutions sourced from India. Additionally, they are extending a plant for specialized lighting applications, including those for trucks, farm machinery, and aftermarket solutions.

Frugal Engineering and Empowerment

Driving this dramatic growth requires a fundamental shift in operational philosophy. Fischer, an engineer by training, is implementing a cultural and organizational rehaul, embracing decentralization. "I believe a lot in local for local and empowering the teams in the world to do what’s right for the market," Fischer stated.

This regionalized structure is seen as crucial for navigating the "VUCA world", a climate characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity that features decoupling, tariffs, and differing technological adoption speeds across Asia, Europe, and North America. Fischer believes this regional focus strengthens the supply chain against global risks like natural disasters and tariffs.

On the engineering front, the transition means the Indian teams are leading the charge in "frugal engineering", a targeted affordability-based solution mindset. Furthermore, Forvia is aggressively pursuing efficiency through technological integration, driving efficiency through the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Examples include managing supplier contracts, and using Generative AI for mechanical design proposals, dramatically shortening the design loop before human verification.

The China Speed Challenge

The largest structural challenge for European automotive component arms like Forvia in India is the market composition. The landscape is heavily dominated by Japanese, Korean, and local Indian brands. Breaking into these established customer bases, which have their own long-term supplier relationships, is a "big stranglehold," according to industry observers.

Forvia leveraged a strategic advantage gained years ago through the acquisition of Clarion Electronics. Clarion, with its traditional audio brand and infotainment offerings in Japan, provided a crucial foothold to Japanese customers, which has successfully bridged into the domestic Indian market. Globally, Fischer must also contend with the disruptive concept of "China speed," where product life cycles have shrunk drastically.

China dictates rapid innovation and development times, with processes like headlamp development being completed in nine months, compared to two years elsewhere. Fischer is adopting key lessons from Forvia’s significant Chinese operation (which accounts for over 20% of global sales). The Chinese team is highly empowered to make quick local decisions and deeply localize the supply chain.

While replicating work habits like 24-hour R&D operations is difficult in other regions, Forvia is copying processes to shorten validation and testing times globally. This experience is directly relevant to India, as local Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), such as Tata Motors and Mahindra executives, are actively benchmarking China's efficiency and agility.

Forvia’s deep presence in China allows the company to act as a crucial link, leveraging that expertise to guide Indian OEMs. Furthermore, as powerful Chinese OEMs (like BYD) expand globally, including setting up bases in India, Forvia is positioned to follow them, offering local infrastructure and capacity in their new geographies.

On a parting note, the top exective maintains strong confidence in the ability of the newly empowered Indian unit to meet, and potentially exceed, these ambitious goals. "I could almost place a bet that when we go through that empowerment way, and say we let loose the Indian team, we are going to exceed the expectations," Fischer said, underscoring the shift from conservative planning to aggressive, localized execution.