Shubhangi Bhatia
Senior Correspondent | ET AutoA journalist by qualification and a storyteller by heart, Shubhangi Bhatia focuses on tracking, analysing and reporting news stories across the mobility ecosystem. Considering herself as a perpetual student, she is led by her inquisitiveness to fathom the nuances of businesses. Skilled in analytical writing, she likes to play with words and numbers and unfold their intrinsic value. A multitasker and problem-solver rolled into one, she specialises in video-based reporting and now produces the ETAuto monthly series, 'The Month Gone By'.
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M&M not to ignore ICEs for EVs; will look at hybrid tech closely
Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra says ICEs will continue to be an important part of its portfolio. For the next 3 years, the company has deployed INR 27,000 crore, including INR 14,000 crore for ICEs and INR 12,000 crore for EVs. The development comes even as the automaker has been working on its born-electric Inglo platform and is targeting a market launch for its BEV portfolio during January- March 2025 period. Interestingly, Mahindra also said that while at this point in time, it feel good about the focus on EVs but the automaker is ready for hybrids too. "We are looking at hybrid technology closely."
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SAR Group’s Sumeet Tandon joins Neolite ZKW Lightings
Tandon joined the SAR Group in April last year. Exactly after a year, ETAuto learns that Tandon has quit the group to join the lighting major Neolite ZKW Lightings as its Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer. Prior to this, he has been associated with Tier- 1 supplier Varroc and Lumax Group.
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We don’t want to do it fast, we want to do it amazing: Royal Enfield on electric motorcycles
Eicher Motors owned Royal Enfield is working on two electric motorcycle platforms-- an in-house and another in collaboration with Spanish startup Stark Motorcycle. The company which had earlier shared its plan of bringing the first product by 2025, says it could take a little more time as its approach is to "do it amazing" and not "do it fast". In the long term, the premium motorcycle maker aims to grow 2X of the domestic industry and be a leader in the middleweight segment of motorcycles across the globe.
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Tata Motors India biz now debt free
For FY24, Tata Motors consolidated net profit was up at INR 31,806.75 crore, when compared to INR 2,689.87 crore in FY23. By the end of March 2024, its net automotive debt stood at INR 16,000 crore. This compares with a total debt of INR 43,700 crore by the end of March 2023. The auto major said it's India business is now debt free, and aims to become net automotive debt free on a consolidated basis in FY25. For JLR, it expects the demand to stay consistent this year.
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Maruti Suzuki invests INR 1,450 cr in 4th-gen Swift, expects premium hatchbacks to grow to 1 mn by 2030
With the new 4th-gen Swift, Maruti Suzuki is betting big on the revival of the small cars. The maker of Fronx and Jimny believes that as car ownership rises, the hatchback segment will serve as an entry point for many customers. Within this, it expects the premium hatchback category to grow up to 10 lakh by 2030. While the new Swift comes with a new engine and new features, it will be interesting to see if it manages to bring back the excitement or gets lost amid the rush of SUV-style models in the market.
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TVS Motor to launch new variants of iQube, e3W in FY25
“We are constantly looking at white spaces. FY25 will be an interesting year, you will see launches in both ICE and EV category. More options on the current iQube will be available shortly,” KN Radhakrishnan, Director and CEO, TVS Motor Company, said during the Q4FY24 analyst call.
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Hero MotoCorp confident of gaining market share this year; to set up new unit in Brazil
Two wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp has reported a 17% growth in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at INR 943.46 crore in January-March 2024 quarter. The company which has seen its share dip in the market during the last few years, is confident of driving market share gains in the current financial year 2024-25 “on the back of our launches in the premium and 125 cc segment done in FY24”. It will also set up a new wholly owned subsidiary in Brazil, which will most likely be named ‘Hero MotoCorp do Brasil Ltd'.
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To achieve net zero, ICCT bets on EVs, finds CNG 'worse' than diesel
Passenger vehicle (PV) industry in India is considering multiple fuel technologies including electric vehicles (EVs), hybrids, compressed natural gas (CNG), flex-fuels, amongst others. However, research agency International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) is of the view that while it makes sense to not restrict ourselves to a single technology, having a level playing field and developing the ecosystem for each of them is not practically feasible. In one of its studies, it has found that in terms of lifecycle emissions for passenger cars, "CNG is slightly worse than diesel".
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The Month Gone By In Automotive Industry- April 2024
The Month Gone By in Auto Industry is a monthly video series by ETAuto to stay updated on the latest developments in the Indian automotive sector. This series convenes industry experts from diverse backgrounds to offer their insights into various facets of the industry, including sales, production, exports, regulatory shifts, technological advancements, challenges, opportunities, and future projections. In this episode, industry experts talk about the demand for entry-level vehicles, Tesla’s entry in India, why EV sales dipped in April, and how 2Ws are expected to clock double digit growth. However, the industry needs to wait and watch for the impact of the new EV policy and policy changes post budget, they suggest.
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Maruti Suzuki gears up to launch new Swift, says there is no reason to believe why small cars will not revive
The small car market which garnered about 47% share of the total passenger vehicle (PV) sales in the industry during FY18 has dropped to about 28% in FY24. This comes on the back of the growing demand for SUV-style vehicles which has gone up tremendously during the past 3-4 years. However, Maruti Suzuki expects that by 2026-end or 2027, the market will again see a growth in the hatchback segment. The carmaker is prepping up to launch the new-gen model of its popular Swift premium hatchback on May 9.
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M&M launches XUV 3XO at aggressive prices, aims to be among top 2 in compact SUVs by 2027
Mahindra has launched the facelift version of its XUV300-- XUV 3XO, with price starting at INR 7.49 lakh (ex-showroom). The automaker offers the new model with a host of features including Level 2 ADAS, and has managed to price it aggressively. The company stated that it is “the largest buyer of automotive technology in India". In terms of revenue, Mahindra has become the largest SUV maker. With XUV3XO, it aims to be among the top two players in the compact SUV segment in the next three years.
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M&M’s Europe biz CEO Gurpratap Boparai steps down
Boparai played an important role in the company’s automotive business in Europe along with MTBD and CE, driving the divestment and all related activities at Peugeot Motorcycles and providing oversight to APF (Automobili Pininfarina). He has “decided to pursue opportunities outside the Mahindra Group,” as per an internal circular of the company accessed by ETAuto.
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Govt looks to revisit funding support for automotive testing agencies, says Dr. Hanif Qureshi
Under the NATRIP (National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure) project, which completed in March 2021, the government provided support in establishing homologation and testing centres at automotive testing agencies. After the project, these centers were thereon conceived to eventually become self-sustainable in terms of earning revenues. Dr. Hanif Qureshi, Additional Secretary, MHI on Saturday stated that there is a need for these agencies to expand in new areas and with that some kind of support shall be provided from the government again.
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Cost of hybrid tech is high, Suzuki Japan working to make it affordable for India, says RC Bhargava
Maruti Suzuki's Chairman RC Bhargava shared that the costs of today's technology which goes into the Toyota hybrids is still quite high and Maruti's parent company Suzuki Motor Corporation is working on developing affordable hybrid technology for India. Talking about FY25, Bhargava says the car industry can look forward to a year which is "pretty good in all aspects". Maruti will start the production of its first EV in the current financial year.
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Ultraviolette to scale up, looks to achieve cash flow breakeven this year
The startup, founded in 2016, introduced its flagship high-performance electric motorcycle F77 in India in 2022. Now, with the launch of its more accessible F77 Mach 2, Ultraviolette plans to expand its retail presence outside of Bengaluru and foray into new markets overseas. By the second half of this year, it aims to achieve cash flow breakeven while continuing to invest in R&D and technology.
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Auto Inc signs 24 deals worth USD 357 mn in Q1 2024
During Q1 2024 (January- March), 24 deals valued at USD 357 million were signed. In terms of the sub sectors, MaaS (mobility-as-a-service) and EVs (electric vehicles) led the deal volumes and values. However, the quarter witnessed a 49% decline in values over Q4 2023. Going forward, the automotive industry is poised for significant deal activity owing to global growth projections and resilience of emerging markets like India.
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Bajaj Auto plans INR 800 cr capex in FY25, upcoming CNG bike to launch in phases
Bajaj Auto has reported 18% growth in its consolidated net profit to INR 2,011 crore during January-March 2024 quarter, as against INR 1,705 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. The company says it has lined up a capex plan of INR 800 cr for the current fiscal majorly to cater to the capacities for three wheelers and Chetak electric scooters. It is also set to bring the new Pulsar, a model under the Chetak brand name and a CNG motorcycle in the ongoing quarter. However, exports remain a challenge.
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Global sales of BEVs still far away from justifying high investments: Mahle Group CEO
German Tier-1 automotive supplier Mahle Group says the future of mobility is electric but we have a long way to go before these technologies achieve a market position as strong as those in traditional products. The company is seeing a “transitional renaissance” in the ICE segment, but this cannot deny the fact that as per the current regulations in Europe, ICEs will have to be phased out by 2035. Mahle is thus focusing more on its core products in electrification, hybridization, thermal management and sustainable ICEs, including biofuels.
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Automobile exports remained under stress in FY24, dip 5.5%
The decline in the automobile shipments during the last fiscal year was owing to the ongoing geopolitical issues including the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza conflicts. Some countries where India is very strong in two wheeler and commercial vehicle exports are facing foreign exchange (forex) issues, SIAM President Vinod Aggarwal said. The red sea crisis is not having a major impact on exports as of now, as the OEMs are avoiding that route and taking an alternate longer route.
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Bridgestone India mid-term biz plan targets 25% revenue growth, 10 mn sales by 2026
Tyre maker Bridgestone India has launched its Turanza 6i range of tyres for the premium passenger vehicle segment. On the sidelines of the launch event, Managing Director Hiroshi Yoshizane told ETAuto that India is the fastest-growing business portfolio in its global business and it looks to clock 25% growth in its revenue between 2024 and 2026. He also shared how the tyremaker's mobility solutions business is gradually expanding in India.
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