Tesla Inc, the world's largest electric car producer, is looking to make a significant investment in India, said its chief Elon Musk, who saw India as holding more promise than any other large country around the globe. Musk, after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said he plans to visit India in 2024. "I am confident that Tesla will be in India and we will do so as soon as humanly possible," Musk told reporters after the meeting.
The future of sustainable transportation in India lies in developing electric vehicles across transit automobile segments.
'Binary fission will happen -- startups will lead to more startups.'
Unprecedented bribery charges, farewells, separation, failed union, monumental mergers and record-breaking IPOs, along with a healthy dose of online happenings in the form of spat and lessons in customer care, corporate India saw it all in 2024.
Widespread rains lashed parts of Tamil Nadu on Thursday, prompting authorities to declare a holiday for schools in Chennai and many other districts.
Almost all of these companies either unveiled their new electric vehicle or alternative energy-powered models.
The Uttar Pradesh government has deployed two senior IAS officers, who were part of the team that successfully conducted the 2019 Ardh Kumbh, to oversee the smooth conduct of the Maha Kumbh Mela in the wake of the recent stampede that left at least 30 pilgrims dead. The officers, Ashish Goyal and Bhanu Chandra Goswami, have extensive experience in administration in Prayagraj, including crowd management and inter-agency coordination. They will join Mela Adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand, forming a trio that was part of the mega fair six years ago. The government has also deployed additional senior police officers to strengthen security and crowd management ahead of Basant Panchami, one of the key bathing days of the festival, on February 3.
Tata Motors on Tuesday launched its second electric vehicle -- Tigor EV, catering to the personal segment in the domestic market, priced between Rs 11.99 lakh and Rs 13.14 lakh (ex-showroom). The model comes in three variants, priced at Rs 11.99 lakh, Rs 12.49 lakh and Rs 12.99 lakh. A dual tone top-end trim is tagged at Rs 13.14 lakh. The auto major has already achieved success with its first electric model, Nexon EV and now commences deliveries of Tigor EV from around 150 sales outlets in 70 cities across the country.
You increase the production, only then it is possible to reduce cost, Gadkari said.
'With NPA under control, we should be able to post better profits.'
In doing so, Bajaj has become the first internal combustion engine two-wheeler company to launch an all-electric two-wheeler in India.
Future and concept cars at the New York International Auto Show.
It takes a while to get used to the constant and instant supply of power that is the case with EVs, and handling the S1 Pro when it takes a corner or makes a turn can be tricky, says Pavan Lall.
The electric vehicle market in India needs a policy push that goes beyond targets, says Vandana Gombar.
The MG ZS EV, to be unveiled next month, will go head to head with Hyundai Kona, launched in July this year as the country's first fully electric SUV.
Tata Motors, India's largest electric passenger vehicle manufacturer, has signed an agreement with ride-hailing company Uber to supply 25,000 electric vehicles (EVs), the company said. The agreement is the largest EV commitment between an automotive manufacturer and a ride-sharing platform in India. Under the agreement, Uber will deploy Tata Motors' XPRES-T EVs by partnering fleet operators in Delhi National Capital Region, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad.
The chances of former workers getting jobs depends on the model under which Ford would restart its Chennai plant operations -- under Ford India or as a joint venture or under any other model.
The Street's optimism on India's largest listed automotive maker by market capitalisation is not misplaced, given the robust wholesale performance in recent months and the strong 2023-24 (FY24) October-December (Q3) results.
Automobile dealers' body FADA said the Budget lacked immediate demand boosters for the automobile industry.
Maruti Suzuki India is targeting markets like UAE, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Mexico and other Latin American countries with its upcoming new version of compact sedan Dzire to accelerate exports as it eyes over 3 lakh units of overseas shipments this fiscal, a senior company official said on Wednesday. In the domestic market, the company hopes to enhance its share in the sedan market amid the passenger vehicles market shifting towards SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles), with the new Dzire which is slated for launch next week. "We have been growing (exports) at a rate of about 11.9 per cent in the first seven months of the financial year and we hope to continue on that momentum.
Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com brings you some of the innovative cars presented at the latest edition of the Consumer Electronics Show.
The stock of the country's largest passenger vehicle maker, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), has been hitting successive all-time highs over the past three trading sessions. The rally in the scrip has helped it notch over a 21 per cent gain since the start of February, outperforming the National Stock Exchange Nifty Auto Index. The gains for the leader of small passenger cars have been more recent, as the company still trails the Nifty Auto over one- and two-year periods.
Tata Motors recorded its highest-ever monthly retail sales in November on the back of robust demand for its sports utility vehicles amid the festive period, according to a top company official. In an interaction with PTI, Tata Motors passenger vehicles managing director Shailesh Chandra said the automaker retailed around 53,000 units in November, which was 8 per cent higher as compared to October this year and 30 per cent up as compared to sales in November 2022. The company also witnessed strong sales performance in the 47 days long festive period this year with registrations of around 79,374 units, up 18 per cent over the same period of last year.
Reliance has a 24 per cent conversion rate of 'oil-to-chemicals' at present and may be targeting 70 per cent conversion.
'Two would be premium products and three would be mainstream products.'
In a big push to the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, the government has nearly doubled (increase of 81 per cent) the allocation in five key industry segments from Rs 8,405 crore in the Revised Estimate of FY24 to Rs 15,198 crore in the Interim Budget for FY25. The segments cover over eight PLI schemes, including mobile phones, IT hardware, pharma (PLIs for medical devices, intermediates and pharmaceuticals), food processing, telecom hardware and, auto and auto components. In FY24, DPIIT officials, however, said that the disbursements would be much higher at around Rs 11,000 crore than what has been budgeted for the year.
According to Siam data, Indian auto companies sold 982,456 units of utility vehicles in the first half of FY23, a 50.29 per cent growth over the corresponding period last year.
Automotive (auto) and auto ancillary stocks have been in the fast lane thus far in 2023-24 (FY24), with the National Stock Exchange Nifty Auto Index surging nearly 27 per cent, outperforming the Nifty50, which has gained roughly 11 per cent during this period. The top-gear performance of auto stocks at the bourses, according to A K Prabhakar, head of research at IDBI Capital, has been triggered by the premiumisation of products across vehicle manufacturers, which has seen vehicle sales remaining relatively stable. "It is not about higher sales figures now, but about premiumisation.
This year's edition, three years lost to the pandemic and scheduling, wore a distinctive shade of green, and, as would befit an era of technology shift from internal combustion engines to electric motors, had a clutch of high-technology exhibits and concepts. But the excitement of the expo's heyday was missing.
Tata Motors plans to set up separate sales network for its electric passenger vehicles in current fiscal year as it looks to give differentiated experience to the buyers opting for the environment-friendly models, according to a top company official. The Mumbai-based auto major, which on Thursday introduced all-new versions of its Nexon EV and Nexon (internal combustion engine), said it will start experimenting with new outlets in some of the cities where EV volumes have gone up. "We'll have to separate them (sales outlets for EVs and ICE) given that we have different requirements of customers and also a growing portfolio (of EVs)" Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles managing director Shailesh Chandra told PTI in an interaction.
'The Indian govt's initiatives on EVs are very strong and customers want to buy EVs. This will make the country's conversion to EVs faster than other markets, and I hope even faster than the US'
The Centre should provide a clear regulatory pathway that it will follow so that automobile companies can plan their investments and car launches accordingly, Venkatram Mamillapalle, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO), Renault India Operations, said on Tuesday. Renault is planning to launch five cars - including a B-plus segment sport utility vehicle (SUV), a C-segment SUV and an electric vehicle (EV) - in India in the next three years, he told reporters. In early 2022, the ministry of road transport and highways had announced that cars in India would be required to have six airbags from October 1, 2022.
China's covid crisis could provoke a raw material crunch for India's EV industry later this year.
Notwithstanding robust volume growth and a strong performance from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Tata Motors, the country's second-largest automobile (auto) manufacturer by market capitalisation, disappointed the Street with its January-March quarter (Q4) results for 2023-24 (FY24). While consolidated revenues saw a 13 per cent increase, lower-than-expected realisations in the Indian operations weighed down overall performance.
The heavy industries ministry has asked US-based electric car major Tesla to first start manufacturing its iconic electric vehicles in India before any tax concessions can be considered, government sources said. They said that the government is not giving such concessions to any auto firm and giving duty benefits to Tesla will not send a good signal to other companies that have invested billions of dollars in India. Tesla has demanded reduction in import duties on electric vehicles (EVs) in India.
'In India, the GenAI startup ecosystem is unfolding with remarkable speed, signalling a new era of technological advancement and investment opportunities.'
The company will showcase the Ioniq electric vehicle at the Auto Expo that begins next week.
India's financial sector is dominated by large government-owned and private-sector banks.
Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) saw strong volume performance in the first quarter of the current financial year (Q1FY25), but margins disappointed due to weak spare part sales and negative electric vehicle (EV) margins. The company hopes for a strong festive season due to better rural sentiment. Revenue grew 16 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 10,140 crore, operating profit was up 21 per cent to Rs 1,460 crore, and adjusted net profit grew 19 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 1,120 crore.
'It is our duty to keep space sustainable and free of debris.'