The US carmaker's entry into India is expected by the last quarter of the current financial year.
A 22-year-old youth and a person with disability died, while at least 11 were injured, in separate rain-related incidents in the national capital on Wednesday evening. The incidents occurred amid sudden changes in weather in Delhi, as a rainy storm marked by hail wrecked havoc across the city, throwing traffic out of gear as far as Delhi-Noida, Delhi-Ghaziabad, and Delhi-Gurugram roads and uprooting several trees.
A 24-year-old man was killed and two women were injured in Chandigarh after a Porsche car hit two scooters. The incident happened near a petrol pump in Sector 4 at around 8 am on Monday. The impact of the collision was so strong that one of the two-wheelers was completely destroyed and the front portion of the luxury car was damaged. The accident also severed Ankit's leg and injured the legs of the women. The driver of the Porsche was arrested.
With sentiment for the automotive (auto) sector turning positive, stocks of two-wheeler auto majors have been hitting their 52-week highs. Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor Company, and Eicher Motors recently reached their yearly highs on strong sales in the festival season and the expectation of faster growth rates ahead. Since the start of this month, listed two-wheeler majors have delivered returns in the 12-17 per cent range, compared to the 7 per cent gains for the S&P BSE Auto Index and 3 per cent for the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.
The new four-wheeler (4W) electric vehicle (EV) policy may spur the entry of global majors. The manufacturing policy cuts Customs duty to 15 per cent, given a minimum investment commitment. It calls for a minimum investment of Rs 4,150 crore (about $500 million) for making electric four wheelers (e-4Ws), with manufacturing to commence within three years of approval.
Amid challenging market environment, Maruti Suzuki India and Mahindra & Mahindra reported an increase in vehicle dispatches to dealers last month while Tata Motors and Hyundai saw a year-on-year drop in sales.
India's electric two-wheeler (E2W) sector is expected to cross the one million mark in 2024 fuelled by rising demand, increased production, and affordability, industry experts said, even as several original equipment makers are expanding their penetration to rural areas. Improved battery technology and innovative features are also likely to fuel growth, they said. "E2W sales will breach the 1-million mark in 2024 as the demand for electric two-wheelers is expected to continue growing due to factors such as environmental awareness, government incentives, and improvements in technology," Hyder Khan, chief executive officer (CEO), Godawari Electric Motors, said.
Ola Electric has eliminated its regional warehouses across India, and will now leverage its 4,000 retail stores nationwide for maintaining vehicle inventory, spare parts, accessories, and last-mile deliveries. The strategic move is expected to boost EBITDA margins by almost 10 percentage points, besides improving inventory management and faster customer deliveries, sources directly familiar with the matter said.
Hero MotoCorp anticipates a big rebound in two-wheeler (2W) sales in rural India over the next four to eight quarters, driven by favourable factors such as a decent monsoon, rising crop prices, improved employment conditions, and increasing consumer confidence, its chief executive officer (CEO) Niranjan Gupta said on Wednesday. Amid tepid rural sales, he stated that there is a "strong case" for GST (goods and services tax) on entry-level two-wheelers, which are under 125 CC, to be moved down from 28 per cent to 18 per cent as they are used by "masses".
Overall, volume growth is likely to be in the range of 3-8 per cent for two-wheelers and 5-7 per cent for passenger vehicles owing to healthy demand from urban and rural areas and pending order books.
Numeros Motors is also planning to come up with a passenger vehicle four-wheeler or a three-wheeler by 2027.
Automobile retail sales grew 9 per cent year on year in 2024 riding on the back of robust demand for two-wheelers and passenger vehicles amid challenging business environment, dealers' body FADA said on Tuesday. Overall vehicle registrations stood at 2,61,07,679 units last year as compared to 2,39,28,293 units in the 2023 calendar year, recording a growth of 9 per cent.
Violence erupted in central Nagpur at around 7.30 pm om Monday with stones hurled at police amid rumours that the holy book of a community was burnt during an agitation by a right-wing outfit for the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb, leaving six persons and three policemen injured, officials said.
Proliferation of home chargers of around 7 KWh and above, which take six to seven hours to fully charge a car depending on the model, bring running costs down by a third or so. That, coupled with the increasing range of modern electric cars, can lead to a massive increase in sales.
Ola Electric on Tuesday clarified that its February sales figures reflect genuine customer orders after full payments, and not just preliminary bookings with a token amount, stating that "nearly 90 per cent" of these orders were paid in full at the time of placement. "To be clear, the sales figures for February 2025 represent genuine customer demand backed by financial commitment, not token-amount bookings.
Car purchases in India are largely limited to the top 12 per cent of households with an annual income exceeding Rs 12 lakh, while even small cars have become unaffordable for the remaining 88 per cent, said R C Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), on Friday. "How can you get high car sales growth if 88 per cent of the country are below the levels of income where they cannot afford these cars costing Rs 10 lakhs and above?
A 40-year-old Indian Air Force (IAF) officer, Wing Commander Shiladitya Bose, was allegedly assaulted and verbally abused by a group of individuals in Bengaluru while on his way to the airport with his wife. The incident, which occurred early Monday morning, has been termed a case of road rage by police. The accused, Vikas Kumar, has been arrested and a case has been registered at the Byappanahalli police station. The incident has sparked outrage, with Bose sharing a video on Instagram detailing the events and displaying injuries on his face and neck.
Of the 5 lakh women who were deemed ineligible, 1.5 lakh were found to be above the age of 65, while 1.6 lakh either had a four-wheeler or were beneficiaries of other government schemes like the Namo Shetkari Yojana, the official said.
Passenger vehicle dispatches from companies to dealerships witnessed an increase of 1.6 pc year-on-year in January at 399,386 units driven by robust demand for utility vehicles, industry body SIAM said on Thursday. It was the highest-ever passenger vehicle dispatch for the month of January.
'We handle close to 3 million rides daily, making us one of the largest players in this segment'
'We don't have to compete with Maharashtra or Gujarat. We have to now start thinking about how we compete with the United States or China.'
Udhagamandalam, popularly known as Ooty, and Sandynallah recorded zero degree Celsius on Friday, affecting normal life in the hill town. Many parts of Udhagamandalam and nearby areas were covered with frost, and water stored in containers froze. The extreme cold forced people to stay indoors, with roads deserted and people seen lighting fires to keep warm.
Stung by the government's punitive action on electric two-wheelers, registrations in April fell by nearly a fourth to 62,581 from 82,292 in March, according to data from VAHAN. Electric two-wheeler companies, including Okinawa, Hero Electric, Ather Energy, and TVS, have all clocked their lowest registrations in the four months of this calendar year. Ola Electric has been the only exception to this bloodbath, and has crossed its March numbers, hitting 21,560 registrations in April, which is its highest in this calendar year. As a result, there have been some interesting changes in the electric two-wheeler pecking order.
A 26-year-old man, Anandu Krishnan, has been arrested for allegedly defrauding people across Kerala by promising them scooters, sewing machines, and home appliances at half price. The accused claimed to use Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds from big companies. The case has taken a political turn with the involvement of Congress leader Lali Vincent, who served as a legal advisor to an NGO involved in the transactions. Vincent defended Krishnan and said he was not a fraudster, claiming he was made a scapegoat after those who promised CSR funds backed away. The case is being investigated by the Kerala police, who are also looking into the role of certain political leaders in the fraud.
Hyderabad police have imposed restrictions on Holi celebrations, prohibiting group vehicle movement and throwing colors on unwilling individuals. BJP MLA Raja Singh criticized the notification, calling it a "Tughlaq farman " and accusing the Congress government of favoring a particular community. He questioned the lack of similar restrictions during Ramzan and alleged that the Congress government is anti-Hindu.
The Indian automobile retail sector saw a strong start to 2025, with overall sales increasing by 6.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in January, according to the latest report by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). Despite the positive numbers, the association noted that auto dealers have mixed expectations for the coming months. Nearly half (46 per cent) anticipate further growth in sales, while 43 per cent believe sales will remain steady.
The two-wheeler segment is, however, still far from its H1FY19 peak of 9.7 million units
Long standing number two passenger vehicle maker in India, Hyundai Motor India, has slipped to fourth position in the domestic market in terms of retail sales last month behind Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors, as per the latest data shared by dealer's body FADA. Hyundai Motor India clocked retail sales of 38,156 units last month, a dip of 20 per cent as compared with 47,540 units in February last year.
A Shiv Sena leader, Mangat Rai alias Manga, was shot dead in Moga, Punjab on Thursday night. The incident occurred when Manga was attacked by three unknown assailants while he was out to buy groceries. A 12-year-old boy was also injured in the attack. Police are investigating the incident, which they believe could be a fallout of a personal rivalry, but the deceased's family denies any enmity. Protests erupted demanding the arrest of the accused and alleging a breakdown of law and order in Punjab. In another incident on the same night, three motorcycle riders entered a salon and fired two shots at the owner, injuring him in the leg.
Bajaj Auto has virtually closed the gap with Ather Energy in September, notching up 6423 EV registrations compared to 6466 registrations by Ather.
Two-wheeler exports from India have decreased by 20 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 1.69 million units in the first half (H1) of 2023-24 (FY24) due to a challenging geopolitical situation and foreign exchange (forex) crises in key markets such as South Asia, industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) said on Monday. On the other hand, passenger vehicle (PV) exports in H1FY24 increased by 5 per cent to 336,754 units because the key markets are much more diversified worldwide, Vinod Aggarwal, president, Siam, told reporters during a press conference. The Russia-Ukraine war, which started in February 2022, has brought significant instability to global fuel prices.
Smaller players manufacturing electric two-wheelers (E2Ws) are unlikely to raise prices of their models initially in 2024 in order to ensure volumes do not drop. The prices of E2Ws range from Rs 90,000 to Rs 1 lakh, the players being Lohia Auto, Godawari Electric, Emobi, etc. As India's E2W sector gears up to go past one million in 2024, manufacturers are likely to maintain price stability, underpinned by strategic independence from subsidies under Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (and Hybrid) Vehicles II (FAME II), localisation efforts, sustainability initiatives, and a focus on affordability.
The two-wheeler giant had only 14 per cent of the electric two-wheeler market in May this year, but its 26.8 per cent in December
Leading Indian electric two-wheeler (e2W) companies have said that "swapping" of batteries is currently unviable and will only increase the cost for a consumer to run the vehicle.
Curfew was imposed in Manipur's Churachandpur on Monday as a precautionary measure following clashes between Hmar and Zomi communities. The decision came after a Hmar tribal leader was assaulted, leading to demands for the perpetrators to be identified. Prohibitory orders were also imposed in the district, banning unauthorized processions and assemblies, and restricting the carrying of weapons. The violence stemmed from an altercation involving the Hmar leader, who was accused of nearly hitting a two-wheeler rider. The incident sparked protests and clashes, with central security forces intervening to disperse mobs. The Hmar Village Volunteers have imposed a total shutdown in Pherzawl and Jiribam districts in response to the violence.
Violence erupted in central Nagpur on Monday with stones hurled at police amid rumours that the holy book of a community was burnt during an agitation by a right-wing body for the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb, officials said.
India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held bilateral talks with US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and chaired a conclave of top global intelligence chiefs focusing on strengthening cooperation in confronting various security challenges including terrorism and threats posed by emerging technologies. The meeting also focused on security in the Indo-Pacific region, cooperation to counter terror funding and money laundering, and issues relating to extradition and immigration.
'Every Indian should move to an EV, and the government should not buy any fossil fuel cars. The government should become the first driver of EV adoption.'
The total vehicle retail sales in India witnessed a 32 per cent on-year rise in October to 28,32,944 units with all segments including two-wheelers and passenger vehicles registering strong growth, Federation of Automobile Dealers' Association (FADA) said on Wednesday. The total vehicle retail sales in October 2023 stood at 21,43,929 units, as per FADA. The strong growth in October this year was largely driven by the rural market, especially boosting two-wheeler and passenger vehicles sales, supported by increased Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Rabi crops, FADA said.
For the first time, the event will take place across three locations in Delhi: Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan, Yashobhoomi Convention Centre at Dwarka, and India Expo Mart at Greater Noida.
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