Taral Agarwal is helping his father run their ‘chikki’ business at Lonavala besides studying to achieve a BBA degree. Coming from a family that has been into the traditional Indian sweets business for three generations now, Agarwal firmly belongs to Gen Z and has the confidence as well as the exposure to match. His thoughts about how he wants to see their family enterprise grow sustainably and offer hygienic products is interesting, He does not seem to be bothered about how fast a ‘chikki’ brand in his city has grown and branched out. 
What is surprising about the lad who rides to college and runs errands for his family on a fossil fuel powered two-wheeler, is his thoughts about shifting to an electric vehicle to cut down operating costs. Agarwal is clearly not convinced.  He is not convinced about the claim of EVs being ‘green’! What is the point in buying an EV when the fuel or electricity it is going to be powered with, is going to come from burning lignite? he asks. 

Agarwal is not alone among the Gen-Zers. Credit should be given to them for their exposure to the world events and how they think of or are sensitive to the developments taking place around them. They perhaps are more sorted with the idea of environment and sustainability. Paying more for the initial acquisition cost of an EV is a concern to Agarwal, but a bigger concern is whether what is claimed by EVs manufacturers in terms of range and carbon neutrality is true or not. 

The falling prices of batteries or the alternatives to rare earth metals has the attention of Gen-Zers like Agarwal, but a larger and complete picture is what he and other like him want to see. Aware of the fact that their country would benefit from less dependence on fossil fuel, the Gen-Zers seem to want products that truly measure up to their claims. They, it looks like, are keen to see with their eyes, real sustainability plans over claims. They are looking for more than the ESG performance may indicate, though that is one parameter that is assuming importance. 

Events like floods, bush fires and the accelerated melting of glaciers are not beyond the purview of the Gen-Zers. They are in fact making them aware of where the directions of the efforts should be. But they are not the one that will believe in claims. They are therefore keeping a close eye on how the future mobility scene is shaping up in terms of carbon neutrality and sustainability. Something that the tall compounds walls of manufacturing plants and glass facades of various corporate offices of automotive manufacturers may not be able to conceal for long. 

Even governments are not beyond the watchful eye of the Gen-Zers. It is important therefore that it will take much more for them to simply announce regulations and change rules pertaining to mobility. It would not take long to understand for the Gen-Zers if the governments are truly interested in addressing their concerns and needs or simply chalking out short and mid-terms measures. 

The Gen-Zers are at a juncture where they are seriously thinking if fossil fuel vehicle pollute more over their lifetime or the EVs do. They are rather concerned about the ‘cost-to-the-environment’ and recyclability than the claims of zero-pollution. 

Future interest in EV adoption fell most among Gen Z age category (74 percent in 2021 vs 56 percent in 2022), read the intro of an article in theevreport.com dated 1 August 2022. An article dated 8 May 2023 in USA Today mentioned that electrifying the car market may be getting more difficult with the share of Americans who say they’re ‘very unlikely’ to consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase. Citing a report by consumer analytics firm JD Power, the article stated that persistent worries about charging infrastructure and vehicle pricing was dampening enthusiasm for EVs among other reasons like the lack of public charging infrastructure, geography and education. 

The rising status of India as the world’s biggest micro-electro mobility market would do good to align with the expectations of the Gen Z. Not just in terms of performance, durability or range, but also in terms of how ‘green’ the entire concept truly is. It is only when they are convinced, would they want to invest.  Mere ESG figures may not even satiate their appetite in terms of their future mobility needs. 

The question that comes to mind therefore is, are hydrogen vehicles really the future? Are governments the world over simply rushing to phase out fossil fuel vehicles? Are government truly aware of the ‘cost-to-the-environment’ about EVs vis-à-vis fossil fuel vehicles or they simply interested in reducing their dependence on imported fuels? What are their plans about producing electricity through greener means to support the kind of EVs envisaged? What about the other infrastructure needs? What about taxation and subsidies? 
Typical answers and corporate keywords may not work in this case. For the Gen-Zers to bet their money on EVs, it will take much more. Incidences like EVs catching fire has already put more questions in the mind of Gen-Zers. Convincing them would not be easy. 

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JSW MG Motor India, one of the leading passenger vehicle manufacturers, has announced that it has successfully installed 1,000 community chargers under its MG Charge initiative.

Spanning more than 470 sites across India, the milestone makes JSW MG Motor India the first automaker in the country to establish community-led electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure at this scale. The installations are distributed across residential societies, condominiums, hospitals, corporate campuses, hotels and industrial parks.

Alongside the infrastructure announcement, the company revealed that MG-branded electric vehicles have cumulatively travelled over 2.9 billion green kilometres on Indian roads. This collective mileage has offset approximately 417,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Furthermore, JSW MG Motor India has detailed an aggressive product timeline for the remainder of calendar year 2026 (CY2026). The automaker plans to launch three new New Energy Vehicles (NEVs).

This upcoming product push will mark the brand's introduction of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technology to the Indian market. The company noted that its overarching corporate philosophy views India's transition to sustainable transit as a path that can be successfully driven by balancing multiple complementary technologies.

In alignment with national decarbonisation targets, JSW MG Motor India has systematically upgraded its primary manufacturing plant in Halol, Gujarat. The site has achieved significant efficiency metrics through the deployment of Industry 4.0 digitisation and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.

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Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, has announced a major expansion of its renewable energy footprint with two dedicated biogas projects on the occasion of World Environment Day.

The company has earmarked a cumulative investment of INR 9.25 billion through FY 2030–31 toward green energy initiatives to systematically curtail its carbon footprint across in-house manufacturing operations.

The automaker is investing INR 1.5 billion specifically into these two newly detailed biogas developments, aligning its corporate operations with the Government of India's ‘Waste-to-Wealth’ mission.

It has commissioned a new 10 TPD Biogas Plant at Kharkhoda, which is scheduled to be commissioned in FY2026–27. At full operational capacity, the plant is projected to mitigate 9,490 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. The generated biogas will offset fossil fuel reliance by servicing approximately 20 percent of the total gas requirement at the Kharkhoda manufacturing site.

Furthermore, earlier this month, Maruti Suzuki India completed an expansion at its Manesar facility, scaling output from an initial 0.2 TPD to 0.7 TPD. The expanded setup is expected to generate roughly 360,000 standard cubic meters of biogas annually, avoiding an estimated 664 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

The plant leverages anaerobic digestion technology to convert organic and agricultural waste into raw biogas. It uses food waste, napier grass and paddy straw as feedstock, with a technical provision to boost output utilising cattle dung. The output will be directed into paint shop heating processes and factory canteen operations. Fermented Organic Manure (FOM) generated as a byproduct will be routed to internal horticulture or supplied back into the local agricultural ecosystem.

Beyond localised biogas projects, Maruti Suzuki is systematically scaling its solar energy infrastructure to counter liquid natural gas (LNG) volatility and supply constraints. It has progressively expanded its installed solar capacity to 79 MWp across its manufacturing facilities and targets an expansion to 319 MWp of solar-generated renewable energy by FY 2030–31.

The automaker recently replaced natural gas with biogas for approximately 10 percent of the energy requirements at its Hansalpur facility. Supported by SRDI (a wholly owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan), this transition ensured uninterrupted operations during active LNG supply bottlenecks.

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “Maruti Suzuki has been consistently working on initiatives aimed at reducing fossil fuel consumption and oil import dependence. In line with this, we are setting up a new 10 Tonnes Per Day biogas plant at the Kharkhoda facility as well as expanding the existing biogas plant at Manesar facility. At a time when the world is navigating an increasingly uncertain energy landscape, such initiatives assume greater significance. As the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India has called for reducing dependence on fossil fuels, the commissioning of our biogas project comes at an appropriate time. It enables us to contribute, in a modest but meaningful way, to the current national priority alongside several other ongoing efforts.”

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Hyundai Motor India, one of the leading passenger vehicle manufacturers, has announced a long-term strategic commitment to designate the state of Tamil Nadu as its designated ‘Flagship EV Hub for India’. The announcement includes an exclusive skill development partnership alongside manufacturing and supply chain localisation goals.

As part of this roadmap, Hyundai Motor India has reaffirmed its plan to deploy an investment of over INR 260 billion in Tamil Nadu between 2023 and 2032. This allocation is a component of the company's broader, previously declared INR 450 billion investment blueprint for the Indian market. To date, the Chennai facility has exported more than 3.9 million vehicles to over 150 countries.

The manufacturing hub will scale zero-emission capabilities via immediate product rollouts and component localisation:

• Product Rollout: Hyundai Motor India plans to introduce two new vehicle models from its Chennai facility within the year. This includes the launch of its first mass-market dedicated electric vehicle (EV) to accelerate local adoption.
• Industrial Localisation: The company has established Tamil Nadu’s first battery sub-assembly plant for EV powertrains. Hyundai Motor India is currently expanding local sourcing for power electronics and related primary components to minimise import dependency.
• Charging Network: Hyundai has deployed a direct-current (DC) fast EV charging ecosystem across the state consisting of 39 stations and 78 charging points. The high-capacity network is scheduled for further expansion across major urban centres and transit highways over the next 2 to 3 years.

The company has also aims to increase its localisation rate from the present 82 percent to 90 percent in the next 5-6 years. An additional INR 40 billion in state sourcing value from the current base, which is expected to generate an additional 2,000 jobs in the state.

Hyundai Motor India and the Government of Tamil Nadu (GoTN) have formalised a structured skill development project scheduled to commence active training operations in December 2027. The program aims to increase the global employability of the state's workforce by integrating next-generation manufacturing skills.

The curriculum will leverage partnerships with local Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), polytechnics and engineering colleges to train students in advanced disciplines:

• EV technical architectures and hydrogen mobility systems.
• Industrial robotics, digital automation and AI-enabled manufacturing.
• Smart factory workflows alongside professional workplace communication and language instruction.

Tarun Garg, Managing Director & CEO, Hyundai Motor India, said, “HMIL’s initiatives will strengthen Tamil Nadu’s leadership in sustainable mobility and automotive excellence, while also accelerating skill development to foster a future-ready workforce. We will roll out two new models from the Chennai facility, including our first mass-market dedicated EV within this year, marking a significant step towards accelerating EV adoption and building a strong EV ecosystem. Alongside, advancing EV localization, we are equally focused on developing a future-ready skilled workforce, enabling talent to support future automotive technologies."

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Maruti Suzuki India, one of the largest passenger vehicle manufacturers globally, has officially launched India’s first flex-fuel passenger car on the eve of World Environment Day.

The technology is being introduced in the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R, a high-volume model that has previously served as a platform for the company's alternative fuel options, including Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

The vehicle was unveiled in New Delhi in the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, and Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

The flex-fuel Wagon R is engineered to provide complete fuelling flexibility, enabling consumers to operate the vehicle on any ethanol-to-petrol blend ratio ranging from E20 (20 percent ethanol) up to E100 (100 percent ethanol).

The introduction of ethanol flex-fuel tech represents a broader commitment by India's market leader to scale diversified powertrain architectures. Maruti Suzuki's long-term product strategy incorporates a multi-tiered technology approach to meet carbon reduction goals, including Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), Hybrids, CNG, Compressed Biogas (CBG) and now, flex-fuel configurations.

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “The ecosystem for ethanol as a fuel in India is in its early stages, and as a market leader, we think it is our responsibility to contribute to make `India Go Flex’. Once it reaches mainstream adoption, Flex-Fuel Vehicles have the potential to cut oil imports, carbon emissions, and local air pollution while enhancing domestic value addition and farmer incomes.”

Nitin Gadkari noted, “Biofuels like ethanol are an important pathway towards reducing crude oil import dependence while strengthening our rural economy. Flex-Fuel Vehicles can create a strong and sustainable demand for ethanol, benefiting our farmers, industry, and the environment together. I appreciate Maruti Suzuki for taking this leadership step and supporting the Government’s vision of clean and self-reliant mobility.”

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