Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd (TPEM), a subsidiary of Tata Motors, unveiled the electric version of the Punch mini-SUV. Called the Punch.ev, the new electric mini-SUV looks quite similar on the outside to that of the petrol version. Inside, it is different owing to its electric nature and quite spacious for its size, highlighting clever packaging. Also, a key contributor to the spacious feel extended by the Punch.ev’s cabin is the pure electric architecture is it based on. 

The Punch.ev is based on Tata Motors first pure BEV architecture called as acti.ev. The Punch.ev is the first vehicle to have been built on this architecture, which is likely to support a good number of BEVs from the auto maker soon. 

With cutting-edge technology, the new active architecture turns the Punch.ev into an eco-consciousness and cost-effective offering that can do 315 km on a single charge with a 25-kWh battery pack. The mini-SUV can do 421 km with a 35 kWh battery pack. 

Available in three distinct personas - Smart, Adventure and Empowered, the Punch.ev is made versatile and multi-talented by the option to choose two motors – a 60 kW permanent magnet synchronous AC motor that does 114 Nm of peak torque and a 90 kW permanent magnet synchronous AC motor that does 190 Nm of peak torque. 

Sold with prices upwards of INR 10,99,000 ex-showroom, the Punch.ev is capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 kmph in 9.5 seconds. It has an electronically limited top speed of 140kmph. The battery pack and motor are IP67 rated and come with a warranty of 8 years or 1,60,000 km (whichever is earlier). 

The Long Range (LR) variant of the electric mini-SUV is available with the option of a 3.3 kW and a 7.2 kW AC fast charger that can be installed either at home or at the workplace. With DC Fast Charging capability, it can be fast charged from 10 percent to 80 percent in 56 minutes from any 50 kW DC fast charger.

Riding on 16-inch diameter low friction rolling resistance tyres, the Punch.ev has a ground clearance of 190 mm. It has a 350 mm water wading capability. With impressive approach, departure and ramp-over angles, the vehicle comes with 90-degree opening doors, a flat second-row floor, 366-litres of boot space and 32 cabin cubby holes for smart storage.

In terms of features, the electric mini-SUV has two integrated screens built into the dash – each measuring 26 cm and enabling the operation of infotainment system and instrumentation. The ‘phygital’ control panel embodies a harmonious fusion of physical and touch controls. There’s Android Auto and Apple CarPlay besides a gadget-like experience by the Arcade.ev app suite with 17 apps for gaming, music and media. 

Offering connectivity with multiple voice assistants, including the native ‘Hey Tata’ assistant with over 200 commands in six languages, there’s Alexa, Siri for Apple users and Google Assistant for Android users. The ‘connected car’ experience enhanced further by the ‘ZConnect’ tech, which ensures smartwatch connectivity as standard, the Punch.ev gets wireless charging, automatic headlamps, rain-sensing wipers and auto-dimming IRVM. 

The vehicle could be had with ventilated leatherette seats, an electric sunroof, mood lights and an air purifier with AQI display as well. Fitted with paddle shifters, the electric vehicle comes with four-level multi-mode regeneration and over-the-air software upgrade capabilities.

Anand Kulkarni, Chief Products Officer, Head of HV Programs and Customer Service, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd., said, “As leaders of the EV evolution in India, we are proud to enter 2024 with a groundbreaking development in the form of acti.ev – a made-in-India advanced Pure EV architecture that promises to be a trendsetter in the country’s rapidly developing EV market. This architecture has been meticulously designed to enable class leading efficiencies, maximizing space, battery capacity and enhancing the overall driving experience. acti.ev is a global ready, future-facing pure electric architecture that enables the implementation of software oriented features, ensuring that our vehicles are not only technologically advanced but also future-proof.”

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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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