JSW Greentech, the commercial electric vehicle arm of JSW Group, has launched the ‘AMPSTAR’ brand, which will design, manufacture, and sell electric buses and trucks in India. The ‘AMPSTAR: powered by JSW’ marks the industrial conglomerate's entry into the commercial mobility market.

The company will offer commercial mobility services alongside its vehicles, including charging infrastructure, vehicle financing, leasing options, Battery as a Service (BaaS) models and aftersales support.

AMPSTAR EVs will be available in power configurations ranging from 150 kW to 500 kW, with the production taking place at a 90-acre manufacturing facility located at the Aurangabad Industrial City (AURIC) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra.

The plant has a planned annual capacity of 15,000 electric buses and trucks and contains a pre-treatment and electro-deposition line for bus manufacturing, an automated truck-cabin assembly line and an integrated battery production system.

The EVs are engineered with software, algorithms and drivetrain logic developed in-house by JSW Greentech. Structural features include a monocoque chassis and a double cooling battery system designed for local road and temperature conditions.

The bus range will span lengths from 7 metres to 18 metres for staff, urban, intercity and school transport, while the truck range will launch with a 55-tonne tractor-trailer, followed by tippers and fixed-body dumpers.

Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Group, said, "When we decided to enter electric commercial mobility, I saw it as an act of nation-building - moving India's people and goods on power generated within India, rather than fuel sourced from outside. We cannot control global oil prices. But we can control how much we depend on them. If I had to put our ambition for AMPSTAR in one sentence, it's this: we want AMPSTAR to be a catalyst for changing the way India moves. That's no longer just a business question. It's a question of who we want to be as a country. But for every customer to make bold choice of electric bus & truck, the economics have to make the case - not sentiment. When they do, the impact goes far beyond the vehicle itself: energy security, lower logistics costs & greater global competitiveness for Indian industry, a stronger manufacturing ecosystem built here in India, and cleaner future for the next generation. That's the journey AMPSTAR begins today- mile by mile, disrupting the way India moves."

Parth Jindal, JSW Group, said, "AMPSTAR brings the full strength of JSW into commercial mobility, with one ambition: to change how India moves its people and its goods. We spent months listening to customers and stakeholders, and one thing was clear, real barriers to adoption go well beyond the vehicle itself. That is when we started designing around the complete customer journey and created full stack electric commercial mobility solution. AMPSTAR brings together two powerful ideas: 'Amp,' comes from Ampere – the unit of electric current, representing technology that amplifies performance. 'Star’ represents aspiration, leadership and progress. The brand identity reflects that same ambition - modern, forward-moving, built to stand out. This is our promise: to go the distance with every customer, making the transition to electric simpler, more reliable, and more rewarding."

Sumit Mittal, CEO, JSW Greentech, said, "AMPSTAR is our vision for electric commercial mobility, and today marks its beginning. We are designing, engineering and building these vehicles in India, from the ground up - our own drivetrain, our own software, using the best of technologies available, and built for Indian roads and operating conditions. Our range is built to cover the full spectrum. On the bus side, our portfolio will span 7 meter to 18 metre buses, serving diverse applications including staff transportation, city, intercity and school mobility. On the truck side, we are starting with the 55-tonne tractor-trailer — one of the most demanding vehicle architectures with plans to expand into tippers and fixed-body dumpers in the months ahead. India deserves world-class buses and trucks on its own roads, and AMPSTAR is how we deliver that."

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Energy in Motion Ltd has opened an electric heavy commercial vehicle complex in Talegaon, Pune, as part of a planned INR 10 billion investment in Maharashtra, with the first phase representing an investment of INR 5 billion.

The facility, located in Ambi village, brings together an electric heavy commercial vehicle assembly plant, a lithium-ion battery pack assembly factory and an independent battery testing laboratory. The company said the integrated complex has an initial capacity of 5,000 vehicles per shift per year.

The complex was inaugurated on 14 October by Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, in the presence of Sharadchandra Pawar, a Rajya Sabha member, and Sunetra Ajit Pawar, the state’s Deputy Chief Minister.

Developed in just over a year after the signing of a memorandum of understanding, the Industry 4.0-enabled facility is expected to create more than 2,000 direct and indirect jobs, as well as opportunities in design, research and development, and information technology.

Energy in Motion is also developing a network of battery-swapping and charging stations along major highways, at ports and in industrial complexes. The company said its megawatt-scale hubs would be able to swap batteries in compatible vehicles in less than seven minutes and provide fast charging for vehicles equipped with the specified DC charging connector.

The company has technology partnerships with BAIC Foton Motor for electric heavy vehicles, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL) for batteries, and Shanghai Enneagon Energy Technology for robotic battery-swapping systems.

Narendra Murkumbi, Managing Director of Energy in Motion, said the facility had been built with support from the Maharashtra government, technology partners and project hosts RMK Spaces. He also credited the company’s manufacturing team, led by Mahesh Keskar.

Murkumbi said the company’s next priority was to develop a nationwide network of megawatt-scale charging and battery-swapping stations to support the shift from diesel to electric heavy goods transport.

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Volvo Buses India, a division of VE Commercial Vehicles, has secured an order for 200 Volvo 9600 coaches from the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). The contract marks the single largest order received by Volvo Buses in India.

The order comprises 170 seating coaches and 30 sleeper coaches, intended to support intercity and interstate routes across the public transportation network in Maharashtra. The seating variant features a 51-seat layout equipped with calf support, while the sleeper variant provides berth arrangements for long-distance overnight travel. Manufactured at Volvo Buses India's facility in Hoskote, Karnataka, the 9600 series coaches integrate vehicle safety platforms, chassis engineering and passenger seating configurations for state transport operations.

Suresh Chettiar, Executive Vice-President of the Bus Division, VE Commercial Vehicles, said, "We sincerely thank the Transport Minister of Maharashtra, Pratap Sarnaik and Dr. Madhav Kusekar, IAS, Managing Director and Vice Chairman, MSRTC, for their continuing trust in Volvo buses. This landmark order reflects our shared commitment to elevating travel and making premium passenger experiences more accessible for the citizens of Maharashtra. We are proud to continue to partner with MSRTC to enhance the state’s public transportation network."

The fleet addition forms part of MSRTC's modernisation plan to upgrade intercity bus services and expand premium transit options across state-operated routes.

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Eicher Trucks & Buses, a division of VE Commercial Vehicles, has introduced Uptime NXT Services supported by an AI-enabled (artificial intelligence) Uptime Centre. The initiative expands the company's aftermarket service ecosystem through connected vehicle data, predictive analytics and service support infrastructure to manage fleet operations.

The Uptime Centre functions as an operational hub connecting transport operators, technicians and engineering teams. Services delivered through the platform include fuel management advisory, driver performance scorecards, vehicle operation insights, remote immobiliser controls and proactive maintenance alerts.

The system integrates with the My Eicher application, which currently connects over 460,000 commercial vehicles across 200,000 fleet accounts to provide real-time vehicle tracking, trip tracking and maintenance monitoring.

B. Srinivas, MD and CEO, VE Commercial Vehicles, said, "For our customers, uptime directly impacts productivity, profitability and business continuity. At Eicher, our vision has therefore been to create an ecosystem that helps keep vehicles operating at their best - everyday. By bringing together connected technology, predictive insights, a responsive service network and strong aftermarket support, we are moving towards a more proactive approach to uptime — one that anticipates customer needs, minimises disruptions and enables customers to run their businesses with greater confidence and predictability. Our ambition is to make uptime a defining part of the Eicher ownership experience."

S S Gill, Chief Commercial Officer, VE Commercial Vehicles, said, "The new Uptime Centre brings together the people, technology and intelligence needed to manage uptime more proactively and at scale. The Uptime Control Tower gives our teams greater visibility across vehicle and service operations, while our Gen AI-powered platform bring actionable intelligence closer to our service teams and technicians. This enables faster diagnosis, better coordination and stronger First-Time-Right performance, helping us reduce disruptions and deliver a more seamless service experience for our customers."

The company first established a centralised Uptime Centre in 2019. The upgraded Uptime NXT architecture introduces an Uptime Control Tower for real-time monitoring of service operations and deploys generative artificial intelligence tools, designated as the Service One platform, to assist dealership technicians with fault diagnostics and repair procedures.

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Chennai-headquartered commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland, the flagship company of the Hinduja Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Union Bank of India to establish a vehicle financing agreement for purchasers of its commercial vehicles.

The agreement was signed by Neelakantan, Vice-President of Finance at Ashok Leyland and Alok Kumar, General Manager and Zonal Head at Union Bank of India, in the presence of D S Madhusudhan, Head of Sales Finance and Kapil Pandya, Head of Retail and Inventory Finance for Light Commercial Vehicles at Ashok Leyland.

As per the arrangement, Union Bank of India will provide end-to-end vehicle loans with structured repayment schedules across Ashok Leyland's line-up of trucks and buses.

K M Balaji, Whole-Time Director and CFO, Ashok Leyland, said, "Ashok Leyland is delighted to partner with Union Bank of India (UBI) to offer attractive and accessible financing solutions to our customers. This strategic partnership leveraging on UBI Network will further strengthen our market presence by enhancing access to our innovative range of commercial vehicles for businesses across the country. Built on advanced technology and engineered to deliver industry-leading total cost of ownership, our products are designed to drive greater efficiency, productivity and profitability for our customers."

Madhavi Deshmukh, Senior Vice-President and National Sales Head for Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles, Ashok Leyland, said, "At Ashok Leyland, we are committed to enabling our customers' growth through innovative products and seamless ownership experience. Our partnership with Union Bank of India (UBI) is a significant step towards making our industry-leading commercial vehicles more accessible with attractive and convenient financing solutions. Together, we aim to empower fleet operators and businesses with greater financial flexibility, while delivering superior value through our technologically advanced products and best-in-class total cost of ownership."

Alok Kumar, General Manager and Zonal Head, Union Bank of India, said, "Union Bank of India is pleased to partner with Ashok Leyland to offer seamless vehicle financing solutions. This collaboration underscores our commitment to enabling businesses with accessible and tailored financial solutions that simplify commercial vehicle ownership and facilitate sustainable growth. By enhancing access to convenient and customer-centric financing solutions, we aim to make vehicle ownership more seamless and accessible, while empowering our customers to strengthen their businesses and pursue new growth opportunities."

The partnership utilises Union Bank of India's national branch network to improve credit flow for transport operators, fleet owners and commercial enterprises acquiring vehicles ranging from light commercial models to heavy-duty trucks and passenger buses.

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