The second annual edition of Toyota Kirloskar Motor's (TKM) flagship Toyota Safety Education Programme (TSEP) has finished successfully in Bangalore. Titled ‘Road Safety – My Right, My Responsibility’, the campaign keeps educating and enforcing the obligation of future road users in order to create safer roads throughout India.

Chief Guest Dr Anil Kumar, Bangalore Traffic Police Department, along with Sudeep Dalvi, Chief Communication Officer, Senior Vice President & Head State Affairs, TKM, highlighted the importance of fostering road safety awareness at the grassroots level. TSEP, which was created to include schoolchildren as important road safety ambassadors, has shown itself to be a transformative programme that fosters responsible driving behaviour and has a cascading effect on families and communities. Measurable results show that TSEP is successful; assessments show that participants' understanding of road safety has significantly increased, underscoring the programme's ability to instil a culture of road safety in young students.

With more than 150,000 fatalities annually, India has the greatest number of road collision deaths worldwide. For those aged 5 to 29, road accidents continue to be the primary cause of mortality. TKM introduced TSEP in 2007 to address this challenge by including road safety into the curriculum of schools. Over 800,000 pupils countrywide have benefited from TSEP's ‘Child to Community’ programme, which has turned schoolchildren into road safety champions. Building on its achievements, TKM commemorated the completion of programme batches in Delhi and Bangalore this year. Mumbai will host the next phase of the programme as it grows, with an annual event scheduled for 11 February 2025. The initiative seeks to strengthen its commitment to attaining zero road fatalities by involving nearly 70,000 children and 600 instructors in 140 schools.

Students demonstrated their knowledge of road safety through activities including poster-making, skits, songs, Mad Ads and fact-based video presentations at the Bangalore event. These interactive formats inspired creative ideas for safer roadways while making learning interesting and effective. An awards ceremony celebrating the outstanding work of students, instructors and schools that were instrumental in enhancing the programme's effect marked the event's conclusion.

Dr Kumar said, “Programmes like the Toyota Safety Education Programme demonstrate the powerful impact of early education and community engagement in fostering responsible road behaviour. By focusing on schoolchildren, TKM is successfully empowering a generation to lead the change within their families and communities. The creativity and enthusiasm shown by students highlight the effectiveness of this initiative in inspiring a long-term commitment to road safety. Toyota’s dedication to reducing road accidents and ensuring citizen safety sets a commendable benchmark for corporate contributions towards national safety goals.”

Dalvi said, “At Toyota, our commitment to road safety extends beyond the manufacturing of safe cars; we strive to grow in tandem with society and enrich the lives of the communities we serve. By promoting road safety and instilling behavioural change, we aim to create a safer future for all. Since 2007, through initiatives like the Toyota Safety Education Programme, we have reached over 800,000 students, empowering them to become 'road safety ambassadors' who inspire positive change within their families and communities. This holistic approach is a reflection of our core philosophy of giving back to society and addressing critical challenges like road safety. Together with our partners, we remain dedicated to achieving our vision of zero road fatalities and fostering a culture of responsible road behaviour across the nation.”

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In a strategic commitment to cultivating advanced technical expertise in South India, Eicher (VE Commercial Vehicles Limited) has established a long-term Regional Competency Development Centre at VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering & Technology (VNR VJIET) in Hyderabad. This significant investment underscores Eicher's dedication to fostering industry-ready talent and enhancing the practical skills of its own workforce and network. The centre, inaugurated for an initial 10-year term, represents a core component of Eicher's vision for collaborative innovation and sustainable skill development within the automotive sector.

The newly inaugurated facility is equipped with a comprehensive range of operational vehicles, including diesel and electric models, alongside specialised diagnostic equipment and cut models of vital automotive systems. This infrastructure is designed to provide immersive, hands-on learning for Eicher employees and dealer partners from the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh regions. Furthermore, it creates a vital bridge to academia, offering students and faculty from key engineering disciplines direct exposure to current industry technologies and real-world automotive systems within their academic environment.

This initiative is fundamentally driven by Eicher’s objective to support sustained knowledge advancement and create a robust pipeline of skilled professionals. By enabling structured training on modern vehicle technologies, the partnership actively contributes to shaping the future of the automotive industry. It reflects Eicher's proactive approach to integrating industry practice with engineering education, thereby strengthening the ecosystem that supplies the next generation of engineers and technicians.

D Suresh Babu Garu, President, Vignana Jyothi, said, “Being selected by a global automotive leader such as Volvo–Eicher to host a Regional Competency Development Centre is a strong validation of VNR VJIET’s focus on industry-aligned education. This collaboration strengthens our commitment to providing students with the best facilities, real-world exposure and future-ready skills that meet national and global standards.”

Sumit Diwan, National Head – Customer Care, VE Commercial Vehicles Limited, said, “This Centre reflects our long-term approach to capability building and talent development. By investing in advanced infrastructure at VNR VJIET and training students alongside our workforce, we are creating a strong pipeline of skilled engineers equipped for evolving automotive and electric mobility technologies. We plan on hiring students from Automobile Engineering (AE) department and encourage greater participation of female students in the recruitment process.”

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BillionElectric Mobility (BillionE) has raised USD 25 million in a growth capital round consisting of equity and debt. The funding was provided by a consortium of family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals and financial institutions, including the State Bank of India (SBI).

The capital is intended to transition the company from deployments to commercial operations in electric freight. A portion of the funds will support the rollout of 500 electric trucks during the FY2026-27.

BillionE Mobility currently maintains a pipeline of over 1,500 electric trucks planned for the next three years to meet demand from industrial customers.

The fleet will serve logistics for sectors including cement, automotive, metals, and e-commerce. These industries are targeted due to predictable routes and high utilisation levels, which facilitate the transition to electric vehicles.

BillionE Mobility is executing a strategy across freight corridors. These routes are being electrified by CHARGE ZONE, an affiliated company providing the charging network for the fleet. The integration aims to deliver operational efficiencies and reductions in emissions across industrial clusters.

Sanjeev Kulkarni, CEO and Co-Founder, BillionE Mobility, said, “This fundraise comes at a defining moment for electric commercial mobility in India. We are moving beyond pilots to scaled, real-world deployments where execution, reliability, and economics matter most. The capital will allow us to accelerate fleet expansion, strengthen operational readiness, and deepen partnerships with customers committed to decarbonising their logistics. Our vision is to make electric trucking a mainstream, dependable, and commercially viable choice for India’s freight ecosystem.”

Kartikey Hariyani, Founder and Chief Platform Architect of BillionE Platform, added, “I am personally indebted and grateful to our existing and new shareholders backing our vision of an Energy Transition platform enabled by electric mobility in commercial segments. Currently we are on a growth path of 120 percent on YoY basis and would like to maintain this momentum in coming months and years. Fortunately, EV trucking has achieved the total cost of ownership (TCO) at par with diesel on specific routes and use cases, especially 19T and 55T category, and this is indeed a huge boost.”

The company intends to use the investment to capture a share of the commercial vehicle market while lowering carbon intensity in freight logistics.

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Sonalika Tractors is celebrating its 30th anniversary, marking its transition from a local business in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, to a USD 1.1 billion global entity. The company is currently ranked as the third-largest tractor manufacturer in India and the fifth-largest globally.

Founded in 1996 by LD Mittal and his sons, Dr A. S. Mittal and Dr Deepak Mittal, the company began by manufacturing agricultural threshers before entering the tractor market. Sonalika adopted a strategy of customising machinery for specific soil and regional conditions rather than following industry standardisation. Since 2011, the company has utilised vertical integration, manufacturing its own engines, transmissions and sheet metal aggregates in-house.

Technical milestones of the brand include:

• Production Capacity: The Hoshiarpur facility was expanded in 2017 to become a fully integrated plant capable of producing one tractor every two minutes.
• Product Range: The company develops over 2,000 models ranging from 20 HP to 120 HP.
• Export Leadership: Sonalika has been India's leading tractor export brand for seven consecutive years, holding a 30 percent market share in exports. Every third tractor exported from India is manufactured at its Hoshiarpur facility.
• Global Presence: The brand operates in over 150 countries and owns six assembly plants internationally.

In 2022, Sonalika became the first Indian tractor manufacturer to publish vehicle prices on its website, followed by the publication of service costs in 2025.

Going forward, the company intends to increase its production capacity to 300,000 tractors per year. Future plans include the integration of digital platforms and connected diagnostics to manage farmer engagement and vehicle maintenance.

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Caterpillar has announced an expanded collaboration with Nvidia to develop AI-enhanced solutions for machines, manufacturing facilities and supply chains. The partnership focuses on applying physical AI to heavy equipment to assist with autonomy and site management.

The automaker is utilising the Nvidia Jetson Thor platform to enable real-time AI inference on its construction, mining and power equipment. This technology provides a foundation for autonomous operations and in-cab assistance. Machines will process sensor data via edge computing to provide safety alerts, productivity tips and real-time coaching to operators. In mining and construction environments, these systems are designed to process data points in milliseconds to navigate changing jobsite conditions.

At CES 2026, the company debuted the Cat AI Assistant, a tool embedded in digital and onboard products. Built using Nvidia Riva speech models, the assistant uses voice activation to help users manage equipment settings, perform troubleshooting and access maintenance information. The system draws from Caterpillar’s Helios unified data platform to provide context-specific recommendations to dealers and customers.

Caterpillar is also implementing an Nvidia AI Factory to automate manufacturing processes, including forecasting and production scheduling. The company is developing digital twins of its factories using Nvidia Omniverse and OpenUSD. These virtual models allow engineers to simulate and optimise factory layouts and production flows before physical implementation.

Joe Creed, CEO of Caterpillar, said, “As AI moves beyond data to reshape the physical world, it is unlocking new opportunities for innovation – from job sites and factory floors to offices. Caterpillar is committed to solving our customers’ toughest challenges by leading with advanced technology in our machines and every aspect of business. Our collaboration with Nvidia is accelerating that progress like never before.”

Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO, Nvidia, said, “For a century, Caterpillar has built the industrial machines that shaped the world. In the age of AI, Nvidia and Caterpillar are partnering across the full spectrum – from autonomous construction fleets to the AI data centres powering the next industrial revolution.”

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