Recording a 353 percent increase in the revenue for the first quarter of FY2021-22 at INR 29,510 million in comparison to the revenue generation of INR 6,510 million in the corresponding quarter of FY2020-21, Ashok Leyland is confident of a strong demand emerging post the second Covid-19 wave. Clocking export volumes of 1,437 units in the first quarter of FY2021-22, up 254 percent when compared to the export of 405 units in the first quarter of FY2020-21, the commercial vehicle manufacturer is concentrating on vaccination and the adherence of safety protocols to try and ensure that all its stakeholders stay protected from a potential third wave. Experiencing a 1,041 percent growth in domestic M&HCV volume in the first quarter of FY2021-22, which is almost twice than that of the industry growth volume at 562 percent during the same period, the company has reported a net loss of INR 28,20 million in the first quarter of FY2021-22 as against a net loss of INR 38.90 million in the corresponding quarter of FY2020-21. Selling 8,690 LCVs in the domestic market in the first quarter of FY2021-22, up 224 percent as compared to the sale of 2,686 LCVs in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, Ashok Leyland is closely observing the way the freight rates are shaping up. It is confident that freight rates will improve with higher availability of commercial vehicles once the Covid-19 subsidies and uncertainty fades. “We are hoping for the volumes to grow higher as the market gets better,” mentioned Mahadevan. “July (2021) has been a growth month,” he added. Stressing that they have had eight months of degrowth, Mahadevan said, “Economic growth will induce growth in CVs.”

CV trends
Working on a strategy for a robust domestic and exports growth, the commercial vehicle major is appointing dealers in Africa. Looking at gaining good traction in South East Asia, Ashok Leyland will launch new products in the LCV segment even though not in the immediate quarter. Buoyed by the international markets opening up and experiencing export thrust, the company is said to be testing an electric version of its LCV platform on which the Bada Dost is based in the UK. This vehicle is expected to be launched at the end of this fiscal or in the first half of the next fiscal. Of the opinion that electric vehicles are catching up, especially at the local point of use, on the encouragement of the governments, Mahadevan averred, “It is more to do with buses, but trucks will catch up.” Seeing a trend of petrol commercial vehicles in the low-tonnage segment of sub-1 tonne to 1.5 tonne, Mahadevan drew attention to the push on CNG. “We are ready in the LCV and ICV (segment),” he added. Of the firm belief that diesel vehicles will continue and the IC engine will coexist and not die overnight, Mahadevan said, “We are ready to cater to higher demand.” 
 

Watching closely how freight operators are able to pass on the fuel price hike to their end customers, Ashok Leyland is hoping that bus commute will pick up. A 40,000 units per annum market, according to Mahadevan, buses have been severely affected due to the Covid-19-led disruption. Delivering 40 electric buses to the city of Chandigarh recently (from where it has bagged an order to build and maintain e-buses with quick charging technology), Ashok Leyland is expecting pent-up demand to show up once normalcy returns. Also expecting demand to show up because of the need to ferry people without sacrificing social distancing norms, Mahadevan drew attention to their work towards further strengthening their position in the bus and LCV market segments. With the talk of schools reopening in regions where the Covid-19 infections are down, and the relaxation in Covid-19 norms in some region allowing more employees to return to their offices, bus demand is expected to improve post witnessing a sudden downfall mid-last year. Through the establishment of Switch Mobility, Ashok Leyland is keen to experience a speedier ride in the ‘cleaner and greener’ bus space. 
 

Managing costs and productivity 
Eyeing international markets like the US, Europe and Japan, the company, through the Switch Mobility subsidiary, has worked with a few consultants to make sure that its data points and numbers are on par with the current situation. Under Switch Mobility, it is developing new products to present an advantage of unique position in terms of value and premium positioning. For its Switch Mobility subsidiary that includes the erstwhile Optare of UK, Ashok Leyland has managed to get USD 18 million worth of investment from Dana Incorporated (Dana), a US-based manufacturer of drivetrain and e-propulsion systems. To do de-bottlenecking once enough demand is evident, Ashok Leyland, investing sufficiently in terms of capex, is confident of seeing early growth sprouts in LCVs. Therefore, if it were to do immediate capex investment, it would be in LCVs. Discussing with scrappage centres post the announcement of the scrappage policy, Ashok Leyland, the second-largest CV maker in the country, is witnessing good traction from its other business verticals like defence, power solutions and aftermarket. They are contributing to its top line. 
 

With the pace of vaccination picking up and positively setting in, Ashok Leyland is expecting a demand spike in commercial vehicles after the fear of a third Covid-19 wave is over. This, according to Mahadevan, could happen in the second half of this fiscal. Focusing on costs, productivity and middle level management, the commercial vehicle major is also concentrating on reducing its carbon footprint. Apart from announcing strategic steps to move towards net zero carbon mobility through Switch Mobility, Ashok Leyland, said Mahadevan, has formed an ESG committee of the Board. The committee will guide and propel the commercial vehicle manufacturer to achieve its sustainability agenda.
 

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Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has announced a major organisational restructuring, including the creation of a dedicated India & Middle East Region, as part of its strategy to strengthen regional management and accelerate its transformation into a mobility company. The changes will take effect from 1 January 2027.

Under the new structure, Toyota will split its existing India, Middle East, East Asia & Oceania Region into two separate entities – the India & Middle East Region and the East Asia & Oceania Region. The move is aimed at enabling closer engagement with individual markets, faster decision-making and business strategies better aligned with regional growth opportunities.

Masakazu Yoshimura will continue to lead the India & Middle East Region as its Chief Executive Officer, having previously headed the combined regional operations. The newly established region will focus on strengthening its business foundation for future growth, including the launch of a new plant in India and improved coordination of businesses and functions across the region.

The restructuring reflects Toyota's emphasis on regional autonomy, with market leaders expected to make faster decisions based on local customer requirements, operating conditions and business challenges. The company said the approach would strengthen its competitiveness while advancing its transition into a mobility company.

Takanori Azuma, currently associated with Toyota's accounting and regional operations, will head the newly created East Asia & Oceania Region as CEO. The new regional structure will allow both entities to focus more closely on their respective markets and manufacturing and sales operations.

Robotics Emerges As A New Business Priority

Among the significant organisational changes is the establishment of Toyota Robotics as a company-wide organisation under direct corporate oversight. The initiative builds on Toyota's manufacturing and engineering capabilities and positions robotics as a key pillar of its future business.

Takefumi Shiga, Operating Officer and Chief Production Officer, will also head the new organisation. Toyota plans to consolidate robotics-related expertise, personnel and functions across the company to accelerate the practical application, commercialisation and deployment of robots in manufacturing and other areas.

The company said its approach would focus on developing robots as partners that complement human capabilities rather than replace jobs.

Furthermore, Toyota will also establish a Toyota Philosophy and Education Group, headed by Chairman Akio Toyoda. The new group will focus on developing future leaders and passing on Toyota's manufacturing philosophy, technical skills and organisational values through practical, hands-on learning.

In another structural change, the Carbon Neutral Engineering Development Center will be dissolved, with its functions integrated into the Powertrain Company. The consolidation is intended to strengthen the connection between technology development and product implementation, particularly in hybrid systems, while supporting Toyota's carbon neutrality ambitions.

The Frontier Research Center will also be abolished, with its functions transferred to the Advanced R&D and Engineering Company and Software Development Center to bring future technology research closer to product development and commercialisation.

Toyota will additionally reorganise its External & Public Affairs Group by integrating selected public relations and investor relations functions to strengthen corporate communications and technology messaging across Toyota, Lexus and GAZOO Racing.

Leadership Changes Across Global Markets

The restructuring also involves changes to Toyota's regional leadership. Mark Templin will become CEO of the North America Region, Sukenaga Ota will head the China Region, while Masando Hashimoto will take charge of the Asia Region. Motonobu Kawamura has been appointed President of Business Planning & Operation.

Several existing regional leaders, including Tetsuo Ogawa, Tatsuro Ueda and Masahiko Maeda, will move into Senior Fellow positions.

The changes underline Toyota's wider organisational shift towards decentralised regional management, closer integration of engineering and business development, and greater emphasis on people and technology as it pursues its transformation into a mobility company.

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Axis Bank has unveiled a suite of festive offers spanning retail lending, business banking and credit card services. The initiatives encompass home, personal, auto, two-wheeler, commercial vehicle, construction equipment and education loans, alongside working capital solutions and merchant discounts.

Auto loan provisions include 30-minute instant disbursement, a 50 percent reduction in processing fees, a 10 basis points interest rate discount on select electric vehicle models, financing of up to 100 percent of on-road prices, loan tenures of up to eight years and a waiver of foreclosure charges after 24 months.

Two-wheeler financing includes rates starting from 10.75 percent for premium motorcycles and a 0.5 percent rate discount for electric models. Commercial vehicle and construction equipment loans carry a standardised processing fee of INR 5,999.

Munish Sharda, Executive Director, Axis Bank, said, "Festive spending is increasingly shaped by considered choices, whether it is buying a home, upgrading a vehicle, meeting personal needs or investing in a business. At Axis Bank, our focus is to give customers flexibility and value to act on these plans with confidence. Our festive propositions bring together competitive financing solutions across retail and business banking, helping customers make the most of opportunities that matter to them."

Arnika Dixit, Group Head of Cards, Payments and Wealth Management, Axis Bank, said, "Customers increasingly look for their cards to deliver value that is relevant to how and where they spend. During the festive period, as spending extends across different needs and occasions, relevance, choice and flexibility become even more important. Our focus is to make festive and planned purchases more rewarding, while continuing to strengthen our cards proposition around evolving customer needs. Through our wide range of festive offers, we are enabling customers to get more from their Axis Bank Credit Cards and make their spends work harder for them."

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IndiaTech.org has released India’s first Ease of Vehicle Ownership Index (EVOI), in partnership with Consumer VOICE, with Andhra Pradesh topping the rankings at 5.91 out of 10. Kerala ranked second at 5.74, while Uttar Pradesh finished last at 2.47, behind Bihar (2.51) and West Bengal (2.56). No state crossed 6.0, and 8 of the 15 assessed states clustered between 3.8 and 4.3, pointing to system-wide friction rather than isolated laggards. Together these states represent over 85 percent of India's organised used-car market.

The index scores states on six pillars – policy and regulation, digital infrastructure, process efficiency, transparency and accountability, institutional ecosystem and dealer support and cost and affordability – using a weighted geometric mean so strength in one area cannot mask weakness in another. It draws on a survey of over 1,000 buyers and sellers, interviews with dealers and RTO agents and a review of motor vehicle rules. Andhra Pradesh excelled in policy and regulation (7.90) but scored lowest on dealer ecosystem (2.22); Kerala's strength was digital infrastructure (7.02), its weakness transparency (4.86).

Cost was the weakest pillar nationally, with 12 of 15 states below 3.5. Manual verification and informal payments push transfer costs to nearly 10 times the statutory fee – INR 13,000 to INR 14,000 above the VAHAN fee in Bihar, and INR 7,000 to INR 8,000 against an official INR 800 at Tamil Nadu's border RTOs. Transfers take 7 to 10 days in Andhra Pradesh but over 30 days in Uttar Pradesh, and 13 states still demand physical copies despite online filing. Road tax on an INR 600,000 petrol car ranges from 3 percent in Uttar Pradesh to 14 percent in Karnataka and Telangana. Only Andhra Pradesh and Telangana run working interstate refunds; a CAG audit in Karnataka found a mean processing time of 436 days.

The 2022 Deemed Ownership framework has yielded 2,032 registered dealers, 875 in Kerala, while Delhi, Karnataka and Telangana have none. The survey found 39 percent of transfers still pending after sale, only 9.6 percent completed within two weeks, 61.5 percent unaware of mandatory in-person RTO visits, 62.7 percent unable to state total costs, 28.1 percent of sellers receiving challans afterwards and 52.5 percent willing to handle transfers themselves if fully online.

Recommendations include statutory timelines under Section 50 of the Motor Vehicles Act and Rule 55 of the CMVR, acceptance of DigiLocker and mParivahan documents as primary evidence, real-time bank-VAHAN integration, nationwide Deemed Ownership enforcement, a ‘One Bharat, One Road Tax’ framework, dealer authority to clear challans without owner OTP and automatic own-damage insurance carryover. IndiaTech.org will share scorecards with states and convene a national workshop, as the pre-owned market is projected to grow from USD 36.4 billion in 2025 to USD 73.5 billion by 2030.

Harsh Malhotra, Minister of State, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, who launched the report, said, “The used car market in India is very big, and many people buy their first car as a second­hand or used car. I remember my first car, which was also a pre-owned car. While there are hassles and challenges in the transfer of ownership, the integration of policies and their implementation across states is very important, as differences in state-level governance often lead to problems. The Central Government is working on policies in this regard, and we are also taking steps such as setting up automated testing stations, which provide considerable relief, promote ease of doing business and help eliminate corruption. There is always scope for improvement, and we will discuss the recommendations basis this report findings to further enable ease of mobility.”

Dhiraj Gyani, CEO, IndiaTech.org, said, “A vehicle may travel seamlessly across state boundaries, but the administrative processes governing its ownership often do not. As India's pre-owned vehicle market becomes an increasingly important part of our mobility and consumer economy, the systems governing ownership transfers must evolve in step with the market. The EVOI 2026 findings highlight significant variations in state-level processes, as well as considerable scope for improvement across the country. Our objective is to encourage greater harmonisation, digital integration and administrative efficiency, enabling citizens and businesses to experience seamless and predictable vehicle ownership transfers, irrespective of where they are located. We believe that a more integrated national framework, including progress towards the vision of ‘One Bharat, One Road Tax’, can play an important role in unlocking the sector's full potential.”

Mohit Gupta, COO & Co-Founder, Spinny, said, “Every Indian deserves the opportunity to own a quality car. A car is an aspiration, the promise of new beginnings, freedom and possibilities for individuals and families. Buying one should be an exciting milestone, not weighed down by paperwork and complex processes. As an industry, we have a responsibility to help consumers understand existing processes and work closely with policymakers to drive meaningful reforms – support state-wise implementation of ADRV, simplify hypothecation addition and removal and advance end-to-end digitisation of processes. The Ease of Vehicle Ownership Index (EVOI) is an important step towards bringing Central and State Governments and industry players together to address these challenges and make car ownership simpler and easier for people across India.”

Vikram Chopra, Builder Cars24, said, “A car may change hands, but ownership and liability do not always follow. At Cars24, we see this firsthand: sellers remain exposed to liabilities long after handing over their vehicles, while buyers wait to be recognised as legal owners despite completing the purchase. This is not just a procedural delay but a gap in consumer protection and accountability. The Ease of Vehicle Ownership Index brings these challenges to light, identifies systemic gaps and gives states a framework to drive reforms through competitive federalism. Ownership transfer must be an integral part of every car transaction, ensuring that ownership, responsibility and liability move together, giving both buyers and sellers complete peace of mind.”

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German tier 1 supplier Schaeffler has announced a performance improvement programme aimed at eliminating overcapacity, reducing organisational complexity and lowering personnel costs in response to challenging conditions in the European automotive sector.

The measures follow the completion of restructuring initiatives announced in November 2024 and the execution of 1,800 partial retirement agreements in October.

The plan involves a net reduction of 3,460 positions across Europe, with approximately 2,660 cuts located in Germany, representing 9 percent of its domestic core workforce by 2028.

Furthermore, 50 percent of the affected positions are in production, 30 percent in research and development and 20 percent in functional areas. The programme includes the closure of five European facilities, encompassing four German sites in Dortmund, Morbach, Berlin and Schwalbach, alongside a site in Herstal, Belgium.

Operations at additional locations in Germany, France and Slovakia will undergo structural adjustments. The restructuring is projected to generate annual earnings improvements of approximately EUR 300 million by 2030, against one-time expenses of around EUR 480 million, the majority of which will be recognised as restructuring provisions in 2026. The job cuts will be accompanied by a solidarity contribution involving a temporary compensation reduction across management levels.

Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO, Schaeffler, said, "With the performance improvement program announced today, we want to demonstrate that, despite the challenging operating environment, it is both possible and sensible to develop and manufacture in Germany and Europe in a way that is competitive and cost-efficient over the long term. This requires that we consolidate locations, bundle technological expertise in selected regional clusters, and optimize costs per employee. At the same time, we intend to further streamline the organization and reduce hierarchical levels. The most important element of the program – also in comparison to previous programs – is the solidarity contribution, which is intended to include, among other measures, a temporary compensation reduction across all hierarchical levels. Based on our strategic goal of becoming the leading Motion Technology Company, we view the Schaeffler Group’s broad cross-sector diversification as an important opportunity. We will do everything in our power to tap into new growth areas and, as far as possible, replace declining activities with new business "

Dr. Jochen Schröder, COO, Schaeffler, said, "In addition to our focus on further developing our core business, the Schaeffler Group has promising growth opportunities in future-oriented fields, particularly in the areas of humanoid robotics and defense. Here, we can draw on the technological expertise we have developed in our core business."

Dr. Astrid Fontaine, CHRO, Schaeffler, said, "As a family-owned company, it is particularly important to us that we implement the necessary measures in a socially responsible manner and in close dialogue with employee representatives. We have repeatedly found good solutions together in the past, and we want to build on that. We invite our employees to contribute constructively and actively support the necessary transformation."

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