Leading autotech company CARS24 has teamed up with the Indian Road Safety Campaign (IRSC) to tackle road safety issues on a larger scale. This includes identifying and addressing accident-prone areas using data-driven insights, pushing for tougher enforcement of traffic laws to lower fatalities and interacting with legislators and urban planners to enhance road infrastructure for long-term effects. This is consistent with CARS24's mission statement, ‘Better Drives, Better Lives’, which emphasises that safety is a movement that calls for awareness, action and cooperation rather than merely a duty.

Pothole reporting using the CARS24 app is one of the most recent projects within this partnership. In order to contribute to the development of a centralised database of road hazards, users may now report potholes in real time. While the remaining information will be shared with local authorities to advocate for more extensive road repairs, IRSC will take steps to repair specific potholes after verification. Furthermore, every pothole that is reported will be geotagged, enabling other drivers to drive safely and steer clear of dangerous locations. By bridging the gap between public reporting and government action, this programme seeks to expedite the remediation of dangerous road conditions.

In addition to updating its app with new features and improving drivers' access to important information, CARS24 is getting ready to train all of its Autonauts (staff) as first responders. All 150 staff, including the co-founders, have already received training in emergency response, first aid and CPR as part of the project. In order to ensure that more individuals are ready to intervene when it counts most, this programme will be extended to provide them with life-saving skills.

Gajendra Jangid, Co-Founder, CARS24, said, "We’ve all seen it, a crash that changed a life forever. India has just one percent of the world’s vehicles but 11 percent of global road deaths. That’s not bad luck – it’s a failure of infrastructure, enforcement and awareness. Over 60 percent of these deaths are preventable, yet road accidents remain an everyday tragedy. It’s time to change that. CARS24 is stepping up not just to talk about road safety but to take action. Because no mother should have to fear every time her child steps out. No father should have to worry if their child will make it home. No family should receive a call that changes everything. Fixing potholes, improving accessibility and empowering people with knowledge and tool is our first step towards this mission. Having said that, road safety isn’t just one company’s effort; it’s something we all need to take responsibility for. Because a safe journey home shouldn’t be a privilege – it should be something we build together."

Vikram Chopra, CEO and Co-Founder, CARS24, said, "India loses three percent of its GDP annually due to road crashes. That’s more than what we spend on healthcare and education combined. Beyond the personal tragedy, road accidents impact the entire economy. If fixing roads, enforcing laws and driving responsibly can save lives and boost our nation’s progress, then we have no excuse not to act."

Amar Srivastava, Founder and President, Indian Road Safety Campaign, said, “We started IRSC more than a decade back due to loss of close seniors to a road-crash at IIT Delhi. However, India still loses more than 100,000-plus youth to road-crashes, and solving such a multi-sectoral problem would need the private, government and citizens to come together to solve this while using technology as the backbone for sustainable impact. With our collaboration with CARS24, we aim to save a million lives across the next decade by leveraging technological innovations to change behaviour and nudging citizens at scale to drive responsibly and help reduce crashes by active participation.”

Deepanshu Gupta, Co-Founder and Vice President, Indian Road Safety Campaign, said, “While a lot of people believe road-crashes are accidents, they are not. Each and every accident is preventable by systemic interventions, and with our collaboration with CARS24, we would work across the 4Es of road-safety [engineering, education, emergency care, enforcement] at 10x scale and speed. Road-crashes are today the leading cause of youth deaths. While this is a global menace, India leads the pack and am hopeful that if we all collaborate to act, we would also be the leaders in showing how to solve this sustainably. Time to act is now.”

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Tier 1 supplier Uno Minda has announced an expansion into the passenger vehicle seating systems segment with a new greenfield facility in Maharashtra.

The company’s board has approved the construction of a manufacturing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, with an investment of INR 3.2 billion with operations scheduled to begin by Q4 FY2028.

The project will be managed by Uno Minda Tachi-S Seating, a joint venture between Uno Minda and TACHI-S Company of Japan. The joint venture, which began in September 2022 with the production of seat recliners, has now secured an order from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for seating systems.

Ravi Mehra, Managing Director, Uno Minda, said, "This is one of the most exciting chapters in Uno Minda's growth story. Entering the complete 4W Passenger Vehicle Seating Systems segment isn't just a product expansion — it's a strategic leap that substantially increases our per-vehicle value potential and deepens our footprint in a segment that is central to the premium vehicle experience. This greenfield facility reflects our unwavering commitment to advanced domestic manufacturing and delivering the kind of high-performance seating comfort that India's rapidly evolving automotive market demands.”

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Autoliv and Great Wall Motor (GWM) have signed a Global Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement to expand their long-term partnership. The agreement follows a collaboration established in 2023 and aims to support GWM’s international expansion.

Under the framework, the companies will cooperate in areas including global business growth, supply chain management, localised operations and the development of safety systems. The partnership is intended to align innovation and product strategies.

Mikael Bratt, CEO, Autoliv, said, "Today's agreement marks an important step in our continued collaboration with Great Wall Motor. By combining GWM's international growth ambitions with Autoliv's global capabilities in automotive safety, we are strengthening the foundation for an even more integrated and resilient partnership."

Jack Wei, Chairman, Great Wall Motors, said, "Safety is the bottom line of the automotive industry. The partnership between Great Wall Motors and Autoliv began with a shared vision and a steadfast commitment to the mission of safety. Now we are strengthening our collaboration and will jointly build the industrial cornerstone of automotive safety and deliver safer Great Wall vehicles to users around the world."

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The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) has released its performance review for FY2025–26, which saw the industry record a turnover of USD 85.9 billion (INR 7,600 billion), representing a growth of 12.7% compared to the previous year. Over the past five years, the sector has grown at a CAGR of 17 percent.

The industry body stated that supplies to OEMs rose by 16.3 percent to INR 6,628 billion, while the aftermarket segment grew by 9 percent to INR 1,084 billion. Exports increased by 5 percent to USD 24 billion, with Europe remaining the primary market. Imports grew by 13 percent to USD 25.4 billion, largely due to demand for technology products and components from China, Japan and Germany. Supplies for electric vehicles accounted for 4.6 percent of domestic OEM supplies, excluding lithium-ion batteries.

Vinnie Mehta, Director General, ACMA, said, “FY26 reaffirmed the strength and resilience of India’s auto component industry. Robust domestic demand, continued investments in capacity and technology, and the confidence of global customers enabled the industry to deliver another year of healthy growth despite a challenging international environment. As global supply chains continue to diversify, India is steadily strengthening its position as a trusted manufacturing and sourcing partner for the global automotive industry. While imports of advanced technology products and specialised components increased during the year, they also underline the next opportunity before us - to deepen localisation, accelerate technology development and move further up the value chain. The industry’s long-term competitiveness will increasingly be defined by innovation, quality, sustainability and supply-chain resilience.”

Vikrampati Singhania, President, ACMA, added: “The medium- to long-term outlook for the Indian auto component industry remains positive. Growing domestic demand, infrastructure-led economic growth, expanding manufacturing investments, deeper global integration through Free Trade Agreements and increasing global sourcing from India are creating significant opportunities for the sector. At the same time, geopolitical developments, supply-chain disruptions, the availability of critical minerals such as rare earth magnets, logistics costs and raw material volatility will require continued strategic focus. The industry remains committed to investing in advanced manufacturing, localisation, digitalisation and sustainable mobility solutions to enhance India’s global competitiveness.”

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Automotive retail sales in India touched a new record for the month of June with a total of 2,557,234 units sold, up 21.83 percent YoY, as against 2,098,996 units sold for the same period last year.

As per the latest data shared by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), the apex body representing automotive dealers in India, the record performance was witnessed across vehicle categories – two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles.

For June 2026, two-wheeler sales came at 1.82 million units, up 21.22 percent YoY, three-wheelers at 120,889 units, up 16.2 percent YoY, passenger vehicle at 410,853 units, up 26.6 percent YoY, tractors at 100,818 units, up 25.31 percent YoY and commercial vehicle at 90,972 units, up 16.8 percent YoY.

On the other hand, the construction equipment segment saw a decline of 40.94 percent YoY to 5,244 units, albeit a high base.

C S Vigneshwar, President, FADA, said, “Tractors recorded their second-best June ever. That such records have come in a seasonally transitional month underscores the structural depth of the India Growth Story and the widening aspirations of Bharat.”

He further stated that when it came to two-wheeler sales, saw a marginal MoM sequential decline due to rural demand dip on the back of late onset and uneven progress of south-west monsoon. This led to many customers opting for a ‘wait-and-watch mode’ for their purchase decisions. But on the flip side, dealers witnessed a strong demand for entry-level two-wheelers, improved supply from automakers and a decisive shift in demand for electric vehicle offerings.

“Two-wheeler electric vehicle share crossed double digits for the first time at 10.60 percent against 7.34 percent a year ago,” stated Vigneshwar.

Similarly, passenger vehicle retail sales also clocked their best performance for June, with both rural (+35.09 percent YoY) and urban markets (+24.67 percent YoY) witnessing strong demand. Share of alternative energy vehicles (CNG, hybrid and electric) crossed 40 percent share for the first time at 40.35 percent (CNG 24.33 percent, hybrid 8.27 percent and EV 7.75 percent).

“On the channel side, PV inventory increased by 1 day over May-end to 32–34 days, moving further from FADA’s recommended 21-day benchmark. We once again urge PV OEMs to calibrate dispatches to retail through the monsoon-soft July window so that dealer capital is not locked in aged stock,” said the executive.

Going forward, FADA has maintained a constructive outlook with all eyes on the onset of monsoon making up its deficit with kharif sowing gathering pace and supplies staying normalised following the West Asia ceasefire and easing crude prices.

Vigneshwar said, “For the two-wheeler segment, improving rural cashflows once rainfall catches up and the accelerating shift towards EV and fuel-efficient models should provide support, though deficient-rainfall pockets and the July OEM price hikes may keep some buyers in wait-and-watch mode. Passenger Vehicles enter the month with healthy booking pipelines, particularly in EVs and CNG, and fresh launches, while Commercial Vehicles should stay steady on freight and infrastructure-linked activity. The trajectory of the monsoon remains the single most important variable for rural demand, alongside price-hike absorption and financing turnaround times. Overall, the outlook for July’26 appears Cautiously Optimistic – with monsoon catch-up and rural cashflows the key swing factors ahead of the festive season.”

For Q2 FY2026, FADA expects continued sales momentum through the festive season. But dealers have identified a monsoon shortfall / El Niño could impact rural demand as the single biggest risk, followed by further price hikes affecting affordability and inventory pile-up pressure.

FADA expects that easing geopolitical and fuel-price uncertainty and broad policy continuity will provide a supportive runway into the festive quarter, with the monsoon the key monitorable for Bharat.

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