Ekart has partnered with IKEA to power last-mile deliveries for its home furnishings business, enabling seamless doorstep fulfilment of orders placed on IKEA’s website. As part of this collaboration, Ekart will play a crucial role in executing the optimised fulfilment of large parcels across IKEA’s extensive catalogue of over 7,000 products, including furniture, home décor, and household essentials across North India. 
Ekart's robust logistics capabilities will enable IKEA to fulfil most customer orders within 24 hours, reinforcing its commitment to operational excellence. With a relentless focus on precision, Ekart consistently delivers streamlined logistics at scale, achieving an industry-leading over 99 percent success rate in pre-paid shipments – setting new benchmarks in reliability and customer satisfaction.
Ekart will facilitate deliveries through IKEA India’s recently launched fulfilment hub in Delhi-NCR, leveraging high-performance logistics solutions. The integration of real-time tracking will further ensure seamless deliveries and provide customers with enhanced visibility. With sustainability at the core of this partnership, Ekart will leverage its fleet of electric vehicles to align with IKEA’s commitment to eco-friendly logistics.
Mani Bhushan, Chief Business Officer, Ekart, said, “This partnership is a testament to Ekart’s ability to offer enterprise grade supply chain solutions to large retail brands. IKEA’s vision is to create a better everyday life for many people, and Ekart is proud to be an enabler in this mission. For us, it has been about shared values of transparency and sustainability in the supply chain with an uncompromising commitment to customer delight and reliability. Through this collaboration, we will continue to unlock the world-class customer experience that IKEA is known for. IKEA satisfies its customers through a philosophy of close listening, engagement and support, and it matches well with Ekart’s mantra of reliability, response, and resolution. We look forward to delighting customers with this partnership.”
Saiba Suri, Country Customer Fulfilment Manager, IKEA India, said, “EV-led deliveries are at the heart of our expansion in the north of India. This move also brings us closer to our global EV100 goals. We are glad to extend this partnership with Ekart in our new market and look forward to powering IKEA India’s expansion story with greater efficiency and sustainable means as we grow together.”
Ekart powers end-to-end logistics for over 400 retail brands, offering last-mile delivery, part-truckload (PTL), full-truckload (FTL), warehousing, and industry-first innovations like Open Box Delivery and product refurbishing for seamless, transparent operations. By bringing together IKEA’s world-class retail experience and Ekart’s robust logistics network, the collaboration aims to redefine home furnishing deliveries in India, making them faster, greener and more customer-centric.

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On May 14, 2026, Japanese automotive major Honda Motor Co, unveiled a comprehensive roadmap to restructure its automobile business, prioritising a ‘multi-faceted approach’ to carbon neutrality that leans heavily on next-generation hybrid technology and strategic growth in three key regions.

Facing a challenging global environment and a slowing EV market, Honda is reallocating resources to ensure a return to record profitability by FY2029.

Interestingly, it has identified India as one of three ‘priority regions’ (alongside North America and Japan) central to Honda's future growth strategy. To address past limitations in the region, Honda is shifting away from standard global specifications toward a market-specific approach.

The Japanese automotive major has announced the establishment of a new subsidiary – Honda Digital Innovation India (HDII), which will be based in Bengaluru. This new subsidiary will build a digital platform to integrate motorcycle and automobile services, creating a unique mobility ecosystem.

Furthermore, in 2028, Honda will introduce strategic models tailored to Indian preferences, specifically targeting the high-volume ‘under 4 meters’ category and the mid-size segment.  

Leveraging its massive motorcycle footprint (nearly 6 million units sold annually), Honda aims to capture customers upgrading from two-wheels to entry-level automobiles.

Honda has announced its plans to increase its annual two-wheeler production capacity in India from 6.25 million to 8 million units by 2028, positioning the country as a primary global export hub.

In addition, a new financial services arm is scheduled to become operational by March 31, 2027, to bolster sales opportunities in India.

While Honda remains committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, it is strategically slowing some EV initiatives – including suspending a comprehensive EV value chain project in Canada – to focus on the immediate demand for hybrid vehicles.

The ‘Triple Half’ Approach

To compete with emerging OEMs, Honda is implementing a lean manufacturing and development strategy. The ‘Triple Half’ initiative seeks to reduce development costs, timeframes and workloads by 50 percent compared to 2025 levels.

Honda aims to improve production efficiency by 20 percent over the next five years through digital transformation and AI.

The company will move away from complete internalisation, instead leveraging external partnerships for batteries (such as the L-H Battery joint venture) and standardising components to mitigate tariff impacts and supply risks.

Honda anticipates that these structural changes will lead to a record-high operating profit of JPY 1.4 trillion by FY2029. During this period, the company plans to invest JPY 6.2 trillion in total resources, with JPY 4.4 trillion specifically dedicated to petrol and hybrid models. For shareholders, Honda has committed to stable and continuous dividend payments with a target 3 percent Dividend on Equity (DOE).

Toshihiro Mibe, Director, President and Representative Executive Officer (Global CEO), Honda Motor Co, said, “India is one of the few markets in the world where further expansion is expected in the future. However, currently, Honda is present in only a limited range of product segments and has not been able to fully expand sales volume due to an insufficient number of competitive models in each segment. One contributing factor is that we have not been able to deliver products fully aligned with the characteristics and preferences of customers in India. It has been our standard approach to develop all products based on global standard performance specifications, regardless of target countries and regions and to sell such products in different regions.”

“However, climate conditions, vehicle usage patterns, customer preferences and other factors vary significantly from country to country and region to region. As environmental regulations and other laws and rules are also different, in some cases, the global specifications of our vehicles have been somewhat excessive in the Indian market. Therefore, we will redefine the best specifications that are well aligned with the market environment and customer needs in India.

“Then, in 2028, we will begin introducing strategic models tailored to the Indian market that pursue an optimal balance of performance and price that satisfies our customers in India. To be more specific, we will launch our strategic models in two categories. One is for ‘vehicles under 4 meters in length’, which has the largest volume in India, and the other is the mid-size category. We will proactively utilise local development resources, including external resources, and introduce new models as quickly as possible. The solid foundation of our motorcycle business will become the key strength of Honda in this market," said Mibe.

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The Indian automotive industry continues to grow leaps and bounds. In fact, as per the latest data released by the Society of Indian Automobiles Manufacturers (SIAM), a total of 2.37 million vehicles were sold last month, up 28 percent YoY, as against 1.85 million vehicles sold in April 2025.

In April 2026, the two-wheeler segment at 1.87 million units, up 28 percent YoY, three-wheelers at 65,558 units, up 33 percent YoY and passenger vehicles at 437,312 units, up 25 percent YoY, all clocked high double-digit growth.

Notably, passenger cars segment grew at 33 percent, SUVs at 21 percent, motorcycles at 31 percent, three-wheelers e-cart at 55 percent and goods carrier at 45 percent, YoY, respectively, reported robust growth.

Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM, said, “Continuing with the momentum of the second half of FY 2025-26, the first month of FY 2026-27, posted high double-digit growth in passenger vehicles, three-wheelers and two-wheelers. In April 2026, the passenger vehicles recorded their highest-ever sales of 437,312 units with a growth of 25.4 percent, over April 2025. Three-wheelers also posted its highest ever sales of 65,558 units, registering a growth of 32.8 percent, compared to April 2025.”

“Though there are concerns of high commodity prices emanating from the disruptions in West Asia, Industry has been witnessing good demand,” he concluded.

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French automotive supplier Valeo has joined the Automotive Plastics Circularity project, a flagship initiative of the Global Impact Coalition (GIC). The move marks a strategic expansion of the coalition, connecting chemical producers directly with component design and manufacturing to create a closed-loop system for automotive plastics.

As a tier-one supplier, Valeo occupies a critical position between raw material producers and vehicle manufacturers (OEMs). Its involvement is expected to bridge the gap between technical feasibility and large-scale commercial adoption of recycled materials.

As part of the commitment, Valeo will help establish the rigorous performance standards required for recycled plastics to be used in high-performance automotive components. The collaboration focuses on ‘circular design’ – ensuring that components are engineered from the start to be easily recovered and reused at a vehicle's end-of-life (ELV). Moving beyond ‘proof of concept’ to create a predictable and affordable supply chain for high-quality recycled polymers. It will address the increasing global pressure and evolving regulations that mandate a higher percentage of recycled content in new vehicles.

Christophe Le Ligne, Group Vice President Research & Development, Valeo, said, “Circularity is central to Valeo’s strategy, and joining the Global Impact Coalition is a promising next step in our sustainability journey. True scaling of circularity requires deep cooperation across the entire value chain. Our focus is on tackling the challenge of integrating high-quality recycled materials from End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) into demanding applications, building a new circular value chain that ensures long-term material affordability and accessibility.”

Charlie Tan, CEO, GIC, added, “Valeo brings the perspective of where design and material decisions are actually made, and that is vital. This strengthens our ability to move from proof of concept to something that can be implemented across the industry.”

The Automotive Plastics Circularity project has already proven that recovering plastics from ELVs is technically possible. The current phase, now bolstered by Valeo’s engineering expertise, focuses on economic viability. By aligning the incentives of chemical companies and component designers, the project aims to ensure that circularity becomes a standard operational model rather than a niche sustainability project.

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Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, has selected six startups from the 10th Cohort of its flagship Accelerator Program to co-create advanced business solutions.

The selected companies have been awarded paid Proof of Concepts (PoCs) to develop AI-based and technology-driven tools aimed at enhancing plant safety, streamlining product development and improving customer engagement.

The initiative aligns with the Government of India’s ‘Startup India’ program, providing growth-stage startups with mentorship and access to real-world industrial environments to scale their innovations.

The six start-ups selected include Goat Robotics, which is working on safe and efficient movement of materials within facilities. SheerDrive, which provides a real-time, market-linked used car price visualiser for transparent valuations. Schijnenn Digital is working on technologies to shorten the product design and development cycle. GenbaNEXT, an advanced material traceability system to support circular economy and recycling efforts. Swayatt Drishtigochar that provides predictive maintenance and safe operation of industrial equipment. And Swiftex, a sales assistance platform to help dealer executives engage customers more efficiently.

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “As our operations continue to grow, the solutions that we are co-creating with these startups will enable us to further improve safety in our plants, help reduce product design and development lead time, and strengthen material traceability.”

Over the last seven years, Maruti Suzuki’s innovation programs have screened more than 6,800 startups. To date, the company has engaged with over 250 startups, and 34 have been officially onboarded as business partners. The company currently operates four distinct programs to support the startup ecosystem at various stages:

Accelerator: Focuses on growth-stage startups for co-creating technological solutions.

Incubation Program: Early-stage support in partnership with NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore.

Mobility Challenge: For mature-stage startups to showcase cutting-edge mobility tech.

Nurture: A pre-incubation program for idea-stage entrepreneurs.

The integration of these new technologies, particularly in circularity and predictive maintenance, is expected to make Maruti Suzuki’s manufacturing and sales operations more future-ready as the company expands its production capacity in India.

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