Eicher Motors Limited (EML) – the listed parent of Royal Enfield apart from being a partner in Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV), a joint venture commercial vehicle unit with Volvo – has reported its best ever Q2 FY2024-25 with a revenue of INR 42.63 billion from operations. It was INR 41.15 billion in the corresponding period of FY2023-24.  
The EBITDA during the respective period was INR 10.88 million as compared to INR 10.87 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Profit After Tax was INR 11 billion, an increase of 8.3 percent as compared to INR 10.16 billion during the same period last year. 
During the quarter, Eicher Group company Royal Enfield recorded sales of 2,25,317 motorcycles as compared to 2,29,496 motorcycles sold during the same period in FY2023-24. 
For Q2 FY 2024-25, VECV’s revenue from operations was INR 55.38 billion, up by 8.0 percent over the previous year’s revenue of INR 51.26 billion.  EBITDA for the second quarter was INR 3.95 billion as compared to INR 4.02 billion last year. 
Profit After Tax (PAT) stood at INR 2.09 billion as against INR 1.87 billion last year. VECV recorded sales of 20,774 vehicles in the second quarter over 19,551 vehicles last year. 
Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director, Eicher Motors Ltd, mentioned, “During this quarter, we have continued to sustain the momentum both at Royal Enfield and VECV. At EICMA, earlier this month, we launched two motorcycles on our 650-Twin platform; the Bear 650, and the Classic 650. In addition to this, Royal Enfield marked its foray into electric mobility with a new EV brand - the Flying Flea. With an intent to disrupt and grow the electric motorcycle segment, we are approaching it with the same singularity, focus and unconventionality with which we have grown and energized the global mid-size segment over the last several years. Under the Flying Flea we will have a portfolio of differentiated electric motorcycles for city+ mobility. On the commercial vehicle front, VE Commercial Vehicles delivered its best Q2 ever, with strengthened market shares in truck segments. This is commendable against the backdrop of lower industry volumes as compared to Q2 of last year.”
B. Govindarajan, CEO, Royal Enfield and Whole-time Director of EML, said, "This quarter we launched two stellar motorcycles - the Guerrilla 450 and the 2024 Classic 350 in an all-new avatar and response to both these motorcycles has been remarkable. We have also made significant progress on expanding and strengthening our footprint outside India as we debuted the brand in Bangladesh with our new flagship store in Dhaka, and a manufacturing and assembly unit in the country. We are also setting up a second CKD in Brazil early next year. Basis the strong legwork that we put in during Q2 this year, we were able to achieve a very special milestone for Royal Enfield in terms of our festive sales performance in October. We outperformed all our previous monthly sales performance and achieved over 1,00,000 sales in a single month. These initiatives underscore our commitment to our long-term strategic goals and to continue delivering pure motorcycling experiences across the globe.” 
Speaking on the performance, Vinod Aggarwal, MD and CEO, VECV, said, “VECV delivered its highest ever second quarter sales during Q2 FY25 growing 6.2 percent over Q2 FY24 and attaining leadership in the Light and Medium Duty (LMD) segment during the quarter. This growth was against a drop in CV industry volumes of 10.8 percent in the same period and stands as a testament to our broad product range backed by fast-expanding network coverage focused on delivering uptime to customers. Margins remained under pressure in a competitive market as we successfully continued to invest in growing our heavy-duty truck presence. We took another step in our sustainability journey, signing a MoU for deployment of 500 Eicher Pro 6055 LNG trucks.”
Royal Enfield forayed into the EV space by announcing the launch of its completely new electric vehicle brand, Flying Flea at EICMA show in Milan, Italy, recently. 
The debut featured two models – the Classic-styled Flying Flea C6 and the Scrambler-styled Flying Flea S6. 
The two-wheeler company also revisited its legacy with two new models on the 650 Twin platform – the Bear 650 (a robust scrambler, designed for riders who follow their instincts, featuring versatile capabilities to enhance the riding experience) and the Classic 650 powered by the celebrated 650 Twin engine for a ride that is both swift and elegant. 
Strengthening its global footprint, Royal Enfield, in n the SAARC region, commenced operations of its Manufacturing Unit (Category 2) and flagship showroom in Bangladesh. The facility will engage in local production and assembly of four flagship models – Hunter 350, Meteor 350, Classic 350 and Bullet 350 specifically for the Bangladesh market. 
Royal Enfield has announced its intent to set up a new CKD unit in Brazil by January 2025 which will help diversify its operations and expand its presence in the automotive market.

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Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co., which has been undertaking significant measures to improve its financial performance and is restructuring global operations, has announced that it plans to transfer and integrate vehicle production at the Oppama Plant, located in the Oppama district, to Nissan Motor Kyushu Co., Ltd in Fukuoka Prefecture.

This move part of the ‘Re:Nissan’ recovery plan aims to reduce its global production capacity from 3.5 million units (excluding China) to 2.5 million units, while maintaining a plant utilisation rate of around 100 percent. To achieve this, the company has been considering the consolidation of production sites from 17 to 10.

Nissan Reiterates Commitment For India, Targets 200,000 Unit Sales For FY2026

The new announcement will see vehicle production shutting down at Nissan’s Oppama plant at the end of fiscal 2027. Following this, both current and future models scheduled for production at Oppama will be manufactured at Nissan Motor Kyushu.

On the other hand, facilities and functions in the district – such as the Nissan Research Center, Grandrive, the crash test facility and Oppama Wharf – will remain unaffected and continue operations as usual.

Ivan Espinosa, CEO, Nissan Motor Co, said, "Today, Nissan made a tough but necessary decision. It wasn’t easy – for me or for the company – but I believe it’s a vital step toward overcoming our current challenges and building a sustainable future. The Oppama Plant is a proud part of our history, and its legacy will endure. I want to sincerely thank our employees, the local community, and our partners who have supported this plant with dedication and heart. We will continue to operate in the Oppama area with strong support for the local community, as we carry forward the spirit of Oppama plant and work to restore Nissan’s true value."

While the company has announced the shutdown of manufacturing operations at the Oppama plant, it is still exploring a ‘wide range of options to determine the most appropriate path forward’.

The company will continue to retain employees at the plant till the end of fiscal 2027 and is looking to initiate discussions with the union on the future course of action.

Furthermore, the Japanese automaker has also announced that production of the NV200, currently consigned to the Nissan Shatai Shonan Plant, will end in fiscal year 2026. A successor to the NV200 is planned for introduction in fiscal year 2027, with further details to be shared at a later date.

With this decision, Nissan said it has concluded all vehicle production consolidation actions in Japan under the Re:Nissan plan.

Also read: Nissan Secures $6 Billion Through Bond Issuance

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Skoda Auto Volkswagen India has announced that it has achieved a major manufacturing milestone in its operations. The company recently rolled out its 500,000th made-in-India Skoda vehicle.

The milestone comes after 24 years since the company introduced the first Skoda Octavia from its Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar facility (formerly Aurangabad) in 2001.

At present, the company manufactures vehicles across two facilities in India – Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Pune, with them now supporting the company’s new manufacturing plant in Vietnam with parts and components.

Over the years, Skoda has rolled out its iconic products such as Octavia, Laura, Superb and Kodiaq to new products like the Kushaq, Slavia and its first sub-4-meter Kylaq.

Andreas Dick, Board Member for Production and Logistics, Skoda Auto, said, “Reaching the milestone of 500,000 cars produced in India is a proud testament to our strategic vision of unwavering commitment to India and operational excellence. By nurturing local engineering talent and embedding global manufacturing processes, we’ve built an ecosystem that is agile, scalable, and responsive to a dynamically changing environment that meets the highest international standards. This achievement reflects the synergy between world-class innovation and India’s growing industrial prowess.”

Piyush Arora, CEO & Managing Director, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, said, “It is not just about manufacturing 500,000 cars, but building and nurturing 500,000 connections. Every car that rolls out of our production lines, shares DNA of European engineering with unmatched quality, crafted with precision; delivering supreme comfort, safety, technology and driving dynamics. This achievement belongs as much to our customers as it does to our employees. Because what we’re manufacturing here isn’t just mobility, it’s a belief in what India can make for domestic as well as international markets. India plays a pivotal role in the Group’s growth strategy. I am glad to mention that we achieve this manufacturing milestone in the same year as Skoda Auto celebrates 130 years of legacy globally and 25 years of presence in India.”

The company revealed that approximately 70 percent of the vehicles manufactured in India were rolled out from its Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar plant.

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Shell Lubricants, the lubricants business of UK-headquartered Shell Group of companies, has acquired 100 percent equity stake in Raj Petro Specialities from Brenntag Group.

India is currently the world’s third-largest lubricant market and this initiative Shell expects to further expand its portfolio and customer base in the country, but also enhance its presence in the global markets.

Raj Petro is a multi-faceted petrochemical manufacturing and marketing company with business partners in about 100 countries across the globe and offers a wide range of products catering to power, energy, transport, construction, automotive, personal care, food, agriculture, pharmaceutical and other industries.

The acquisition of Raj Petro Specialities supports Shell Lubricants as it strives to grow its portfolio and customer base in India, which is one of its key growth markets.

Jason Wong, Executive Vice-President for Global Lubricants, Shell, said, “The addition of Raj Petro Specialities will help maximise value for Shell through a complementary product portfolio and increased scale of business, positioning Shell Lubricants for further growth in line with our unwavering focus on performance, discipline, and simplification.”

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Swedish steel manufacturer SSAB has announced a new collaboration with Polmotors, a tier 1 supplier focusing on low-emission products, for exploring the potential of fossil-free materials in demanding automotive applications.

The partnership will see Polmotors explore manufacturing components using SSAB’s decarbonised steel.

SSAB is working on two unique decarbonised steels and aims to largely eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from its own operations. It has already introduced SSAB Zero, which is based on recycled steel and made using fossil-free energy. The company claims that it has also successfully produced the world’s first fossil-free steel. It works with iron ore producer LKAB and energy company Vattenfall as part of the HYBRIT initiative to develop a value chain for fossil-free iron- and steel production, replacing the coking coal traditionally used for iron ore-based steelmaking with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen. This process virtually eliminates carbon dioxide emissions in steel production.

On the other hand, Polmotors closely works with the likes of Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Peugeot, Citroen, Jeep, Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and Opel among others, to introduce high-performance components which are not only lighter but also greener.

Maciej Grabos, CEO, Polmotors, said, “Polmotors sees the future of fossil-free steel. And the potential competitive advantage of being an early adopter, positioning ourselves to meet the anticipated market demand from premium automotive OEMs. We design and manufacture crash management systems (CMSs) for these customers, such as bumpers and rally bars, so choice of materials is crucial. Polmotors looks forward to joint R&D – working with SSAB and the OEMs – for the implementation of new steel grades in our products.”

Robert Lewandowski, Key Account Manager, SSAB, said, “Polmotors recently celebrated its 35thanniversary. I’ve had the pleasure and privilege to meet them 20 years ago and observe how an initially small, Polish-owned enterprise turned into a global Tier1 supplier. Decarbonisation of the automotive industry requires cooperation across the supply chain where Tier 1 companies play an important role”.

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