The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) inaugurated the 13th edition of the Auto Summit 2025, its flagship biennial convention, now an annual event aligned with Bharat Mobility, the Global Expo. Themed "Safe, Efficient & Sustainable: Shaping Tomorrow’s Mobility," the summit highlights the Indian retail automobile industry's progress and outlook.

Dubbed the "Maha Kumbh" of India’s automobile retail industry, the summit welcomed Union Minister for Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy as the Chief Guest with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari, addressing the gathering virtually as the Guest of Honour.

A prestigious platform for manufacturers, government officials, dealers, industry analysts, academia and thought leaders, the FADA Auto Summit fosters discussions on auto retail's evolving dynamics, emerging opportunities and strategic visions.

Auto Summit 2025 featured 75 distinguished speakers across 20 sessions, providing stakeholders an unmatched opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue, share insights and explore sustainable growth strategies for the sector's future.

Recognising the automotive industry’s contribution to the Indian economy, Kumaraswamy said, “The 13th Auto Summit is a pivotal moment for India’s automotive sector, focused on the theme "Safe, Efficient & Sustainable: Shaping Tomorrow’s Mobility." Safety remains a core priority, with an emphasis on enhancing road safety standards, integrating advanced driver-assistance systems, and improving infrastructure. Achieving this requires collaboration among manufacturers, dealers, policymakers, and consumers to reduce accidents and protect lives. Efficiency is also at the forefront, as evidenced by the 9% growth in vehicle sales in 2024, reaching 26.1 million units. This growth reflects the industry's focus on cutting-edge technologies that streamline manufacturing and enhance customer experiences across all segments.”

He added, “Sustainability is now a necessity. In 2024, electric vehicle (EV) sales surged to 14,08,245 units. Together, these efforts, supported by FADA and the government, are positioning India as a global leader in safe, efficient, and sustainable mobility, ensuring the sector meets both consumer needs and global challenges like climate change and road safety.”

Speaking at the occassion Gadkari stated , “The Indian automobile sector is witnessing a remarkable transformation, growing from INR 7 lakh crore to INR 22 lakh crore, now surpassing Japan globally, and becoming the fastest-growing economy in the world. As the 5th largest economy, India is on track to become the 3rd largest, backed by its immense skilled and youth workforce. The country's potential in raw materials, especially at reasonable rates, positions us to lead in industries ranging from 2Ws and tractors to alternative fuel options.”

He added, “India is not just leading domestically and now has a strong foothold in the international market, with 50% of the two-wheeler segment being exported. The focus on clean, sustainable energy—ranging from ethanol and biodiesel to hydrogen and electric—underscores our commitment to a greener future. As we work towards reducing our dependency on fossil fuels, we’re creating employment opportunities for millions, with the automobile sector alone poised to generate up to 4 crore jobs. The industry’s future looks promising, with a competitive edge driven by research, innovation, and the focus on quality. We are committed to making India an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, achieving self-sufficiency, while also positioning ourselves as global leaders. Initiatives like the pilot project in Nagpur for ropeway cable cars and flash-charging buses highlight the industry's focus on cutting-edge technology for urban mass transport. The potential for growth is enormous, as we continue to expand both the domestic and export markets. With strong research, investment in institutions like IITs, and a robust focus on sustainability, India is well on its way to being a global powerhouse in the automobile sector."

Alludng to the occassion, FADA President C S Vigneshwar said, “As we gather today at FADA’s 13th Auto Summit, it is inspiring to reflect on the significant progress our industry has made in shaping India’s automotive landscape. Over the past year, the sector has displayed remarkable resilience, achieving a 9% growth in vehicle retail. This success highlights the strength of consumer confidence and the dedication of all stakeholders in the ecosystem. This year the theme of the summit, ‘Safe, Efficient & Sustainable: Shaping Tomorrow’s Mobility,’ underscores the collective responsibility we share to shape an automotive future that is not only technologically advanced but also mindful of our environmental and societal obligations. As vehicle penetration increases, it is essential that we prioritize road safety, enhance operational efficiency, and accelerate our transition to sustainable mobility solutions. These are not just goals but imperatives for the industry to thrive and for India to emerge as a global leader in mobility.”

He added, “The successful implementation of FAME I and II, along with the ongoing PM eDrive initiative, are crucial steps in India's journey towards cleaner and greener vehicles, and FADA remains committed to supporting these efforts.”

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Greaves Cotton, an engineering firm, has partnered with Europe’s Ligier Group, a manufacturer of light and heavy quadricycles. The collaboration will see Greaves’ Euro V+ certified 499cc REVO D+ diesel engines powering Ligier’s JS50 and Myli microcar models.

The engines, designed and manufactured at Greaves' facility in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, India, are integrated into Ligier vehicles sold across multiple European countries, including France, Italy, Spain and Germany. This partnership highlights India's increasing role as a supplier of regulatory-compliant automotive technologies globally.

The 499cc REVO D+ single-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engine features electronic fuel injection and is designed for the light quadricycle, L6e category of vehicles.

The engine produces 6.0 kW of power at 3000 rpm and 26 Nm of torque at 1800–2200 rpm. The engine is claimed to deliver superior fuel efficiency, exceptional Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH) performance, and low friction. The engines met the stringent Euro V+ compliance norms through rigorous European-grade quality assurance, including cold-weather validation and lifecycle reliability assessments.

Parag Satpute, Managing Director and Group CEO, Greaves Cotton, said, “This partnership with Ligier is a proud milestone for Greaves Cotton, showcasing how a Made-in-India powertrain is driving European mobility solutions. It reflects our strong engineering capabilities, customer-centric approach, and commitment to delivering global quality standards from our Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar plant. As a trusted partner to OEMs worldwide, we continue to strengthen our comprehensive solutions driven approach that meet the demands of global OEMs for highest standards of performance, efficiency, and sustainability.”

Christian Dujardin, CEO, Ligier Group, said, “Our partnership with Greaves has been marked by outstanding collaboration and mutual trust. Together, we have succeeded in bringing to market the new 499cc REVO D+ engine - a modern, efficient, and reliable powertrain that perfectly meets today’s market expectations, regulatory standards, and customer demands. We are proud of the quality and fluidity of our exchanges throughout this project, which have allowed us to combine innovation and performance. Our teams continue to work hand in hand on future developments to stay one step ahead of the competition and uphold Ligier’s promise of always being at the forefront of innovation.”

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Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, has achieved another milestone with the grant of its first product development patent for a lead- and tin-free bismuth-aluminium alloy. This innovation offers a sustainable, high-machinability solution designed to address the global phaseout of hazardous elements like lead and tin in industrial applications.

The alloy, developed by Vedanta Aluminium’s in-house R&D team, replaces lead and tin with bismuth. The company states that the alloy meets global environmental standards while delivering machinability and mechanical strength.

The alloy is engineered for components across the automotive, electronics and textile sectors where machining operations are central to production. Applications include automotive parts such as hydraulic manifolds and drive shafts and electronic components like mobile phone housings.

The innovation was driven by customer demand for sustainable alternatives to traditional machinable alloys (like AA6262 and AA6020) that contain restricted elements. These alloys are currently under regulatory scrutiny.

Lab trials of the new alloy demonstrated performance metrics compared to conventional grades:

• Strength and Durability: 8 percent higher tensile strength, 21 percent higher yield strength and 17 percent greater hardness.
• Machinability: Smaller, easily breakable chip formation enhances cutting efficiency and reduces operational time.
• Tool Life and Surface Finish: Up to 30 percent smoother surface finish and extended tool lifespan.

Rajiv Kumar, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium, said, “Innovation and sustainability are at the heart of Vedanta Aluminium’s R&D efforts, driving us to create solutions that advance our environmental goals while delivering world-class breakthrough products. This patent validates our efforts at pushing the boundaries of material science, while embedding sustainability into every stage of our value chain. The bismuth-aluminium alloy represents the future of responsible manufacturing.”

Image for representational purposes only.

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Mumbai-headquartered engineering major Greaves Cotton has reported its financial results for Q2 FY2026 with revenue of INR 8.15 billion, up 16 percent YoY, as compared to INR 7.05 billion last year.

The profit after tax grew by 140 percent YoY to INR 6.32 million, as against a loss of INR 14.33 million, showing improved profitability across its businesses.

The company reported that its Engineering Business grew 31 percent YoY in Q2 FY2026 and 30 percent YoY in H1 FY2026.  The Automotive business grew by 48 percent YoY, driven by demand for Euro V+ compliant diesel engines from its European automotive OEM partnership.

Parag Satpute, MD and Group CEO, Greaves Cotton, said, “Greaves Cotton’s performance in Q2 FY2026 reflects the continued strength, agility and resilience of our business portfolio. Our core Engineering business has achieved strong growth. This has been driven by our customer-centric approach of developing products in close partnership with our customers, improved profitability, & is supported by efficiency enhancements that have strengthened our margins. We remain steadfast in our focus on disciplined execution, operational excellence and prudent capital allocation to drive sustainable value creation. Greaves continues to make a meaningful impact across Genset Solutions, Automotive and Industrial sectors through its diverse engineering portfolio, positioning us as a reliable partner in the application engineering space.”

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Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia are deepening their collaboration to accelerate innovation in autonomous vehicles (AVs), smart factories and robotics with a new AI factory, powered by Nvidia Blackwell AI infrastructure. This partnership shifts focus from strategic software adoption to the co-development of core physical AI technologies.

The two companies plan to enable integrated AI model training, validation and deployment using 50,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs. In support of the Korean government’s initiative to build a national physical AI cluster, the collaboration involves an approximately USD 3 billion investment to advance the physical AI landscape in Korea. Key efforts include establishing Hyundai Motor Group’s Physical AI Application Center, the Nvidia AI Technology Center and physical AI data centres in the region.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on 31^st October between the Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea, Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia to formalise this collaboration.

Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea, said, "For Korea to leap forward as a leading nation in AI, the advancement of physical AI is essential – a key initiative championed by the Ministry of Science and ICT. This inaugural step in public-private collaboration to foster physical AI is therefore incredibly significant. Korea has a strong foundation in manufacturing. By combining Korea's rich manufacturing data with Nvidia’s cutting-edge AI infrastructure, we expect to build a Win-Win model through collaboration with domestic companies, thereby accelerating innovative AI transformation (AX) in manufacturing across industries."

Euisun Chung, Executive Chair, Hyundai Motor Group, said, “As we enter a new era of AI-powered mobility and smart factory, deepening our collaboration with Nvidia marks a pivotal step forward. Together, we are not only building advanced technologies but also laying the foundation for a robust AI ecosystem in Korea – one that fosters innovation, nurtures talent and positions us at the forefront of global AI leadership.”

Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO, Nvidia, said, "AI will revolutionise every facet of every industry. In transportation alone – from vehicle design and manufacturing to robotics and autonomous driving — Nvidia’s AI and computing platforms are transforming how the world moves. Together with Hyundai Motor Group — Korea’s industrial powerhouse and one of the world’s top mobility solutions providers— we’re building intelligent cars and factories that will shape the future of the multitrillion-dollar mobility industry."

Hyundai Motor Group will use the Nvidia Blackwell-based AI factory to deploy infrastructure that powers innovation across in-vehicle AI, autonomous driving, factory automation and robotics. The group is leveraging three Nvidia AI compute platforms:

• Nvidia DGX platform for large-scale AI model training.
• Nvidia Omniverse and Nvidia Cosmos for creating digital twins of manufacturing environments and testing AV software.
• Nvidia Drive AGX Thor as the AI compute for real-time intelligence in vehicles and robots.

The company will use the Omniverse Enterprise platform to develop factory digital twins to accelerate robot integration, optimise production and enable predictive maintenance. Inside vehicles, Nvidia DRIVE AGX Thor will provide compute power for advanced driver-assistance, next-generation safety features and in-vehicle AI experiences.

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