While presenting the Union Budget today, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new battery swapping technology in India and steps to boost the adoption of electric vehicles in India. The industry leaders generally welcomed the budget. Following are the reactions to the newly announced Budget from industry bodies and organisations.

FADA Welcomes Govt Efforts 

Vinkesh Gulati, President, FADA, said, “Union Budget 2022 seeks to lay the foundation for the next 25 years, from India@75 to India@100. With PM’s ‘Gati Shakti National Master Plan’, a INR 100-lakh crore project for building comprehensive infrastructure in India, it will be a significant step towards development. The budget has attempted to focus on each of the sectors and has also tried to stimulate the economy after the pandemic slowdown. FADA welcomes and supports the government's efforts and initiatives towards Electric Mobility. There is a clear emphasis on creative, sustainable and innovative business models. Battery Swapping & Energy as a Service (EAAS) will surely help accelerate the transition towards Clean Mobility. The development of special mobility zones for electric vehicles and promoting clean technology for public transport validate government commitment to E-mobility, which would boost confidence in the EV industry in terms of manufacturing, sales, and create a sense of assurance among customers. The government's plans for developing 25,000 kilometers of new highways will result in a push for infrastructure spending, which will result in an increase in Commercial Vehicle sales, as well as an addition of 2,000 kilometers of road under a new scheme known as 'Kavach' will be an additional benefit to the revival of this segment. With the extension of the ECLG scheme, it is a remarkable move by the government to support the MSME sector coming out of the slowdown caused by pandemics.” 

Gulati added, “The rural India has generally been the key driver for entry level passenger vehicle segment and two-wheeler space. With government plans on INR 2.3 lakh crore direct payment as MSP to farmers, it will work as a booster for two-wheeler, tractor and entry-level PV sector sales. However, an additional duty of rupees 2/ litre on unblended fuel from October 2022 could play a spoilsport for the already stressed 2W industry.” 

Budget Boosts EV Industry 

Sohinder Gill, Director General, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), said, “We welcome the measures announced by the honourable Finance Minister, today. The budget for 2022–23 gives a huge impetus to the electric vehicle (EV) industry. Introducing the battery swapping policy and recognising battery or energy as a service will help to develop EV infrastructure and increase the use of EVs in public transportation. It would motivate businesses engaged in delivery and ride aggregation businesses to incorporate EVs into their fleet. It will create new avenues for companies to venture into the business of battery swapping. Additionally, creating special clean zones will further accelerate the adoption of EVs and spread awareness amongst the citizens. The move will benefit the whole segment, i.e E2W, E3W, E-cars, and buses. The budget also provides attention to the need for skilled resources in the industry. Introducing new skill programs in ITI will bridge the skill gap that currently exists in the industry. The industry would be happy to work with the government to devise customized courses to meet the demands of the EV industry. Overall, the budget aims at strengthening the whole ecosystem of the EV industry, which will spur the demand for green vehicles.”

Additional Opportunities 

P B Balaji, Group CFO, Tata Motors, said, “Budget 2022 is an articulation of purposeful intent enabled by a clear action plan. Building on the excellent budget of last year, the government has wisely continued on the path of prioritising economic growth with calibrated fiscal prudence. For the Indian automobile sector, which is a significant contributor to the nation’s GDP, the budget offers continuity and also additional opportunities to drive multi-year growth. Specifically, the robust increase in capex by 35.4 percent to INR 7.5 lakh crore and a comprehensive investment plan for infrastructure is a significant growth booster. Additionally, the launch of the well-conceived PM Gati Shakti program for multi-modal transport including 100 cargo terminals and investments in 25000Kms of highways, apart from investments in ports and metros is an excellent development that will help create a world-class transport infrastructure in the country. This will reduce logistics costs and transit times, increase employment and make us globally competitive with avenues for better and efficient mobility solutions. Additionally, plans to create EV charging infrastructure including national policy for battery swapping which when combined with the already announced Automotive PLI scheme, furthers the agenda for green mobility. Tata Motors welcomes this balanced, thought through budget.” 

Bolster Electric Mobility

Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto & Farm Sectors, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, said, “The roadmap laid out to usher in sustainable mobility by the honourable Finance Minister in the Union Budget 2022-23 will bolster the electric mobility adoption in India. Battery swapping can offer a practical alternative to increase adoption of electric vehicles. As part of our Last Mile Mobility, we look forward to working with the government, policymakers and our partners to formulate and implement the battery swapping policy. This will include introducing interoperability standards as well as driving innovation in Battery as a Service business models.”  

Huge Impetus on Rural Growth

Nagesh Basavanhalli, Group CEO and MD, Greaves Cotton Limited, “The Union Budget 2022 has some important announcements to accelerate economic growth by focusing on 4 core pillars of productivity, climate action, financing investment and PM Gati Shakti Programme which will help strengthen our infrastructure and MSME sector. The expansion of the National Highway network will provide better connectivity to our towns and cities and strengthen the supply chain network. Overall huge impetus on rural growth through various schemes and technological intervention will help create more rural jobs and thereby create more demand from rural and semi-urban areas. The production linked incentives in several sectors announced by the government will help create more employment opportunities for the people. 

Basavanhalli added, “Digital ecosystem for skilling and livelihood through online training is a step in the right direction as this is a critical need of the hour by the industry. From the auto and EV sector's point of view, the battery swapping policy will boost the adoption of EV. Further, the government’s move to encourage the private sector’s involvement to create sustainable and innovative business models for battery and energy as a service, too, will be a game-changer for the growth of the entire EV ecosystem of the country.”  

Invest in India 

Ujjwal Jain, CEO and Founder, WealtDesk, “The government continued with a growth-oriented budget and took charge from the front. This can be seen by the 35.4 percent increase in CAPEX while maintaining a manageable fiscal deficit and very conservative tax revenue targets. Make in India continues to get the push - to boost defence innovation, 68 per cent of the capital procurement budget in defence will be earmarked for the domestic industry in 2022-23. The Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) was also announced in the budget speech, which will enhance efficiency and reduce logistics costs in the country. The other highlight was the 30 percent tax on Virtual Digital Assets with no set-offs and TDS of 1 percent. Bringing the Virtual Digital Assets into the tax net is a smart move with a forward-looking approach. The finance minister also announced the creation of a digital currency by the RBI. The government will form an expert panel to attract and encourage PE/VC investments. The panel will help identify the appropriate measures to increase investments and establish friendly policies for investors bringing foreign capital to Indian startups. This move can help reduce risks faced by foreign investors when investing in Indian startups. In all, the key takeaway from the budget can be "Invest in India".  

Futuristic Budget 

Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Founder and CEO, Kinetic Green, said, “Budget 2022 is a futuristic budget with focus on deployment of advanced technology like EV, green mobility and digitisation. The Budget 2022 announced by Hon’ble Finance Minister today is positive for the Electric Vehicle sector, which reinforced the Indian Government’s commitment to accelerating EV and green mobility eco-system in India. FM has announced that to foster the creation of electric vehicle ecosystem, a battery swapping policy will be devised. In order to scale up battery stations, a battery swapping policy will be brought out with inter-operability standards. There is an announcement on shift to use of public transport in urban areas by clean tech and with special e-mobility zones. Green Energy & Clean Mobility systems have immense potential to assist sustainable development & modernise the country. This will further enhance connectivity and digitization of the auto sector and is expected to help automotive in a greater way. The Minister also emphasized that private sector will be encouraged to develop sustainable and innovative models for battery and energy as a service which will increase efficiency in EV ecosystem. I am confident that this move will encourage manufacturers to enhance investments in this sector. Further announcements such as ramp up of capital expenditure and spending on infrastructure will boost economic growth. It is a futuristic budget with focus on the greening of economy and digital technology. We welcome this budget and appreciate Government’s steps to promote electric vehicles and tackle pollution in our cities.”

Growth-oriented Budget 

Suyash Gupta, Director General, Indian Auto LPG Coalition, said: ''With India remaining the best-performing economy among the larger economies as duly highlighted by the budget, the budget has stayed the course in terms of remaining a growth-oriented one. In terms of promotion of cleaner mobility, while the government’s intent to encourage battery swapping technology with an eye on galvanizing electric mobility is appreciated, it still remains to be seen what more is there in the fine print for promotion of cleaner alternative fuels. At the same time, the provision for sovereign green bonds with the aim of reducing the carbon intensity of the economy must be appreciated. Also, the encouragement of agroforestry, the extension of PLI schemes to the manufacturing of solar PV modules will further help in pursuing a more carbon-free economic pathway for the country. It must also be added that the increase of excise on unblended fuel will also help to some extent in achieving cleaner mobility. However, the bigger picture with regard to air quality has been missed. Electric is a while away. What does the country do in the interim? Low hanging fruits like Auto LPG need to be acknowledged, which could bring immediate relief to the urban air pollution.'' 

Forward-looking Budget 

Parag Satpute, Managing Director, Bridgestone India, said, “This is a forward-looking budget that focuses on not only the economic health of the country but also takes into account physical and mental health. This is indeed a major milestone in India. The PM Gati Shakti plan and the corresponding announcement of additional 25, 000 km of roads will spur growth in the mobility sector. The government’s initiative on electric vehicles and the announcement on a battery swapping policy is a major boost to the nascent EV sector and will boost customer confidence in EVs.”

Intention to Revive Travel Industry 

Manish Rathi, CEO & Co-founder, IntrCity, said, "We welcome the government's commitment to expanding the national highway network by 25,000 kilometres this fiscal year. The Finance Minister needs to be complimented for her vision to usher 9.2 percent economic growth. This is very much possible in view of the allocation of INR 20,000 crores to the National Highway System. This shows the government's intention to revive and transform the beleaguered travel and transport industry. We endorse the GOI's aim to improve road connectivity by redesigning the roads in hilly areas under the Parvat Mala initiative, which will improve connectivity for commuters. The government seems inclined to strengthen and support public transport infrastructure in urban areas and allocate funds through low-interest loans to small travel operators; this is a good sign. These would help us expand our SmartBus fleet's presence deep inside India's heart and provide comfortable, convenient, and safe mobility solutions in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities." 

Progressive Budget 

Suresh KV, President and Regional Head, ZF India, said, “Union budget 2022 is progressive and with the continuous support of the government we are optimistic that the industry will soon return to the path of growth in 2022. The announcement of allocation of INR 20,000 crores for infrastructure projects and the announcement of 25,000 kms of additional National Highway network during FY 22-23, is a much welcome move. This will have a positive impact on the transportation industry and the auto sector, at large. The Government focus on green mobility was evident and the special new battery swapping policy for the EV infrastructure will boost the EV ecosystem and lead to faster adoption. The special focus towards clean technologies and electric vehicles for public transport will positively impact companies manufacturing and supplying technology to electric buses and commercial vehicles. The move to boost the rural economy with the announcement of MSP payment of INR 2.73 lakh crores coupled with other benefits, will aid the farming sector and is bound to enhance the rural economy and sentiments. The
concessional corporate tax of 15 percent for more than one year till March 2024 will provide the much-needed impetus for the Covid impacted manufacturing segment. This is further bolstered by the eagerly anticipated re-look at the SEZ act, which will boost the competitiveness of the Indian manufacturers. Overall, the budget 2022 has several measures that are likely to create a positive impact on the Indian auto sector that has been gravely hit by the COVID 19 pandemic, and we at ZF in India welcome this”. (MT) 

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Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), the country’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, has further expanded its product portfolio with the launch of the Victoris SUV.

The Victoris is being made available in multiple powertrain options, including petrol with strong hybrid, Allgrip Select (4x4) and factory-fitted S-CNG with an underbody tank design. Bookings are now open at INR 11,000.

The SUV can be had with a 1.5-litre hybrid powertrain with EV mode and e-CVT transmission, a multi-terrain 4x4 system with four drive modes and a CNG variant with dual ECUs.

The Victoris will join the Brezza, Ertiga, Fronx, Grand Vitara and Jimny to further expand its play in the SUV segment.

The new SUV features a 26.03 cm fully digital instrument cluster, 25.65 cm SmartPlay Pro X infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, over-the-air updates and Alexa Auto integration. It also introduces a segment-first Infinity by Harman 8-speaker system with Dolby Atmos, 64-colour ambient lighting, ventilated seats, powered driver’s seat, wireless charging with cooling and a panoramic sunroof.

On safety, the Victoris comes with six airbags as standard, Level 2 ADAS with more than ten driver-assist features, all-wheel disc brakes, electronic parking brake, and a 360-degree camera. In fact, the Victoris has scored a 5-star Bharat NCAP safety rating for both adult and child occupants.

It comes with Maruti Suzuki India’s Arena Safety Shield, including ESP, ABS with EBD, hill hold control and a standard three-year/100,000 km warranty.

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “The new-age Indian customer is well-travelled, hyper-connected, socially aware, technologically progressive and environmentally responsible. To meet the aspirations of such customers, our new SUV the Victoris has ‘Got It All’. Victoris is a Latin word that means ‘victory’. We are confident the Victoris with its high technology, sleek design, intelligent and connected features, 5-star level safety and multiple environment friendly powertrains will win hearts in India. With Victoris we are strengthening our SUV portfolio and our overall market share.”

Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “At Maruti Suzuki, we are always listening to our customers. Today’s young, and dynamic audience consider an automobile as a reflection of who they are – energetic, composed, confident and always moving forward. We gave this brief to our design and engineering teams for the all-new ‘Victoris’. SUVs may be the most loved segment today, but the SUV buyer has evolved. This new generation of young customers are ambitious, hyperconnected and value experiential living. The all-new Victoris is our answer to that shift - a progressive blend of tech, design and versatility. It is engineered with true SUV DNA and sets a new benchmark for what today’s automobiles can feel like. With the Victoris, we’re not just launching another SUV, we’re celebrating a new dimension to driving - one that’s ‘Got It All’.” 

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In celebration of India's dreamers and their aspirations, Mercedes-Benz India has announced the launch of its comprehensive festive campaign, ‘Dream Days’. Scheduled to run from 2nd September to 31st October 2025, the initiative is designed to make the ambition of owning a Mercedes-Benz more accessible than ever through a suite of tailored ownership benefits and experiential engagements.

The 360-degree campaign focuses on creating signature luxury experiences at every customer interaction. A core component is a range of innovative financial solutions aimed at empowering new and existing customers. For its entry and core model portfolios, Mercedes-Benz is introducing financial plans featuring exceptionally low monthly instalments, attractive interest rates and minimal down payments. First-time buyers will receive additional ‘Welcome Benefits’ when trading in their current vehicle.

Further enhancing flexibility, a unique ‘Seasonal Payment Plan’ allows customers to structure their payment schedules around periods of higher cash flow, such as bonus months, alleviating the burden of uniform monthly payments. A standout ‘Key to Key’ programme for select models like the S-Class enables customers to upgrade to a new vehicle after 24 to 36 months with zero down payment, effectively allowing them to own two new Mercedes-Benz cars within a four-year period.

Complementing these ownership advantages, Mercedes-Benz is elevating its customer service with nationwide ‘Service Clinics’. During these events, trained brand engineers will travel to various locations to provide personalised vehicle diagnostics and address owner concerns directly.

The campaign will culminate in the ‘Dream Days Festival’, a first-of-its-kind event touring six key cities: Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kochi. This two-day festival will offer participants hands-on driving experiences across specially designed tracks that demonstrate the capabilities of the brand’s sedans, SUVs, electric vehicles and high-performance AMG models. Attendees can also enjoy immersive brand experiences, such as the Burmester Sound Experience, fostering a deeper connection with the Mercedes-Benz brand.

Santosh Iyer, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said, "India is a nation built on dreams – from startup founders, entrepreneurs to seasoned executives, every dreamer deserves the luxury that they aspire for. This festive campaign, hence, underlines our commitment to fulfil the aspirations of our customers, offering flexible and curated financial solutions, supporting them with their purchase decision. We are confident these financial solutions will find immense value among customers, creating excitement and positive momentum in the market this festive season.”

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Hyundai Motor India (HMIL), one of the leading passenger vehicle manufacturers, has introduced the Creta King and Creta King Limited Edition to mark a decade of its popular Creta SUV in the domestic market. The company has also added new features to other Creta variants.

The Creta King includes features such as R18 diamond cut alloys, a driver power seat with memory function and a passenger seat with electric adjustments. It also comes with a dashcam, wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay and dual-zone automatic temperature control. The vehicle is available with a 1.5L petrol, 1.5L diesel and 1.5L turbo petrol engine. A new Black Matte colour is also being introduced.

The Creta King Limited Edition adds exclusive ‘King’ branding on elements like the seat belt cover, headrest cushion and key cover. This limited edition is available in Abyss Black, Atlas White and the new Black Matte colours.

The Creta King Knight, with its black design, also receives upgraded features including R18 matte black alloys, electric seat adjustments for the driver and passenger, a dashcam and dual-zone automatic temperature control.

Tarun Garg, Whole-Time Director and Chief Operating Officer, Hyundai Motor India, said, “At HMIL, we have always believed in delighting our customers with fresh choices and enhanced experiences. Ahead of this festive season, we are excited to introduce the Creta King and Creta King Limited Edition in our SUV, the Hyundai Creta. These additions, coupled with enriched feature offerings in the Creta line up will reinforce our commitment to offering products that blend style, performance, technology and safety. We are confident that these new introductions will add to the festive excitement and further strengthen the appeal of Hyundai’s most loved SUV among Indian customers.”

Additionally, new features have been added across other Creta variants, including a dashcam, dual-zone automatic temperature control and wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay. The Creta N Line also gets these new features.

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Honda Cars India has introduced a series of updates to its popular SUV, the Honda Elevate in time for the festive season. The enhancements include new interior colour options and exterior styling upgrades, aiming to give the vehicle a more premium and stylish feel.

The top-of-the-range Honda Elevate ZX grade now features a new Ivory interior theme, complete with ivory leatherette seats and soft-touch inserts on the doors and instrument panel. As an optional extra, customers can choose a new ‘Alpha-Bold plus Grille’ for a more commanding front profile, along with a 360-degree surround vision camera and 7-colour ambient lighting. With these additions, the Elevate ZX offers a choice of three distinct interior themes: Tan, Ivory and Black.

For the V and VX grades, Honda is introducing new black fabric upholstery, which replaces the previous shadow beige option. These variants also feature dual-tone interiors with ivory soft-touch inserts. The new Alpha-Bold plus Grille is available as an accessory for these models and the Crystal Black Pearl colour option is now offered across the V, VX and ZX grades.

Kunal Behl, Vice-President Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India, said, “The Honda Elevate is a very successful model and has been greatly appreciated by customers for its versatility in both the domestic and export markets. With the introduction of the new ZX grade with ivory interiors and new enhancements across all grades, it is our endeavour to offer more choices to customers during the festive period and warmly welcome them into the Honda family.”

The Honda Elevate is powered by a 1.5L i-VTEC petrol engine and is available with a choice of a 6-speed manual or 7-speed CVT automatic transmission. The SUV continues to offer a range of safety features, including the Honda Sensing advanced driver-assist system in the ZX grade, which includes Collision Mitigation Braking and Adaptive Cruise Control.

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