Tresor Attempto Racing scored a class victory in the highly acclaimed edition of the Spa 24 Hours to mark its 100th anniversary. The team deployed the Audi R8 LMS in GT3 and GT4 versions to do so. 

An event that would revoke the memories of the Spa 24 Hours that was held for the first time exactly 100 years ago, the Audi customer racing team – Tresor Attempto Racing – put in a convincing performance in the Bronze Cup, the second strongest class with 20 participants in a field of 66 GT3 sports cars. Max Hofer, Andrey Mukovoz, Aleksei Nesov and Dylan Pereira fought a close battle with their pursuers right to the end. As class winners and tenth in the overall standings, the four private drivers were also the best of eight Audi R8 LMS driver line-ups. 

Saintéloc Racing, another Audi customer team, also contributed a class podium result with second place in the Gold Cup of Paul Evrard, Gilles Magnus, Jim Pla and Hugo de Wilde. Stefan Wieninger put in a faultless performance at the second ADAC Racing Weekend at the Nürburgring.

Attracting 99,500 spectators on the last weekend in June 2024, the event saw the ‘privateer’ driver Wieninger from Land-Motorsport drive behind fellow Audi driver Martin Zander in the first sprint in the Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy in the Audi R8 LMS. This was in the initial laps until he decided and successfully overtook Zander from the ‘équipe vitesse’ team and won by 7.5 seconds after 24 laps.

In the second race, Wieninger even built up a 12.4-second lead over the Porsche of his closest rival. Berthold Gruhn won Class 2a in both races in his Audi R8 LMS. The GTC Race series also held its second competition at this event. In the second sprint, Land-Motorsport finished third with Ivan Peklin. The Audi customer team Stradale Motorsport remained undefeated in South Africa. At the fifth event of the Extreme Supercars Driven by Dunlop racing series, South African Arnold Neveling won all three sprints on the Aldo Scribante circuit in his Audi R8 LMS. Andy Deng maintained his lead in the GT Sprint Challenge standings in China. At the second event, the driver from the Winhere Racing by HAR team won the second race on Sunday. He celebrated this success after a tactically clever drive, as he delayed the pit stop for a long time.

Due to a handicap stipulated in the regulations, he had to make the longest mandatory pit stop of all the competitors at 95 seconds. In his victory on the Ningbo circuit, he left Li Dongsheng and Li Donghui behind in another Audi R8 LMS. This driver duo had already achieved second place the day before with the Climax Racing team. Another Audi customer team, Zhou Tianji and Lin Weixong from Team Azure Lane by ‘HEHEHE’ Racing, finished third in the first race.

Audi R8 LMS GT4

In a promising position, Robert Consani and Benjamin Lariche improved to second place in the Silver Cup standings at the halfway point of the GT4 European Series powered by Rafa Racing Club season. At the third event at Spa, the Audi R8 LMS of the Speedcar team led the 55-strong field after the first pit stop, but Consani was beaten by 3.8 seconds at the end of the one-hour race. After three of six events, Consani and Lariche moved up one position in the Silver classification and are now the second-best of 21 driver pairings. Jürgen Hemker collected three trophies at the ADAC Racing Weekend at the Nürburgring. The private driver from the Konrad Motorsport team drove the Audi R8 LMS GT4 to third place in his class in the first race of the Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy. In the DMV Super Touring and GT Cup as part of the same event platform, Hemker won his class in the first race and was second in the second race. At the second race weekend of the P9 Challenge at the Lausitzring, the Audi R8 LMS GT4 achieved two double victories in its category. Sophie Hofmann won Class 2 for Seyffarth Motorsport ahead of the driver duo Bernd Schaible and Tobias Erdmann. In China, Team Harmony Racing took two second places in the GT Sprint Challenge in the GT4 category. Bao Junbin and David Chen secured these results in the Audi R8 LMS GT4 at the second event on the Ningbo circuit. Harry He from the Madness Racing Team completed the second result with third place in another Audi.

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Vietnamese automotive company VinFast has announced the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with 29 aftersales partners during its Global Business Conference held between 4 May and 10 May 2026.

The event gathered over 200 investors and partners from North America, Europe, the Middle East, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Kazakhstan to discuss the company’s international service expansion.

The MoUs outline plans for international partners to establish electric vehicle (EV) service workshops that adhere to VinFast’s global standards. To maintain service quality, VinFast intends to provide standardised technician training, certification programmes and operating procedures. The company is also developing a parts supply network with a target of delivering common spare parts within 24 hours in major markets.

The automaker is building on its domestic aftersales foundation in Vietnam, where it operated nearly 400 workshops by the end of 2025. This contributed to a total global network of nearly 800 facilities at that time.

For 2026, the company aims to expand its global reach to more than 1,100 service workshops. This network will be implemented through several models, including – dealerships for retail customers, services for fleet and transportation business clients and partnerships with third-party local service workshops.

The expansion strategy includes specific support policies such as repair time commitments in Vietnam and the provision of replacement vehicles in international markets. VinFast also provides ongoing technical support, battery inspections and software updates for its customers.

Bui Viet Hung, Deputy CEO of Global Aftersales at VinFast, said, “Our goal is not simply to expand the network, but to build a customer-centric aftersales ecosystem that delivers an outstanding experience on a global scale. Through partnerships with experienced local operators and the application of VinFast’s global standards, we aim to provide aftersales services that are exceptional, responsive, and reliable”.

In addition to maintenance services, VinFast is collaborating with partners like V-Green to develop a global charging system. The company aims to establish more than 1.5 million charging ports worldwide to provide a comprehensive ownership experience for international EV users.

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Mumbai-headquartered automotive major Tata Motors is upbeat on FY2027. The company reported revenue of INR 3,355 billion, down 9 percent YoY in FY2026, as compared to INR 3,660 billion a year ago. The profit before tax saw a decline of 13 percent at INR 2,333 billion, as against INR 3,142 billion last year.

The impact was primarily on the back of several headwinds at Jaguar Land Rover, including cyber incidents, tariffs, China's luxury tax, VME pressures and adverse commodities. The Consolidated Net Debt stood at INR 307 billion, on account of adverse free cash flows primarily owing to production stoppages at JLR.

However, Tata Motors management is quite optimistic about transitioning into the new fiscal year. Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director & CEO, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, outlined a ‘stay the course’ philosophy backed by aggressive technological pivots. Despite macroeconomic volatility, the company is doubling down on its multi-powertrain strategy to insulate itself from global commodity shocks.

While FY2026 was a year of ‘outperformance’ (15 percent growth), Chandra has set a realistic yet ambitious floor for the mid-term.

"We are confident growth can be over 10 percent for FY2027. There is no question about changing the long-term plan. Unless there is a significant geopolitical impact on petrol and diesel prices that may have a 1-2 percent plus or minus effect on new car sales, we remain on track," Chandra stated.

Perhaps the most significant outlook provided was the expected reversal of the traditional cost structure. Chandra views the rising cost of Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) as an inevitability that will eventually make EVs the more profitable segment.

Interestingly, for Tata Motors’ alternative energy fuel mix (electric and CNG) now already accounts for 43 percent of passenger vehicle sales.

"ICE is going to be inflationary in the future," Chandra predicted. "Cost on the EV side has been disinflationary. If not equal, it will be better than ICE. We are not that concerned on profitability being impacted badly; there can be some pressure in the short-term, but it maybe for completely different reasons," he responded on the demand in the upcoming few months.

The automaker is also ramping up production to meet demand and expects to build on the strong momentum of H2 FY2026, and continue to deliver profitable and industry-beating growth in FY2027, supported by a robust demand pipeline, planned pipeline of new products and established multi-powertrain strategy.

By December 2026 or early CY2027, Tata Motors plans to enter the Flex-Fuel arena with at least one product to align with evolving government mandates.

"As far as Tata Motors is concerned, we are comfortable in terms of technology readiness," Chandra noted. "By end-December 2026 or early next year, we expect our first Flex-Fuel vehicle to be introduced. We are currently in discussion with the government through SIAM for E25 readiness."

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Maruti Suzuki India Limited has crossed a new threshold in its environmental logistics strategy, having now sent more than three million vehicles across the country by rail. The carmaker views this cumulative figure as proof of its deepening commitment to reducing emissions through supply chain innovation.

The share of trains in the company’s outbound vehicle movement has grown from just five percent in the 2014-15 fiscal year to 26.5 percent in 2025-26. The journey from two million to three million rail dispatches took only 21 months, setting a company record for the fastest addition of one million units moved by train.

Two of Maruti Suzuki’s manufacturing hubs, at Hansalpur and Manesar, are equipped with in-plant railway sidings, a distinction held by no other passenger vehicle maker in India. These facilities were built under the national PM GatiShakti master plan. The Hansalpur siding became operational in March 2023 and received a virtual inauguration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi a year later. In February 2026, it earned global recognition as the first modal shift transport project registered under Verra’s carbon standards. The Manesar siding, the largest of its kind in the country, saw its first train flagged off in June 2025 by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.

With a combined annual capacity of 750,000 vehicles, the two sidings feed a hub and spoke network covering more than 600 cities from 22 hubs. Popular models like the Swift, Brezza, Baleno, Grand Vitara and Ertiga, produced in Gurugram, Manesar and Gujarat, are moved through this system. Rail connectivity also extends to the ports of Mundra and Pipavav, supporting the company’s export shipments.

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki, said, “Achieving three million cumulative vehicle dispatches through railways marks a significant milestone in Maruti Suzuki’s green logistics journey. Since 2014, our rail-based vehicle dispatches have increased ninefold in volume, now contributing 26.5 percent of the Company’s total vehicle dispatches. Maruti Suzuki has committed over INR 13,720 million towards dedicated green logistics infrastructure. This includes development of in-plant railway sidings at our Hansalpur and Manesar manufacturing facilities, rail yards setup at key logistics hubs, procurement of specialised automotive rakes and supporting multiple infrastructure upgrades.

 “We thank the Government of India for the visionary PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, which has created a strong enabling framework for integrated, multimodal logistics and has supported the industry’s transition towards efficient, rail-led and sustainable freight movement. Going forward, we aim to increase the share of rail-based vehicle dispatches to 35 percent by FY2030-31 and plan to establish an in-plant siding at our new Kharkhoda facility. This would further help reduce carbon footprint, lower fuel consumption and ease overall road congestion.”

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The 110th birthday of Ferruccio Lamborghini Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI, the famous Italian automobile designer and industrialist who created Lamborghini Trattori in 1948 and Automobili Lamborghini in 1963 was on 28 April 2026. The force behind the conceptualisation, design and development of some of the most iconic supercar models ever to come out of Italy, such as the Miura and Countach, Lamborghini was driven by an unceasing desire to improve and innovate. 
Born in Renazzo, a hamlet in the municipality of Cento (province of Ferrara), on 28 April 1916, Lamborghini – the eldest son of farmers Antonio and Evelina Lamborghini – was attracted to mechanics than to the land that his father harvested. At the very young age, he spent his afternoons in the farmstead workshop. 
Managing to get hired by the best mechanical workshop in Bologna, where he discovered the secrets of mechanics, Lamborghini was drafted and assigned to the 50th Mixed Maneuver Motor Fleet stationed in Rhodes at the outbreak of World War II.
He successfully repaired (and broke) vehicles belonging to the Italians, German and British. Founding his first company in Rhodes, a small mechanical repair shop, Lamborghini returned to Italy in 1946 and, taking advantage of incentives put in place to support the economic recovery, opened a machine shop in Cento to repair motor vehicles and build small utility vehicles. 
Observing the crisis suffered by local agriculture, he built inexpensive agricultural tractors within reach of small landowners, using the components of old military vehicles. The first was made from a Morris truck where he applied a fuel vaporiser of his own invention. He sold some eleven such machines, establishing himself as an entrepreneur.
Counted among the most important industrialists in Italy by 1963, Lamborghini decided to build the best grand touring cars in the world. An incident often told is that he complained to Enzo Ferrari about a broken clutch in his personal Ferrari. Ferrari reportedly told him: “Stick to making tractors and leave the sports cars to me.”
Determined to build a better car than his Ferrari 250GT, Lamborghini hired top talent, including former Ferrari engineer Giotto Bizzarrini, to design a new V12 engine, and Gian Paolo Dallara as technical director. The first prototype – the 350 GTV – was built in Sant’Agata Bolognese and shown at the 1963 Turin Motor Show. 
The refined production version – the 350 GT – debuted at the 1964 Geneva Motor Show. The Muira, launched in 1966, redefined the supercar segment like no other, establishing firmly Lamborghini and his car venture into the domain that Ferrari ruled. 
The emblem found on the bonnet of the Muira was a result of an exercise where Lamborghini contacted a well-known local graphic designer, Paolo Rambaldi, who asked him what personal characteristics he felt he possessed. “I’m tamugno (which translated from dialect means hard, strong, stubborn) like a bull,” was the reply. An emblem was born thus with a raging bull in it, popularly referred to as the world-famous logo of Automobili Lamborghini.
Retaining his spirit after he left this world on 20 February 1993, Automobili Lamborghini continues to make among the best and most desirable supercars today. They are made with his conviction that the best can still be improved and new avenues can be explored.
 

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