Technology company Continental’s ‘Women for Manufacturing’ programme, launched as a 150th anniversary initiative, was aimed at women empowerment through targeted campaigns and programmes. 

The company said in a statement that the project was rolled out in Bengaluru and Gurugram in June 2021. The programme focuses on three target groups – high school girls, ITI and engineering students, and unemployed women from underprivileged sections of society. The programme is planned to be extended to other industry hubs in a phased manner, including associations with various governmental and non-governmental organizations and industry bodies as necessary, the press release said. 

Prashanth Doreswamy, President and CEO, Continental India, said, “Statistics show that in India, women’s workforce participation rate is low, and the manufacturing industry has a lower rate compared to many other industries. COVID had an additional impact, resulting in further decline in female employment. Our Women for Manufacturing initiative hopes to bridge the gender gap in the manufacturing industry. We need more women in the manufacturing sector, and organisations should support the ecosystem to enable this.” 

Studies show that women comprise about 12 per cent of India’s manufacturing sector. Socio-economic and cultural conditions are some of the many reasons why such disparity exists, but also lack of awareness, relevant education, and wrong perceptions about the manufacturing industry. 

Manufacturing industry is often wrongly perceived as unsuitable for women. Continental’s Women for Manufacturing programme focuses on building awareness, visits to plants for first-hand experience of work conditions, safety, inclusive practices, advancements in automation and smart technologies, creation and increasing opportunities and career options through training, internship, and placements, and mentoring and counselling for participants and their key family members to address societal stereotypes. 

The major component of the programme is a certification programme for employable age women, which includes 320 hours of training, including hands-on machinery operations, factory exposure sessions and plant tours. At the end of the certification program, which comes under the Capital Goods Skill Council and course level NSQF level 3, the candidates are provided with mentoring, interview preparation support, and placement support. Several manufacturing companies in and around Bangalore and Gurgaon have already hired the women who underwent the certification program, taking the placement to 100 per cent for the completed batches. Additional batches for the certification are currently underway. 

Continental also recently launched a programme Launch-pad to hire and develop women who were on a career break as part of a long-standing effort to promote gender diversity and equal opportunities. (MT)

Mumbai-based automotive major Mahindra & Mahindra has announced its wholesales for April 2025 at 84,170 vehicles, a growth of 19 percent, including exports.

The auto major sold a total of 52,330 SUVs in the domestic market, which was 28 percent higher than 41,008 SUVs sold for the same period last year. Commercial vehicle sales in the domestic market came at 22,989 units, which was 4 percent YoY. 

Veejay Nakra, President, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “Building on the strong momentum of last year's performance, we began the year on a strong note in April by achieving SUV sales of 52,330 units, a growth of 28 percent and total vehicle sales of 84,170 units, a 19 percent growth over the same month last year. These numbers indicate the strength of our portfolio and customer offerings.”

JSW MG Motor India, a leading passenger vehicles manufacturer, has announced its wholesales for April 2025.

The company reported sales of 5,829 units, which was 23 percent higher over April 2024, when it sold 4,725 vehicles.

Interestingly, the automaker's popular offering, the Windsor EV, has continued to be the top-selling electric passenger vehicle for the seventh month in a row.

JSW MG Motor India's Windsor EV has now gone home to over 20,000 customers.

Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest carmaker, has reported its wholesales of 179,791 units in April 2025, marking a 7 percent increase compared to 168,089 units sold in April 2024. The growth was primarily propelled by strong performance in utility vehicles and a sharp rise in export volumes.

Domestic sales, including passenger and light commercial vehicles, remained flat with 142,053 units, as compared to 140,448 units in April 2024. Within this, light commercial vehicles (LCVs) like the Super Carry saw a significant jump of 34.2 percent, with sales rising to 3,349 units from 2,496 units last year.

In the passenger vehicle segment, SUVs such as the Brezza, Ertiga, Grand Vitara and others recorded a 4.4 percent increase, selling 59,022 units compared to 56,553 in the previous year. However, sales for Eeco declined by 5.2 percent, while the mini segment (Alto, S-Presso) saw a sharp 45 percent drop, falling to 6,332 units from 11,519 units. The compact segment, which includes high-volume models like the Baleno and Swift, grew by 8.1 percent, reaching 61,591 units.

Sales to Toyota Kirloskar Motor rose sharply by 79.2 percent, from 5,481 units to 9,827 units, indicating a growing demand for cross-badged products.

The standout performer was the export segment, which surged 26 percent to 27,911 units from 22,160 units in April 2024. This strong export growth helped bolster the company’s overall numbers despite weaknesses in domestic sub-segments.

While some product lines such as the mid-size sedan Ciaz (-63 percent) continue to struggle.

Tata Motors reported total wholesales of 72,753 units for April 2025, reflecting a 6 percent year-on-year decline from 77,521 units in April 2024.

The passenger vehicle (PV) segment, including electric vehicles, accounted for 45,532 units, down 5 percent from 47,983 units in the same month last year. Within this, domestic PV sales dropped 6 percent to 45,199 units, while international business (IB) sales rose significantly to 333 units, up from 100 units. Electric vehicle sales (domestic + IB) declined 16 percent year-on-year to 5,318 units.

Commercial vehicle (CV) sales stood at 27,221 units, marking an 8 percent YoY drop from 29,538 units in April 2024. Domestic CV sales contracted 10 percent to 25,764 units, while CV exports (IB) grew 43 percent to 1,457 units. Key sub-segments like Small Commercial Vehicles (SCV) and pickups saw a steep 23 percent decline.

Despite growth in certain categories like ILMCV trucks and passenger carriers, overall sales momentum was tempered across both PV and CV segments.