Bridging luxury automotive and architectural worlds, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has joined hands with Kengo Kuma to create first-of-its-kind Rolls Royce Dawn.

Commissioned by global luxury property developer Westbank for the unique Japanese residence, The Kita Tea House, the Rolls-Royce Dawn will serve as a moving representation of the residence.

The Kita challenges the relationship between the exterior and the interior, a characteristic of Kuma’s architecture. The open-top Dawn was selected to reflect the same on the car, showcasing a peaceful and cocooning private space where you are conversely never disconnected from the outside world.

Rolls-Royce Bespoke worked in consultation with Kuma and Westbank to ensure the use of materials, colour palette, texture and ambience reflect the design of ‘The Kita’ and offers resident a seamless aesthetic and atmospheric transition from property to conveyance. The Dawn’s styling features a sense of precision in the clean lines, creating clarity of structure with a prevailing sense of calm, revealing the design depth softly and subtly.

The exterior of the Dawn is finished in Silver Haze, which reveals a bronze sheen when illuminated by the sun mimicking the bronze Koshi screen louvres on the surface of the building and the bronze detailing of the interior. The exterior also features a black coach line and a silver hood.

On the inside, the natural open-pore Royal Walnut panelling on the rear deck brings an intimate feeling of warmth, a nod to the rich Walnut panelling of the towering penthouse entrance lobby. The interiors feature the Selby Grey leather interior highlighted by Arctic White and Black accents, with Slate Grey seatbelts. First of its kind gradated front fascia runs the entire width of the interior, transitioning from Piano Selby Grey to Piano Black, a representation of the blended and fluid nature of the building’s luscious and innovative materials.

Other bespoke touches include a stainless steel inlay of ‘The Kita’s’ logo into the front facia,  embroidery to the front headrests and the waterfall between the rear seats and a specially designed Bespoke clock and Bespoke umbrellas colour matched to the interior.

Gavin Hartley, Head of Bespoke Design, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said, “It was an honour to collaborate with Kengo Kuma to create a serene and timeless motor car for a serene and timeless building. From the inception of the marque over 100 years ago, Rolls-Royce has transcended the automotive field, taking the tangible entity of a car and delivering its patrons the intangible: a truly unique experience. As this project demonstrates, through the authentic application of unique designs and materials, we can provide rare sensory experiences that reflect and enhance our owners’ multi-faceted lifestyles.”

Kengo Kuma shared, “This is the first time I have consulted on a project of this kind, and I am proud that I was able to do so for Rolls-Royce, a company with which I share a respect for traditional craftsmanship and a desire to bring out the best in natural materials. Rolls-Royce has brought the essence of ‘The Kita’ into the car’s aesthetic, allowing the owner of ‘The Kita Tea House’ to take in their surrounding city environment. It is a great honour to see the car finally here at home in Tokyo.” (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.