Toyota Kirloskar Motor has concluded the 24-hour Toyota Hackathon 2025 in Mumbai engineered to empower young innovators to drive road safety solutions. It has been a part of the automaker’s commitment to education and road safety. 
Held at Vidyalankar Institute, Wadala (East), Mumbai, and coinciding with ‘Road Safety Month’ (January 18 – February 17, 2025), the event brought together over 400 talented students from over 100 schools across Mumbai, turning in turn into an effective platform to develop actionable solutions to critical road safety challenges.
Attracting the presence of Atul Moreshwar Save, Minister for OBC Welfare, Dairy Development, and Renewable Energy, Government of Maharashtra; Arprit Save, President Chamber of Marathawada Industries and Agriculture, and Senior leadership from TKM (including Vikram Gulati, Country Head and Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Governance, TKM, and Sudeep Dalvi, Chief Communication Officer, Senior Vice President and Head State Affairs, TKM), the event – a key pillar of TKM’s comprehensive Road Safety Initiative designed to address this critical issue by integrating road safety education into school and college curriculums – began with team selection and idea submissions, progressed through a boot camp, culminated in a 24-hour final hackathon, and concluded with incubation support for the top one winner per city. 
Fostering critical thinking, innovation and a sense of responsibility, the Hackathon – structured in five phases – saw participants tackle key road safety themes such as ‘Road Safety Awareness and Education’, ‘Community Engagement for Safety’, ‘School Zone Safety’, ‘Road Infrastructure and Pollution’, ‘IoT/ICT in Road Safety’, ‘Traffic Easement’ and ‘Making Roads Inclusive’. 
Out of 100 initial teams, 28 advanced to post- boot camp, 10 teams completed in the final hackathon out of which 3 emerged as winners, earning continued support to bring their innovative ideas to life.
Following the success in Mumbai, the Toyota Hackathon 2025 will move to Bangalore on 14 February 2025. For the 2024-25 academic year, TKM aims to expand the initiative to 300 institutions across key cities, with over 400 innovative concepts already submitted.
Speaking at the event, Vikram Gulati, Country Head and Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Governance, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “At Toyota Kirloskar Motor, we are driven by the belief that empowering the younger generation with the right tools, mentorship, and opportunities can lead to transformative change. The Toyota Hackathon 2025 serves as a testament to our unwavering commitment to road safety and innovation, as it brings together young minds to ideate, collaborate, and develop solutions for safer roads. This initiative reflects our holistic approach to fostering a culture of safety and sustainability, aligning with Toyota’s global vision of zero traffic fatalities.”
 

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Czech automotive brand Skoda Auto India has announced that it has achieved a new milestone by surpassing 300 customer touchpoints in the country. With this, the OEM has a network of touchpoints in 172 cities across the country and is rapidly expanding its presence in not just tier 1 cities, but also tier 2 and tier 3 markets.

Interestingly, 86 percent of the recent expansion have happened in these geographies and 75 percent of the 300 touchpoints are directly servicing customers in the same cities.

The Czech automaker is marking its 25th anniversary in the country and 130 years globally. It was just recently, Skoda Auto India reported its highest-ever half-yearly sales in the first half of 2025.

Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Skoda Auto India, said, "Our growing network makes our product range more accessible to customers, while enabling smarter, faster service with consistent quality, across the country. With a strong emphasis on ‘growing together and getting closer to customers’, a large part of our expansion has been undertaken with Skoda Auto’s long-term dealer partners in India, while also bringing new partners with a proven track record of customer centricity into the fold. This expansion is a step forward in strengthening Skoda Auto’s legacy in India and delivering on our promise of safety, value, and a truly rewarding ownership experience."

The expansion the company shared perfectly complements its product strategy, which has been significantly boosted by the Kylaq SUV, joining the Kushaq and Kodiaq to offer an ‘SUV For Everyone.’ The Slavia continues the brand's sedan legacy, with a new global icon expected to launch in India soon.

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Hyundai Motor India, one of the leading passenger vehicle manufacturers, has launched a new variant – S AMT – for the Hyundai Aura sedan at INR 807,700 (ex-showroom).

Powered by 1.2-litre Kappa petrol engine, the Hyundai Aura AMT variant is equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC), hill start assist control (HAC), LED daytime running lamps (DRLs), 6 airbags, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) in the highline version and outside rear view mirror with electric folding and turn indicators, thus making the popular offering more attractive.

Tarun Garg, Whole-Time Director and Chief Operating Officer, Hyundai Motor India, said, “At HMIL, we are committed to making smart mobility accessible to a wider set of customers. The introduction of advanced AMT transmission in Hyundai AURA S AMT reflects our continuous efforts to democratise technology and enhance convenience for customers. With this introduction, we aim to redefine the value proposition in the entry segment by offering superior comfort, safety, performance and convenience at an affordable price.”

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Japanese auto major Nissan Motor Co has secured around USD 6 billion through long-term bonds, which will support its medium to long-term strategies.

The company shared that the funding raised through bond issuance was oversubscribed, which confirms investor confidence in the Re:Nissan recovery plan. The funds have been raised for longer tenors (4-year to 10-year tenors).

Nissan shared that it intends to use the net proceeds raised through the US dollar and euro offerings for general corporate purposes and upcoming bond maturities, including those in fiscal 2025.

Furthermore, the net proceeds from the convertible bonds are intended to be used by fiscal year 2030 for investments in new products and technologies such as electrification and software defined vehicles (SDV).

The Japanese automaker aims to strengthen its financing capabilities and maintain strong liquidity in its automotive business to support the goals in Re:Nissan.

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VinFast Auto India, a subsidiary of Vietnamese automaker VinFast, has signed agreements with 13 dealer groups to open 32 dealerships in 27 Indian cities.

The move is part of automaker’s strategy to establish a sales, service, and spare parts network across the country. With pre-bookings for the VF 6 and VF 7 models scheduled to begin on 15 July, the company aims to establish 35 dealerships by end-2025.

The current dealerships will be spread in cities including Delhi, Gurugram, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. These locations were selected based on EV adoption, infrastructure and demand.

Pham Sanh Chau, CEO, VinFast Asia, “We are pleased to partner with India’s most respected dealer partner groups as part of our comprehensive strategy to establish a wide-reach, high-quality retail and service network. This partnership reinforces our focus on delivering an elevated EV experience backed by reliability, customer trust, and service excellence. As we prepare to bring our electric SUVs to Indian roads, we are focused on ensuring that customers across key cities have seamless access to VinFast’s world-class products and support infrastructure.”

The selected dealer partners are known for their market presence. Each facility will include showrooms, service workshops and spare parts. These outlets will deliver VinFast's service standards to Indian consumers.

VinFast is also expanding its ecosystem in India through partnerships. The company has partnered with Global Assure for roadside assistance and call centre support. myTVS and RoadGrid will provide an EV charging solution and service network. VinFast has also collaborated with BatX Energies for battery recycling solutions.

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