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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Spinny, a used car retail platform, has opened new car parks in Sonipat, Karnal and Ambala, increasing its presence in North India. The expansion gives customers in these cities and surrounding regions access to the company’s collection of inspected used cars.

The new car parks are located along the GT Road corridor, improving regional accessibility for customers across the North region.

The new parks function as single destinations where customers can explore, test drive, buy, or sell cars. The expansion aims to serve growing demand for pre-owned vehicles along this corridor, complementing Spinny’s customer base in Delhi NCR and Chandigarh.

Hanish Yadav, Senior Vice-President, Spinny, said, “With our new parks in Sonipat, Karnal and Amabala, we’re excited to bring Spinny’s trusted car experience closer to our customers. These parks not only expand our reach but also make it easier for customers to explore our 200-point inspected cars in person. At Spinny, we’re committed to making every step of buying or selling a car transparent, comfortable, and filled with joy.”

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Toyota Kirloskar Motor, one of the leading passenger vehicle manufacturers, has launched its ‘Winter Carnival – Service Campaign’ across all authorised Toyota dealerships in Northern India. The campaign runs from November to December 2025.

The initiative aims to enhance customer satisfaction by offering value on services, treatments and genuine accessories during the winter period.

Under the service campaign, the automaker is providing a complimentary 20-point vehicle safety and health check-up, which includes inspection of tyres, batteries, rubber components, lights and fog lamps to ensure performance during winter. Special value packages and offers on essential service parts replacement. Deals on accessories and gifts with the purchase of TGLOSS treatments to keep customer vehicles looking new.

The campaign covers the NCR (National Capital Region), Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

Sabari Manohar, Vice-President & Chief Representative – North Region, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “With our Customer-First philosophy, we remain committed to delivering best-in-class service experiences to our valued customers. Drawing from customer insights, we have curated the Awesome Winter Carnival Campaign, featuring customized service value packages designed to keep our customers’ vehicles winter-ready. We are confident that this initiative will further enhance ownership satisfaction and strengthen the joy of driving a Toyota vehicle.”

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Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, has inaugurated its 1,500th Parts and Accessories distributor touchpoint in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

The new facility was inaugurated by S D Chhabra, Executive Officer, Maruti Suzuki India and Kohsuke Hattori, Executive Vice-President - Parts, Accessories and Logistics, Maruti Suzuki India.

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “Nothing gives customers greater peace of mind than the confidence that they can easily access company-tested and certified parts and accessories nearby. These genuine parts and accessories help maintain performance, safety, and longevity of the vehicle, one of the key reasons why customers continue to choose Maruti Suzuki. To further strengthen this trust, we are expanding our parts and accessories distribution network beyond our already widespread sales and service footprint.”

The automaker’s genuine parts and accessories network plays an important role in the company’s customer-focused ecosystem, complementing its extensive sales and service footprint across India.

It’s network is operated by authorised distributors, comprising warehouses and retail outlets, which are strategically located to provide easy access to genuine, high-quality parts and accessories across the Maruti Suzuki vehicle range.

These touchpoints primarily cater to smaller independent workshops and mechanics.

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In a move designed to enhance organisational agility, Renault Group has appointed Josep Maria Recasens to the newly consolidated role of Chief Strategy, Product & Program Management Officer with immediate effect. This promotion is a key part of the company's broader initiative to streamline its structure and accelerate decision-making. Recasens will now report directly to CEO François Provost and will join the Group’s Leadership Team, positioning him to shape the company's future direction.

His expanded responsibilities will encompass defining Renault’s overarching strategy, guiding critical product choices for the coming years and coordinating the implementation of future vehicle lineups to ensure their market success. While assuming these central corporate duties, Recasens will maintain his current position as CEO for the Iberian Peninsula countries. He will also continue as the CEO of Ampere, Renault's electric vehicle and software entity, until its ongoing transformation is fully complete.

Recasens brings a wealth of automotive industry expertise to this role. An engineer with an MBA, his career began at SEAT S.A. in 2002, where he progressed through roles in research and development, product planning, and international project management, eventually rising to Director of Strategy. He joined Renault in June 2021 as Director of Strategy and Business Development, playing a central role in the Renaulution plan and partnership deployments. His trajectory at Renault has been rapid, including his appointment as Chief Strategy Officer in 2023 and his leadership of Ampere, where he has been instrumental in steering its evolution into an electric and software-focused enterprise.

Provost said, “Since my arrival, I have focused on implementing a simpler, more effective and faster organisation to adapt to the current challenges. Bringing together the strategy, which sets the course, and the Product and Planning, which guides product choices and program directions, is an essential lever for greater coherence and agility. Josep Maria will be in charge of this scope and will take over from Guido Haak, whom I warmly thank for his dedication and years with us. Ampere's ambition remains at the heart of our strategy to provide our customers with innovative electrical and software technologies that are accessible to all.”

Recasens said, "I am very happy to take on this new challenge and grateful for the trust the Group has placed in me. My first priority will be to extend to the entire company a few principles that have made Ampere successful: a strong focus on the product, disciplined programme management and a holistic view of investments. With the support of the Leadership Team, we will adapt, accelerate and deploy these fundamentals to consolidate and amplify the renewed product momentum, and embed this dynamic in a sustainable way at the heart of the Renault Group's strategy.”

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