Announcing that Prime Minister Modi’s message was motivating for the Indian auto industry to work together towards new age technology, world class manufacturing, and next generation infrastructure, Kenichi Ayukawa, President, SIAM and MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki, in his address during the opening session, said that there was a need to achieve sustainable and productive growth with quality and safety, and protect our environment, resources and raw materials. Stressing on the need for focused efforts, Ayukawa mentioned that SIAM and ACMA have together worked out a localisation roadmap with a target of about 15 to 20 percent further localisation in the next 2 to 5 years. Revealing that SIAM has prepared an approach paper for long term regulation roadmap that takes care of all aspects and gives clarity on future investments, Ayukawa San said that the auto industry is working on new powertrain technologies. He appreciated the government’s announcement of the scrappage policy and PLI scheme. 

Amitabh Kant.

Recognising the contribution of the Indian automobile industry to the Indian economy, Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Heavy Industries, Government of India, said that his ministry is working consistently for the growth of the automotive sector. Acknowledging the rise in localisation supported by the PLI initiatives of government, Dr Pandey said that these efforts would make the industry more robust. He stressed on the need to develop EV charging infrastructure as well as manufacture quality products that would help the Indian automobile industry to be regarded as the best in the world. T V Narendran, President, CII and MD, Tata Steel Ltd, in his address, mentioned the need for the right policy support to make India a five-trillion-dollar economy by 2025-26. It is important that the Indian manufacturing sector is strong. He called on the auto industry to focus on six key areas – electric vehicles, circularity, urbanisation, resilient supply chain and an ability to reap in functionality and embed sustainability, going forward. 
 

R C Bhargava.

In his speech, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, said that the future direction of the auto industry is in the area of shared, connected and electric mobility. He opined that there are four prominent growth drivers that the industry should focus on. These include the expansion of investment in R&D, more focus on innovation in small format mobility segment, establishment of massive charging infrastructure across the country and provision of export impetus to the industry. Kant said that EV should be an integral part in every OEM’s plans. Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari spoke about the government’s aim to increase the contribution of the automotive sector towards the nation’s GDP. Currently, the sector contributes roughly 7.1 percent towards the GDP, he said. Revealing that the government would like to see the contribution rise to 12 percent, the union minister stated that it would amount to a huge step towards making India a five-trillion-dollar economy. Expressing gratitude to the dignitaries for their presence, Vipin Sondhi, Vice President, SIAM and MD, Ashok Leyland Ltd, drew attention towards the effect of Covid-19 on sales. 
 

Appreciating the efforts of the Ministry of Heavy Industries to create world-class testing and R&D infrastructure in all the auto hubs of the country, he spoke about how the auto industry will take advantage of localisation, PLI scheme and EV charging infrastructure. These efforts, he added, will contribute to the government’s initiative of ‘Make in India’. In a session focusing on the outlook of the Indian auto industry and its role in the economic growth, Venu Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Motor Company, and R C Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., drew attention to the new policies introduced over the past few years. The duo stressed on the high taxation structure on automobiles and the mandatory insurance costs. These, they said, have hugely bumped up the pricing to make vehicles expensive. Srinivasan touched on two-wheelers being taxed at 28 percent despite being the most basic means of transport. This, he added, is almost equal to cars which are a luxury item. Opining that the prices of vehicles have risen over the past few years with the switch to BS IV and subsequently to BS VI, and the change in safety norms, R C Bhargava mentioned that mounting challenges have had an effect on the sales. 
 

Venu Srinivasan.

Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said that the government is open to discussing a change in Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates on automobiles. Seeking to know from the auto industry whether it is the GST rate on cars that is preventing the sector from growing, Bajaj questioned the reason behind SUV sales going up and not that of the cars in economic terms. Stating that the tax rates were higher in some states before GST came into force, he suggested the auto industry to examine in detail the reasons behind the dip in sales. Covid-19 and other factors could be at play, he reasoned. Bajaj called on the industry to keep pace with the changing technology.

Kenichi Ayukawa.

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BYD India, a subsidiary of the world’s largest New Energy Vehicle (NEV) manufacturer, has showcased its DM-i (Dual Mode Intelligent) plug-in hybrid technology in India. Positioned as a transitional bridge between internal combustion engines and pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs), the incoming powertrain technology targets long-haul efficiency with a combined cruising range exceeding 1,200 km.

With a global plug-in hybrid history starting with the F3DM in 2008, BYD has amassed over 8 million cumulative PHEV sales, capturing a 35 percent global market share in the segment. The technology's introduction in India is intended to expand BYD's domestic portfolio beyond its current pure-EV lineup, which serves a growing base of 14,000 customers via 48 showrooms across 40 cities.

Unlike conventional hybrids that rely on a petrol engine as the primary mover with electric motors acting as secondary support, BYD's DM-i architecture reverses this layout to operate as an Electric-First system.

The vehicle relies primarily on battery power across everyday urban commutes. The petrol engine operates secondary to propulsion, working as a silent generator to maintain battery state-of-charge or engaging directly only during high-load, high-speed scenarios.

The system manages energy distribution via three intelligent operating modes:

• EV Mode: The vehicle relies entirely on the electric motor and battery pack, mimicking a standard BEV for zero-emission city driving.
• HEV ‘Series’ Mode: For mid-range driving, the onboard engine acts strictly as a generator, supplying electricity to charge the battery while the electric motor continues to turn the wheels.
• HEV ‘Parallel’ Mode: Under heavy acceleration or high-speed cruising, the petrol engine mechanically couples to the drivetrain, providing direct propulsion to the wheels alongside the electric motor.

The DM-i platform pairs advanced electric motor hardware with a highly specialised internal combustion engine optimised for thermal cycling:

• Xiaoyun 1.5L Engine: The platform utilises a dedicated 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that achieves an industry-leading thermal efficiency of 43.04 percent.
• Super Hybrid Blade Battery: Power is stored in a specialised iteration of BYD's proprietary Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) Blade Battery, engineered for structural safety, puncture resistance and high thermal stability.
• Fuel Economy: Under standard test conditions, the powertrain achieves a low consumption rate of 4.8-litre per 100 km (approximately 20.8 kmpl).
• Acceleration: The Electric Hybrid System (EHS) delivers seamless, single-speed acceleration, enabling a zero to 100 kmph sprint time of under 5.5 seconds in its high-performance configurations.

Initially entering India in 2007 to build electric buses and commercial chassis, BYD India has scaled its passenger vehicle presence with models including the e6, Atto 3, Seal, eMax 7 and Sealion 7. The company supports its local assembly operations through two manufacturing facilities spanning over 140,000 square meters, representing an investment of more than USD 200 million.

Rajeev Chauhan, Head of the Electric Passenger Vehicles Business, BYD India, said, "The introduction of DM-i technology marks a pivotal step in our commitment to making sustainable mobility more versatile and accessible for Indian consumers. By enabling electric-first driving for daily use while seamlessly supporting long-distance travel, DM-i addresses some of the most pressing barriers to the adoption of sustainable motoring in India. With this innovation, we are bringing a new technology to Indian consumers, and also shaping a smarter, more flexible pathway towards sustainable transportation."

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Astemo Americas, Inc. has announced its collaboration with NVIDIA as a DRIVE Hyperion Tier-1 partner. The company will focus on developing electronic control units (ECUs) utilising dual NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) to support the automotive industry's ongoing shift toward software-defined, Level 4-ready autonomous vehicles.

NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion serves as a production-ready reference architecture and ecosystem designed to help automakers streamline the deployment of highly automated and fully autonomous driving technologies.

Astemo Americas' engineering integration focuses on building a dual-SoC compute engine capable of handling the severe data workloads required by next-generation vehicle platforms. The collaboration pairs specialised high-performance artificial intelligence (AI) computing with optimised thermal and power management.

The partnership expands Astemo Americas' traditional footprint as a tier-one component supplier, shifting it into a primary integration partner for advanced autonomous system infrastructure. By combining its existing background in electric powertrains, active chassis systems and engine management with NVIDIA’s AI processing units, the company aims to provide global automakers with scalable, production-ready central computing nodes that bridge the gap between experimental development and high-volume vehicle production.

Mathieu Devillard, Executive Vice-President and Head of the Electrification Business Division, Astemo, said, “Astemo’s electrification and software-defined vehicle capabilities are central to where mobility is headed. By joining the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion ecosystem, we can help accelerate the development of advanced autonomous vehicle technologies while supporting automakers with scalable, cost-effective solutions.”

Rishi Dhall, Vice-President – Automotive, NVIDIA, added, “As a DRIVE Hyperion Tier-1 ecosystem partner developing dual NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor ECUs for automotive OEMs, Astemo is helping bring scalable autonomous driving platforms closer to production.”

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American technology company Lucid Group has announced the commercial rollout of its latest over-the-air (OTA) software update for the Lucid Gravity SUV. The digital update introduces hands-free driving functionality alongside upgraded navigation capabilities, thermal management indicators and active headlight technology.

The cornerstone of the software package is the deployment of hands-free driving capabilities through the DreamDrive 2 Pro hardware and software suite. The Hands-Free Drive Assist feature manages active steering, acceleration and braking inputs on pre-mapped, compatible divided highways across North America. The system enforces continuous driver attention monitoring to ensure safety compliance.

By activating the turn signal indicator, drivers can trigger Hands-Free Lane Change, allowing the vehicle's sensor suite to guide the SUV into an adjacent lane once an appropriate gap is verified. Furthermore, the system includes Automatic Lane Change, which can independently initiate passing manoeuvres to overtake slower traffic flow.

The update replaces legacy point-of-interest data with an integrated Google Maps Places API directly inside the native Lucid Navigation interface.

The software patch provides contextual search results, allowing operators to view real-time business ratings, hours, crowdsourced photographs and localised parking data. For electric vehicle (EV) route planning, charging station listings now populate with real-time stall availability metrics and recent user imagery to verify site conditions.

Furthermore, to optimise charging efficiency, the instrument cluster adds two transparency tools:

• Advanced Preconditioning View: Displays real-time traction battery pack temperature metrics as it prepares for high-speed DC fast charging.
• Predictive Charging Power: Forecasts the exact peak kilowatt (kW) charging performance the vehicle will accept before the driver plugs into a charging station.

The update is available for Lucid Gravity trims outfitted with DreamDrive Premium and DreamDrive 2 Pro, it activates Adaptive Driving Beam functionality. The matrix headlight technology improves low-light visibility by maintaining high-beam illumination across dark roads while utilising dynamic dimming zones to automatically mask out surrounding oncoming vehicles, preventing glare for other drivers.

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Cautio, a leading Indian AI-powered fleet safety and mobility intelligence platform, has announced the appointment of Nitin Chadha as Senior Vice-President of Growth & Strategy.

In this leadership role, Chadha will oversee business growth, strategic corporate partnerships and enterprise market expansion as the company accelerates deployment across the commercial mobility sector.

Chadha brings over 21 years of experience across mobility, consumer technology, automotive, insurance and the startup ecosystem. He has previously held senior executive positions at prominent mobility and fintech platforms, including Acko, Spinny and Park+. Additionally, he is an entrepreneur who co-founded sRide, one of India’s earliest carpooling and shared mobility networks.

His appointment coincides with an increased push by commercial fleet operators toward AI-driven data intelligence to enhance driver accountability and fulfil strict risk-prevention goals. Tightening state and national regulatory standards surrounding road safety and continuous driver monitoring are moving fleet management workflows away from reactive accident tracking toward real-time prevention.

This transition is also mirroring larger updates to public infrastructure. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) recently introduced plans to deploy AI-powered dashcam analytics across approximately 40,000 kilometres of national highways to systematically elevate road monitoring, predictive maintenance, and general motorist safety.

Founded by Ankit Acharya (CEO) and Pranjal Nadhani (CTO), the video telematics platform combines intelligent dual-lens hardware with its proprietary operating system to track driver fatigue, distraction, and unsafe on-road behaviour. Within a short 15-month operational span, the startup has built a substantial data footprint across the country, which secures and monitors over 15,000 live vehicles daily across more than 130 Indian cities. The company has been instrumental in enabling over 150 million safe kilometres while triggering over 60 million AI alerts on active driving patterns.

Cautio claims it has successfully intervened in more than 3,000 real-world safety events, helping operators avert over 2,400 potential accidents, flagging 550+ cases of impaired driving and defeat more than 500 fraudulent or false claims.

It has established itself as a safety infrastructure provider for over 80 major institutional and transport clients, including RedBus, Zingbus, Euro Cars, Cityflo, Infants, Shoffr, G4S and the Indian Army.

Ankit Acharya, Co-Founder & CEO, Cautio, said, "Nitin brings a rare combination of operating depth, mobility-sector understanding and growth leadership. His experience gives him a strong perspective on how large mobility ecosystems function and scale. As Cautio enters its next phase of growth, his leadership will be instrumental in expanding our partnerships, strengthening our revenue engine and bringing our fleet safety platform to more operators across India."

Nitin Chadha added, "Mobility in India is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Operators today want technology partners that can help them improve safety, accountability and operational efficiency at scale. What drew me to Cautio is its long-term vision of building safety infrastructure, not simply selling technology products."

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