Hitachi, Ltd. and Microsoft Corp. have announced a multiyear strategic alliance to accelerate the digital transformation of the manufacturing and logistics industries across Southeast Asia, North America and Japan. The first solutions will be available in Thailand in July 2020.

The two companies will work together to meet the growing demand for predictive maintenance and process automation in remote areas and support enterprises as they tackle the challenges infused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hitachi will integrate its industry-leading solutions, such as  Lumada, and its IoT-ready industrial controllers HX Series, with the Microsoft cloud platform, leveraging Azure, Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365 to help businesses increase their workforce productivity and operational efficiency. Lumada provides advanced digital solutions, services and technologies to turn data into insights to drive digital innovation.

Hitachi and Microsoft will also work together to support skilling initiatives that empower businesses to grow their digital capabilities and unlock new business opportunities.

Through this collaboration, Hitachi will provide solutions in the following three areas: 

Increase manufacturing productivity: Using Hitachi Digital Supply Chain as well as Azure IoT to analyze 4M data collected from manufacturing sites for the visualization and analysis of production processes to optimize factory operations and increase productivity.

Optimize logistics with data analytics: Increasing the logistics efficiency and reducing operational costs by analyzing traffic congestion, storage locations and delivery locations, and enabling smart routing to save miles and deliver faster through advanced digital technologies such as Azure Maps and Hitachi Digital Solution for Logistics/Delivery Optimization Service.

Predictive maintenance and remote assist: Enabling predictive maintenance, real-time remote assistance and remote training scenarios for first-line workers, leveraging HoloLens 2 and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist as well as other smart devices.

Going forward, Hitachi intends to extend the rollout to North America and Japan. Microsoft and Hitachi plan to expand the scope of the collaboration to additional industries. Hitachi and Microsoft will also explore options to integrate Lumada and Azure into an industry data platform to deliver added value to mutual customers.

"We are delighted to expand our partnership with Microsoft and combine our OT, IT and products excellence to provide manufacturing and logistics companies with digital solutions. We use Lumada to provide total seamless solutions to solve challenges by connecting cyberspaces with physical spaces. Through this collaboration with Microsoft, we will be able to accelerate our customers' digital transformation and continue to deliver social, environmental and economic value," said Jun Abe, Vice President and Executive Officer, CEO of Industry & Distribution Business Unit, Hitachi Ltd.

"Building resilient and flexible digital supply chains is critical to grow a business and meet customer needs in today's fast-changing environments. By expanding our collaboration with Hitachi, we'll unlock new opportunities for manufacturing and logistics companies as they strive to lead in their industries and pioneer with a data-driven mindset and digital capabilities," said Çağlayan Arkan, Vice President Manufacturing at Microsoft.

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India’s automotive industry could face fresh supply chain disruptions by mid-July 2025 due to declining inventories of rare earth magnets, following tightened export restrictions and shipment delays from China, according to rating agency ICRA.

Jitin Makkar, Senior Vice President and Group Head – Corporate Ratings at ICRA, cautioned that the situation echoes the semiconductor shortage of 2021–22, which led to the loss of nearly 100,000 passenger vehicles. “Rare earth magnet inventories are projected to last only until mid-July 2025 for several passenger vehicle and two-wheeler applications,” he said.

Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, critical for high-performance uses like EV traction motors and power steering systems, are heavily imported – around 85 percent of India’s USD 200 million imports in FY2025 came from China. These magnets make up nearly 30 percent of an electric two-wheeler motor’s cost, with motors priced between INR 8,000 and INR 15,000 depending on specifications.

To counter the supply challenge, Indian OEMs and auto component manufacturers are exploring several alternatives: importing fully assembled motors from China, sending rotors to China for magnet assembly, using substitute materials with similar properties, or switching to rare earth-free motors using electromagnets. However, each option faces significant logistical, regulatory, and engineering hurdles.

While the immediate impact could disrupt production planning, ICRA believes the crisis may also drive innovation and diversification in both materials and supply chains for the Indian auto sector.

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Hyundai Mobis, a part of Hyundai Group specialising in manufacturing of auto components, modules & systems, has developed a new rear safety control technology that can reduce rear-end collisions.

The company states its new active control technology uses sensors to detect approaching vehicles from behind and manoeuvre the vehicle out of danger, is expected to hit the market soon. It integrates sensors such as rear-side radars and front cameras with driving control technology.

The solution works when the driver engages the Smart Cruise Control (SCC) function on the highway. When the sensors detect any other vehicle at a proximity of 10 metres or less, it first emits an audio alarm or a visual warning on the cluster. When the situation keeps persisting after a certain amount of time, the vehicle automatically accelerates to maintain a safe distance. In addition, the rear side radars also detect the movement of the vehicle behind, while the front camera recognises the lane and vehicle ahead on the driving path to assist in safe acceleration.

Hyundai Mobis acknowledges that while some global OEMs have already integrated such technology, the functions are not yet advanced enough for the vehicle to control itself autonomously. On the other hand, its technology is able to independently adjust the distance between the front and rear vehicles and avoid dangerous situations.
The Korean company plans to further expand the scope of autonomous control for defensive driving against rear vehicles. Currently, the company is developing a lane-changing function to escape dangerous situations, in addition to an acceleration control function that allows the vehicle to speed up on its own.

Jung Soo-kyung, Executive Vice-President and Head of Automotive Electronics Business Units, Hyundai Mobis, said, “We will actively protect the safety of mobility users by providing solutions that can intelligently handle not only front-end safety, but also dangerous situations caused by rear vehicles while driving.”

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HARMAN, a leading automotive technology company and subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, has unveiled an advanced in-vehicle display that elevates the driving experience with consumer-tech-level visuals. This cutting-edge display, set to debut in the all-new Tata Harrier.ev, represents the first automotive integration of Samsung’s proprietary Neo QLED technology, exclusively licensed and optimised by HARMAN for vehicle applications.

The new 14.53-inch floating Neo QLED display delivers stunning home-theatre-quality visuals with vibrant colours, deep contrast and enhanced brightness, all powered by intelligent algorithms and a sleek, modern design. Engineered to perform flawlessly in all lighting conditions, the display incorporates HARMAN’s proprietary real-time visual control technology, which dynamically adjusts image output to optimize power efficiency. Among its key innovations are the industry’s first cadmium-free Quantum Dot display with intelligent Blue Mini-LED control, 1200-nit peak brightness, true black levels and an expansive 95 percent NTSC colour gamut. The ultra-slim design, featuring bezels under five mm, ensures a seamless and sophisticated aesthetic.

This breakthrough builds on HARMAN’s longstanding partnership with Tata Motors, which began with the integration of JBL audio systems in Tata vehicles across India. With the Harrier.ev, the collaboration now extends to premium branded displays, reinforcing both companies’ commitment to innovation and superior in-car experiences.

Shilpa Dely, Vice President – Displays, HARMAN, said, “We’ve brought together Samsung’s cutting-edge consumer display innovation and HARMAN’s deep automotive expertise to create something truly unique: a first-of-its-kind, in-vehicle visual experience that brings living room TV-level brilliance to the road. We have finally closed the gap between consumer and automotive display technology – and we’re proud to debut this global breakthrough with our trusted partners at Tata Motors.”

Anand Kulkarni, Chief Products Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited, said, “We’re committed to delivering world-class technology to Indian consumers. Together with HARMAN, we're bringing the best of consumer display innovation in India’s most capable SUV, the recently launched Harrier.ev, transforming it into a true third living space after home and office. This collaboration sets a new standard for in-cabin experiences – not just in India, but around the world.”

Sanjeev Kulkarni, Vice President – Sales, HARMAN, said, “Our partnership with Tata Motors spans more than a decade and is built on a like-minded approach to innovation, along with a joint promise to deliver the very best in-cabin experiences to our customers,”. “From JBL premium audio to advanced intelligent cockpit solutions, HARMAN is a defining part of the Tata driving experience. With the introduction of our new display product, we’re proud to take that collaboration even further.”

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Chinese-owned Swedish automotive major Volvo Cars has unveiled a new multi-adaptive safety belt, which it claims is a world-first technology aimed to further enhance safety for everyone in real-world traffic situations. The multi-adaptive safety belt is set to debut in Volvo EX60 in 2026, the company’s fully electric offering. It uses real-time data from the cars advanced sensors to adapt to traffic variations and the user wearing the seatbelt.

Based on the data input from interior and exterior sensors the seatbelt provides customised protection, adapting the setting based on the situation and individual’s profiles, such as their height, weight, body shape and seating position. For example, a larger occupant in a serious crash will receive a higher belt load setting to help reduce the risk of head injury. While a smaller occupant in a milder crash will receive a lower belt load setting to reduce the risk of rib fractures. Using over-the-air software updates, it gets better over time.

Asa Haglund, Head of Volvo Cars Safety Centre, said, “The world's first multi-adaptive safety belt is another milestone for automotive safety and a great example of how we leverage real-time data with the ambition to help save millions of more lives. This marks a major upgrade to the modern three-point safety belt, a Volvo invention introduced in 1959, estimated to have saved over a million lives.”

The Swedish carmaker stated that modern safety belts use load limiters to control how much force the safety belt applies on the human body during a crash. This new safety belt expands the load-limiting profiles from three to 11 and increases the possible number of settings, enabling it to optimise performance for each situation and individual. Unlike traditional systems, the new multi-adaptive safety belt can utilise data from different sensors, including exterior, interior and crash sensors. In less than a blink of an eye, the car’s system analyses the unique characteristics of a crash – such as direction, speed and passenger posture – and shares that information with the safety belt. Based on this data, the system selects the most appropriate setting.

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