Hyundai Motor Group And Rhode Island School Of Design Collaborate To Research Future Of Cities

Hyundai Motor Group And Rhode Island School Of Design Collaborate To Research Future Of Cities

Hyundai Motor Group has announced collaboration with Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to explore new relationships between advanced technologies, public environments and personal experiences to research the future of cities.

Interactions between beings, which include machines and living organism, and their surroundings are called 'adaptive ecology'. The company aims at artists and designers to use technology to build connections and shared experiences, covering topics from a broad range including community design and biomimicry, cellular life and biosensing, and natural resource systems and infrastructure.

The move was a result of a partnership established between them last year and saw five experts from world-renowned design school leveraging their expertise to explore study areas supported by 32 students who were selected through a highly competitive process involving 16 departments. A total of four distinct areas of 'adaptive ecologies' were examined, namely, surfaces, societies, futures and textile research. 

Youngcho Chi, President and Chief Innovation Officer, Hyundai Motor Group, said, "This collaboration aligns with Hyundai Motor Group’s vision of becoming a future-shaping innovator via open innovation. Last year, we collaborated with RISD to apply the school’s biomimicry solutions to the question of future mobility, and this year, we expanded our scope to the future city and pursued Group-wide collaboration with the participation of both Hyundai Motor and Kia’s global design centres. Our plan is to explore solutions developed from the outcomes of this partnership and apply them to tangible opportunities such as innovative vehicle design and smart city development.” (MT)

CarYaar Taps Tech Veteran Sahaib Singh To Drive Digital Overhaul Of India’s Car Servicing Sector

CarYaar Taps Tech Veteran Sahaib Singh To Drive Digital Overhaul Of India’s Car Servicing Sector

CarYaar Auto Private Limited, a DPIIT-recognised technology startup, has announced the appointment of Sahaib Singh as its new Co-Founder and Head of Technology. The company, which operates within India’s fragmented car servicing ecosystem, is focused on integrating transparency and digital trust into the automotive aftermarket. Singh’s arrival marks a pivotal moment for the firm as it works to expand its technological infrastructure and formalize a sector traditionally characterised by informal practices.

Bringing over a decade of experience as a full-stack technologist across mobility, freight and artificial intelligence platforms, Singh will now spearhead the company’s technology strategy and product development. His leadership comes at a critical juncture as CarYaar advances its integrated digital platform, which aims to seamlessly connect car owners, workshops and other stakeholders within the automotive service network. The company is prioritising practical solutions over complex enterprise systems, developing a mobile-first, offline-capable and WhatsApp-native interface to ensure accessibility for multi-brand workshops and customers alike.

Under Singh’s technical direction, the platform is being tailored to serve three distinct user groups with specific operational tools. Workshops are equipped with digital job cards, photo-based inspections, parts tracking and billing systems, while service advisors and managers receive web-based applications for estimate creation and analytics. For car owners, the service enables booking, real-time job tracking and digital payments through WhatsApp, eliminating the need for a separate application. The overarching goal is to use technology not merely to digitise existing processes but to fundamentally enhance the relationship between vehicle owners and service providers.

CarYaar’s model emphasises transparency through features such as real-time photo documentation, pre-approved estimates and digital billing, offering customers clear visibility into their vehicle’s service journey. Currently operating with a network of certified empanelled workshops in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the startup is actively building a broader technology-enabled ecosystem that includes multi-brand services, roadside assistance and spares management. This strategic expansion reinforces the company’s commitment to developing simple, accessible and genuinely useful technology for the Indian workshop environment.

Joel Daniel D’Souza, Co-Founder & Director, CarYaar Auto Private Limited, said, “Sahaib brings a strong combination of technology depth and experience across mobility and emerging technology platforms. As we scale CarYaar, technology will be central to how we connect customers and workshops, create transparency and bring greater efficiency to the entire ecosystem. His leadership will be critical as we move from building the foundation to scaling the platform.”

Tata Communications And Tata Motors Partner For Sierra.ev Connectivity

Tata Sierra.ev

Tata Communications and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles have entered into a collaboration to equip the Sierra.ev with embedded 5G cellular connectivity, targeting the deployment of software-defined vehicles (SDVs) in India.

As per the understanding, the Tata Communications MOVE Connected Vehicle Platform will integrate into the car's software architecture, designated as N.IO. The system supports artificial intelligence applications, content streaming, over-the-air software updates, optional subscription packages and vehicle functions including emergency calls, remote assistance and real-time diagnostics.

Vivek Manglik, Executive Vice-President of Interaction Fabric at Tata Communications, said, “Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles has consistently set benchmarks for innovation in the automotive industry, and we are excited to collaborate on the launch of the Sierra.ev. As vehicles evolve into intelligent ecosystems that enable a growing range of services and applications, the underlying digital fabric will be central to fostering innovation and scaling new capabilities. This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to shaping a smarter mobility experience that will securely enhance convenience and personalisation.”

Sven Patuschka, CTO, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, said, “As vehicles become increasingly software-defined, highly intuitive digital connectivity and services will play a central role in shaping customer experiences. The Sierra.ev marks an important step in this evolution, and our collaboration with Tata Communications provides the robust digital backbone required to deliver seamless connectivity, continuous innovation, and enhanced in-vehicle experiences. Together, we are enabling technologies that allow vehicles to adapt, improve, and deliver greater value throughout their lifecycle.”

Tata Consultancy Services To Acquire Porsche’s IT Consultancy Unit MHP

TCS - Porsche

Tata Consultancy Services has entered into an agreement with Porsche to acquire 100 percent of MHP Management- und IT-Beratung, the car maker's management and IT consulting subsidiary.

The transaction remains subject to regulatory and antitrust approvals and is expected to close in the coming months.

Furthermore, the acquisition is paired with a 5-year strategic agreement between TCS and Porsche to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) technologies across the automaker's value chain.

As per the understanding, MHP will operate as an independent consulting firm and retain its brand identity within TCS, combining MHP's automotive consulting operations across Europe with TCS's engineering, cloud and AI infrastructure.

Federico Magno, Group CEO, MHP, said, “MHP’s sweet spot has always been where entrepreneurial thinking, deep industry expertise and technology come together to make transformation happen. With TCS, we are bringing together MHP’s deep automotive and industrial capabilities with global scale, AI, engineering and technology expertise. This gives us an even stronger platform to accelerate our next chapter – with more capabilities, more reach and greater impact for our clients. Most importantly, it creates new opportunities for our people and clients to shape the future of industry.”

K Krithivasan, CEO and MD, Tata Consultancy Services, said, “TCS is pleased to partner Porsche in its transformation journey. As AI, software and data redefine the automotive industry, this partnership brings together TCS’ capabilities in AI, engineering and technology and business transformation with MHP’s strong automotive consulting expertise. Together, we will industrialise AI at scale for Porsche, accelerating innovation across the value chain to deliver intelligent, software-defined mobility experiences of the future.”

As part of the multi-year deal, TCS and MHP will establish an AI Mobility Centre of Excellence to develop and deploy artificial intelligence systems for manufacturing, engineering, supply-chain operations, and customer service applications.

Dr Michael Leiters, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board, Porsche AG, said, “Porsche is taking another important step in its strategy to focus resolutely on its core business with the transfer of MHP to Tata Consultancy Services. At the same time, we are gaining a strategic partner in TCS. By combining Porsche's automotive expertise with TCS's digital technology and AI capabilities, we will further strengthen our innovative power, increase efficiency and boost our competitiveness in an increasingly data- and software-driven world of mobility.”

The move enables Porsche to focus resources on its core vehicle operations while retaining MHP and TCS as external technology partners for its IT and digital transformation requirements.

Omega Seiki Mobility Partners Electra AI For Battery Intelligence

OSM - Electra AI

Delhi NCR-headquartered electric vehicle company Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM) has partnered Electra AI to integrate battery health monitoring across its fleet operations.

The collaboration incorporates Electra AI’s analytics platform into OSM’s electric commercial vehicles. The technology enables real-time tracking, predictive maintenance and state-of-health diagnostics for battery packs. The data metrics aim to support warranty management, optimise vehicle uptime, assist financing assessments and provide residual value tracking for secondary market sales.

Uday Narang, Founder and Chairman, Omega Seiki Mobility, said, "The next phase of EV growth in India will not be driven solely by new vehicle sales, but by the creation of a credible and thriving secondary market. Battery health is the single biggest determinant of an EV's residual value, and until that can be measured transparently, the used EV market will remain constrained. Through our partnership with Electra AI, we are bringing unprecedented visibility into battery performance, enabling buyers, financiers, and fleet operators to make informed decisions with confidence. This will help improve resale values, unlock greater access to financing, and accelerate the adoption of electric mobility by ensuring that EVs remain valuable assets throughout their lifecycle."

Vivek Dhawan, Chief Strategy Officer, Omega Seiki Mobility, said, “As electric mobility scales, the industry must move beyond selling vehicles and focus on delivering intelligence that improves asset performance throughout its life. By integrating Electra AI's advanced analytics into our ecosystem, we will gain deeper operational insights that help enhance fleet productivity, reduce unplanned downtime, strengthen warranty management, and support data-driven product development. This collaboration represents an important step towards building a smarter, more efficient, and technology-led mobility ecosystem that creates tangible value for customers, partners, and stakeholders alike."

Fabrizio Martini, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Electra AI, stated: “Vehicle makers like OSM are being asked to put more capable, more affordable EVs on the road every year — and to stand behind them with confidence. Our AI Brain for Batteries platform gives them the real-world intelligence to do exactly that: design better vehicles, offer stronger assurance to their customers, and keep fleets running. That’s what battery intelligence is for — turning data into trust across the whole ecosystem, from the OEM to the financier to the operator.”

The deployment aims to support commercial fleet operators across India by reducing maintenance delays and improving total cost of ownership visibility.