Motion plastics manufacturer, Igus India expanded its footprint in the country by inaugurating a new manufacturing plant spanning 92,000 square feet in Bengaluru Thursday. 

The state-of-the-art plant in Mandur near Budigere in Bengaluru comes at a point when the company prepares to focus on new divisions dedicated to the semi-conductor and renewable energy sectors, areas poised for substantial growth. The expansion is part of Igus’s long-term strategy to enhance its operational capabilities and support its extensive customer base in India.

The newly inaugurated facility is a testament to the company’s long-term commitment to India, involving an investment of over INR 1 billion. This financial outlay reflects the company’s dedication to maintaining its competitive edge through innovation and cutting-edge technology. 

Of the total investment, INR 200 million have been allocated for setting up the factory, INR 400 million for advanced injection moulding machines and INR 200 million for enhancing the manufacturing process. The plant’s infrastructure is designed to meet the high standards of motion plastics production, ensuring that Igus India continues to deliver world-class products tailored to the unique demands of the Indian market.

Since its establishment as a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2000, Igus India has become a prominent player in the motion plastics industry, catering to over 19,000 customers across the country. The company’s extensive product catalogue boasts 125,000 parts, which are used in a variety of customer-driven assemblies, many of which are customized and assembled locally. This vast array of products underscores Igus’s commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction, with over 200 new products introduced annually. The company’s ability to adapt to the evolving needs of its customers has been a key driver of its success in the competitive Indian market.

Looking ahead, Igus India has ambitious plans to further strengthen its operational capabilities and market presence. The company is eyeing significant revenue growth, with expectations of reaching INR 3.4 billion in revenue this year. To support this growth and enhance its logistical efficiency, Igus India plans to establish new logistics and assembly centres in Pune, Gurugram and Noida. These new facilities will enable Igus to better serve its customers across India, reducing lead times and improving overall service delivery.

The focus on emerging industries like semi-conductors and renewable energy is a strategic move by Igus India to align itself with sectors that are poised for substantial growth in the coming years. As India continues to invest in its semi-conductor manufacturing capabilities and renewable energy infrastructure, the demand for high-quality motion plastics is expected to rise. Igus India’s expansion positions the company to capitalise on these opportunities, offering innovative solutions that meet the specific needs of these rapidly growing industries.

The opening of the new manufacturing facility in Bengaluru marks a significant milestone for Igus India, reinforcing its position as a leader in the motion plastics industry. With a strong commitment to innovation, customer satisfaction and market expansion, Igus India is well-positioned to achieve its growth objectives and continue delivering value to its customers across the country. 

Emphasising the strategic importance of this expansion, Igus India Managing Director Deepak Paul stated, “The Indian market presents tremendous potential for Igus as demonstrated by our continued growth and investment here. Our objective is to deliver cutting-edge products and solutions not only to our customers in India but also on a global scale. Igus’s global focus on cost-sensitive and sustainable solutions, encapsulated in our motto ‘Tech up, cost down,’ is perfectly aligned with the Indian approach to technology and innovation. This alignment has been a key driver of our significant growth in the country. As we look forward, our plans include expanding beyond Bengaluru, with logistics and assembly centres set to be established in Pune, Gurugram, and Noida.”

 Igus India is currently the 6th largest subsidiary among Igus’s 38 global subsidiaries, a position that reflects its strong performance and growth potential. Over the past two years, Igus India has doubled its market growth, with revenue figures climbing from INR 1.99 billion to INR 3.13 billion. The company expects this upward trajectory to continue. Additionally, Igus India has invested in a clean room testing facility in Germany and plans to establish a similar setup in India, further enhancing its product development and quality assurance capabilities.

Commenting on the occasion, Country Manager and Director Santhosh Jacob said, “Technology and innovation are at the core of everything we do at Igus. With a catalogue of 125,000 parts and 247 new products introduced this year, we are constantly inspired by our customers’ needs to push the boundaries of what is possible. Our ongoing expansion of the motion plastics product world, coupled with the integration of digitalization and AI, is a testament to our long-term corporate strategy. We are making significant progress in embedding digitalization as a key technology at Igus, which will play a crucial role in our future growth and success.”

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VI-grade has announced the installation of its HyperDock cockpit at Multimatic’s Vehicle Dynamics Centre in Novi, Michigan. This deployment marks the first instance of HyperDock technology in North America. The system upgrades an existing DiM250 driving simulator, installed in 2020, into a platform capable of simultaneous vehicle dynamics and NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) development.

The HyperDock consists of a carbon-fibre cockpit designed to increase stiffness and reduce inertia. By removing the traditional top disk in favour of a direct actuator interface and integrated vibro-acoustic feedback, the system allows engineers to assess ride, handling and acoustics within a single environment.

The upgrade introduces ‘full-spectrum’ simulation, which bridges the gap between high-frequency vibration testing and low-frequency motion cues.

• Construction: Lightweight carbon-fibre frame.
• Interface: Direct actuator connection to minimise signal delay and mechanical loss.
• Feedback: Integrated tactile and audio systems for vibro-acoustic realism.
• Application: Simultaneous tuning of vehicle handling and interior cabin noise.

Peter Gibbons, Technical Director – Vehicle Dynamics, Multimatic, said, “After evaluating the VI-grade HyperDock Full Spectrum Simulator cockpit at the SimCenter Udine over a year ago, Multimatic quickly realized that it would provide a significant step forward in the fidelity of all DiM applications, from road car ride tuning to race car limit handling. The overwhelmingly positive responses from Murray White, Technical Director of Vehicle Development at Multimatic, and Dirk Müller, professional race car driver, affirmed Multimatic’s decision to upgrade to HyperDock. The added immersion, superior tactile feedback, and audio advancements have moved the goalposts well beyond our expectations. Multimatic looks forward to continuing to leverage the impressive capabilities of HyperDock over the coming years.”

Alessio Lombardi, Global Sales Director – Simulation, VI-grade, added, “With the addition of HyperDock, Multimatic now benefits from full-spectrum simulation capability, expanding the scope of development activities that can be performed on an already well-established simulator platform. This installation represents an important milestone for VI-grade, as it brings HyperDock technology to North America for the first time.”

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Postponed from December 2025 to February 2026, the ADAS Show 2026 by Aayera was a combination of stalls where diverse players from the field of ADAS or autonomous driving highlighted their latest developments. There were live demo sessions that saw the use of passenger vehicles, trucks and dummies to highlight the technological prowess in the field.

Held at ARAI’s newest testing and certification facility for ADAS and other modern automotive technologies at Takwe (Pune), the show saw experts speak about the autonomous future in panel discussions, presentations etc. Live demos highlighted progress on the computing and vision front; on the software front, underlining certain zest.

In his inaugural address, Dr Reji Mathai, Director, ARAI, spoke about the motive behind setting up an ADAS testing facility at Takwe. Observing that tracks never give returns to draw attention to the decision of setting up an ADAS testing track at Takwe (the newest yet by ARAI), Dr Mathai informed that ARAI participates at the UN level in regulation forming.

Dr Mathai; Elie Luskin, Vice President – India and China, Mobil Eye, and Nina Roeck, Vice President – Software Engineering (Drive & Comfort), Ampere (Renault Group), were united in their expression about India’s unique traffic and driving conditions. The trio stressed on localisation of ADAS system parts such as sensors; on local engineering and development, and on local testing and validation.

“In India, the conditions are different and the effort therefore is to focus on perception, alerts and interventions that consider the local driving condition,” said Roeck.

Asserting that India’s expanding auto market has disproportionately low ADAS. Luskin explained, “ADAS would become mainstream as India’s GDP per capita grows.

Apurbo Kirty, Head – Electrical & Electronics, ERC, Tata Motors, focused on advanced driver assistance in CVs in his address. He referred to road challenges in India, road accident statistics and the challenges for ADAS implementation in terms of SAE autonomy levels, regulations like GSR 834 and how ADAS is a necessity rather than just a tech upgrade.  

Touching on the complexity of landscape of Indian road conditions, Abijit Sengupta, Head of Business – SAE and India, HERE Technologies, spoke about vehicle safety trends such as connected vehicles, autonomous, shared services and electrification.

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Changan Automobile and CATL have unveiled the first mass-production passenger vehicle equipped with sodium-ion batteries. The vehicle, showcased at the 'Changan SDA Intelligence Milestone Release', is scheduled for market release by mid-2026. CATL, acting as the strategic partner for the project, will supply its Naxtra sodium-ion batteries across Changan’s brands, including Avatr, Deepal, Qiyuan and UNI. The partnership introduces a dual-chemistry approach to the market, utilising sodium-ion alongside lithium-ion technologies.

CATL's Naxtra battery reaches an energy density of 175 Wh/kg. Utilising a Cell-to-Pack system and a battery management system (BMS), the technology provides a range exceeding 400 km. Future iterations are projected to reach 500–600 km for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and 300–400 km for hybrids.

The technology is designed for operation in cold climates. At –30deg Celsius, the battery delivers triple the discharge power of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) alternatives. It maintains 90 percent capacity retention at –40deg Celsius and continues to function at –50deg Celsius. Safety testing, including drilling and crushing, resulted in no smoke or fire.

The global sodium-ion battery market is forecast to grow from USD 1.39 billion in 2025 to USD 6.83 billion by 2034. To support adoption, CATL plans to establish over 3,000 Choco-Swap battery swap stations across 140 cities in China by the end of 2026, with a focus on northern regions.

The launch follows a decade of research. Since 2016, CATL has invested nearly 10 billion RMB (USD 1.45 billion) into sodium-ion technology, developing approximately 300,000 test cells. The project was supported by a dedicated team of 300 personnel to ensure scalability and performance.

Gao Huan, CTO of CATL's China E-car Business, said, "The arrival of sodium-ion technology marks the beginning of a dual-chemistry era. Changan's vision shows both its responsibility for energy security and its strategic foresight. Much as it embraced electric vehicles years ago, Changan is once again taking the lead with its sodium-ion roadmap. At CATL, we value the opportunity to work alongside such an industry leader and fully support its strategy, combining our expertise to bring safe, reliable and high-performance sodium-ion technology to market."

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Following its international unveiling at CES 2026, drivebuddyAI, a leading innovator in AI-powered Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS), recently demonstrated its technology at the ARAI ADAS Test City. The company presented its range of vision-based Advanced Driver Assistance and Driver Monitoring Systems, focusing on their reliability in the varied and challenging conditions typical of Indian roads.

Live demonstrations were conducted using a heavy commercial vehicle to showcase the platform's versatility in meeting various compliance standards. A single, integrated hardware and software setup, utilising a fused network of cameras for 360-degree perception, executed multiple test scenarios simultaneously. These included a driver monitoring system that detects drowsiness, distraction and seatbelt usage in line with both Indian and European regulations. Further tests illustrated the vehicle's ability to warn of pedestrians moving into its path, identify potential collisions with cyclists in blind spots and issue forward collision warnings by combining radar and camera data.

Beyond merely fulfilling test requirements, the demonstrations highlighted practical applications that extend into everyday driving situations. This focus on real-world functionality is backed by extensive validation, with the company's systems having analysed nearly four billion kilometres of driving data. This has reportedly led to significant safety improvements, including a marked decrease in incidents caused by driver fatigue and a substantial reduction in overall fleet risks.

Currently validated for commercial vehicles against India's AIS-184 standard and Europe's stringent General Safety Regulation and Euro NCAP protocols for 2026, the technology is also adaptable for passenger cars. This scalability offers automotive manufacturers and their suppliers a pathway to not only meet but surpass upcoming global safety mandates. By refining its AI through extensive fleet operations over billions of kilometres before adapting it for original equipment manufacturer compliance, drivebuddyAI aims to deliver a mature, rigorously tested product that ensures an enhanced user experience.

Nisarg Pandya, CEO and Founder, drivebuddyAI, said, “ADAS Test City from ARAI is a great initiative, and we value participating in a format where we can showcase live demonstrations to a large audience together on the vehicle. This time, the turnout was significant and provided a strong opportunity to establish drivebuddyAI as one of the key players in the upcoming OEM compliance requirements. The engagement and response we received were phenomenal, reinforcing both the market need and the industry’s confidence in our solutions. The upcoming ADAS-compliant vehicles must have technology that works in Indian scenarios to achieve meaningful safety improvements and reduce fatalities.”

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