The automotive industry is undergoing one of its biggest disruptions ever, what’s with consumer demand, government policies and the latest technology making their way into the vehicles of tomorrow.

To bring forth discussion and ignite conversation around the topic of Vehicle Dynamics & ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), SAEIndia Northern Section recently held a two-day seminar ‘Motion In Control-IV 2025’ on 6 February 2025. It featured presentations, live demonstrations and a panel discussion, at Global Automotive Research Centre (GARC), Chennai.

The event was supported by ICAT, Maruti Suzuki India, ATS, GARC, AB Dynamics, Tenneco, JK Tyre, 4active, Applus IDIADA, ZF, Stahle, CEAT, Applied Intuition, Rane, Gabriel, Continental, MRF, OXTS and Kiriu Corporation. Motoring Trends was the official media partner for the event.

It brought together industry experts from automakers, component manufacturers, testing equipment manufacturers and even educational institutions to discuss, debate and plan the way forward.

It is no secret that various factors such as consumer awareness, innovative technologies and regulatory push are enabling automakers to incorporate various sensors and AI-enabled tech such as ADAS to become a common sight.

What’s more, while these technologies are quite popular in developed markets, they cannot be simply copied-pasted in India; the adoption is not quite so simple.

The two-day open platform brought forth industry experts to share their views on how conventional vehicle dynamics solutions are paving the way for sensor-based technologies. This not only makes the vehicles safer but also opens the doors for new ways to look at vehicle design, validation and even certification for India-specific challenges.

Day 1

The first day of the event saw Vivek Trivedi, Executive Vice-President – Engineering, Maruti Suzuki India share his views on the topic of ‘Insight of Future Technologies in India related to Vehicle Dynamics & ADAS’.

Dr. Subramaniam K, R&D Head at Ashok Leyland gave a presentation on ‘Vehicle Dynamics in EV: Advantages and Challenges’.

Renji Issac, Senior Vice-President Research & Development, CEAT presented his views on ‘Tyre development in a virtual world’.

Dr. V. Vikraman, Senior Vice-President, Research & Development, Mahindra & Mahindra, gave insights on how the automaker was using the latest technology and tools for development of its high-performance SUVs.

Dr. Ramadhas Arumugam Sakuthalai, Director, GARC, spoke about how Indian testing agencies were prepared to support the automotive industry for their testing needs when it came to Vehicle Dynamics and ADAS solutions.

Amardeep Singh, Vice-Chair, SAEINS and Convenor MIC-IV, and VP – Engineering, Maruti Suzuki India set the context for plenary sessions.

This was followed by Dr. Peter Pfeffer, CEO, Mdynamics presenting his thoughts on ‘Advance Driving Characteristics Development Through Performance – HIL (Hardware in Loop) and Driving Simulator.

The audience also got to understand on what was happening in the field of validation and release of L2/L3 ADAS at scale by Aniruddha Reddy, Head of Sales EMEA & India, Applied Intuition.

In a joint presentation, Piyush Ghongade, Head- Vehicle Dynamics, CEAT and Jagdish Chauhan, Team Lead – NVH, 4W, CEAT spoke about the ‘Role of Vehicle Dynamics in Advanced NVH Tyre Tuning: Challenges and Solutions.’

Dr. Roshi John, Founder & CEO, RoshAI introduced the company’s approach towards self-driving vehicles.

Dr. Rajesh Kannan Megalingam, Associate Professor, Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, School of Engineering, Amritapuri, gave a presentation on ‘Exploring Autonomous Vehicle Scenarios in Indian Roads: Smart Centre Case Studies’.

The last session of the day saw Vipul Dave, Senior Business Development Manager – UK, Greater Europe & India AB Dynamics give his perspective on Future Trends in ADAS Testing.

Balaji Lenin, General Manager, Rane Brake Linking and Michninari Ishikawa, Manager, Nisshinbo Brake, spoke about the Brake friction material for advanced vehicle technologies.

Jojo Chacko, Technical Product Expert, Vector, spoke about ‘Addressing Challenges in Vehicle Dynamics for ADAS’.

Raunak Santosh, DGM Head – Chassis & Active Safety, IDIADA gave a presentation on ‘Vehicle Dynamics – In the age of new Technological Revolution.’

Day 2

The second day of the event saw Ms. K Rajrajeswari, Senior Engineer, GARC and S Perumal, Manager, GARC gave a presentation on Vehicle Dynamics & ADAS Testing Solutions at GARC.

Sunil Patil, Director Engineering, ZF India spoke about the ‘Scalable ADAS Systems for Emerging Markets’.

Prof C Lashmikanathan of Amrita School of Engineering, brought in the academic perspective on how educational institutions were accelerating vehicle dynamics development using modern test environment and tools.

Cederic Asselineau, Business Development Manager, Stahle, spoke about the evolution in Robotics and Software for human driving style imitation.

Steve Boyle, MD, Moshon Data, shared his view on ADAS & lack of knowledge surrounding it with everyday users.

Prakash Abhayanker, Head India Operations – 4active Systems brought in his perspective on what the Future of ADAS Testing meant for the company.

Rejin Sathianesan, Senior Technical Expert, Bosch gave a presentation on Securing ADAS: ‘Protecting the future of ADAS system’.

In the last session for the event, a panel discussion took place on the topic of ‘Navigating the Future: Bridging ADAS and Vehicle Dynamics for Smarter Driving’. The panellists included – Bob Rupani, Veteran Auto Journalist; Balasubramanian N, VP – Product Engineering, Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre in India; Nagarajan, Vice-President, SAE India; Ramanathan, Vice-Chair, SAEINS & MD, ATS and Hari Krishnan M, Co-Convenor MIC-IV & Senior GM, Engineering, Maruti Suzuki India. A range of topics were discussed ranging from how automakers and suppliers had to make the latest technology work in India but also making it more robust and affordable. The panel was moderated by Nilesh Wadhwa, Assistant Editor, Motoring Trends.

The event also saw partner organisations give demonstrations on technologies such as – Automated Emergency Braking (AEB), self-parking technology, automatic braking and cruise control among others.

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Tier 1 supplier Mahle is entering the stationary battery storage systems (BESS) market after securing its first series order for a cooling module. These storage solutions are used for providing and stabilising power grids and for the temporary storage of renewable energy from sources like wind and solar power.

The company shared that its customer is an international commercial vehicles and drivetrain manufacturer that builds its own battery storage systems. Mahle will leverage its experience in developing cooling modules for electrified buses for this new sector. The newly developed cooling module will go into series production in 2026.

Christian Kuechlin, Vice-President, Mahle Industrial Thermal Systems, said, “We can easily transfer the knowledge of cooling modules we have gathered in the transportation sector to stationary battery storage system in containers. Since the space in the container is mainly to be used for battery stacks, Mahle develops space saving, compact and efficient cooling solutions in line with customer requirements.”

Older stationary BESS were cooled by simple air conditioning systems. However, the higher energy density in modern lithium-ion batteries generates more waste heat, requiring a higher cooling capacity.

The Mahle module provides up to 42 kW of liquid cooling. This ensures the batteries operate in the optimal temperature range of 20deg Celsius to 30deg Celsius, which is vital for long service life, durability and stable load management.

Mahle is expanding its business beyond the automotive sector. In industrial thermal management, the company is also developing modules for liquid-cooled cables in fast-charging stations for electric vehicles. Thermal management technologies can also benefit high-performance computing, data centres and manufacturers of heat pumps or photovoltaic systems.

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American auto major General Motors (GM) has been named to Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech 2025 list for its progress on lithium manganese-rich (LMR) batteries. The recognition follows GM winning the Battery Innovation of the Year award at the 15th annual Battery Show North America.

The company is preparing to deploy LMR battery tech in 2028. GM states that its work on LMR technology reflects its commitment to advancing electric vehicle battery technology and making EVs affordable without affecting performance.

The progress, which includes developing new materials and prototyping automotive-scale LMR prismatic cells, reflects the work of its research, engineering and operations teams. The company aims to commercialise the innovation, with manufacturing and engineering teams focused on delivering cells at scale.

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Bengaluru-based deep-tech battery start-up Flowatt Battery Science has raised INR 22 million in its pre-seed funding round led by accelerator PedalStart.

The capital will be directed towards technology optimisation, completing the proof-of-concept (POC) for its electric battery and building alliances with insurers, EV financiers, OEMs and other stakeholders.

Flowatt focuses on powering commercial mobility fleets for e-commerce and quick-commerce segments. It uses a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) pay-per-use model for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, which aims to lower battery purchase costs for fleet operators. The service uses IoT-enabled tracking and data analytics to optimise battery performance and cost-efficiency.

The company has scaled its BaaS model to nearly 1,500 batteries across multiple Indian cities. Following the funding, Flowatt plans to deploy over 20,000 batteries under its BaaS offering, achieve over INR 25 million monthly recurring revenue (MRR), and expand to more than 15 cities across tier 1 and tier 2 India by the end-FY2027.

Siddhartha Srivastava, Bikesh Jha and Vikash Singh, Co-Founders of Flowatt Battery Science, said: “We are thrilled to announce our pre-seed round led by PedalStart, a significant milestone set to propel Flowatt’s journey ahead. In the near term, the funds raised shall be instrumental in enabling us to optimise and scale our new battery-as-a-service solution that offers a three-fold edge- minimal cost, longest battery life and assured buyback guarantee. As the electric mobility scene in India soars, managing EV batteries efficiently throughout their lifecycle has emerged as an imperative. At Flowatt, we’re doing this by combining cutting-edge battery science with data science and aiming to bridge the gaps between advanced energy storage technologies and long-term value creation for the ecosystem. Our unique BaaS model and tech ensure that India’s EV owners and fleet operators can make efficient data-driven decisions, while minimising costs and negative environmental impact. In the long run, we aspire to make EV adoption more affordable, accessible, profitable and sustainable.”

Manas Pal and Aditya Darolia, Co-Founders, PedalStart, said,: “As India accelerates towards large-scale electrification, Flowatt is solving one of the most pressing challenges in the nation’s EV ecosystem today- the economics of battery adoption. By shifting batteries from being a capital-heavy purchase to a flexible service offering, they are removing the biggest pain points with commercial EV adoption. Plus, their focus on battery assurance, lifecycle management and second-life applications makes them one of the most exciting deep-tech players today. We were impressed by the founding team’s domain experience and expertise, dedication to execution and vision, and are extremely happy to be a part of their growth story as Flowatt’s early believer, investor and backer.”

Flowatt offers real-time health monitoring and lifecycle underwriting through its in-house technology, which is designed to promote a circular energy economy by extending battery life and enabling second-life applications.

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Pune-headquartered software-defined vehicle development company KPIT Technologies has acquired a majority stake in N-Dream AG, the Swiss company behind the AirConsole platform. KPIT, which previously held a 26 percent share, will increase its ownership to nearly 90 percent.

N-Dream's AirConsole platform provides in-car gaming and is used by manufacturers including BMW, MINI, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche. The acquisition strengthens KPIT’s position in the software-defined vehicle market and accelerates N-Dream’s mission to develop in-car digital experiences.

Andrin von Rechenberg, Founder, N-Dream, said, “What began as a bold idea in Switzerland has grown into a platform used by leading carmakers around the world. With KPIT’s partnership, our innovation culture and creative roots remain at the core of everything we do, while giving us the reach and resources to shape the future of in-car experiences.”

Anthony Cliquot, CEO, N-Dream AG, said, “By joining forces with KPIT, we can accelerate our mission to bring fantastic experiences to cars and their users. With KPIT’s scale and reach, we’re ready to take what we’ve built to a truly global audience.”

The AirConsole platform allows passengers to use their smartphones as controllers to play games on the car’s infotainment screen. N-Dream plans to expand its vision beyond gaming to develop a new generation of in-cabin software focused on interactivity, personalisation, and connected services.

Kishor Patil, CEO, KPIT Technologies, said, “N-Dream’s creativity and technology perfectly complement KPIT’s roadmap for next-generation mobility. Together, we will help define the next era of software-defined vehicles, where immersive, connected and personalised experiences are an integral part of driving.”

Following up to the move, N-Dream will remain an independent entity within the KPIT Group. Anthony Cliquot and Andrin von Rechenberg will continue to lead the company as CEO and Chief of Innovation, respectively.

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