Toyota has accelerated its ‘Green Wave Project’ commemorating this year’s environment month. It is aimed at enhancing its nature conservation activity in the community with the company distributing saplings to its employees, under its sixth challenge that is termed as ‘Establishing a Future Society in Harmony with Nature’ and looks to contribute to the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050. 

While the eco campaign continues to drive active community involvement to promote greenery, through employee engagement, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has successfully distributed over 7000 saplings to its employees, marking significant progress towards its 8,000-sapling target set under its plantation activity. 

With TKM employees encouraged to plant and nurture the distributed saplings within their neighbourhoods and submit periodic reports on plant growth, the it is noteworthy to mention about Toyota’s tree plantation activities that are strongly driven by adopting a unique concept namely the ‘Miyawaki Method of Afforestation’ since 2009, and TKM was the first corporate in India to implement such plantation methodology. TKM’s steadfast commitment to sustainability and ecological restoration is yielding remarkable results, as evidenced by the numerous advantages of the Miyawaki approach. A comprehensive study conducted in collaboration with experts from Bangalore University revealed that the Miyawaki method excels in carbon sequestration, capturing an impressive 30.86 tonnes of carbon per acre.

By doing so, TKM not only restored native habitats but also created self-sustaining ecosystem that contribute to a healthier planet. Under the guidance of Late Dr Akira Miyawaki himself, TKM initiated its maiden Miyawaki plantation drive, way back in 2009, marking a significant milestone in its journey towards conservation of greenery and eco-consciousness. Since that momentous day, TKM's plantation drives have continued to evolve and expanded to 112 acres of green cover within the factory premises, out of which 32 acres of afforestation has been developed using Miyawaki method. Today, Toyota’s manufacturing facility, located in Bidadi (on the outskirts of Bengaluru) proudly boasts more than 328,000 trees of over 790 native species planted within its premises. The results have been truly awe-inspiring with a remarkable increase in biodiversity observed over the years. 

From a mere 181 plant species, the count has surged to an impressive 790, while the number of faunal species has risen from 76 to 284. The vibrant ecosystem now encompasses 88 bird varieties, 38 butterfly species, 107 insects, 17 reptiles, 8 mammals, and 6 amphibians, reflecting the successful development of a thriving native forest ecosystem.

In addition, TKM has created an experiential environmental learning centre ‘Ecozone’ (spread across 25 acres with 17 theme parks and home to 65,000 trees with 650 native species) for children, teachers, community members and other stakeholders, within its manufacturing facility aimed at creating the environment leaders and change champions for the future, to usher in desired behavioural change in the communities. This green zone depicts the creation of dense forest within the plant facility using the ‘Miyawaki Concept’ of plantation. The forests are dominantly planted with species of 4 major forest types such as Dry Deciduous, Moist Deciduous, Semi-evergreen and Evergreen Forest, covering 21 different sub-concepts such as Pollination meadows, herbal garden, plants for spices etc. So far, more than 42,000+ students & other stakeholders have been covered through ecozone initiative.

B Padmanabha, Executive Vice President and Director of Manufacturing - Toyota Kirloskar Motor, averred, “At Toyota Kirloskar Motor, we recognise that environmental and social sustainability are just as crucial as economic progression. Guided by Toyota’s Global Environmental Challenge 2050 (six challenges announced in 2015), our sustainability efforts are far reaching that go beyond product zero emissions. While the first three challenges seek to achieve zero carbon emissions covering the entire life cycle of our products, across manufacturing operations as well as our value chain, the last three challenges focus to achieve water conservation, establishing recycled based society and living in harmony with nature.”

“We believe that a sustainable future is built through collective action and community involvement, as exemplified by one of our eco initiatives - Green Wave Program that covers afforestation (plantation drives, distribution of saplings), sharing best practices (e.g. Miyawaki plantation methodology), creating awareness on nature conservation and imbibing good eco behaviour (Toyota Ecozone – Experiential Eco Learning). Together with our employees and other stakeholders, we aim to catalyse positive change in the community to safeguard the environment to the future,” he added. 

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Taiwan-headquartered Delta Electronics has announced a collaboration with NVIDIA aimed at developing autonomous driving systems for next-generation vehicles.

The partnership combines Delta’s automotive energy management, electric powertrain systems and in-vehicle high-performance computing system integration with the NVIDIA Hyperion reference platform and NVIDIA Halos safety system.

NVIDIA Hyperion serves as a sensor and compute architecture for Level 4 autonomous vehicles and robotaxis, utilising dual NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor processors to enable production-ready vehicle autonomy.

James Tang, Executive Vice-President of Mobility Business Category, Delta, said, "Autonomous driving requires years of technology development, continuous innovation, and strong system integration. Our commitment to the EV sector began several years ago, developing strong expertise in power electronics and key automotive technologies, and accumulating extensive development experience with world-class automakers. We are honoured that NVIDIA recognises Delta’s automotive expertise and strategic direction. Through this joint endeavour, we will further integrate AI and HPC capabilities into the enhancement of advanced autonomous driving functions, turning next-generation smart vehicles into real-world applications while pursuing new opportunities in the fast-growing smart mobility market."

Rishi Dhall, Vice-President of Automotive, NVIDIA, said, "Level 4 autonomous driving requires powerful in-vehicle computing, a comprehensive sensor architecture and close collaboration across the automotive ecosystem. By combining Delta’s automotive and system integration expertise with NVIDIA Hyperion, we can accelerate the development of safe, intelligent and scalable autonomous driving systems for the next generation of mobility."

Under the agreement, Delta will work alongside NVIDIA’s engineering teams to integrate its system technology into the Hyperion architecture, while leveraging NVIDIA's international network to broaden commercial engagement with global automotive manufacturers.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Stellantis and Wayve will participate in the Wave by Vento event in Turin from 7 to 9 October 2026, featuring executive sessions, technical presentations and demonstration rides focused on artificial intelligence in mobility.

A keynote session titled ‘Technology Made for Humans’ will feature Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa and Wayve Co-Founder and CEO Alex Kendall on 9 October. Moderated by Adam Jonas, global embodied AI and robotics strategist at Morgan Stanley, the discussion will focus on AI-powered mobility and strategic partnerships for technology deployment at scale.

During the event, Stellantis and Wayve will conduct demonstration rides in Fiat 500e and Maserati Grecale development vehicles equipped with the STLA AutoDrive platform powered by Wayve.

The system integrates the Wayve AI Driver to demonstrate hands-free, door-to-door supervised automated driving, categorised as Level 2++, in real-world driving conditions. The integration follows the Jeep Grand Cherokee development vehicle displayed at Stellantis' Investor Day in May, applying the same core AI driving software across three vehicle architectures without model-specific software re-engineering.

Announced in May 2026, the strategic partnership between Stellantis and Wayve focuses on supervised automated driving software for highway and urban environments. Stellantis targets its first commercial product launch using the technology in North America in 2028.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Energy In Motion (EIM Ltd) has inaugurated a heavy-duty battery swapping-cum-charging station at Rewari, Haryana, expanding its energy infrastructure along the NH-48 Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor.

The facility was inaugurated by Dr. Hanif Qureshi, IPS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India. The event was attended by representatives from cement and logistics companies, fleet operators, financial institutions, and transport providers, including Mahendra Singhi, Board Member and Advisor at Dalmia Cement, Arun Kumar Khurana, Joint President and Head of Operations Logistics at UltraTech Cement, Manav Bansal, Co-Founder and CEO at Drivn and Narendra Murkumbi, Managing Director at Energy In Motion.

The Rewari station joins existing EIM facilities at Palwal and Kotputli along the NH-48 corridor. Each station operates with a connected load of 2.5 MW to supply power directly along key transit routes. The infrastructure utilises a battery-swapping model designed to replace depleted heavy-vehicle batteries with charged units, reducing vehicle idle time compared to stationary plug-in charging methods.

Narendra Murkumbi, MD, EIM, said, “The Rewari station is dedicated to support Green logistics more economically. The facility can swap a discharged battery of an Electric Heavy commercial vehicle (e-HCV) typically in 7 minutes, against 55-60 minutes of charging time through a conventional charger, there by yielding a significantly higher fleet availability and better economics for any fleet owner or transporter. The station has the capacity to serve over 150 vehicles a day. EIM’s Battery Swapping, together with its larger capacity battery of 350 kWh, can result into a 10 percent increment in the No. of monthly return trips on any corridor for any Logistics Service Provider (LSP). We plan to set-up 40 such stations across India in the current financial year, of which 8 are already operational and 7 more in various stages of installation. EIM, in its pursuit of creating value for its customers through innovative solutions, has already gained large traction across India through its ‘Maitryi’ model (Battery as a Service or BaaS) where a customer’s upfront capital deployment stands reduced by 40 percent while buying a heavy-duty electric truck, a capital-intensive item.”

EIM offers its infrastructure under a Battery as a Service (BaaS) commercial structure, designated as the 'Maitryi' model. The arrangement separates the vehicle purchase price from the battery unit, lowering initial capital expenditure for logistics providers purchasing heavy-duty electric trucks. The company plans to deploy 40 heavy-duty swapping-cum-charging stations across India during the current financial year, with eight facilities currently in operation and seven in development.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Japanese tier 1 supplier Toyoda Gosei Co’s regional headquarters in China, Toyoda Gosei (China) Investment Co., has inked a partnership agreement for safety standards and technical innovations with CATARC Component Technology (Tianjin) Co., a group company of the China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC).

The agreement focuses on safety standards and technical developments as China Automotive Technology & Research Center formulates vehicle safety regulations and industry standards in China.

As per the understanding, Toyoda Gosei (China) Investment Co., aims to accelerate product development by increasing the deployment of computer-aided engineering technology and creating safety products tailored to local requirements.

The partnership comes amid market shifts in China driven by the adoption of electric vehicles and the entry of new automotive manufacturers. Toyoda Gosei plans to leverage its engineering resources to supply safety components to carmakers operating within the Chinese automotive sector.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!