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. 

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HARMAN has received recognition from the AutoTech Breakthrough Awards, marking the fourth consecutive year the company has been honoured by the market intelligence organisation. The Ready Aware platform received the Driver Safety Solution designation for 2026.

Ready Aware operates as a software-defined vehicle-to-network solution that integrates infrastructure feeds, vehicle telemetry, cloud analytics and digital twin data to provide contextual in-vehicle warnings.

The system processes information regarding road conditions, weather, traffic hazards and signal timing to deliver alerts beyond the driver's line of sight. The architecture works with existing 4G and 5G cellular hardware and vehicle cloud environments, enabling automakers to deploy software updates without hardware modifications. The platform supports Euro NCAP compliance requirements and offers over 15 safety use cases, including intersection warnings, red-light notifications and hazard alerts.

Bryan Vaughn, Managing Director, AutoTech Breakthrough, said, “HARMAN Ready Aware is redefining vehicle safety from reactive intervention to proactive awareness. Almost a quarter of U.S. traffic deaths and roughly half of injuries are related to intersections. Cameras and sensors can be limited by physical occlusions and, on their own, may not have access to information about upcoming signal changes or other traffic conditions. Ready Aware’s software-defined model connects the intelligence already present in cities and connected vehicles, then delivers it to the driver as a timely, contextual alert. Ready Aware turns infrastructure data, vehicle telemetry and cloud analytics into actionable driver awareness—available today, scalable tomorrow, and quickly deployable.”

The system uses a cloud analytics and scoring layer named the Confidence Engine to filter data feeds, reduce false alerts and prioritise notifications to minimise distraction. Automakers can integrate the software via client-to-cloud or cloud-to-cloud configurations to support subscription services and feature monetisation.

Suman Sehra, Global Head of Connectivity Product and Portfolio Management, HARMAN, said, “Ready Aware gives automakers a flexible way to move connected vehicle safety from reactive intervention to proactive awareness. By transforming real-time road intelligence into timely, contextual alerts, Ready Aware helps drivers anticipate hazards before they come into view while giving automakers a scalable foundation to continuously enhance safety through software. This recognition reflects HARMAN’s vision for safer, more informed mobility.”

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Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, has announced the second phase expansion of its Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) in Gurugram under its corporate social responsibility initiative, allocating approximately INR 750 million to the project.

The expansion will see the installation of 1,000 additional radar-integrated cameras across 70 junctions and nine road stretches covering 65 kilometres in the city. Combined with the initial phase, which deployed 400 cameras across 23 junctions, the completed network will encompass 1,400 cameras across 93 junctions and 13 road corridors.

Implemented in partnership with the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority and the Gurugram Police, the automated system detects traffic offences including speed limit violations, red-light jumping, helmetless riding, triple riding and wrong-side driving. The camera units record registration plate details and transmit data directly to the Integrated Command and Control Centre for enforcement processing.

Sibash Kabiraj, Commissioner of Police, Gurugram, said, "We appreciate Maruti Suzuki’s continued support in strengthening Gurugram’s traffic management infrastructure through its CSR initiative. The expansion of the Integrated Traffic Management System will further strengthen our ability to monitor traffic violations, enable timely enforcement, and encourage greater compliance with traffic regulations."

P C Meena, CEO of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, said, "GMDA is committed to building a robust, technology-driven surveillance network to strengthen traffic management and road safety across Gurugram. The expansion of CCTV coverage in collaboration with Maruti Suzuki India Limited and Gurugram Police will enable more effective traffic monitoring, strengthen enforcement of traffic rules and promote greater road discipline. Connecting the CCTV network with GMDA’s Integrated Command and Control Centre will further enhance real-time surveillance, improve coordination among enforcement agencies and facilitate quicker action against traffic violations, contributing to safer roads for all commuters."

Rahul Bharti, Senior Executive Officer of Corporate Affairs, Maruti Suzuki India, said, "We are pleased to further strengthen our partnership with GMDA and the Gurugram Traffic Police in advancing road safety through technology-driven interventions. This advanced tracking system addresses issues like riding without helmets, triple riding, red-light violations, over-speeding, and wrong-side driving. These violations highlight a critical road-safety challenge, as human error continues to be the leading cause of road accidents in India. The findings reinforce the need for sustained, collaborative efforts to improve compliance with traffic regulations and foster safe road behaviour. Improving road safety requires a combination of responsible driving, robust driving license testing and effective traffic enforcement. We are committed to working alongside authorities in these areas to build a safer mobility ecosystem."

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Swedish automotive company Volvo Cars has expanded its technology partnership with NVIDIA to integrate the computing firm's Hyperion sensor and compute architecture into its next-generation vehicle platform.

The system combines Volvo's vehicle safety architecture with NVIDIA's hardware, Halos operating system and Alpamayo Stack driving software. The technology is designed to navigate highway environments, urban traffic and parking scenarios, laying the foundation for the gradual introduction of eyes-off and mind-off driving capabilities. The system will make its commercial debut in an upcoming production model as part of Volvo Cars' vehicle development roadmap.

Hakan Samuelsson, President and CEO, Volvo Cars, said, "Volvo has been synonymous with car safety for almost 100 years. By working with NVIDIA, we bring together two distinct strengths: industry-leading safety knowledge and world-class AI technology. That combination gives us a unique opportunity to create safer and more attractive cars for our customers."

Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO, NVIDIA, said, "Accelerated computing has transformed the car into an intelligent machine that can understand the world around it. Volvo has spent nearly a century protecting people on the road. Together, we’re combining Volvo’s extraordinary vehicle safety systems with NVIDIA Hyperion and Halos to build a new generation of cars that make driving safer and more effortless."

The agreement marks a continuation of the collaboration between the two companies, which established their initial development partnership in 2017. The deployment of NVIDIA's computing stack will support Volvo's transition toward software-defined electric vehicles across its global product lineup.

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French tier 1 supplier Valeo and open science research lab KE:SAI have launched a joint research collaboration to develop a generalist artificial intelligence (AI) driving system for autonomous vehicles. The partnership plans to publish models, code, weights and datasets as open-source resources.

The initiative brings together artificial intelligence teams from valeo.ai in Paris and the KE:SAI founding team in Tübingen, Germany. The collaboration focuses on training a unified AI model capable of operating across different vehicle platforms, sensor configurations and geographic environments. Initial development will utilise large-scale real-world driving data before integrating reinforcement learning within simulated environments to address rare driving scenarios.

KE:SAI was co-founded by research organisation Kyutai and the ELLIS Institute Tübingen. By making the underlying code, benchmarks and model weights accessible, the initiative aims to provide automakers, component suppliers and academic laboratories with a standardised reference system for autonomous driving research and development.

Marc Vrecko, CEO, Valeo Brain, said, "This open-science collaboration with KE:SAI marks a strategic milestone for Valeo and the broader European automotive ecosystem. By combining our deep industrial and technological expertise in autonomous driving with world-class open-source research, we are establishing a shared foundation to accelerate the development of physical AI and democratize next-generation self-driving technologies."

Andreas Geiger, CEO, KE:SAI, said, "For language models, open source compressed years of progress into months, yet frontier physical AI is still largely closed. Valeo shares our belief that open foundations create more innovation than any closed system ever could. Everything we develop will be open. Every step forward is a step forward for everyone."

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