Autocar Professional - Latest Articles

Video: Inside JSW MG’s Playbook for Profitable EVs in India

Shahkar Abidi — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 18:08:09

In this in-depth conversation with Anurag Mehrotra, Managing Director, JSW MG Motor India, we unpack what it will take to make electric vehicles profitable and scalable in the Indian market.

Mehrotra explains how declining EV costs are pushing adoption beyond tier-1 cities, why localisation and in-house battery assembly are critical to achieving sustainable margins, and how JSW MG’s Halol manufacturing plant is gearing up to scale from 70,000 units to a 100,000-unit capacity with more products on the way.

The discussion also explores how global parent backing and shared capabilities are reshaping EV economics in India — and why scale, not demand, will decide the next phase of EV leadership.

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Video - India Needs Nearly 2 Lakh Skilled Workforce for EV Repairs: ASDC

Prerna Lidhoo — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 17:35:39

India’s EV transition is accelerating but the skills gap is widening even faster. In this insightful conversation, Vinkesh Gulati, Chairperson, Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC), lays out the urgent need for 2 lakh trained EV repair technicians, the dangers of treating skilling as an afterthought, and why India must begin the transition with unlearning legacy ICE systems.

He explains why Right to Repair, already implemented globally, is essential for India’s EV ecosystem—and why its rollout in India is now closer than ever. Gulati also highlights how the EV shift is bringing more women into the auto workforce, ASDC’s push for 50% women in EV training, and the growing interest in mobility skills with over 1 lakh students registering for the Auto Olympiad. From workshops to workforce, and policies to practical challenges—this is a deep dive into what India needs to build a truly future-ready EV ecosystem.

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Video - Supply Chain Bottlenecks Are the Biggest Barrier to 15% EV Penetration by 2030: BYD India

Prerna Lidhoo — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 17:33:20

India’s electric vehicle market is entering a decisive phase and BYD India is right at the center of it. In this exclusive conversation, Rajeev Chauhan, Head – Electric Passenger Vehicle Business, BYD India, reveals how the company has reached the milestone of selling 1,000 EVs every month, why safety has become non-negotiable, and how charging infrastructure, battery technology and ADAS are reshaping consumer expectations.

Chauhan also breaks down the government’s GST signals on EVs, the supply-chain challenges that could limit 15% EV penetration, the importance of localisation and scale, and why India’s EV buyers are fundamentally different across segments.

Looking ahead, he shares a bold vision of a million-plus electric cars on Indian roads in the next 5–6 years and BYD’s strategy to deepen its footprint across India’s geographies.

If you want a clear, insider view of where India’s EV industry is headed and what it will really take to get there, this is a must-watch.

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Video: Ethanol Is the Most Suitable Clean-Energy Pathway for India: Toyota’s Vikram Gulati

Prerna Lidhoo — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 14:40:36

Are EVs the only path to a clean future for India? Vikram Gulati, Country Head, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, shares a grounded, real-world view on why India’s energy transition must go beyond just electric vehicles.

In this conversation at Autocar Professional's India EV Conclave, Gulati explains how GST has simplified the auto tax structure and unexpectedly helped narrow the price gap between EVs and ICE vehicles. He makes a strong case for ethanol as India’s most practical clean-energy pathway, revealing that India could shift to E35–E40 almost overnight with flex-fuel–ready vehicles.

Key Insights From the Episode:

Why multiple green technologies are essential to move away from fossil fuels
Why technology multiplicity is crucial for the 95% of vehicles that are still ICE
When EVs will hit their true tipping point in India
Why charging infrastructure gaps remain a major bottleneck
How battery swapping can play a unique role for 2Ws, 3Ws and buses

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Video: Indofast to Build World’s Largest Battery-Swapping Network with ₹10,000 Cr Push

Prerna Lidhoo — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 16:51:20

India’s EV revolution is moving fast but the charging infrastructure is struggling to keep up. In this candid conversation, Anant Badjatya, CEO of Indofast Energy, breaks down why India has just 1 public charger for every 150–190 EVs, why the country is under-investing in charging, and how battery swapping could become the biggest catalyst for EV adoption.

As one of Indian Oil’s largest EV investments, Indofast has already deployed 18,000 chargers in under two years, supports 44 different vehicle types, and is targeting 15,000 swapping stations across 42 cities. With a planned investment of ₹10,000 crore, the company aims to build the world’s largest battery-swapping network in India.

Badjatya also explains:

Why OEM collaboration is critical for solving India’s charging bottlenecks
How battery swapping delivers better TCO and higher safety than fixed batteries
Why uniform 5% GST on batteries and EVs could accelerate adoption
How Indofast has already achieved 70–80% penetration in active cities
And why their goal is to become the default energy partner for every two-wheeler EV customer.

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Video: Why M&M’s XEV 9S Could Redefine India’s Rs 20 Lakhs+ EV Segment

Prerna Lidhoo — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:30:34

Mahindra is going all-in on the premium electric SUV space and the XEV 9S is at the centre of that strategy. In this exclusive conversation, we dive into Mahindra’s explosive EV momentum, with 30,000 units of the XUV 9E and BE6 already sold, a clear focus on the ₹20 lakh-plus EV segment, and plans to scale production to 8,000 units a month by April. We also break down:

How modular battery architecture is helping Mahindra target multiple EV segments

Why EVs are no longer a compromise for Indian buyers

How XUV 700 customers could naturally upgrade to the XEV 9S

The logic behind India’s key highway charging corridors

Mahindra’s 180 kW fast chargers and 18-minute average charging time at Murthal

With nearly 65 highways carrying 90% of India’s traffic, Mahindra’s charging and product strategy could play a defining role in India’s premium EV future.

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Video: Why India’s Luxury Car Sales Have Flatlined despite 90% Growth in Millionaires

Prerna Lidhoo — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 14:10:23

India is richer than ever 8.7 lakh millionaire households, booming markets, billion-dollar homes, and weddings worth crores. Yet luxury cars make up just 1% of all passenger vehicles sold. Why is a country bursting with wealth still hesitant to buy luxury wheels?

In this episode of Autocar Professional’s POV, we break down the paradox of India’s luxury car market and explore the forces shaping its slow growth despite high aspiration.

What we cover in this explainer:

The aspiration vs. reality of luxury car buying in India
Why homes, weddings & gold win over cars
The cultural “savings-first” mindset
India’s heavy car taxation — the biggest barrier
How GST reforms will (and won’t) change demand
Why luxury EVs are growing faster than ICE
The future: how a $10 trillion economy changes the game

From depreciation worries to road taxes to shifting consumer psychology—here’s the full picture of why luxury cars remain rare on Indian roads, and what could finally unlock mass-market luxury adoption.

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Video - Demand Surges on the Back of Mega Projects and Rural Growth: CASE

Shahkar Abidi — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 19:30:03

In this exclusive Autocar Professional interview, Shahkar Abidi, Assistant Editor, speaks with Puneet Kumar Vidyarthi, Head of Brand Marketing, APAC & India at CASE Construction Equipment.

They discuss how India’s booming mega infrastructure projects and rural markets are driving demand, the growing role of equipment rentals, and how CASE is bridging skill and technology gaps while fostering inclusive growth and real-world learning through campus partnerships.

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Video - Planning to Raise $3–4 million Next Year: Speedloop Auto

Shahkar Abidi — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 18:54:46

In this exclusive conversation, Aditya Puppala, Co-founder & CTO of Speedloop Auto, speaks with Shahkar Abidi, Assistant Editor at Autocar Professional, about the startup’s journey to redefine electric mobility for India’s logistics and urban transport sectors.

From serving B2B e-commerce and distribution players to preparing a two-seater B2C EV launch next year, Puppala discusses how Speedloop is optimising total cost of ownership, adopting a unique fundraising strategy, and scaling up after investing over $1.5 million to date.

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Video - Ai’s Role Is to Assist Engineers and Enhance Customer-Centric Design: Matter India’s Prasad Telikepalli

Shahkar Abidi — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 17:56:11

In this exclusive conversation, Kumar Prasad Telikepalli, Co-founder & Group CTO of Matter India, speaks with Shahkar Abidi, Assistant Editor at Autocar Professional, about how software is redefining the future of mobility.

From software-defined architectures and OTA-friendly platforms to the growing role of AI/ML in automotive engineering, Telikepalli shares deep insights on how Matter is building vehicles that keep getting smarter with every update.

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Video: How Software-Defined Vehicles are Steering Tata Motors’ Global Growth Plans

Prerna Lidhoo — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 17:34:05

In this exclusive discussion, Sven Patuschka, CTO of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, shares insights on how Tata Motors is transforming the automotive experience.

From Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) enabling a new level of customization, to leveraging Generative AI to cut weeks of work into moments, Patuschka explains how technology, customer-centricity, and India’s innovation ecosystem are driving Tata Motors’ journey toward a global footprint.

The conversation covers how SDVs could enable a new car every day and highlights customization as a major emerging trend. Sven Patuschka discusses Tata Motors’ ambition of going global and how SDVs help the company become more customer-centric.

He explains how Generative AI dramatically reduces work time, emphasizes the importance of adapting technology to meet customer needs, and underscores India as a hub for new technology. The discussion concludes with insights on creating value that truly fulfils customer needs.

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Video - "India Should Leverage Its Strengths as a Best-Cost Country": Varroc CTO Fritz Abraham

Prerna Lidhoo — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 16:26:00

In this exclusive conversation, Fritz Abraham, CTO of Varroc, shares insights on the evolving automotive electronics landscape and how the company is navigating the shift from ICE to EVs.

Abraham discusses the growing complexity of electronics due to functional safety and cybersecurity, the role of AI in simulations and self-learning models, and the continuous evolution of Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs).

He highlights India’s strengths as a best-cost country with local technology development and growing component demand, and shares Varroc’s strategy to adapt rapidly in a VUCA world, delivering globally competitive products at affordable prices.

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Video - Indian Machines now Rival European Standards in Quality: Schwing Stetter

Yukta Mudgal — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 15:29:41

In this exclusive Autocar Professional interview, Yukta Mudgal speaks with Rajeev Shalia, President – R&D, Product Design & Development, Schwing Stetter India, about how Indian construction equipment is rapidly catching up with global benchmarks.

Shalia discusses how Indian machines now rival European standards in quality, how the post-COVID years have accelerated technology upgrades across the construction equipment industry, and why new-generation buyers increasingly prefer feature-rich machines.

He also reveals Schwing Stetter’s plans to launch a hybrid product by December 2025 and how growing automation in manufacturing—coupled with India’s power surplus—is driving faster adoption of electrification.

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Video: SDVs are here, but is India Ready?

Ketan Thakkar — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:33:36

Autocar Professional’s InnerCircle SDV Roundtable, powered by PTC, brought together some of the brightest minds in India’s automotive and technology ecosystem for a high-level discussion on Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs) — the next big frontier in mobility.

As vehicles evolve from hardware-driven machines to smart, connected, and updatable digital platforms on wheels, this closed-door CXO session explored how India can seize the opportunity to lead in the global SDV revolution.

Key Themes:

The shift from mechanical engineering to software-defined architecture
Building SDV-ready platforms with AI, cloud, and digital twins
Rethinking business models, cybersecurity, and customer experience
How India can become a global hub for automotive software innovation

Leaders Speak:

Sven Patuschka — CTO, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles & Tata Passenger Electric Mobility
Fritz Abraham — CTO, Varroc
Kumar Prasad Telikepalli — Co-Founder & Group CTO, Matter India
Vinod Bhat — Chief Digital Officer, Tata AutoComp Systems
Aditya Puppalla — Co-Founder & CTO, Speedloop Auto
Rajkiran C — Senior Director, Enterprise Business India, PTC

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Video - Anand Sundaresan: India’s Needs Localisation and Green Tech in Road-Building

Shahkar Abidi — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 15:27:40

In this insightful conversation, Anand Sundaresan, Director at Ammann India and Advisor to the Chairman of AIN, speaks with Shahkar Abidi, Assistant Editor, Autocar Professional, about India’s rapidly evolving construction equipment landscape.

Sundaresan discusses the massive opportunities in road building and milling equipment manufacturing, the import dependency that still challenges the sector, and the urgent need for eco-friendly technologies to shape the future of construction in India.

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Video: How AJAX Engineering Transforms Construction with AI & 3D Printing

Shahkar Abidi — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 14:59:07

In this exclusive conversation, Anshul Joshi, Chief of Planning & Strategy at AJAX Engineering, speaks with Shahkar Abidi, Assistant Editor, Autocar Professional, about how the company is redefining India’s construction equipment industry.

From AI-driven innovations to 3D concrete printing and the Ajax School of Concrete, Joshi explains how technology, skills, and macroeconomic shifts are shaping the next frontier — moving from products to end-to-end solutions.

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Video: Tata Hitachi Eyes Autonomous, Sustainable Future for Indian Construction

Yukta Mudgal — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 14:17:50

India’s construction equipment (CE) sector is riding high on the country’s infrastructure boom — from highways to housing and rural projects. In this exclusive conversation, Tata Hitachi leadership shares insights into how the company is evolving with the times: developing autonomous excavators, investing in alternative energy solutions, and ensuring its machines are compatible with up to B40 biodiesel blends.

The discussion also explores how rural mechanisation, government initiatives like 'Har Ghar Jal Yojana’, and the push for sustainable technologies are driving demand across India. With over half of all CE sales coming from backhoe loaders and excavators, the sector continues to grow, even as affordability and R&D remain key focus areas.

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Video: Can India’s Construction Equipment Industry Build a $30 Billion Powerhouse by 2047?

Autocar Professional Bureau — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 14:36:13

India’s construction equipment industry is at a turning point. Having tripled in size over the past decade, it now aims to reach a $25 billion domestic market and $5 billion in exports by 2047, driven by ambitious infrastructure targets in roads, mining, and industrialized construction.

Yet, the sector faces formidable challenges — from aggressive Chinese competition and localization gaps in high-precision components to the urgent need for low-emission, smart, and affordable machinery. In this Autocar Professional Inner Circle Roundtable, top industry leaders, policymakers, and OEMs come together to discuss how India’s CE sector can sustain its growth, close critical capability gaps, strengthen global competitiveness, and build the next generation of sustainable, technology-driven, and customer-centric machines that will power the nation’s future.

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Video: "Fully Prepared to Meet all EV Requirements Across Segments" - NBC Bearings' Lokesh Agrawal

Yukta Mudgal — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 10:00:00

In this interview with Autocar Professional, Dr Lokesh Agrawal, CTO of NBC Bearings, discusses the latest trends shaping the bearings industry, especially for electric vehicles (EVs). He highlights three key trends: lightweighting, low-friction technology, and advanced materials, noting that while lightweighting doesn’t significantly raise costs, low-friction technology may.

Agrawal also emphasizes that advanced bearing materials are largely made in India, and NBC Bearings is fully prepared to meet the high-speed, low-noise requirements of EVs across all segments. Additionally, NBC Bearings’ products are now certified for E20, E100, B10, and B100 fuels, reflecting their readiness for modern mobility challenges.

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Video: GST 2.0's Long-Term Growth Impact Explained

Prerna Lidhoo — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 20:24:27

With GST 2.0, small cars are suddenly more affordable, bigger SUVs face mixed effects, and dealers are navigating unexpected challenges. But is this just a temporary festive spike or the start of a sustained growth journey for India’s auto market?

In this episode, we cover:

How GST 2.0 changes tax rates for small and large cars
The immediate impact on consumers and demand
Historical context: tax cuts as a growth lever
Segment-wise effects: entry-level, mid-segment, and premium cars
Dealer challenges: ₹2,500 crore cess credit stuck and inventory stress
Long-term prospects: growth potential, structural factors, and market trajectory

Will GST 2.0 push India’s auto market back to 5–6% CAGR, or are structural changes more important than tax cuts?

Watch the full video to understand how tax reforms are shaping India’s auto industry today.

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