Source : PTI | New Delhi: Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot on Tuesday said 500 electric buses will be flagged off in the national capital on January 23, taking the number of such buses on city roads to 1,800. Gahlot said this while travelling in a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus. During his bus ride, which sought to encourage people to use public transport, the minister also interacted with people.

“Currently, there are 1,300 electric buses… (on Delhi roads). On January 23, 500 more buses will be flagged off, taking the number of such buses to 1,800,” Gahlot said. Continue reading “500 electric buses to be flagged off in Delhi on Jan 23: Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot”

Source : PTI | JSW Neo Energy, a subsidiary of JSW Energy, has announced establishment of a pumped storage project with a generation capacity of 1,500 MW, at an outlay of INR 9,000 crore in Telangana.

An official release issued on Wednesday said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the state government and JSW Neo Energy at the World Economic Forum being held in Davos.

Continue reading “JSW to invest INR 9,000 cr for setting up 1500 MW pumped storage project in Telangana”

Source : PTI | The government may look for providing incentives or supporting initiatives to retrofit old vehicles into electric vehicles instead of scrapping them, a report said on Thursday. According to the joint report by management consultancy firm Primus Partners and ETB (European Business and Technology Centre), transitioning the internal combustion engine-powered vehicles to electric vehicles through retrofitting presents a spectrum of challenges.

However, with a coordinated approach involving government initiatives, industry collaboration, and public engagement, these challenges can be effectively addressed and overcome, it said.

Continue reading “Govt may look for providing incentives or supporting initiatives to retrofit old vehicles into EVs: Report”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: ETO Motors on Monday said it has bagged an order to deploy 500 electric three-wheelers in Uttar Pradesh, with special focus on Ayodhya. The Letter of Award (LoA) given by the Uttar Pradesh government has given the company the responsibility to deploy and manage the electric three-wheelers in Lucknow, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Agra, Mathura, and Gorakhpur, ETO Motors said in a statement.

Notably, ETO Motors has received authorisation to initiate the deployment with a special focus on Ayodhya, coinciding with the inauguration of the Ram Temple, it said.

Continue reading “ETO Motors to deploy 500 electric three-wheelers in UP”

Source : PTI | Hyundai Motor India expects sports utility vehicle sales to account for 65% of its overall volumes in 2024, the company’s COO Tarun Garg said. The company, which currently gets around 60% of its overall volumes from SUV sales, plans to invest INR 7,000 crore on its second plant at Talegaon, according to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The company officials declined to comment.

The company also plans to commence production at the newly acquired manufacturing plant at Talegaon plant in Maharashtra next year, Hyundai Motor India COO Tarun Garg said. Continue reading “Hyundai expects SUVs to account for 65% of its total volumes this year”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: State-owned NHAI prohibited the movement of two and three-wheelers on three ‘access controlled’ national highways having connectivity with the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also restricted the plying of non-motorized vehicles, agricultural tractors, multi-axle hydraulic trailer vehicles and quadri-cycles on the said sections citing safety reasons, according to a notification.

The sections include “Delhi-Gurugram section of NH-48 starting from Km 14+300 (starting of RTR flyover) till Km 42+000 (Kherki Daula user fee plaza) in Delhi/Haryana, and NH-344M starting from its junction with NH-44 near Bankoli village connecting Narela, Mundka, Najafgarh, Dwarka and terminating at its junction with NH-248 BB near Bhartal chowk,” it said. Continue reading “NHAI prohibits cycles, two and three-wheelers movement on 3 National Highways”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: Billionaire Gautam Adani on Tuesday said green hydrogen holds the key to India’s journey to net-zero carbon emissions, and its current high cost can be reduced by replicating the solar power model. In a blog post for the World Economic Forum (WEF), the head of apples-to-airport Adani Group said leapfrogging to renewables and green hydrogen will help India achieve energy security and improve air quality in cities.

Green hydrogen produced by splitting water using renewable electricity is a clean fuel with no carbon emissions. It can be used as a feedstock in industries like steel and oil refineries and as fuel in automobiles and produces water on being burnt.  Continue reading “Green hydrogen key to India’s net zero journey: Gautam Adani”

Source : PTI | Despite various challenges arising out of geopolitical tension and tight financial conditions in major advanced economies, India’s engineering goods exports recorded a year-on-year growth of 10.20% to USD 10.04 billion in December 2023. While this represents a strong rebound, the sector still faces uncertainties due to the prevailing global economic conditions, an EEPC official said.

“It has been a challenging period for engineering exporters. Tensions in Europe and now in West Asia have posed significant downside risks,” Engineering Export Promotion Council of India Chairman Arun Kumar Garodia said. Continue reading “India’s engineering goods exports grow 10.20% in December amid global challenges”

BERLIN, (Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE) has passed the tipping point for combustion engine vehicle sales and now generates most sales growth from electric cars, its chief financial officer said in a media roundtable.

“The tipping point for the combustion engine is already there,” CFO Walter Mertl said, adding that in his view it had been passed last year. Continue reading “BMW CFO: sales growth is mostly electric as combustion engine ‘tipping point’ passes”

(Reuters) – Sweden’s Volvo (VOLVb.ST) said on Monday it had signed an option agreement to sell its Arquus defence unit to John Cockerill Defense, and would book a fourth-quarter operating loss from the deal of some 900 million Swedish crowns ($87.44 million).

Volvo expected consultations to become finalised during the first quarter of this year. In 2022, Arquus, with about 1,200 employees in France, represented around 1% of Volvo Group revenues, it said in a statement. Continue reading “Volvo eyes sale of Arquus to John Cockerill, takes $87 mln hit”

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Toyota Motor (7203.T) plans to produce about 10.3 million vehicles globally in 2024, renewing its record annual production for the second consecutive year, the Nikkei reported on Monday.

Toyota is preparing to increase production thanks to strong sales of hybrid vehicles. The shortage of automotive semiconductors and other components is also easing, the Nikkei said. Continue reading “Toyota aims to produce about 10.3 mln vehicles globally in 2024 – Nikkei”

MILAN,(Reuters) – Carmaker Stellantis (STLAM.MI), will temporarily lay-off about 2,250 workers at its Mirafiori plant in the Italian city of Turin in the coming weeks in response to weak demand, unions said on Monday.

The lay-offs will apply from Feb. 12 to March 3 and affect 1,250 workers making the electric Fiat 500 and a further 1,000 producing Maserati models, a company spokesperson said, confirming a union statement. Continue reading “Stellantis plans some 2,250 temporary layoffs at Italian Mirafiori plant”

(Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk said on Monday he would be uncomfortable growing the automaker to be a leader in artificial intelligence and robotics without having at least 25% voting control of the company, nearly double his current stake. Continue reading “Musk wants 25% voting control at Tesla before fulfilling AI goal”

Source : PTI | The Bihar Road Construction Department (RCD) has directed officials to carry out ‘safety inspection audit’ of all road over bridges (ROBs) on highways in the state and construct crash barriers on a priority basis to check incidents of vehicles passing through bridges falling on railway tracks. The Engineer-in-Chief of the Road Construction Department, Sohail Akhtar in a letter to all chief engineers of the department has directed them to carry out ‘safety inspection audit’ of all ROBs and ensure the construction of adequate crash barriers on their approach roads at the earliest to check incidents of vehicles falling on railway tracks in the state.

The engineer-in-chief in the letter dated January 11 also directed them to ensure that crash barriers/fencing on approach roads of the ROBs should be constructed as per the ‘Standard Specifications and Code of Practice for Road Bridges’ of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC)-2015 and guidelines for traffic safety barriers. Continue reading “Bihar Road Construction dept directs official to carry out ‘safety inspection audit’ of all ROBs”

Source : PTI | European auto major Volkswagen Group’s car sales in India grew around 8 % year-on-year to 145,713 units in 2023, the company said on Monday. Of this, domestic sales stood at 101,465 units, while 44,248 units were exported, it said in a statement.

The company had sold 134,667 cars in the January-December period of 2022, and increased 8 % to 145,713 units in 2023.

Skoda Auto Volkswagen India has five luxury car brands — Skoda, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, and Lamborghini — under it.

Continue reading “Volkswagen Group’s auto sales in India rise to 1,45,713 units in 2023”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: State-owned NHAI on Monday said FASTags with valid balance but with incomplete KYC will get deactivated by banks post January 31, 2024. To enhance efficiency of electronic toll collection system and provide seamless movement at toll plazas, NHAI has taken ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ initiative that aims to discourage use of single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to a particular vehicle, an official statement said.

NHAI is also encouraging FASTag users to complete ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) process of their latest FASTag by updating KYC as per RBI guidelines,it added. Continue reading “FASTags with incomplete KYC to be deactivated post Jan 31”

(Reuters) – International Battery Metals (IBAT.CD) on Thursday said it leased its portable direct lithium extraction (DLE) plant to a customer that aims to begin producing the metal needed for electric vehicle batteries inside the United States within six months.

The move would make IBAT the first company to commercially produce lithium with a DLE technology, a major step forward amid ongoing efforts to revolutionize the way the ultralight metal is processed for the clean energy transition. Lithium is typically produced using large, water-intensive evaporation ponds or open-pit mines. Continue reading “International Battery Metals leases lithium filtration plant for US production”

(Reuters) – Lucid Group (LCID.O) is recalling more than 2,000 units of its Air luxury electric sedan for potential faults in early versions of a part that could pose a safety risk due to obstructed driver vision.

The recalled units, which include Lucid Air sedans from model years 2022 and 2023, may have faulty high voltage coolant heaters (HVCH), which are responsible for supplying warm air to heat the cabin and defrosting. Continue reading “EV maker Lucid recalls over 2,000 luxury sedans due to faulty component”

BERLIN/STOCKHOLM, (Reuters) – Automakers Tesla (TSLA.O) and Geely-owned Volvo Car (VOLCARb.ST) said they were suspending some production in Europe due to a shortage of components, the first clear sign that attacks on shipping in the Red Sea are hitting manufacturers in the region.

The United States and Britain launched a series of strikes on Yemen on Thursday, aimed at the Iran-backed Houthi militia whose attacks on international shipping have disrupted one of the world’s most important shipping routes. Continue reading “Tesla, Volvo Car pause output as Red Sea shipping crisis deepens”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: The Delhi government’s transport department has once again floated a tender for deploying electric scooters in the Dwarka sub-city to strengthen last-mile connectivity in the area, officials said. The government plans to deploy thousands of electric scooters at around 90 locations in Dwarka, they added.

“Bids floated for high speed and low speed scooters for first and last mile connectivity with bus stops and metro stations in Dwarka sub city,” Delhi Transport Commissioner Ashish Kundra said in a post on ‘X’ on Thursday. Continue reading “Delhi govt again floats tender for electric scooters in Dwarka sub-city”

Source : PTI | Registration of government vehicles completing 15 years would be cancelled and these vehicles would be scrapped, Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who also holds the transport portfolio, said on Saturday. Addressing the reporters here on Saturday, Agnihotri said that six scrapping centres would be established in the state and expression of interest has been invited for setting up these centres under the scrapping policy. These vehicles would be replaced with electric vehicles.

Terming it as a “year of reforms” in the transport department, the deputy chief minister said the fitness certificates of private vehicles would be issued through automatic testing stations. Earlier, it was done manually. Continue reading “Registration of 15-year-old govt vehicles to be cancelled: Himachal Deputy CM”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) carried more than 67 lakh people on January 1, 2024, the highest ridership registered by the mass transit system on a New Year day in the last six years. According to DMRC data released on Saturday, a total of 67.47 lakh commuters availed the services of metro on January 1.

The data showed that 49.16 lakh people used metro on January 1 last year, 23.66 lakh in 2022, 55.26 lakh in 2020 and 50.16 lakh in 2019. Among the six years, the lowest ridership of 18.07 lakh was recorded on January 1, 2021, the first New Year celebration post COVID-19 lockdown. Continue reading “Delhi: At over 67 lakh, DMRC records highest ridership on New Year day in 6 years”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has made two significant back-to-back natural gas discoveries in a Mahanadi basin deepwater block in the Bay of Bengal as its calculated game plan of venturing into high-risk deep water exploration starts yielding results. The firm made the discoveries in the block MN-DWHP-2018/1, which it had won in the third round of auction under the open acreage licensing policy in 2019, two sources with direct knowledge of the development said.

Significantly, the discoveries have been made in an area, which previously was classified as a ‘no-go’ area because of national security interests. Continue reading “ONGC makes back-to-back gas discoveries in Mahanadi basin block”

Source : PTI | Automobile shipments from India declined 21 % last year as many overseas markets continued to face monetary and geopolitical crises, as per the latest SIAM data. Overall exports stood at 42,85,809 units last year compared to 52,04,966 units in 2022.

Passenger vehicle shipments rose 5 % to 6,77,956 units last year from 6,44,842 units in 2022. Continue reading “Automobile exports from India dip 21% in 2023: SIAM”

Source : PTI | New Delhi: The government has floated tenders for procuring electric buses under the PM-eBus Sewa scheme, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday. Under the scheme, 10,000 electric buses will be provided to 169 cities under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Addressing a press conference, Puri said his ministry officials were in touch with bus manufacturers. Continue reading “Tenders floated for procuring electric buses under central scheme: Minister”

Source : PTI | Over 1.40 lakh overage vehicles were scrapped in the financial year 2022-23 as against 4,923 deregistered vehicles in the 2021-22 fiscal, according to the Statistical Handbook-2023. The handbook containing data on socio-economic parameters of the national capital was released by the the Delhi government’s Economic and Statistics department.

The Delhi government’s Electric Vehicle Policy aimed at raising the share of electric vehicles in Delhi to 25% by 2024 was notified in August 2020. Continue reading “Over 1.40 lakh overage vehicles scrapped in financial year 2022-23”

Source : PTI | Auto-maker Hyundai Motor India and the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras here is set establish a Hydrogen Valley Innovation Hub at an outlay of INR 180 crore, which would promote hydrogen-based clean energy solutions in various applications and sectors.

A memorandum of understanding between Hyundai Motor India, IIT-Madras, and the state government’s investment promotion agency Guidance Tamil Nadu was signed during the Global Investors Meet held recently. “The Hydrogen Valley Innovation Hub project, with a total project cost of INR 180 crore, will be established with an investment of INR 100 crore by Hyundai Motor India Ltd, towards its capital expenditure requirements,” a press release from IIT-Madras said on Friday. Continue reading “Hyundai, IIT-M to set up Hydrogen Valley Innovation Hub to promote green solutions”

PARIS, (Reuters) – Stellantis (STLAM.MI) announced on Friday that it is investing in French sodium-ion battery startup Tiamat to diversify its portfolio and mass-produce electric vehicles while reducing exposure to scarce resources.

The exact amount of the investment, which is part of an initial fundraising of 150 million euros from Tiamat, was not disclosed.

The funds will be used in part for the construction of a battery factory in northern France, Tiamat Chief Executive Herve Beuffe told journalists. Continue reading “Stellantis to invest in French sodium-ion battery maker for EV output”

BERLIN, (Reuters) – Luxury carmaker Porsche (P911_p.DE) increased its deliveries by 3% in 2023, with 320,221 vehicles delivered worldwide, as growth in Europe and North America offset a challenging market in China, the company said on Friday.

Deliveries increased by 12% year-on-year in Europe, excluding the home market Germany, which saw a 10% increase, Porsche said. In North America, the company saw a 9% rise. Continue reading “Porsche increases 2023 deliveries despite China slump”

BERLIN, (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) increase in sales last year was driven by its mass-market cars and premium brand Audi, whose sales outstripped pre-pandemic deliveries at 1.9 million vehicles, according to data released on Friday.

The German carmaker reported on Tuesday a 12% rise in deliveries last year to 9.24 million vehicles, marking a post-pandemic recovery as supply chain bottlenecks eased. Continue reading “Volkswagen sales growth driven by mass-market brands, Audi”

SHANGHAI/BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – European Commission investigators are to inspect Chinese automakers in the coming weeks as part of a probe into whether to impose punitive tariffs to protect European electric vehicle (EV) makers, three people involved in the process said.

The inspectors will visit BYD (002594.SZ), Geely (0175.HK) and SAIC (600104.SS), two sources said, with one of them saying the investigators will not visit non-Chinese brands produced in China, such as Tesla (TSLA.O), Renault (RENA.PA) and BMW (BMWG.DE). Continue reading “Exclusive: EU investigators to inspect China’s BYD, Geely and SAIC in EV probe – source”

Monthly Performance: December 2023

Production: The total production of Passenger Vehicles1 , Three Wheelers, Two Wheelers and Quadricycle in the month of December 2023 was 18,96,696 units
Domestic Sales:

• Passenger Vehicles2 sales were 2,86,390 units in December 2023.
• Three-wheeler sales were 50,537 units in December 2023.
• Two-wheeler sales were 12,11,966 units in December 2023. Continue reading “Auto Industry Sales Performance of December 2023, October – December 2023, April-December 2023 and January – December 2023”

Source : PTI | Maruti Suzuki India plans to start exporting Electric Vehicles (EVs) from India this year after launching them in the country, a senior company official said on Thursday. The company also expects to export lithium-ion battery cells and modules worth around INR 750 crore this fiscal. “This year itself we will start exports of EVs to countries like Europe and Japan,” Maruti Suzuki India Executive Director Rahul Bharti said at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit here.

On the export of battery cells and modules, Bharti said, “We are exporting it to advanced countries like in Europe. We will be touching almost INR 750 crore of lithium-ion advanced chemistry cells, battery packs and module exports this financial year.”

Continue reading “Maruti Suzuki plans to start exports of EVs this year”

Source : PTI | A continuation for five years of demand incentive under the FAME scheme will help increase penetration of electric vehicles to 25% from the current 5% in India, Kinetic Green Founder and CEO Sulajja Motwani said on Thursday. Motwani, who is also the FICCI National EV Committee Chair, said while India has made a good start towards electric mobility, the next five years will be crucial to establish electric as the preferred technology for mobility amongst consumers.

Speaking at Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar, she said the FICCI committee had submitted a comprehensive recommendation, including continuation of the FAME scheme, to the government for acceleration of electric mobility. Continue reading “Need FAME scheme extension for another 5 years: Kinetic Green CEO”

Source : PTI | The Tata Group’s investment for the fab manufacturing in Gujarat will be “very big” and a Cabinet note seeking approvals for the project will be moved “very soon”, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday. Speaking at the biennial Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit here, Vaishnaw said the Tatas’ proposed investment is important because it will be serving a wider spectrum of opportunities, right from fab to OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test).

Vaishnaw said the fab proposed in Dhooera will be a semiconductor chips manufacturing factory, which will be a “very big investment”. Continue reading “Tatas’ investment in Gujarat fab will be big, project to move for Cabinet approval soon: Vaishnaw”

Source : PTI | Rationalisation of the duty structure is critical for the fast adoption of new technologies, including electric vehicles, BMW Group India President Vikram Pawah said on Thursday. He stressed on a level-playing field in terms of taxation for the existing as well as for new players who seek to foray into the country.

“Our ask from the government has always been that if you want faster adoption of new technologies, and then localisation, there needs to be some rationalisation of the duty structure,” Pawah told reporters. Continue reading “Rationalisation of duty structure important for fast adoption of new technologies: BMW India Head”

Source : PTI | JSW Group on Thursday said it has partnered with Finland-based firm Coolbrook to implement a low carbon emission technology at its Vijayanagar plant in Karnataka. In a statement, JSW Group said the partnership follows Coolbrook’s successful completion of the first phase of large-scale pilot tests for RotoDynamic Technology at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in the Netherlands in 2023.

“This strategic partnership will focus on implementing Coolbrook’s RotoDynamic Heater (RDH) Technology at JSW’s manufacturing sites at Vijayanagar Works in Karnataka with the primary goal of achieving low CO2 emissions in steel and cement production,” it said.

Continue reading “JSW Group ties up with Finland-based Coolbrook for low carbon emission tech”

(Reuters) – Even as U.S. inflation has eased in the last year, an unusual culprit has emerged in recent months as a surprise force in preventing consumer prices from falling even further: auto insurance.

Consumer prices in December overall rose 3.4% from a year earlier, the Labor Department said on Thursday in the release of the monthly Consumer Price Index, more than the 3.2% economists polled by Reuters had expected and up from 3.1% in November. Continue reading “‘Remarkable’ surge in auto insurance costs fans US inflation”

(Reuters) – Tesla (TSLA.O) has told production workers in the United States that they will get a pay hike, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

Many automakers including Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and Toyota (7203.T) have raised wages for their non-unionized U.S. workers as the United Auto Workers (UAW) union looked to organize them after signing new labor deals with the Detroit Three. Continue reading “Tesla to raise pay for US factory workers – Bloomberg News”