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Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Thursday said it clocked its highest-ever annual production volume of 23.4 lakh units in FY 2025-26. The feat makes the company the only passenger vehicles manufacturer in India to achieve such record production volume as per SIAM data, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) said in a statement. The company has also become the only firm among Suzuki Motor Corporation's global automobile manufacturing facilities, to achieve this landmark volume, it added. Commenting on the record, MSIL Managing Director & CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said very few companies across the world have been able to manufacture such large volumes in a single country. "This achievement is the outcome of a carefully nurtured automobile ecosystem built over four and a half decades. At its foundation lies the mutual trust and long-standing collaboration that we share with our employees, vendor and dealer partners," he said. This ecosystem supported by the current government's ...
Automobile manufacturers will have to comply with stricter fuel efficiency norms from April 1 next year, as the government is unlikely to extend the deadline for the implementation of the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency III standards, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Heavy Industries Hanif Qureshi said on Monday. He said that the need to extend the implementation deadline beyond April 1, 2027, may not arise, as the government has been in touch with the auto industry stakeholders on the CAFE III norms, and has sought their feedback regularly, keeping them well-informed. CAFE III norms proposed to be effective from April 1, 2027, to March 31, 2032. Differences persist among auto manufacturers on the rules, with small car makers arguing that leniency must be granted to them in the corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE-III) norms on the basis of weight and affordability, even as large OEMs are opposed to differential treatment, saying it would compromise safety features. Whil
Electric vehicle (EV) penetration in the luxury car segment has seen a drop by nearly 3 percentage points in the GST 2.0 era with the internal combustion engine versions offering better total cost of ownership, according to industry players. While the trend is also visible in the mass market segment, it is the entry luxury segment that is witnessing a more marked shift towards internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles as price difference between EV and ICE widened under the new GST rates. "If I look at October and November (2025), it came down by 2 to 3 percentage points across mass market as well as luxury, because of ICE having much better TCO (total cost of ownership) compared to EV. So, the moment the equation changes, we can see a change in (EV) penetration," Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer told PTI. The major "fluctuation" is in the entry luxury EV segment, he said, adding that for Mercedes-Benz India, its EVs are mostly in the top-end luxury ...
Bajaj Auto Ltd on Friday reported a 14 per cent rise in total sales at 3,69,809 units in December 2025 as compared to 3,23,125 units in the same month of 2024. Total domestic sales were at 1,69,373 units last month as against 1,62,420 units in the year-ago period, up 4 per cent, Bajaj Auto Ltd said in a regulatory filing. Two-wheeler sales in the domestic market were at 1,32,228 units as against 1,28,335 units in December 2024, a growth of 3 per cent. Exports of two-wheelers were up 24 per cent at 1,78,125 units last month as compared to 1,43,838 units in the same month a year ago. Total commercial vehicle sales in December 2025 stood at 59,456 units as compared to 50,952 units in the year-ago month, up 17 per cent. Commercial vehicle sales in the domestic market stood at 37,145 units as against 34,085 units in December 2024, while exports were higher by 32 per cent at 22,311 units as against 16,867 units, the company said.
British aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce on Sunday said it is looking at making India its third "home market" outside of the UK in line with a plan to unlock the full potential of opportunities across an array of domains including jet engine, naval propulsion, land systems and advanced engineering. In an interview to PTI, Sashi Mukundan, the executive vice president of Rolls-Royce India, elaborating on the move, said the company is planning for a "big investment" in the country and listed developing a next-generation aero engine in India as a priority to power the combat jets that New Delhi will produce under the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme. Besides the UK, Rolls Royce considers the US and Germany as its "home markets" as the company has considerable presence including manufacturing facilities in these two countries. Mukundan also highlighted how Rolls Royce can contribute significantly to address India's requirement for electric propulsion capability for boosting
After a record-breaking year, India's automobile industry is entering 2026 on a relatively strong footing, with sales growth expected in the 6-8 per cent range. The outlook is underpinned by policy support, including GST rationalisation, easing monetary conditions, and income tax relief, which together are likely to improve affordability and sustain consumer demand across vehicle segments. The momentum reflects more than cyclical recovery. Passenger vehicle volumes in 2025 rebounded sharply after a slow start, aided by stronger urban demand, stable rural incomes and improved financing availability. SUVs continued to dominate demand, while CNG and electric vehicles gained traction, indicating a gradual but steady shift in the powertrain mix rather than a disruptive transition. However, 2026 is shaping up as a preparatory year ahead of tighter regulations. The industry faces rising compliance costs as it readies for CAFE norms from 2027 and future emission standards, which could ...