Page 4 - Automotive Industry

GM, Hyundai in talks to share pickups, electric vans in North America

Both automakers also face geopolitical tensions heightened by tariffs being levied or threatened by US President Donald Trump, which could curtail their ability to use imported components

German carmakers weigh price, production shifts to soften tariff impact

Trump earlier in March agreed to exempt automakers for a month from his punishing 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico if they complied with existing free trade rules

Kia India to hike car prices by up to 3% from April to offset input costs

Kia India on Tuesday said it will hike vehicle prices up to 3 per cent from April in order to offset the impact of rising input costs. The price hike, effective from April 1, 2025, is primarily due to rising commodity prices and escalating supply chain-related costs, the automaker said in a statement. "As a brand committed to providing exceptional value and quality to our customers, we have always strived to offer the best vehicles at competitive prices," Kia India Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Hardeep Singh Brar said. However, due to the rising costs of commodities and input materials, the automaker will be increasing up to 3 per cent price across all models, effective from April 1, he added. "While we understand that price adjustments can be challenging, this decision has been made to ensure we can continue delivering the high-quality, technologically advanced vehicles that our customers expect from Kia," Brar said. To minimise the impact on the customers, Kia is .

Moody's downgrades Volkswagen on sector headwinds, competition in China

Last week, Volkswagen forecast another challenging year of ramping up EV sales, cutting costs and navigating trade tensions amid fierce competition with cheaper and faster rivals in China

India's CV industry wholesale volumes to grow at 3-5% in FY26: Icra

Capital expenditure in the CV industry is also expected to rise significantly to Rs 58-60 billion in FY25 and FY26, up from Rs 34 billion in FY24

India's auto parts companies eye a bigger share of the export market

An ACMA-BCG report has targeted Indian auto component exports to hit $100 billion - nearly a fivefold increase from $21 billion currently

Microchip Technology to lay off 2,000 employees amid weak automotive demand

The company expects to incur between $30 million and $40 million of costs related to the layoffs, consisting of cash severance and related restructuring expenses

Govt singles out VW in $1.4 bn tax dispute, says Kia corrected course

India says Volkswagen used a clandestine scheme to import auto parts in separate shipments, to evade detection and cut taxes, instead of declaring items as "completely knocked down"

Tesla must price India models competitively as buzz around entry grows

Tesla has also ended its true low-cost Model 2 efforts a year ago, shifting its focus to robotaxi and robotics plans

Rich in cash, Japan's Toyota builds city to test futuristic mobility

Woven City near Mount Fuji is where Japanese automaker Toyota plans to test everyday living with robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous zero-emissions transportation. Daisuke Toyoda, an executive in charge of the project from the automaker's founding family, stressed it's not a smart city. We're making a test course for mobility so that's a little bit different. We're not a real estate developer, he said Saturday during a tour of the facility, where the first phase of construction was completed. The Associated Press was the first foreign media to get a preview of the USD 10 billion Woven City. The first phase spans 47,000 square metres, roughly the size of about five baseball fields. When completed, it will be 2,94,000 square metres. Built on the grounds of a shuttered Toyota Motor Corp auto plant, it's meant to be a place where researchers and startups come together to share ideas, according to Toyoda. Ambitious plans for futuristic cities have sputtered or are unfinis

Number of operational EVs in India likely to cross 28 mn mark in 2030: IESA

The total number of operational electric vehicles (EVs) in India is likely to cross the 28 million-mark by 2030 fuelled by increasing demand and incentives, the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) said in a report. India continues to make significant and sustained inroads in its decarbonization journey, with rapid increase in sales of EVs, supported by demand and supply incentives, growing consumer demand, and a focus on developing charging infrastructure, IESA said in a statement. The outlook for electric vehicle sales continues to be positive, driven by increasing environmental awareness, customer interest, advancements in battery technology, and readily available and easily accessible EV charging infrastructure, it said. India's cumulative electric vehicle (EV) sales crossed 4.1 million units in the fiscal year 2023-2024. IESA, a leading alliance focussed on e-mobility, energy storage, and hydrogen, forecast that the cumulative number of EVs in operation will likely cross 28 ..

Govt mulls including charging infrastructure in EV investment mandate

The policy, announced in March last year, was widely seen as an attempt to woo Tesla

Hyundai India aims to be production hub for exports to emerging markets

Hyundai Motor India is looking to position itself as a manufacturing hub for exports for emerging markets like Africa and neighbouring nations, according to a top company executive. The company, which is looking to diversify its export markets as it continues to face challenges regarding shipments to regions like the Middle East due to the Red Sea and other geopolitical issues. "We are positioning the company as a production hub for emerging markets. We are manufacturing and exporting our cost-optimised vehicle to the emerging markets," Hyundai Motor India MD Unsoo Kim told PTI. He noted that the automaker has a balanced mix of domestic and export volume, which gives it not only good profit but also a natural hedge against any market fluctuation. "We have a very suitable product line up for emerging markets," Kim said. Hyundai witnessed growth in almost all regions like Africa, Mexico and Latin America, he said. "However, the Middle East continued to face headwinds due to the Red

Modification at Halol plant to increase output, meet demand: JSW Motor

JSW MG Motor India on Wednesday said it is undertaking facility modifications at its Halol plant to enhance output to meet demand for its all-electric crossover utility vehicle Windsor and to prepare for new products to be sold under its premium retail chain MG Select. The company, which has witnessed the Windsor cross production milestone of 15,000 units, said it anticipates a production slowdown this month due to the facility modifications. The Halol plant has an annual production capacity of over 1 lakh units and plans to take it up to 3 lakh units by around 2027. JSW MG Motor India is diversifying its portfolio with the all-electric roadster MG Cyberster and electric three-row limousine MG M9 to be launched in the first half of this year under 'MG Select', company's new 'accessible luxury' brand channel. The two new models were unveiled at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025 held in January. "We are increasing the capacity of the facility at Halol to meet the rising demand for

'Matter of survival': Volkswagen to court in $1.4 bn tax demand case

Authorities alleged Volkswagen India imported almost entire cars in an unassembled condition - which attracts a 30-35% tax - but evaded levies by mis-classifying them as "individual parts"

Japanese automakers Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi end talks on biz integration

Japanese automakers Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi said Thursday they are ending talks on business integration. Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said the talks had changed focus from setting up a joint holding company to making Nissan into a subsidiary of Honda. The intent was to join forces to win in the global competition, but this was not going to realise Nissan's potential, so I could not accept it, he told reporters. He said that Nissan was going to aim for a turnaround without Honda instead. Honda Chief Executive Toshihiro Mibe said in a separate news conference that Honda had suggested a stock swap to speed up decision-making. I am really disappointed, Mibe told reporters. I felt the potential was great, but I also knew actions that would bring pain were necessary to realise that." The automakers agreed to end their agreement on considering a structure for a collaboration, a joint statement said. The decision was passed by board meetings at each of the companies. Honda M

Honda's nine-month profit down by 7% as it ends talks with Nissan

Japanese automaker Honda reported a 7 per cent decline in profit for the nine months that ended in December on Thursday as it terminated talks on integrating its business with Nissan. Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. said its motorcycles business was strong, but its auto sales suffered in China and Japan, while demand stayed solid in the US. Honda's April-December 2024 profit totalled 805 billion yen (USD 5 billion), down from 869.6 billion yen the same period in 2023. Nine-month sales gained nearly 9 per cent to 16.3 trillion yen (USD 106 billion). Honda and Japanese rival Nissan Motor Corp., along with the smaller Mitsubishi Motors Corp., said in December that they were in talks to set up a joint holding company. The automakers said Thursday they were ending the talks, although existing collaborations in electric vehicles and smart cars will continue.

Honeywell International to split into three independent companies

Honeywell plans to separate its aerospace division from its automation business and move ahead with plans to spin off its advanced materials arm

Here're the foreign companies embroiled in tax disputes with govt

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Foreign companies have often struggled in India due to high tax demands related to duty evasion on imports or levies payable on big M&A transactions, leading to prolonged litigation at times.

India emerges as a key export hub for Nissan, expanding to 65 nations

India is emerging as one of the major global export hubs for Japanese auto major Nissan, with the company beginning to ship the left-hand drive version of its compact SUV Magnite to new countries, according to a senior company official. The company, which has commenced shipping 10,000 units of the left-hand drive (LHD) Magnite across various global markets, is considering the introduction of hybrid and CNG vehicles and more models in India, in addition to its already announced lineup for the country, Nissan India Operations President Frank Torres told PTI in an interview. He also said the global development regarding Nissan and Honda exploring a possible merger would not affect the company's announced plans for new products, including two mid-size SUV models (one five-seater and one seven-seater) and one electric SUV, and the target of tripling its domestic and export volumes to 1 lakh each per annum by the end of FY26 in India. "India is moving as one the global export hubs for ...