Top Indian Automobile Industry News & Updates - 21 April 2025,Monday

🏢 Industry

Delhi EV Policy 2.0 set to disrupt but Global EV market plateaus, says Deloitte
The recent EV policy proposed by the Delhi Transport Department has given jolts not only to OEMs but also residents of the National Capital Region (NCR). The policy lists out several proposals which, if implemented, will create major hurdles not just for businesses but for consumers as well.
Government grant for EV startups
The Department of Science and Technology has announced a programme, ‘Electric Vehicle Solutions led by Startups (EVolutionS)’, to accelerate EV component manufacturing in the country.
Tesla wants India to chip in with integral parts supply
Tesla is in discussions with US memory chip maker Micron as well as Mumbai-based CG Semi, a part of Murugappa Group, to evaluate procurement options as it looks to diversify its global supply chain, said people aware of developments. This follows the Elon Musk-led electric vehicle (EV) maker’s strategic deal with Tata Electronics to acquire semiconductor chips for its global operations, as reported by ET in April last year.
Honour to speak to PM Modi, will visit India by year-end: Musk
New Delhi: With Tesla set to launch cars in India soon, and satcom venture Starlink in the final phase of goverment approval process, American tech billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday said he will be visiting the country later this year, the comments coming a day after he spoke to PM Narendra Modi over telephone.
No EVs, just empty promises: SEBI slams Gensol for misleading investors
Markets regulator SEBI has pulled up Gensol Engineering for allegedly misleading investors, misappropriating funds, and fabricating claims about its electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing operations. In an interim order issued on April 15, SEBI highlighted serious lapses in disclosures and financial conduct by the company and its promoters, Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi.
Gensol-Blusmart crisis: Founders kill the biz; long live the brand
Jet Airways is one such case. Although the airline struggled with high fuel costs, mounting debt, and stiff competition from low-cost carriers, founder Naresh Goyal’s role in its downfall cannot be overlooked. And of course, who can forget the Satyam scandal?
Smart tech, self-driving, safety features to dominate auto industry by 2030: Niti Aayog report
It said, "Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) are projected to rise from 42% of new vehicle sales in 2020 to 90% by 2030, spurred by consumer demand for safety features and regulatory requirements."
Eversource Capital in talks to acquire BluSmart for Rs 850 crore amid financial fraud scandal, founders likely to step down
Eversource Capital is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire BluSmart for approximately Rs 850 crore. According to a CNBC-TV18 report, the investment firm has made a non-binding offer and is expected to reach a final decision within the next two weeks.
Chinese EV maker XPeng weighs India entry, cites market challenges
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer XPeng Motors, a prominent name in its home market, has outlined bold plans for global expansion as it sets its sights on competing directly with the US-based frontrunner Tesla.
Gujarat govt slashes EV tax by 5% till March 2026 to boost green mobility
Ahmedabad: The state govt has rolled out a 5 per cent vehicle tax exemption for buyers of fully electric vehicles until March 31, 2026, to boost their sales.
Automobile exports rise 19% to over 53 lakh units in FY25: SIAM
Auto exports rise 19% to over 5.3 mn units in FY25 on strong demand: Siam
Business Standard
BluSmart’s exit, new business models, and legal hurdles – What’s behind the churn in India’s ride-hailing market
 
Eversource looks to buy BluSmart for ₹800-1K cr, seeks Jaggi brothers' exit
 
Gensol-Blusmart saga: Cautious investors call for better startup governance
 
Over 21 lakh apply for high security registration plates for old vehicles as deadline extended in Mumbai
 
Govt considers SFIO action against Gensol Engineering and promoters
“It is under consideration at this stage. A final decision will be taken soon,” a government official said. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is conducting due diligence in the alleged fund diversion case involving Gensol Engineering, through the offices of the Director General (DG) and the Registrar of Companies (RoC), a senior government official told Business Standard.
📝  GST body drops Rs 115 cr from tax demand against Mahindra & Mahindra
📝  PFC, IREDA mull sale of Gensol EVs to secure loans
📝  Auto recap, April 20: Tesla to revisit India plan, Suzuki Swift AllGrip FX trim breaks cover, 2025 Volvo S90 detailed
📝  Tesla to revisit India plans as Elon Musk confirms official trip later this year
📝  Desi deeptech funding up 78% in 2024: Report
📝  NHEV reached out to IREDA and PFC before placing EV fleet order to BluSmart
Read More >>

🚗 ICE Car/SUV

Skoda India aims to sell 150% more all-desi new Kodiaq amid SUV wave
Skoda hopes its new Kodiaq will strengthen the brand in India as the SUV market grows, says Skoda India Director Petr Janeba
MG Hector gets benefits worth up to ₹4 lakh. All you need to know
JSW MG Motor India has launched the 'Midnight Carnival,' offering numerous perks for the Hector SUV. Customers can take advantage of benefits up to ₹4 lakh, and this exclusive promotion is available at showrooms across the country. During the Midnight Carnival, MG showrooms will operate until midnight every weekend until June 30, 2025.
Honda Elevate and Amaze now get CNG options officially with retrofit kits from dealerships
Honda Elevate and the Amaze are now officially available with CNG powertrain. These, however, are retrofitted CNG kits that are fitted at the dealership level. Honda Cars India maintains that these CNG kits have government approval. Nevertheless, to book one, the customer would have to go to the authorised dealership since bookings of the CNG variants cannot be done on the online website.
📝  Volkswagen Golf GTI: The hot-hatch enthusiast's dream ride arrives in India soon. Here's what it packs
Read More >>

Electric Car/SUV

📝  'Resolved delivery problems related to Mahindra e-SUVs': Top executive
📝  Tesla Model Y spotted in Pune: Homologation underway
📝  Music composer AR Rahman buys Mahindra XEV 9e
Read More >>

🚗 Luxury

Big Boy Toyz clocks ₹600 crore in FY25, to expand presence
 
📝  Discounts on luxury cars soften despite sales pressure on dealers
Read More >>

⛟ Commercial Vehicles

Electric buses to hit Madurai roads by August: Transport minister
Madurai: Electric buses will be operational in Madurai by August, transport minister S S Shivashankar said after flagging off 32 new Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses on Saturday evening at Mattuthavani bus stand in Madurai.
Read More >>

🎤 Interviews & Features

New Skoda Kodiaq: More space than Mumbai’s apartments
You’d rather have a nicer house than a nicer car, isn’t it? But in places like Mumbai, nicer – or spacious – houses can get unaffordable, but nice cars have a more or less similar price across India. Last week, after an early dinner in Mumbai, we drove a really nice car – so comfortable that we ended up spending the night in it, and discovered how deserted some parts of Mumbai can get.
Wrong turn? After decades making ICE parts, they decided to make EVs. It hasn’t gone well
New Delhi: In 2018, Greaves Cotton Ltd, an engine manufacturer that traces its origins back to 1859, sensed an opportunity in the country’s nascent electric two-wheeler market. And that made it do something unusual for an auto ancillary company—it entered the world of vehicle manufacturing, acquiring a majority stake in the Ratan Tata-backed electric scooter maker Ampere for ₹77 crore. Within a year, the Mumbai-based company increased its stake for a total investment of over ₹120 crore.
New-gen Hyundai Venue N-Line spied for first time
It’s a well-established fact that Hyundai is working on the second generation Venue which has been spotted on numerous occasions over the past one year. The recent spy images suggest that the second-gen model of the subcompact SUV is in its final stages of development before it is presented in front of the world later this year.
📝  Skoda Kodiaq vs Volkswagen Tiguan R Line: Which new SUV fits your style
📝  Swift goes wild: Suzuki unveils AllGrip FX off-road variant with AWD in Netherlands
Read More >>

🏍 EV/ICE Two Wheelers

New Yamaha XSR 125 breaks cover
Yamaha has unveiled the updated XSR 125 for 2025, giving the motorcycle a few important updates. The modern retro motorcycle retains its design that has made it popular globally and the updated Yamaha XSR 125 will go on sale in the UK market soon.
Highway Heartbreak: Aprilia RS 457’s engine fiasco leaves rider stranded
It’s been over a year since Aprilia yanked the handbrake and unleashed its most affordable speed demon, the RS 457, in India. The bike rolled out to a red-carpet reception, with the media tossing confetti and owners swearing allegiance for life over its drop-dead gorgeous looks and performance. In the real world, every fairy tale has a plot twist, as a proud Aprilia RS 457 owner’s dream machine broke down in the middle of a highway.
Royal Enfield Himalayan 750 spotted testing: What to expect?
Even since it burst onto the scene back in 2016, the Royal Enfield Himalayan has enjoyed a cult status among the Indian biking community. Undoubtedly, the company’s most popular lifestyle vehicle on sale today, over the last few years the Himalayan has also found a large consumer base in foreign markets as well.
📝  2025 TVS Apache RR 310: Check out what the updated sports bike features
Read More >>

⚙ Components

Series AA 125 - Part 2: Its DNA is about staying ahead; even in current market conditions, it is at 4X its IPO price
The second company in our new series on the auto ancillary sector was already securing EV and hybrid vehicle component orders in Europe in the second half of 2017. This was a time when most of its peers as well as OEMs in India were just about waking up to the inevitable need for transformation.
Series AA 125 - Part 1: Fresh tailwinds for this multibagger which has given 21,620% return in past 20 years
The first company in our new series on the auto ancillary sector has seen its stock deliver returns of 21,620% in the last 20 years. While it started as a small company in Delhi which made locks and switches, it soon had companies like Bajaj Auto on its client list. Why is this important? Because Bajaj Auto is known for the quality of its products and would not choose a supplier who could not deliver the goods.
AA 125 (3 to 91,225): A set of stocks from which multibaggers & IBC cases may emerge in the next 2 to 5 years
Few will admit it, but most investors come to the stock market to make big gains in a short period of time. Which is why, whatever the market condition, everyone is on the lookout for the next multibagger. Find one, and see a multiplier effect on your wealth.
Auto component firms bank on localisation, diversification amid tariff woes
 
📝  Manufacturing base and cost advantages to make India a leader in global auto component market: NITI Aayog
Read More >>

🌇 Allied Industries

Tech glitches mar RTA’s online services in Telangana
Hyderabad: Thousands of applicants trying to access various online services — including renewal of driving licence, learner's licence and change of address among others — are having a tough time due to issues with the system's functionality. While the RTA made 56 types of services online in 2016, it later made 17 essential services available under the ‘T-Folio' application to reduce physical visits to its offices and allow users to avail themselves of these services using smartphones.
📝  Issue of steel, aluminium tariff likely to figure during India, US officials' meet next week
Read More >>

🌢 Fuels, Lubricants

Crude oil import up by 4.2% to 242 MT in FY25
 
📝  Modi's Saudi Arabia visit: Riyadh eyes larger share of oil exports, refinery investment
Read More >>

💸 Finance & Insurance

BluSmart crisis: Green mobility’s red flag is giving HNIs bond blues
Over the past year, multiple new-age fintech platforms facilitated the sale of nearly Rs 100 crore worth of BluSmart Mobility bonds to retail investors and high net-worth individuals (HNIs), who are now facing repayment uncertainty as the electric cab-hailing platform’s operations have come to a standstill.
Bajaj Markets leading the way in easy bike loans
 
📝  Power your portfolio with the EV themed investments
Read More >>

📖 Magazines

Tesla Model Y facelift spied testing in India
While Tesla is still strategizing its India entry and looking for tariff reliefs, the Model Y facelift which was unveiled in January this year has recently been spotted testing on our roads. The company has already initiated homologation for the Model Y in India, along with the Model 3, which means these are likely be the first models to go on sale here. The sighting of the facelifted car suggests that the Model Y will indeed be offered in its latest iteration.
Skoda Kodiaq RS review: Big Bear
We’ve had the Skoda Kodiaq in India before, but never the sporty RS version. That, however, is set to change with the arrival of the second-generation model. The regular Kodiaq will launch here in the April quarter, and the RS version will likely arrive by October, but unlike the regular Kodiaq, the RS will come in as a CBU import, meaning it will be pricey.
New Royal Enfield Himalayan long-term review, 6,600km report
The Himalayan has now completed a year with us, and it’s time for the bike to be returned to Royal Enfield. Over the past year, the bike has gone on a couple of long rides out of the city, but most of the 6,648km on the Odo have been clocked within the metropolis. During this time, the bike has made my 70km round-trip commute far more enjoyable than it has any right to be.
Toyota Taisor long term review, 7,500km report
Sometimes, timing is everything. Just when I need a compact but quick-ish car to get from one end of the city to the other, in walks the Toyota Urban Cruiser Taisor Neo-drive – Toyota’s version of the Maruti Fronx but with a name that does its best to confuse the hell out of you. Still, semantics and onomastics apart, what makes my eyes light up is that the Taisor Turbo is a relatively light car with a nice 1.0 turbo engine and a sufficient amount of boost. So, while the crossover-like profile may help it look bulky, the Taisor with a Boosterjet engine and a 5-speed manual weighs in at just over one tonne: 1,030kg, to be precise. And it isn’t just the 100hp; it also has 147.6Nm of torque that the engine puts out between 2,000rpm and 4,500rpm.
Saudi Arabian GP: Lindblad becomes youngest F2 race winner
Red Bull Racing junior Arvid Lindblad became the youngest winner in F2 history (at the age of 17 years, eight months and 11 days) after inheriting victory in the Saudi Arabian GP sprint race. MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor crossed the chequered flag first, but was handed a penalty for forcing Josep Maria Marti off the track.
Saudi Arabian GP: Lindblad becomes youngest F2 race winner
Red Bull Racing junior Arvid Lindblad became the youngest winner in F2 history (at the age of 17 years, eight months and 11 days) after inheriting victory in the Saudi Arabian GP sprint race. MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor crossed the chequered flag first, but was handed a penalty for forcing Josep Maria Marti off the track.
Mercedes G Wagen vs Airavat: Battle Stations
Painted in a military shade of green, these two vehicles standing cheek by jowl look like kindred souls. And truth be told they are. Both are machines made to fulfil a specific military requirement, both seem to have been built in a metal foundry, and both carry some serious off-road gear and capabilities. However, getting the most authentic military off-roader-based SUV to meet a modern day version of what the genre has evolved into takes some doing.
F1 2025: Piastri wins Saudi Arabian GP to take championship lead
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won the Saudi Arabian GP after polesitter Max Verstappen was penalised for leaving the track and gaining an advantage on the opening lap. With his third win of the season secured, Piastri has now overtaken his teammate Lando Norris to claim the 2025 F1 championship lead.
KTM 390 Enduro R vs KTM 390 Adventure: Price and differences explained
KTM currently offers four off-road capable road bikes in India—three of which are powered by the LC4c 399cc engine. While the Adventure range shares a common ergonomic setup, the recently launched 390 Enduro R is built with a completely different intent. Despite using the same engine and suspension hardware, it differs significantly in terms of suspension tuning, bodywork, rear subframe, rear wheel size, and technology. In this piece, we break down all the differences between the 390 Adventure and the recently launched 390 Enduro R.
Genesis X Gran Equator concept teases brand’s Defender rival
Genesis has unveiled the X Gran Equator Concept at New York Auto Show 2025. The rugged concept car previews a large Genesis SUV designed to compete with luxury off-roaders like the Land Rover Defender, Toyota Land Cruiser, and the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. This reveal comes shortly after Genesis debuted two G90-based coupe and convertible concepts at Seoul Mobility Show 2025.
Opinion: Could Ultraviolette be India’s next big EV player?
From the very beginning, Ultraviolette has done things the right way, even when it was the more painful way. The best example is how the F77 electric motorcycle was heavily redesigned over the course of the pandemic. A more recent one is how UV invested over a year into creating the incredibly complex F99 high-performance bike that we recently set a huge top speed record with. The F99 won’t go on sale anytime soon, but its 258kph top speed is way higher than any car or bike from an Indian manufacturer so far.
Opinion: Mercedes E 450. . . now with jet thrust
E-Class drivers . . . . welcome to the jet age. Welcome to the E 450 with an inline-six engine under the hood. Welcome to turbine-like power, honey smooth running and loads and loads of oomph. But why the turbine reference? 
BMW iX1 LWB real-world range tested and explained
BMW has launched a two-wheel drive, long-wheelbase version of its iX1 electric SUV, officially called the iX1 eDrive 20L, at a very attractive ex-showroom price of Rs 49 lakh. We’ve now subjected the locally assembled iX1 LWB to our real-world range test, and the results are as follows. 
Hyundai Creta or Kia Seltos: which SUV should you buy?

📝  Buy a top-spec Honda Amaze or a mid-spec City under Rs 13 lakh?
Read More >>

📰 International

Volvo to cut up to 800 US jobs as Trump's tariffs bite
The company, part of Sweden's AB Volvo, employs nearly 20,000 people in North America, according to its website.
Buick finally had cars Americans wanted to buy - then came tariffs
That means all three are now subject to stiff tariffs that could add thousands to sticker prices on dealer lots in the US Buick's South Korea-made models face a 27.5% tariff and the Envision out of China faces a steep 47.5% fee with a 25% auto tariff, a 20% China fentanyl tariff and a previously existing 2.5% auto tax, according to a Barclays analysis. It's bad news for Buick dealers, which have been thrilled by recent models by the brand that has for years struggled to shake off a stereotype that may no longer apply. Analysts believe higher prices could stall Buick's momentum, and even threaten its survival.
Tesla to delay US launch of affordable EV, a lower-cost Model Y, sources say
Tesla's much-awaited plans for an affordable car include a stripped-down version of its best-selling electric SUV, the Model Y, that will be made in the United States, but the production launch has been delayed, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
US sales of Hyundai Palisade SUV exceed 500,000 units
Seoul: Hyundai Motor, South Korea's top automaker, said on Sunday it has sold over 500,000 units of the Palisade sport utility vehicle (SUV) in the United States, as automakers scramble to navigate the global trade turmoil.
Japan to discuss car safety standards in Trump tariffs talks, Nikkei Asia reports
Japan is considering relaxing automobile safety rules for imports as part of its tariff negotiations with the United States, Nikkei Asia reported on Sunday.
The boardroom eruption over the future of Harley-Davidson

Boardroom drama usually happens behind closed doors. But at Harley-Davidson, a fight to define the future of the iconic American motorcycle brand has spilled into public view.
Tesla owner files class-action suit over warranty-voiding odometers
 
📝  EU may ban carbon fiber in cars by 2029 over health and environmental concerns. Check details
📝  China powers global EV rise, yet subsidy cuts and tariffs cloud the road ahead. Check details
📝  2025 Volvo S90: Does the newly launched BMW 5 Series rival have what it takes to contend?
📝  Car cos tout tech’s US roots to sway Trump
Read More >>


Corporate Office

405, TSL Corner
Local Shopping Complex
Sector G Mayur Vihar Phase III
Delhi - 110096, India

Contact

contact@nurcmedianext.com
nurcmnx@gmail.com
nurcmedianext@gmail.com
+91-11-49849324, +91-9958949710