Breaking new grounds

We hope you are enjoying a well deserved year-end/new year break.

As expected, the automotive technology space kept buzzing in 2024. Among the major megatrends, Electric Vehicles continued to take the lead. India, with aspirations of becoming a leading global EV hub, saw its electric two-wheeler market cross the million mark in sales for the first time in 2024. The story isn’t great yet on the electric passenger vehicle (PV) side, but that’s set to change in 2025.

The twin buzz creating November launches of Mahindra’s BE 6 and XEV 9e can potentially light a new spark in the electric PV segment, starting February ‘25. The first-in-industry move of Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) by JSW MG Motor India is another market intervention that could spur the offtake of EVs.

Beyond EVs, there’s also a new technology battle that’s growing. Read on to find out more about it below.

A new tech ‘battlefield’ in the auto industry

The auto industry is increasingly becoming technology intensive, and the PV market is becoming a hotbed for showcase of advanced technologies. ADAS and Connected Vehicle tech continued its market penetration trend, but now there’s an added dimension of competition among OEMs, a new ‘battlefield’ for PV makers. Find out more about it, and other tech trends that will prevail in 2025, in the article below.

Democratisation and cost consolidation of tech to be key trends at Auto Inc in 2025


A strong growth story coming up for the BEV industry in India?

Consumers are far from thronging EV showrooms, especially in the PV segment, yet. It’s a mixed story for the Indian EV industry so far, where the PV segment has lagged behind the two- and three-wheelers in a big way. But that’s set to change starting 2025. Why? Watch this interview with Shailesh Chandra, President, SIAM, where he also talks about the overall progress story of the Indian EV industry, and what needs to be done if India truly has to be a global EV hub.

‘Next 5 year journey for the electric PV category is going to be strong’


Mantras for making EVs go mainstream

An EV is much more than just a vehicle with a new propulsion system. It’s a whole new animal in terms of technology, and engineering, which is also a reason why consumers are taking their time to be familiar with it, and befriend it. India’s EV penetration in the PV segment is projected to grow from the current 2% to 13% by 2030. However, it won’t happen automatically. How can EVs become almost like a household story? Read the following guest article by Krishna Kumar, MD, and Automotive Country R&D leader, Harman India.

How innovation and localisation can impact mainstreaming of EVs in India


Building the critical ecosystem

Developing the technology is important, but without a conducive environment any new concept is unlikely to play to its full potential. The same is true for the emerging EV industry. How can that critical ecosystem be created? Through collaboration of course. More on how it can be achieved, in the story below.

Building a conducive EV technology and R&D ecosystem in India


China’s driverless car tech march

Technology prowess is important not only for vehicle manufacturers to advance on a sustainable growth journey in a disruptive era, but also for countries to grow their stature in the global arena. Currently, China seems to be gaining an edge over other major auto markets globally. Especially in EVs, and the other emerging megatrend of Autonomous Driving.

Beijing unveils plans to boost driverless vehicle use in capital


Will Autonomous Driving gain major traction in the mobility space in 2025? Well, for this year we would put our bets more on the driver assistance tech trend, or ADAS in other words, to see major gains. That will also pave the way for Autonomous Driving to gain ground.

And, may you gain more ground and be successful in all your endeavours this year, and the years ahead. All of us at ETAuto wish you, and your loved ones a very Happy New Year!

Best wishes,

Sumantra Bibhuti Barooah

Editor – Technology

ETAuto

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