Montra Electric, the electric vehicle brand of the 124-year-old Murugappa Group, kicked off the Montra Electric Super League (MSL), an event targeted for auto drivers. Co-powered by Chola Finance, this groundbreaking initiative brings the excitement of the IPL (Indian Premiere League) to the streets with 10 dynamic teams, each comprising 17 dedicated Super Auto Riders.

This unique league aims to break the myths around electric vehicles (EVs) within the three-wheeler community, debunking common concerns like range anxiety, the MSL encourages participants to push the boundaries of EV capabilities, driving impressive distances with the help of top-up charging throughout the day.

The tournament will feature 170 Super Riders from across India, including women auto drivers, forming 10 teams that compete to cover the most kilometres. The team that logs the highest mileage emerges victorious, proving that EVs can effortlessly surpass 300km in a single day.

Roy Kurian, Business Head, Montra Electric Last Mile Mobility said, "Through the Montra Electric Super League, we aim to demonstrate the extraordinary capabilities of our Super Autos and showcase our firm commitment to improving the lives of our super riders."

Aman Sharma, President & Business Head - Vehicle Finance, from Chola Finance said, “We are delighted to partner with Montra Electric in bringing forth this first-ever Super League Tournament for auto drivers. We are also happy to announce Chola’s Super Dream Children Education program to the finalists of the tournament. Chola is also actively working on innovative financing solutions for customers, in order to make the ownership of a Montra Electric Super Auto easier for them, which is also in line with our continuous endeavour in enabling our customers to Enter a Better Life.”

Piyush Pandey, Head of Marketing, Montra Electric added, "We are excited to see our super riders embrace this challenge and feel the pride in what they are achieving. They have some extraordinary stories which needs to be told”.

The scoring system of the MSL is designed to motivate and reward. Each kilometre driven by the top 14 riders of each team translates to one run, with additional runs awarded for referrals leading to deliveries or live bookings, and quality customer testimonial videos. Teams advance through a series of matches, with winners determined by total points and runs accumulated, leading to quarter finals, semi-finals, and the grand finale.

Interestingly, Chola Finance has pledged to provide free education for life to the children of up to 68 Super Riders who make it to the final stages of the tournament. 

The Montra Electric Super League commenced on 5 July and will culminate in a grand finale in the first week of September. The victorious super riders will be recognised at a special event at the Montra Electric factory in Chennai, where they will witness the manufacturing process of the Montra Electric Super Auto.

JSW MG Motor India has announced that its popular electric vehicle offering, the MG Windsor, has clocked a new sales milestone with sales crossing 20,000 units in six months of launch.

This makes it the fastest-selling electric vehicle in India. Launched on 11 September 2024, the company positioned the Windsor as a CUV (crossover utility vehicle) and the most comfortable EV in its segment.

Rakesh Sen, Director Sales & Marketing, JSW MG Motor India, said, “Since its launch, the MG Windsor has delighted car buyers with its exceptional value proposition. Customers have praised its futuristic design, intuitive tech features, spacious cabin, all combined with a sustainable and pocket-friendly driving experience. In addition, with the MG Windsor, we have successfully addressed category barriers and dispelled several myths around EVs in India through our innovative approach. This has enabled newer customers to adapt to the EV lifestyle. These factors have propelled MG Windsor to become the fastest EV model to achieve 20,000 sales milestone in record time.”

The Windsor EV is available at a starting price of INR 999,000 and INR 3.9 per km under the Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model. The MG Windsor EV with 38 kWh Li-ion battery pack, delivers 100 KW (136ps) of power and 200Nm of torque with an ARAI-certified range of 323 km.

CUPRA has announced that its latest electrified SUV, the CUPRA Terramar, has achieved a 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating. The sporty SUV secured maximum score and joins the CUPRA Tavascan, CUPRA Born, CUPRA Formentor and CUPRA Leon.

The CUPRA Terramar achieved outstanding scores in all three of the Euro NCAP test areas – Vulnerable Road User (82 percent), Adult Occupant (89 percent) and Child Occupant (87 percent), thanks to its suite of advanced safety system. The CUPRA Terramar received a score of 76 percent in the Safety Assist category, which is the last component of Euro NCAP's evaluation.

To ensure that cars are as safe as possible for all users of the road, especially the most vulnerable, Euro NCAP's test procedures are revised on a regular basis. More stringent requirements will be enforced by Euro NCAP in 2025, including biomechanical values of the occupants, rescue sheets in all EU languages, vehicle immersion tests to guarantee the exit of occupants by ensuring the operation of relevant electrical systems for a specific period of time, new leg impactors in pedestrian protection tests that evaluate the femur and tibia more realistically and new active safety scenarios to enhance and lessen damage to other road users.

Dr Werner Tietz, Executive Vice-President – Research and Development, CUPRA, said, “The CUPRA Terramar’s 5-star Euro NCAP rating is a reflection of the importance we place on safety, not only for the vehicle’s occupants but every road user. CUPRA’s new sporty and electrified SUV embraced the challenge, and thanks to its suite of advanced safety system, was able to join the CUPRA Tavascan, Born, Formentor and Leon with the maximum score possible.”

IKEA Supply, part of Inter IKEA Group, has deployed the first electric heavy-duty truck to run on the public road network in India in collaboration with its carrier BLR Logistiks, as well as other partners.

The truck just finished its 100th trip carrying IKEA goods between the port of Mumbai, the distribution centre (DC) in Pune and the IKEA store in Mumbai. The deployment phase began in October 2024. In addition to lowering transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, it has produced notable efficiency improvements, such as a turnaround time reduction of two to one day, an annual cost reduction of 16 percent, a yearly reduction of 30 percent in greenhouse gas emissions for the particular route, and an annual reduction in empty runs of about 160,000 kilometres.

In order to expedite container processing and establish new agreements between the land carrier running the route and the ocean service provider delivering the containers to the port, IKEA has shortened procedures with Indian customs. In order to facilitate the rollout, the land carrier has made investments in the necessary charging infrastructure. Transportation-related CO2 emissions account for around five percent of the IKEA value chain's overall carbon footprint. By 2030, IKEA wants to cut the carbon footprint of all its transportation by an average of 70 percent. This accomplishment is also a crucial step toward the goal of using exclusively zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles by 2040.

Claes Lindgren, Acting Category Transport Manager, IKEA Supply Chain Operations, said, "Although the purchase price of electric vehicles is higher than diesel trucks, we have achieved higher efficiency and cost reductions in the long term. This is an important step for IKEA and a strong signal to the transport sector in India. Through a joint effort with our partner, we have optimised the route, ensuring the truck is used more on the road and less during idling in loading and unloading processes.”

Abhishek Goyal, Director at BLR Logistiks, said, “We are happy with what we have achieved for this specific route and look forward to applying this way of working in the future. This deployment in India represents an example of how we create efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Bengaluru-based electric vehicle company Ola Electric has commenced what could be seen as the next evolution of the automotive purchasing experience. The company has commenced pilot ‘HyperDelivery’ for its range of e-scooters, which will see customers get same-day delivery and registration for their EV.

HyperDelivery is being tested in Bengaluru, which will then be rolled out in a phased manner across India. HyperDelivery is being tested in Bengaluru, which will then be rolled out in a phased manner across India.

“We have significantly cut the processing time of registering the vehicles through AI-led automation and by moving the registration process completely in-house. We are excited to announce #HyperDelivery which has completely transformed the vehicle purchase and delivery experience in the automotive segment. With this we are ensuring a much smoother purchase experience for our customers, eliminating tedious purchase processes and longer delivery timelines,” said the company in a statement.

The EV maker shared that it is leveraging AI to automate the majority of the steps in a registration process, which eliminates the need for additional resources during the typical registration process.