The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) concluded its four-day Sustainability Week 2026 by hosting the inaugural International Conference on Automotive Material Compliance & Sustainability (AMCS) at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. The event convened global regulators, industry leaders, technology experts and policymakers under the theme ‘Driving Circularity, Compliance and Innovation in the Global Automotive Supply Chain'.

The opening session, ‘India's Transition towards Sustainable Mobility & Material Compliance’, was addressed by SIAM Executive Director Prashant K Banerjee, who emphasised India's role as the world's third-largest auto industry in advancing sustainable mobility through global safety standards and circular economy principles. He noted that compliance with the End-of-Life Vehicles Rules 2025 strengthens structured vehicle scrappage and resource recovery. During this session, a context paper titled ‘Strengthening Automotive Material Compliance Across the Vehicle Value Chain’ was released.

Jaywant Hardikar, Senior Advisor at ICAT, addressed attendees by framing sustainable mobility as a legacy for future generations. He called for circularity in product life cycles, strong linkages between vehicle end-of-life and material reuse and quantifiable targets such as sustainability indexes or digital product passports for every vehicle. Hardikar emphasised that government-registered scrapping facilities would play key roles in ensuring proper material segregation from the design stage onward.

Sanjeev Jain, Director of Purchase at Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, shared insights on India's journey towards global green mobility leadership through circular economy principles and resilient supply chains. He pointed to policy measures including Extended Producer Responsibility mandates, vehicle scrappage norms and CAFE standards as key drivers for achieving 45 percent reduction in carbon intensity by 2030 through clean technologies including flex fuels, electric vehicles, charging networks, green logistics and green hydrogen.

Frank Nottebom, Account Delivery Executive for IMDS & CDX at DXC Technology, highlighted India's strategic importance for the International Material Data System, noting that active Indian users had grown from 3,600 to 21,000 in 2025. Hanno Focken, Managing Director of Catena-X, discussed global automotive value chain complexity and advocated for open, neutral and industry-governed solutions as India positions itself as a central link in global digital automotive supply chains. Dr Prabhakar Bhangare, CEO of Global PCCS, delivered the vote of thanks, emphasising shared commitment between manufacturers and service providers towards zero pollution goals.

The first technical session focused on ‘Policy and Regulatory Framework for End-of-Life Vehicles Worldwide’, moderated by SIAM Senior Advisor Dr Rashid Hasan. Dr A Ramesh Kumar, Principal Scientist at CSIR-NEERI, explained that Persistent Organic Pollutants are regulated under the Stockholm Convention requiring controls on 37 listed substances. International presentations followed from Europe delivered by Naina Agrawal of Marelli representing CLEPA and SaiKishore Uddandi of Joison Safety System representing CLEPA. From United States, Shridhar Rajappanavar of Key Sustainability represented AIAG. From Japan, Yoshihito Tanaka and Yosuke Miyake represented JAPIA.

The second technical session addressed ‘Digital Transformation in Supply Chain Transparency’, chaired by Frank Nottebom. Key presentations included Asmita Sathaye of Tata Motors on IMDS data best practices, Muthukumar N of Ashok Leyland on IMDS data accuracy and Hanno Focken on building digital ecosystems. Anja Lang of BMW Group and Shanawaz Sheik addressed product carbon footprint integration in IMDS. Deepti Kapil, Additional Director at CPCB, provided insights on end-of-life vehicle management guidelines.

The third technical session featured a panel discussion on ‘Overcoming Product Compliance Challenges in OEMs & Component Manufacturers’. Dr Prabhakar Bhangare served as moderator, delivering a context presentation on IMDS adoption levels and supplier maturity in India. Martin Eichhorn of DXC Technology addressed the session. The panel included Auto OEM representatives Arun Kumar of TVS Motor Company and Paurnima Barwe of Volvo. Auto Component Manufacturers were represented by Dr Naveen Verma of DENSO, Deepak Patil of Uno Minda and Sharad Raut of Southco. Sri Vinnakota of APA Engineering represented allied industries, concluding the four-day Sustainability Week 2026.

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Chennai-headquartered two-wheeler and three-wheeler major TVS Motor Company is optimistic about delivering above-industry growth in the coming quarters, supported by robust structural demand drivers, replacement needs, improving affordability, and accelerating electric vehicle (EV) adoption.

In a post-earnings call, K N Radhakrishnan, Director and Chief Executive Officer, TVS Motor Company, said, “Structural demand drivers, replacement demand, affordability, and continued EV adoption. All these are going to be supportive and I’m pretty confident that TVS will do much better than the industry growth.”

The company continues to see strong momentum in its electric vehicle segment. Following the milestone of crossing one million iQube sales, EV penetration exceeded 10.6 percent in June.

TVS Motor Co’s manufacturing capacity for electric two-wheelers is being scaled from 40,000 units towards more than 50,000 units, while three-wheeler EV capacity is expanding to approximately 30,000 units.

Radhakrishnan sees demand for internal combustion engine (ICE) two-wheelers to remain solid in the domestic market, with the company’s scooter portfolio — including the Jupiter, Ntorq and Scooty ranges — registering robust retail offtake. This has been supported by targeted product upgrades and disciplined inventory management, with dealer stock levels maintained below 30 days.

TVS Apache Crosses 7 Million Sales Milestone, Launches Tu Race Laga Campaign

On the international front, TVS Motor achieved record Q1 sales of 4.68 million units, a 33 percent YoY increase. Growth was driven by a recovery in Africa, expansion in Latin America and strong demand for the HLX series. The company is targeting an increase in total two-wheeler capacity to 8.3 million units.

Despite commodity price volatility and supply chain challenges in April, TVS Motor delivered a healthy operating EBITDA margin of 12.8 percent through strategic price adjustments of approximately 1.5 percent in Q1, ongoing cost optimisation and benefits from scale.

With the festive season approaching in October and November, the company expects sustained momentum across both domestic and international markets, supported by new product introductions and an expanding global footprint.

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European auto major Stellantis has announced leadership changes for the Ram and Jeep brands. Matt VanDyke has been appointed CEO of the Ram brand, effective 20 July, succeeding Tim Kuniskis. Branden Cote has been named CEO of the Jeep brand, effective 3 August, succeeding Bob Broderdorf, who is taking medical leave and will assume a new role upon his return. Both executives will report to Tim Kuniskis, Head of American Brands, North America Marketing and Retail strategy, Stellantis North America.

VanDyke joins Ram following roles as President of Shift Digital, CEO of FordDirect and leadership positions at Ford Motor Company. Cote joins Jeep with industry experience across OEM and dealer retail operations, including roles with AutoNation, Aston Martin Lagonda, Canoo and Mercedes-Benz USA.

Tim Kuniskis, said, “Matt and Branden are proven leaders who will build on our successes and take these iconic American brands to the next level. Their skills and deep industry experience align with our simple – but very important – customer-centric objective: to provide people with the brands and products they love and trust. I also want to thank Bob Broderdorf for his exceptional leadership of Jeep. Bob is a dedicated and valued colleague, and a friend to many across the Company. I look forward to continuing our work together when he takes on his new role.”

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GMC has introduced the HUMMER EV ICON | 25, a limited-run edition marking 25 years of the HUMMER nameplate. The vehicle will be available in 2X and 3X trims for both Pickup and SUV models.

The limited edition features an exterior colour named ‘ICON,’ which draws inspiration from the yellow paint used on the HUMMER H2. The EV includes a black interior, a front approach shield, serialised badging and infotainment graphics. Each unit will come with a keepsake.

The HUMMER EV ICON | 25 made its debut at the 2026 ESPYS in New York City, where GMC served as a sponsor.

Michael MacPhee, Global Vice-President, Buick and GMC, said, “Twenty-five years ago, HUMMER first captured attention and established itself as an immediate icon. Today, HUMMER remains instantly recognisable as an all-electric supertruck that continues to turn heads. The GMC HUMMER EV | ICON 25 is our way of recognising that legacy and its debut at the 2026 ESPYs places it among athletes, celebrities and icons whose influence has also stood the test of time.”

For MY2027, the HUMMER EV lineup will feature the North American Charging Standard (NACS) inlet and provide vehicle-to-home bidirectional charging.

GMC is introducing five exterior colour options – ICON, Dark Ridge, Azurite Blue, Dark Ember, and Deep Void Matte – alongside two 22-inch wheel options.

The EV continues to offer features including 4-Wheel Steer with CrabWalk and King Crab, Air Ride Adaptive suspension and Extract Mode. Technology features include Super Cruise hands-free driver assistance, the Infinity Roof, and camera views.

The 3X Pickup model comes with 1,160 horsepower and 13,000 lb.-ft of torque and a claimed zero to 60 mph (96 kmph) time of 2.8 seconds when equipped with the 24-module battery.

Production of the 2027 GMC HUMMER EV and the ICON | 25 edition will commence later this year at the Factory ZERO Assembly Center in Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. It will be available in the U.S. and Canada, with pricing to be announced closer to the start of production.

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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Shaurya Vijay Yatra 2026 at the National War Memorial in New Delhi, marking the commencement of nationwide observances for Kargil Vijay Diwas. The 13-day expedition, organised by Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles, features 28 riders traversing a 1,900-kilometre route to the Kargil War Memorial in Dras, Ladakh. The group comprises serving and retired defence personnel alongside their families, united under the rallying cry of ‘One Ride, One Nation, One Salute’ to honour the bravery and ultimate sacrifices of the 1999 Kargil War heroes.

The motorcycle contingent is scheduled to pass through significant military landmarks including Chandimandir, Rezang La and the Leh War Memorials before its scheduled arrival on 26 July. A central element of the journey involves transporting an urn filled with sacred soil from the National War Memorial to Kargil, symbolising the enduring valour of India's warriors across generations. The riders will also pay personal tributes to Veer Naris, acknowledging the resilience of the war widows.

Senior military leadership, including Chief of Defence Staff General N S Raja Subramani and Army Chief General Dhiraj Seth, joined the Defence Minister at the ceremonial start, alongside veterans and senior officials. The presence of the National Cadet Corps underscored the event's focus on inspiring youth to remember the nation's gallant soldiers and embrace the core principles of duty and selfless service.

During his address, the Defence Minister commemorated the soldiers whose courage upheld the nation's honour, framing the Kargil victory as a testament to India's steadfast sovereignty. He specifically recalled the contributions of Param Vir Chakra recipients Captain Vikram Batra, Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey and Subedar Majors Yogendra Singh Yadav and Sanjay Kumar. Initiated in 2021, this tribute ride has evolved into a cherished tradition, with each kilometre travelled serving as a poignant reminder that the nation's freedom is preserved by those who place their country above all else.

Anupam Thareja, Co-Founder, Classic Legends, said, "Shaurya Vijay Yatra is our way of remembering the heroes of Kargil and their families. We started this tribute with the belief that remembering their sacrifices and being grateful is a shared responsibility. Through this journey, we remain committed to keeping their memories alive for future generations. Alongside the Indian Army, we are honoured to undertake this tribute and pay homage to our bravehearts."

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