Meta and the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) have released a joint whitepaper and playbook detailing how digital adoption is reshaping consumer behaviour and preferences in India’s automotive sector. The report underscores how digitalisation is driving sector growth and offers strategies for transforming OEMs and dealerships nationwide.

In 2023, Meta and FADA launched the ‘Move with Meta’ programme, designed to upskill over 3,000 auto dealers across India. The initiative equips dealers with tools to enhance their social media presence, digitise customer engagement, and optimise lead generation through Meta platforms.

The programme has surpassed expectations, achieving a 3 times increase in dealer digitisation and training over 6,000 dealers through hyperlocal efforts, doubling its initial target. Combined with pre-programme efforts, a total of 10,000 dealers have now been upskilled.

Results have been significant, with a 32 percent improvement in lead generation efficiency reported by participants. The initiative has also contributed to improved sales performance for leading automotive OEMs across India, marking a major milestone in the sector’s digital evolution.

FADA President C S Vigneshwar said, “At FADA, our vision is to empower dealers nationwide with the right digital tools and insights to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market. Through our partnership with Meta, we’ve not only exceeded our commitment of upskilling 3,000 dealers—surpassing 6,000—but we’ve also seen a 3 times increase in digitisation and a marked 32 percent improvement in lead generation efficiency. This whitepaper underscores the potential of AI, Reels, and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp to strengthen customer relationships and drive growth. We look forward to scaling this collaboration further, bridging the digital gap in automotive retail, ensuring that dealers across India are future-ready, and remain agile in these dynamic times.”

Director Auto, CPG and D2C for Meta in India Saugato Bhowmik said, “Our platforms and products are well positioned to enable rapid and efficient digital customer acquisition and engagement for auto dealers in a hyperlocal manner. Over the last two years we’ve upskilled nearly 10,000 dealers along with FADA to digitize their outreach and experiences through our unique hyperlocal solutions and key products ranging from Reels and AI to messaging. We’re thrilled to deepen our partnership with FADA and take on the ambitious target of upskilling 5000 more dealers in the next 2 years. This program has not only benefitted thousands of auto dealers but also proven to drive strong sales results for leading OEMs.”

Auto OEMs have reported strong sales and lead generation impact because of the program.

Group Head of Marketing at Hyundai Motor India Limited, Virat Khullar, said “We’re excited to see outstanding business results through our partnership with Meta and OnlineSales on the Hyperlocal program. Together, we’ve developed a custom model that efficiently onboarded over 600 dealers in record time. In H2 '24, Meta’s hyperlocal program drove a remarkable 37% growth in sales compared to H1, while delivering 29% reduction in Cost per Retail.  As we move forward, we’re eager to scale this partnership further, leveraging cutting-edge AI and messaging solutions to unlock even greater opportunities.”

Chief Marketing Officer of Auto at Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, Manjari Upadhye, said “Our partnership with Meta has helped amplify the impact of our passenger vehicle launches. Mahindra has leveraged the best and latest in technology to drive launch impact through Meta’s family of Apps. Some of the key activations include leveraging WhatsApp for Thar ROXX launch, using Partnership ads for driving consideration for XUV 700 (Intent went up +3.3 pts) and the Auto Industry’s first chat-based car configurator on Messenger and Instagram Direct for XUV 3XO, which saw 29% increase in conversation volumes. Our collaboration with Meta has driven significant impact, leading to bookings and sales, and setting new benchmarks in the industry.”

Key Insights from the Auto Playbook 2025

Meta’s influence in driving discovery & evaluation, powered by AI: 72 percent of new automotive buyers who were surveyed in this research discovered the brand on the Meta family of apps. Further, 69 percent stated that the Meta family of apps played a role in their purchase decision.

WhatsApp Leads Buyer-Dealer Communication: Among new automobile buyers, 48 percent used WhatsApp to directly connect with dealerships for vehicle availability inquiries, making it the most preferred communication channel. Moreover, 47 percent expressed interest in receiving service reminders via messaging platforms.

Advantage+ Placements Revolutionizing Advertising: To improve cost per lead and lead volume by Meta for their Hyperlocal dealer campaigns, Hyundai India, used AI-powered Advantage+ Placements to place their dealer ads across all Meta surfaces. They saw 18 percent an increase in Lead Volume and 34 percent decrease in Cost Per Lead.

Reels and Creator Content Drive Purchase Decisions: 72 percent of automotive buyers find creator content on Instagram Reels helpful for vehicle evaluation, with 41 percent regularly engaging with vehicle-related Reels. By partnering with creators, dealers can build authenticity and amplify their reach.

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German automotive luxury brand Audi has started series production of the all-electric A2 e-tron at its main plant in Ingolstadt, Germany.

Interestingly, the company claims that the development timeline for the A2 e-tron was reduced by 21 months compared to previous vehicle projects through streamlined pre-series evaluation and coordination processes. The EV manufacturing process incorporates structural changes to lower operational complexity.

Audi implemented the string-of-pearls production sequence at Ingolstadt, fixing customer order sequences six days prior to assembly. This system allows component suppliers to deliver pre-sorted parts directly to the assembly line, eliminating regional storage and component sequencing areas.

The body of the A2 e-tron is assembled on shared line infrastructure alongside the Audi A3, utilising more than 1,200 reallocated components and 250 repurposed welding robots. Automated systems include camera-guided bin-picking robots for small sheet-metal parts and fully automated wheel installation stations replacing semi-automated bolting in chassis preassembly.

On the digital infrastructure side, the plant runs the Edge Cloud 4 Production platform, which centralises the control units for vehicle commissioning and operator guidance systems, replacing over 450 industrial PCs in the assembly area.

The facility also uses artificial intelligence assistants, including supply chain and maintenance chatbots, to assist line personnel with fault diagnostics and documentation retrieval.

Gernot Dollner, CEO, Audi AG, said. "The Audi A2 e-tron represents the next step in our renewal. It shows how we consistently think from the market backward, because different regions need different answers. The A2 e-tron was developed for Europe and is manufactured in Ingolstadt. It is the most efficient Audi we have ever built, and it makes electric mobility suitable for everyday use. At the same time, it shows how we are implementing our transformation in concrete terms: developing faster, producing more efficiently, and thereby strengthening industrial value creation and competitiveness in Germany."

Jorg Schlagbauer, Chairman, Audi General Works Council, said, "The start of production of the A2 e-tron in Ingolstadt is a strong signal for our site and its future. We are particularly proud of this as the works council, because together with the workforce we have repeatedly fought with great determination since 2019 for Audi to develop an entry-level electric model and build it in Ingolstadt. The project stands for technological expertise, industrial value creation, and secure prospects for our employees. Above all, however, the successful production launch is the result of the tremendous commitment and skill of our colleagues. Once again, this shows: at Audi, Vorsprung durch Technik is not just announced, it is achieved."

Gerd Walker, Board Member for Production and Logistics, Audi, said, "The A2 e-tron again demonstrates that it is possible to build cars profitably in Germany. Particularly important in this regard are AI assistants developed jointly by our Neckarsulm and Ingolstadt sites, our highly flexible production facilities, and, above all, the expertise of our employees. The model demonstrates the transformation of Audi production: less complex, even more efficient, and with a high degree of digitalisation and automation."

Siegfried Schmidtner, Plant Manager at Audi Ingolstadt, said, "The start of production of the Audi A2 e-tron is the result of extensive teamwork at the Ingolstadt plant. Drawing on their wealth of experience from numerous product launches, the team has laid the groundwork for a successful ramp-up of the model and further optimised our processes. Production of the new model strengthens core capabilities at our headquarters."

The site prepared its workforce for the launch through a multi-stage qualification program combining traditional assembly line instruction with virtual reality training modules.

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LICO Materials and Epsilon Advanced Materials have established a supply agreement to recover graphite from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and cell manufacturing scrap for use as secondary feedstock in battery anode production.

Under the partnership, LICO Materials will process battery waste and manufacturing scrap using its mineral recovery technology to isolate graphite. The material will be supplied to Epsilon Advanced Materials for qualification and integration into its synthetic, natural, and blended graphite anode production platforms. Product samples from the recovered feedstock will be distributed for customer testing by the end of 2026. Graphite constitutes 20 to 30 percent of a lithium-ion battery's weight.

At present, China controls over 90 percent of global graphite refining and anode material production, with International Energy Agency projections indicating China will supply 80 percent of battery-grade graphite through 2035. India's Ministry of Heavy Industries projects domestic lithium-ion battery demand to reach 210 gigawatt-hours by 2030, requiring 200,000 to 230,000 tonnes of graphite anode material annually.

Gaurav Dolwani, CEO and Founder, LICO Materials, said, "Graphite is a critical material for the battery industry, yet its supply chain remains highly concentrated in China. Recovered graphite gives us an opportunity to retain material that is already within the battery ecosystem and return it to productive use. Supplying this recovered graphite to Epsilon Advanced Materials marks a breakthrough in our journey beyond battery recycling and brings us closer to closing the graphite loop."

Vikram Handa, MD, Epsilon Advanced Materials, said, "As global battery manufacturing expands, diversifying sources of graphite has become increasingly important. Recovered graphite provides an opportunity to complement conventional feedstocks while retaining valuable material within the battery ecosystem. Our work with LICO creates a pathway to bring recovered graphite back into advanced anode material production and strengthens the circularity of the battery materials value chain."

The agreement establishes domestic secondary feedstock sourcing for battery anode production, reducing reliance on primary graphite imports as Indian battery cell manufacturing expands.

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Bengaluru-based electric vehicle maker Ultraviolette Automotive has announced plans to establish a new manufacturing facility – the BIGGA Factory – in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The plant will manufacture the Tesseract electric scooter and support the company's future product portfolio across sports, crossover, cruiser and street motorcycle segments.

The facility, located at the SIPCOT Industrial Park in Shoolagiri, will feature an initial production capacity of 250,000 units per year, which can be scaled up to 500,000 vehicles annually.

The site will complement Ultraviolette's existing plant in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The project is expected to generate approximately 2,000 jobs during its first phase.

The manufacturing setup will integrate Industry 4.0 systems, a Manufacturing Execution System for real-time tracking, collaborative robots for welding and assembly and vision-based inspection tools. The facility will also include an on-site test track to evaluate completed vehicles prior to delivery.

Narayan Subramaniam, Co-Founder and CEO, Ultraviolette Automotive, said, "We are at an inflection point in Ultraviolette's journey. Over the last few years, we have built our foundation around technology, performance and product innovation; the next phase is about building the scale to take that foundation much further. The BIGGA Factory is a significant step in that direction, giving us the manufacturing capacity and infrastructure to scale Tesseract and our future products, while creating the ability to serve a much larger customer base in India and international markets. Our current facility in Bengaluru, Karnataka will continue its regular operations alongside the BIGGA Factory, strengthening our long-term manufacturing and technology footprint in India."

Niraj Rajmohan, Co-Founder and CTO, Ultraviolette Automotive, said, "Hosur is a key manufacturing hub with a well-established automotive ecosystem, significant supply-chain advantages and close proximity to Ultraviolette's R&D operations and existing supplier network. These strategic advantages, combined with the scale, precision and manufacturing agility of the BIGGA Factory, will enable us to deliver the Tesseract and our future products to customers in India and international markets while maintaining the highest standards of quality and performance. The BIGGA Factory will further strengthen our ability to innovate and contribute to India's emergence as a global hub for electric-vehicle technology and manufacturing."

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Vedanta Group has announced that it has invested over INR 210 billion through FY2026 across projects to expand production capacity for aluminium, zinc, value-added alloys, copper, steel, nickel and ferrochrome. The capital deployment aims to scale domestic material production, supporting India's electric mobility and automotive sectors.

The investment addresses rising national demand for vehicle electrification components, including battery cells, energy storage units, electric motors, power electronics, semiconductors, charging infrastructure and vehicle structural parts.

At present, India imports over 80 percent of its critical mineral requirements. To establish domestic resource access, Vedanta said it has secured 10 critical mineral blocks covering copper, nickel-chromium-platinum group elements, tungsten, graphite, vanadium, rare earth elements and potash, with exploration activities active across five of the sites.

Within its metals operations, Vedanta Aluminium Metal produced 2.45 million tonnes of primary aluminium during FY2025–26. The division supplies primary foundry alloys, rolled products, billets, and slabs for automotive applications, alongside low-carbon offerings under its Restora and Restora Ultra product lines. The group is expanding smelting and value-added alloy capacity at its plant locations in Chhattisgarh and Jharsuguda, Odisha.

In battery materials, Vedanta operates as India's sole primary nickel producer. Through its subsidiary Hindustan Zinc, the group produced 851 kilotonne of refined zinc and 627 tonnes of saleable silver in the 2025–26 financial year, offering automotive zinc alloys and its low-carbon EcoZen product line. For electrical applications, Vedanta Limited reported cathode copper production of 170 kilotonne over the same period, while expanding downstream processing capabilities via a copper rod facility in Saudi Arabia.

Arun Misra, CEO, Vedanta Group, said, "As EV adoption accelerates, the strength of India’s journey will increasingly depend on its ability to secure reliable access to the metals and critical minerals that underpin vehicles, batteries and charging infrastructure. Building these capabilities domestically will be essential to creating supply chains capable of supporting India’s long-term mobility ambitions. At Vedanta, we are investing across this opportunity through our presence in key metals, while building capabilities in critical minerals. We are expanding our role across the resource base that will support the next generation of mobility and battery value chains."

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