The automotive wholesales numbers for September 2024 and Q2 FY2025 are out, seeing mixed results.

As per the latest data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the apex body representing automakers in India, for September 2024, the passenger vehicle segment sold 356,752 which was down 1 percent YoY compared to 361,717 units sold last year.

On the other hand, the three- and two-wheeler segments continued to power the overall sales with 79,683 units and 2,025,993 units, seeing 7 percent and 16 percent growth respectively. This translates to a total of 2,462,431 vehicles sold in September, up 13 percent, compared to 2,186,270 units sold last year.

Similarly, in Q2 FY2025, a total of 6,663,875 vehicles were sold, registering a 9 percent growth YoY, as compared to 6,116,773 units sold last year.

Of this, passenger vehicle sales declined by 2 percent at 1,055,137 units; commercial vehicles barring buses were all in the red. A total of 220,643 commercial vehicles were sold, registering a decline of 11 percent YoY, as compared to 247,801 units sold last year.

The three-wheeler and two-wheeler segments continued to be the bright spot with sales of 208,718 units (7% YoY) and 5,179,349 units (13% YoY) respectively.

Shailesh Chandra, President, SIAM said, “The overall Indian automobile industry remained strong in Q2 2024-25 with 8.9 percent growth compared to Q2 2023-24. Two- and Three-Wheelers continued to post strong growth of 12.6 percent and 6.6 percent respectively, while passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles posted some degrowth in Q2 of 2024-25 compared to 2023-24. Heavy rainfall in key states and almost the entire ‘Shradh’ period falling in the month of September, did impact the sales numbers of some of the segments. With the rains easing and continued infrastructure spending, and the arrival of the festive season boosting consumption, we anticipate healthy demand in the next quarter.”

Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM said, “Although passenger vehicle segment de-grew by 1.8 percent in Q2 of 2024-25 as compared to Q2 of last year, for the 3rd time it crossed the 1 million mark in Q2, posting a sales of 1.06 million units. Two-wheelers posted sales of 5.18 million units in Q2 for FY 24-25 as compared 4.60 million units in Q2 of last year. Three-wheelers posted the highest ever sales of Q2 with 2.09 lakh units. Commercial vehicles posted a degrowth of 11 percent in Q2 of 2024-25 as compared to Q2 of last year, with sales of 2.21 lakh units.”

Ola Electric, one of India’s largest pure-play EV companies, has bagged five Gold Awards at the 49^th International Convention on Quality Control Circles (ICQCC) held in Sri Lanka in November 2024.

This landmark recognition was achieved by the company’s all-women workforce from Ola Futurefactory in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, who competed against industry peers from 14 countries.

The EV maker’s five teams won for the following projects –

Paint Shop: Innovation in optimisation strategies that slashes operational costs.

Motor Division: Enhancing product competitiveness by reducing Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ).

General Assembly: Accelerating time-to-market by increasing capacity in the front fork sub-assembly process.

Battery Shop: Improve battery pack productivity in order to meet the growing customer demands.

Weld Shop: Improving robotics throughput to enhance operational efficiency and streamline workflows.

Ola Electric acknowledged the role of its women-led teams from rural backgrounds, who showcased their work at the factory’s paint shop, motor shop, general assembly line, battery shop, and welding shop.

“This recognition at ICQCC is a testament to our relentless pursuit of excellence with our incredibly talented women at the helm of the EV revolution at our Futurefactory. It reflects our ethos of blending innovation with empowerment and setting new benchmarks on the operational-heavy automotive shop floors, which are traditionally dominated by men. We are extremely happy to have started this shift in the Indian automotive manufacturing landscape and are committed to bringing more women on the shop floors,” commented an Ola spokesperson.

Coimbatore-based Propel Industries Private Limited has announced the appointment of Siddharth Kirtane as the President of its EV Division that makes heavy-duty e-trucks for construction and mining applications. Propel Industries – specialising in the manufacture of crushing equipment – homologated its electric heavy-duty Tipper (470 HEV) is September 2024 and has since been offering it in two battery variants—385 kWh and 256 kWh.  
With a long-standing experience in the commercial vehicle industry in India as Head – Brand and Marketing, Volvo Trucks India; as Business Head – Construction and Infrastructure, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd, and as Vice President, Marketing, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, Kirtane will leverage his knowledge and expertise to scale up the EV business in his new role. 
 

The 42 days festive period vehicle retail data for 2024 that the Federation Of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has released, the overall sales of automobiles during this festive season have exceeded that of the last festive season. 
"I am delighted to announce that the automobile retail sector has achieved a new milestone, surpassing last year's festive records. We witnessed a remarkable surge in numbers since the beginning of Navratri, nearly hitting our forecasted target with 42.88 lakh vehicles registered during this period — a growth of 11.76 percent over last year's 38.37 lakh units,” mentioned C S Vigneshwar, President, FADA. 
Two-wheeler sales were particularly robust, according to him, registering a 13.79 percent growth to reach 3.31 million units, largely driven by strong rural demand. 
Passenger vehicle sales bounced back after a decline of roughly two-to-three months with a growth of 7.10 percent to 0.6 million units, spurred by pent-up demand and unprecedented discounts available in the market. 
Acknowledging that the target of 45,00,000-unit sales could have been fully met or even exceeded were it not for the unseasonal heavy rains in South India (especially in Bengaluru and Tamil Nadu) and the Cyclone Dana that affected Odisha, Vigneshwar averred, “FADA anticipates – as the festivities conclude – that passenger vehicle stock levels will reduce further from was reported in the October retail data press release.”
“FADA advises caution as the complete picture on inventory will emerge by month-end,” he added. 
Stating that FADA urges OEMs to focus on liquidating 2024 stock so that Dealers can enter 2025 with ideal FADA-recommended 21 days of inventory, Vigneshwar said, “Its 1.5 months remaining before the calendar year ends.”
 

The Auto Cluster Development And Research Institute, Chinchwad MIDC (Pune), is conducting a three-day workshop on TIG welding technology in its campus on 27-29 November 2024. 
Lead by experts in the respective field such as Chandrakant Vaidya, who has over 40 years of experience in QAC and welding (and has worked at ENPRO Industries, Thermax and Babcock and Wilcox Energy System), and Vijay Patole, who too has over 40 years of experience in welding, the workshop will delve a variety of topics in the field of TIG welding. 
Besides introducing the attendees to TIG welding, the workshop will delve into TIG welding theory, TIG welding equipment and setup, demonstration and hands-on practice, TIG welding techniques, welding different materials, welding positions and techniques, joint types, advanced TIG welding techniques, quality control, troubleshooting, weld quality inspection, final practice and project, industry-specific applications and welding equipment maintenance among other areas of knowledge and information. 
The three-day workshop would include breakfast and lunch. The workshop has been specifically curated to ensure skill development and upskilling of those who are seeking to upgrade their skills in the respective field of manufacturing technology.