American automaker Ford Motor Co is all set to restart operations and begin manufacturing at its Chennai plant, albeit, for export markets.

The announcement comes after months of speculations on the future of Ford Motor Co’s Chennai plant’s future, which had stopped operations as the automaker had exited domestic sales in the country. 

In a social media post, Kay Hart, President, International Markets Group, Ford Motor Co, shared that the company has submitted a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the Government of Tamil Nadu in India, outlining Ford’s intention to utilise the Chennai plant for manufacturing for export.

“The decision follows multiple meetings with the Tamil Nadu Government, including one I had last week with the Honourable Chief Minister of the Government of Tamil Nadu as part of his visit to the United States. We appreciate their ongoing support as we have explored different options for the plant. This step underscores our ongoing commitment to India as we intend to leverage the manufacturing expertise available in Tamil Nadu to serve new global markets. I know people will be curious, but we will have more to share about the type of manufacturing and which export markets we'll be focusing on, along with other details, in due course,” it added.

Ford Motor Co also expects that this will also add generate new employment opportunities in the reason to its already over 12,000 strong team at Ford Business Solutions. 

“We are planning to increase that by another 2,500 to 3,000 team members in the next few years. When you add that with our engine manufacturing team in Sanand and our ongoing customer and dealer support team, India is Ford’s second-largest employee base worldwide,” she added. 

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Maruti Suzuki India has been awarded a 5-star Bharat NCAP safety rating for its e Vitara, marking a moment for the company's electric vehicle strategy.

The e Vitara is built on Suzuki’s Heartect-e platform designed for electric vehicles to deliver strength, structural rigidity and advanced high voltage protection. The ‘Made-in-India, Made-for-the-World’ e Vitara is designed and tested for temperature conditions across the world, ensuring performance from as high as 60deg Celsius to as low as -30deg Celsius. The model is offered with 49 kWh and 61 kWh battery options.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, said, “Congratulations to Maruti Suzuki for achieving 5-star Bharat NCAP in both adult and child occupant protection for their e Vitara. I am especially glad that Maruti Suzuki has shown real leadership in providing 7 airbags as a standard across all variants of the e Vitara.”

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said, “The 5-star Bharat NCAP rating for e Vitara, our first Battery Electric Vehicle, is a moment of immense pride for all of us at Maruti Suzuki. Using the Bharat NCAP 5-star rating, we will export the e Vitara to more than 100 countries of the world. Bharat NCAP’s globally benchmarked stringent vehicle test protocols have been a catalyst in empowering customers to make informed decisions. I thank the Minister Gadkari, the officials in his Ministry and test agencies for their rigorous efforts and commitment in shaping India’s journey towards safe mobility.”

The e VITARA’s body structure uses more than 60 percent ultra-high tensile and high-tensile strength steel. Its battery protection system incorporates a structural design with an energy-absorbing battery pack mounting structure.

Key safety features include 7 standard airbags (including the Driver's knee airbag), Level 2 ADAS (Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control), Hill Hold Control, ABS with EBD and Brake Assist, Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and a 360-degree Surround View Camera.

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Mahindra has marked a major milestone in its nationwide electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure expansion with the inauguration of its first dealership-based ultrafast charger – a 180 kW Charge_IN station.

This is the first of many such installations planned across Mahindra dealerships, forming a key pillar of the company’s commitment to building India’s ultrafast charging network.

This initiative scales up Mahindra’s Charge_IN ecosystem, complementing the 250 highway fast-charging stations already announced. The new 180 kW ultrafast chargers will enable EV users to charge quickly and conveniently at strategically located dealerships across the country, with 24x7 on-ground support.

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Hyundai Motor India, one of the leading passenger vehicle manufacturers, has reported wholesales of 66,840 units in November 2025, up 9.1 percent YoY as against 61,252 units last year.

This includes domestic sales of 50,340 units, up 4 percent YoY and exports of 16,500 units, up 27 percent YoY.

Tarun Garg, Whole-time Director & Chief Operating Officer, Hyundai Motor India, said, “Supported by GST 2.0 reforms, we continue to carry forward sales momentum with a year-on-year growth in our monthly domestic sales in November 2025. Further, our commitment to bolstering India’s role as a global manufacturing hub is further solidified with 26.9% year-on-year growth in monthly exports.”

He further added that the all-new Hyundai Venue SUV, the company's first software-defined vehicle in India, has received more than 32,000 bookings within a month of its launch. The new Venue features ccNC infotainment powered by Nvidia.

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Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) has announced its wholesales for November 2025, reporting total sales of 33,752 units, up 28 percent YoY.

This includes 30,085 units sold in the domestic market and 3,667 units exported.

Varinder Wadhwa, Vice-President, Sales–Service–Used Car Business, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “Following a positive festive season supported by the government’s progressive GST reforms, we continue to witness a strong momentum, with a growth of 19 percent. The recent introduction of the Urban Cruiser Hyryder Aero Edition and Fortuner Leader Edition has also continued to help us reinforce this growth trajectory, receiving recognition across the country. The innovative initiatives such as the Drum Tao and the launch of the toyota experiential museum (tem) in Bangalore, have been highly appreciated, further strengthening customer engagement and brand connect.”

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