Eco-innovation

This zone highlighted the technologies that deliver on vehicle dynamics and performance while protecting the earth through reduced CO2 and increased efficiency.

Magna is developing highly innovative systems of components that meet a wide range of customer requirements, while providing an optimum combination of BIC efficiency, safety, driving dynamics, and convenience, in powertrain electrification. The company claims that it can provide best in class attributes for the entire electrified powertrain, whether it provides vehicle expertise, full powertrain systems or individual components.

The eBeam is a classic example since it is a drop-in replacement for traditional beam axle in passenger trucks and light commercial vehicles. Scalable from 120 to 250 kW with single or dual electric motors, the system maintains OEM payload and towing capabilities. It does not require any restructuring of existing OEM truck platforms, uses existing OEM suspension designs, existing OEM brake packages and tube-end bearing structures.

The eDS HV Mid+ eDrive with a power range of 120 to 160 kW is primary or secondary eDrive offering enhanced efficiency of over 95 percent. It provides improved traction (2-speed option), performance and safety with torque vectoring option while also delivering best in class packaging with reduced size.

In an electric, autonomous or new mobility vehicle, the inevitable new systems will draw more power. Magna’s systems are integral in making the future vehicle more efficient by extending range capability, thereby reducing anxiety, improving fuel economy and reducing emissions. Within the automotive industry, Active Aerodynamics has saved trillions of kg of CO2. Increasing global regulations are pushing OEMs to offer features like the Active Grille Shutter to meet targets. Magna’s active aerodynamic products help OEMs to make their vehicles move faster, further for less. This helps in reduced emissions, improved fuel economy and extended range. It benefits EVs largely from drag-reducing aerodynamic devices and SUVs, preferred by global consumers and are more difficult to optimise aerodynamically. Magna’s solution helps the OEM not to sacrifice styling as this portfolio provides non-visible and visible options with seamless integration.

As a structural product and material processing leader, the global company has brought together its composite expertise with metal forming prowess to develop an essential element of any electric architecture, the battery tray. Light-weighting is an integral of autonomous, electrification and smart mobility to become a reality. For instance, the battery tray contributes to the structural and safety aspects of the body in white while protecting high-voltage batteries from damage and water. Magna offers battery tray assemblies in steel, aluminium and multi-materials including composites, made through different joining technologies.

Dynamic Drive

With its continuous focus on innovating technologies, Magna has a huge buffer of building blocks to support the mobility transition, concerning the ADAS – advanced driver-assist system. Its expertise in cameras has been a critical building block in its journey to autonomous solutions, supported by solid-state LiDAR and military-grade ICON RADAR as key sensors for complete systems.

The domain controllers function as the key to bringing it all together and enabling the best technology to provide visibility in all situations; making L2+ features a reality today and proving the foundation for full autonomy later.

The exterior of the vehicle is even more important when talking about autonomy. Sensors, cameras, RADAR and LiDAR can be integrated into vehicle exteriors using advanced plastics and thoughtful design. This includes materials that signals can transmit through while still providing durability and design freedom. Magna Mezzo panel is the first-to-market, large-format decorated front panel using in-mould film. It integrated a state-of-the-art sensor and light engines to enable unique OEM brand distinction. Besides, it also combined innovative materials and process technologies to achieve a high-quality lit surface.

Magna’s ADAS solutions connect OEMs to their customers with features that improve their lives. The Valet Park option provides L4 functionality for autonomous parking, allowing for optimum convenience and efficiencies. The Trailer Tow offers convenience and control while trailering taking all the risk and guesswork out of parking with trailers.

As Magna is into the entire eco-system of making modules to the OEMs besides, assembling cars, the company’s understands vehicle as a whole and how individual systems complement each other. Therefore, it is not limited to traditional sensor placements. It can place each and every sensor in its optimum location. As market leaders in lighting, mirror and camera systems, it has the unique ability to offer complete ADAS systems down to the product systems, which the given sensors are integrated into.

For example, the CLEARVIEW digital rear vision solutions, an advanced camera monitoring system, enhance driver experiences. Enabling customisable features safety features such as the ability to see multiple camera views in the interior mirror, including a view from the rear of the trailer.

Driver Monitoring – with distracted driving being more prevalent this day and age, Magna’s inside mirror with an imbedded camera for driver monitoring actively monitors and reduces distracted driving through customisable alerts and notifications.

INIVISION Adaptive Driving Beam – intelligent headlamps offers advanced features such as glare-free high beam, speed-dependent lighting, virtual dynamic bending, hazard/pedestrian detection and tourist conversion.

Intuitive Comfort

Vehicles of the future need to be as responsive and intelligent to personal connections with drivers and passengers. To support the emerging needs Magna has developed technologies to support intuitive and responsive human and machine interface, making the vehicle experience unique whether it is own vehicle or shared.

In SMARTACCESS technology, the company fused mechanical systems’ capabilities with the intelligence of electronic control systems to enable new ways of interacting with the vehicle. For doors, frunks, tailgates, liftgates, and more – the company has new, creative, and high-tech solutions to deliver unique vehicle access experiences. For instance, the power side door enables consumers with unique vehicle access experiences. It is intuitively designed to offer customisable HMI solutions such as gesture or tactile touch. Advanced sensors provide enhanced safety and obstacle detection features.

Made lightweight through a composite hood the SMARTACCESS Power Frunk allows consumers to seamless access the front cargo area.

The thermoplastic Multifunctional Liftgate is a modular tailgate with easy access concepts and lightweight architectures. It offers ideal cargo handling and access experience.

As cities and roads change, the way the cars are used will follow suit. The company’s smart mobility seating allows vehicles to be used and shared differently by making them more adaptable, comfortable, and ready for the long-haul by ensuring comfort and cleanability are priorities.

Power Zero G Seat makes sleeping comfortably in the car a reality by offering a unique reclining pivot located below the H-point for a more natural, ergonomic experience and maximum adjustability. The 4Mode seating provides a smooth transition between sitting upright, lying back for a repose, stadium flipping for added storage on the floor, folding, and kneeling for a level flat surface suitable for a package or a laptop.

FREEFORM Seat Trim technology help remove barriers with traditional cut and sew seat trim covers. This trilaminate moulded seat cover allows OEMs to differentiate their brand through entirely new styling options, better comfort, improved breathability and cleanability.

In addition, the seats are easier to clean as they feature simple construction with a seamless surface – making brushing away crumbs and wiping with an antibacterial wipe much easier than with traditional seats. Designers now have the ability to go beyond restrictions with radii as sharp as a 3-4mm, compared to 20-25mm for traditional cut-and-sew techniques, a deep draw of up to 4”, and quilting designs resulting in the seat to stand out from the crowd.

In the case of lighting the company offers customers a wide choice of various lighting technologies, each with specific characteristics that have been designed to help achieve striking and captivating brand identities. The company has a complete portfolio to address all customers’ illumination needs from functional headlamps and taillamps to decorative exterior trim lighting.

For instance, the FLECSFORM offers styling freedom for complex shapes and uniform lighting in an extremely thin package, enabled by mini LED technology. The vivid LED panels give a unique 3D styling opportunities and customisable animations while illuminated exterior trim utilises state of the art light engines enabling a thin decorative product. Combining innovative materials and process technologies helped the company achieve a homogenous lit finish.

Complete Vehicles

Magna is a global leader in a high-tech complex industry with in-depth vehicle engineering, systems knowledge and complete vehicle manufacturing excellence, making it the go-to partner for new entrants and traditional OEMs alike.

Mobility is in a huge transition phase. Within the other areas, global megatrends in digital transformation, environmental impact and health and well-being have a huge long-term impact on the automotive industry in electrification, automated driving and new mobility. This results in challenges for its customers. Traditional OEMs and new entrants need to make high investments, meet new legal regulations while ensuring a fast market entry with these new solutions. Moreover, this is often linked to volatile volumes, which requires flexible production assets. To support these emerging needs, Magna offers several innovative technologies. The company’s Complete Vehicles is the experienced and flexible partner from the first sketch to the start of production and beyond for all those quests. Irrespective of the customer’s initial situation, it can complete it with all kinds of services so that in the end, a full vehicle is created. With its employees’ passion and extensive automotive know-how, the company enables its customers to successfully bring their vision of mobility to the road. (MT)

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Asia’s largest integrated platform for traffic management, road construction and smart mobility solutions officially opened its doors today at the Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The combined Traffic Infratech Expo, Road Infratech Expo and Parking Infratech Expo are showcasing over 300 brands under the theme ‘Enabling Responsible Infrastructure and Mobility.’

The 2025 edition emphasises innovation, sustainability and collaboration, bringing together government officials, industry leaders and technology providers to address India’s rapidly evolving infrastructure needs.

Raj Manek, Executive Director & Board Member, Messe Frankfurt Asia Holdings, said, “At Messe Frankfurt India, our commitment to create platforms that don’t just showcase technologies but actively drive industry conversations and policy alignment. Traffic Infratech Expo has evolved into an ecosystem where government, industry leaders and innovators converge to shape the future of mobility. This year’s edition, with its scale and focus on responsible infrastructure, reflects India’s ambition to lead in safe, sustainable and technology-driven transport solutions.”

A key focus of the expo is ‘Transforming Transportation for the Future,’ with several high-level discussions planned on supporting home-grown technology solutions.

The event will host a significant Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing between the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) and the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) to accelerate indigenous technology development within the automotive sector.

Jayprakash Nair, Managing Director, Virtual Info System (VIS Group), said, “Over the years, Traffic Infratech Expo has become a catalyst for change in India’s transport and mobility landscape. Together with Messe Frankfurt India, we have built a platform that drives industry and government collaboration. Technology providers, product manufacturers, government associations, infrastructure, and policymakers are converging at the expo to discuss the real challenges and solutions needed. The 2025 edition is particularly significant as it not only introduces next-gen product categories but also brings multiple agencies and stakeholders to the table, reinforcing the show’s role as a driver of innovation and progress.”

The expo is supported by several key government bodies, including the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and will feature the Smart Mobility Conference to enable in-depth policy discussions. The two-day event is set to host over 20 new product launches and facilitate B2B and B2G networking.

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Cognizant hosted Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team driver Lance Stroll and driver ambassador Pedro de la Rosa at its GAR campus in Hyderabad. The visit was part of 'Celebrating Cognizant', a series of sporting and cultural activities for company associates.

Lance and Pedro met with Cognizant’s leadership team and hundreds of associates, discussing how Cognizant’s digital expertise supports the team, especially ahead of the 2026 regulations.

Lance Stroll, said, "It was a pleasure to visit the Cognizant offices in Hyderabad and meet so many of the team. Hearing first-hand about Cognizant’s technology and services was valuable and we felt incredibly welcomed by everyone we met.”

Rajesh Varrier, President – Global Operations and Chairman & Managing Director, Cognizant India, said, “Today’s celebration with Lance is a proud moment for our associates and a powerful reminder of how far we have come in shaping the future of the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team through innovation. I am inspired by what we have achieved together and optimistic about the promise this partnership holds for the future.”

A fireside chat with Lance, Pedro, and Rajesh underscored the role of technology in F1 and the Cognizant partnership. The drivers engaged with associates in a Q&A session.

In addition to the visit, Cognizant hosted a virtual hackathon for nine teams from three organisations supported by its Outreach programme. Participants developed low-code or code-based solutions to make the team’s Ai.lonso avatar into an engaging digital companion for fans. The top two teams won cash prizes and met Lance and Pedro.

Cognizant began its partnership with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team in 2021. The technology company acts as the team’s digital transformation partner, improving IT infrastructure and daily operations.

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Ola Electric, one of India’s largest electric vehicle manufacturers, has announced that it became the first two-wheeler EV maker to get government certification for its in-house developed rare-earth-free ferrite motor.

The company claims that the ferrite motor eliminates its need to import rare-earth motors with permanent magnets.

The certification has been granted by Global Automotive Research Centre, Tamil Nadu, after undergoing rigorous performance verification and mandatory motor power tests as per AIS 041 that is notified by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), Government of India.

As per the company, the in-house developed ferrite motor’s performance matched that of the motors with rare-earth permanent magnet motors in terms of net power for 7kW and 11 kW variants.

Ola Electric claimed that the ferrite motor delivers efficiency, performance and durability on par with rare-earth permanent magnet motors, while dramatically lowering costs and de-risking supply chain fluctuations. The company first introduced its ferrite motor at its annual ‘Sankalp 2025’ event in August this year.

With this, Ola Electric is set to integrate the ferrite motor across its product lineup, further enhancing performance, affordability and sustainability.

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BASF and its partners are set to present two technologies at K 2025 that allow for the recycling of polyamides from end-of-life vehicles. While metal recovery from decommissioned vehicles has been standard for decades, about 200 kilograms of plastic per vehicle are often incinerated. The new technologies aim to change this, especially with upcoming requirements from the End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation (ELVR). Pilot projects show how automotive waste can be used as material and returned to a closed cycle for the car industry.

BASF developed a chemical recycling process that recycles used and contaminated plastic parts – including used oil pans from ZF Group vehicles. The core of the process is depolymerisation, where the long polyamide chains break down into their original monomers. The caprolactam monomer obtained from PA6 is then purified. This removes impurities that would have remained with mechanical recycling and potentially reduced the material's quality and safety.

The material is then repolymerised into high-quality polyamide, which is processed into a compound suitable for demanding car industry components, closing the automotive-to-automotive loop.

"What used to be considered non-recyclable is now the starting point for high-quality new products," said Martin Scheuble, Team Leader Circularity Engineering Plastics at BASF.

ZF Group processed the recycled material into a chassis component for Mercedes-Benz. Tests show that depolymerisation allows for polyamide compounds that can be used without compromising performance or other chemical and physical properties.

"This project highlights the potential of recycled plastic - even for technically demanding applications - and underlines ZF's innovative strength in establishing sustainable material cycles," said Dr. Michael Lohrmann, Director Materials Technology at ZF.

Solvent-based recycling of shredder residue

A second pilot project focuses on recycling automotive shredder residue (ASR) – a mixture of materials left after the removal of mostly metals and glass. Close cooperation with a recycling company, using new sorting and processing technology, has allowed the polyamides to be extracted from this mixture in a largely pure form.

This polyamide fraction was the starting material for a solvent-based recycling process. In this process, the polymer chain is selectively dissolved with a solvent, purified and then reprocessed into PA6 compounds.

Poppelmann manufactured and tested a chain guide rail in series production at Mercedes-Benz using this technology.

"The project impressively demonstrates that solvent-based recycling is a practical alternative for plastics that are difficult to recycle mechanically. It makes an important contribution to the holistic circular economy - from the car back into the car," emphasised Steffen Meyer, Team Leader Production Technology at Poppelmann.

Life cycle analyses (LCA) confirm that both the solvent-based and depolymerisation technologies offer substantial CO2 emission savings compared to both conventional polyamide production and traditional plastic recycling methods like thermal recovery.

BASF offers a range of recycling solutions, stating that targets are achieved only if technologies are used in a complementary manner, depending on the type and availability of waste.

Jana Kragenbring-Noor, Head of Sustainability & Environmental Protection at Mercedes-Benz, explained, "Mercedes-Benz is committed to the use of secondary raw materials in its vehicles today and in the future as part of resource conservation and circularity. To continuously increase the availability of such sought-after secondary materials, the expansion of existing and new recycling technologies is essential."

"We are continuously improving the efficiency of physical methods such as mechanical and solvent-based recycling. In addition, we are convinced that complementary technologies such as chemical recycling, which includes depolymerization, pyrolysis and gasification, are necessary to further promote the circular economy and reduce the plastic waste that still ends up in landfills or is incinerated today, as well as the potential to obtain high-quality recycled plastics," explained, Dr. Martin Jung, President of BASF Performance Materials.

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