In what is regarded as a big development in the rubber and tyre industry, the newly established UK tyre company Nova Motorsport has expanded its manufacturing footprint with the acquisition of Portugal-based tyre maker Camac.

The move – announced on 9 April 2024 – follows Nova Motorsport’s acquisition of Avon Motorsport and Avon Racing assets from Goodyear in early 2024. The acquisition of Portugal-based tyre maker Camac signals a significant expansion in Nova Motorsport’s capability and reach within the specialist and motorsport tyre industry. More details regarding the acquisition are yet to be made public. 

The Palmeira (Portugal)-based Camac is the only Portuguese tyre manufacturer that uses 100 percent Portuguese labour and technology. Producing a variety of tyres for diverse automobiles as a key player in the specialist tyre market, Camac’s factory in Palmeira has a capacity to roll out 500,000 tyres per year. 

Also present in the highly competitive motorsport sector, Camac is expected to serve Motorsport’s customers across Europe and the rest of the world from its location in the EU. 

The acquisition "represents a fundamental milestone in the execution of Nova Motorsport’s global business strategy,” said James Weekley, Nova Motorsport commercial director.

In particular, said Weekley, the purchase ‘facilitates and accelerates the reindustrialisation of the Avon Motorsport product range’.

In addition to the acquisition, Nova Motorsport has recently employed technical experts and engineers to help deliver its growth strategy. Mike Lynch, the newly appointed chief technical officer of the company, supporting the ‘recommissioning of the new factory’ from Nova Motorsport’s technical centre in Holt (UK) averred, “We are also uniquely positioned to collaborate with companies seeking bespoke tires for competition and specialist applications.” 

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Southeast Asia’s first operational smart battery-swapping station for electric taxis and ride-hailing vehicles has been officially launched on Phuket Island, marking a regional and global milestone in EV infrastructure deployment outside China.

The opening ceremony, co-hosted by UCAR Inc. and UNEX EV, showcased their partnership with Thai energy leader SUSCO.

Pitak Pruittisarikorn, Global CEO of UNEX EV, said, "The station employs UOTTA intelligent battery-swapping technology, featuring standardised, modular hardware design and AI-enhanced station control systems. These innovations significantly increase efficiency and intelligence in battery-swapping operations, laying a critical foundation for the coming era of unmanned and automated mobility."

Pairoj Srilamul, Chief District Officer of Phuket, commented, “Phuket is a world-renowned tourist destination, attracting tens of millions of visitors annually. In an era that advocates low-carbon economies and green development, we are pleased to witness UCAR introducing this cutting-edge battery-swapping model. It provides a faster, more convenient and economically viable path to electrifying commercial road transport. I believe we will see a significant increase in battery-swappable vehicles operating on Phuket roads in the next 2–3 years."

Dr. Akaranan Ariyasripong, CEO of Auto Drive, said, "Auto Drive has deployed a fleet of UNEX EV vehicles equipped with UOTTA battery-swapping systems for daily taxi and ride-hailing services in Phuket. From an operational perspective, battery-swapping reduces the upfront cost of electric vehicles. Moreover, battery swaps can be completed in just a few minutes, avoiding the need for long charging waits. This saves valuable operational time for drivers and improves fleet efficiency and reliability. Auto Drive will continue expanding its battery-swappable vehicle fleet and extend the service to other cities across Thailand."

The Phuket battery-swapping station features AI-driven control, modular hardware and advanced data systems, supporting multi-model compatibility and communication channels for Level 4 autonomous vehicles. 

Zhan Xie, Strategic Investor and Co-Chairman of UCAR, said, "The UOTTA system aligns with the global mobility revolution –  ‘smart traffic infrastructure demands second-level energy replenishment for EVs.’ In high-frequency, time-sensitive scenarios like Robotaxi operations, traditional charging models are insufficient. Battery swapping, with its speed, safety and unmanned potential, is emerging as the mainstream energy solution. The bottleneck for scaling autonomous fleets is no longer just self-driving technology, but autonomous energy replenishment infrastructure."

He added that UCAR’s Vehicle–Station–Cloud–Token system is building an intelligent, data-driven network integrating mobility energy replenishment and energy trading, essential for the future of global smart mobility.

The new station marks the start of wider plans across Southeast Asia. UCAR and SUSCO are rolling out UOTTA infrastructure across nearly 1,000 Thai fuelling stations, with facilities intended for taxis, public transport and commercial vehicles. The model will soon be replicated in Singapore, where 50 stations and 5,000 battery-swappable EVs are scheduled within three years.

Internationally, UCAR has set up joint ventures in Portugal and is planning further deployments in Peru, advancing a global network that links clean energy and smart mobility through battery swapping technology.

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HighTec EDV-Systeme, Elektrobit and Infineon Technologies have announced a strategic collaboration aimed at accelerating automotive software innovation by enabling the integration of Rust applications with AUTOSAR Classic basic software.

As ecosystem partners within Infineon Technologies’ Drive Core for its AURIX™ microcontrollers, HighTec and Elektrobit are jointly launching a development bundle designed to simplify and accelerate software development for the automotive industry. The bundle includes Elektrobit’s EB tresos AutoCore and HighTec’s automotive-grade LLVM-based Rust and C/C++ compiler, specifically tailored for the AURIX TC4x families of microcontrollers.

Through this close integration, embedded software developers will gain seamless access to all necessary tools and software in a single package. The solution is geared towards enabling the use of Rust for functional safety applications, even in the most complex automotive Electronic Control Units (ECUs).

Rust is increasingly being recognised as a critical programming language in automotive environments due to its performance, reliability and memory safety. Its strong safety attributes are especially relevant as the industry shifts toward software-defined vehicles and prepares for evolving cybersecurity and functional safety regulations such as UN R155 and the EU Cyber Resilience Act.

By combining HighTec’s ISO 26262 ASIL D-certified Rust compiler with Elektrobit’s AUTOSAR Classic basic software, the collaboration enables a hybrid development model. This allows new software components developed in Rust to operate alongside existing C/C++ code, reducing risk while maintaining compliance with stringent safety standards.

The Drive Core software bundle for Infineon’s AURIX TC4x includes the complete toolchain to start development: EB tresos configuration tool, Infineon MCALs and an extensive set of examples and tutorials for building AUTOSAR components in Rust.

Additionally, Elektrobit’s EB tresos has been enhanced to support clean and efficient Rust development, aiming to minimise or eliminate the need for "unsafe" code. The integration offers a robust toolchain capable of generating system-access code while also supporting advanced static analysis tools like Rust’s Clippy and automatic code formatting. This strengthens safety assurance and improves development productivity.

HighTec’s Rust and C/C++ compiler, based on the well-established LLVM open-source framework, is the first Rust compiler developed specifically for Infineon’s AURIX TC3x and TC4x microcontrollers. It includes advanced architecture-specific optimisations and a rapid build system designed to facilitate the development and certification of safety-critical software.

Infineon, which boasts the industry’s largest Microcontroller Abstraction Layer portfolio, continues to embrace an ecosystem approach to foster innovation and scalability. Its Drive Core software bundles are designed to provide foundational support for modern automotive software development, combining microcontrollers, basic software and extensive tool support into a cohesive development platform.

This partnership marks a significant step forward in the integration of modern programming languages like Rust into traditional automotive software frameworks, aligning with the industry's growing focus on safety, security and performance.

Patrick Will, Senior Director of Automotive Software, Infineon, said, "We believe that Drive Core is a game-changer for the automotive industry, and we are excited to see companies such as HighTec and Elektrobit leveraging it to drive innovation."

Florian Bartels, Senior Expert and System Architect at Elektrobit, said, “By taking Rust to the AUTOSAR Classic environment, Elektrobit continues to drive innovation in the automotive software industry. Rust’s inherent safety features and its seamless integration into existing AUTOSAR Classic environments make it a perfect fit for modern ECU development, enabling developers to create reliable, secure and high-performance automotive software.”

Mario Cupelli, CTO, HighTec, said, “Our partnership with Elektrobit empowers automotive customers to build safer and more efficient software solutions. By offering our proven Rust compiler along with Elektrobit’s tools in a comprehensive bundle, we give automotive suppliers and OEMs a competitive edge.”

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BatX Energies, a critical material recovery and battery recycling company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rocklink, a Germany-based rare earth element (REE) and specialty metal recycling company to establish India’s first integrated rare earth magnet recycling and refining ecosystem.

The partners state that the collaboration is an outcome of the increasing alignment under the EU–India Trade and Technology Council (TTC), which will focus on fostering sustainable and secure critical mineral value chains between Europe and India.

As per the understanding, Rocklink India and BatX have initiated, what they claim is India’s first lithium-ion battery and permanent magnet recycling cluster in Sikandrabad, Uttar Pradesh. The idea is to build a robust, scalable and environmentally responsible rare earth magnet recycling ecosystem in India.

As per the understanding, Rocklink will deploy its proprietary Magcycle reverse logistics system across India, creating a traceable collection network for end-of-life permanent magnets, including NdFeB, SmCo and AlNiCo, sourced from motors, electronics and industrial waste.

The partnership will also jointly develop and commercialise advanced solvent extraction (SX) technologies to efficiently separate and purify high-value rare earth elements such as Neodymium, Praseodymium, Dysprosium, Terbium, Gadolinium and Holmium.

The aim is to commission India’s first fully integrated rare earth refining facility, designed to meet zero-liquid-discharge (ZLD) standards and export compliance benchmarks. 

They will co-develop and file patents for the technologies in both India and Europe, creating a joint intellectual property portfolio.

The collaboration aims to enable a domestic rare earth supply chain in India while simultaneously strengthening Europe’s access to sustainable, transparent and circular sources of critical materials.

Utkarsh Singh, CEO, BatX Energies, said, “This partnership marks a defining moment in India's journey toward rare earth self-reliance. We are proud to lead this initiative alongside Rocklink and to carry forward the vision outlined in the EU TTC for building circular and transparent critical mineral value chains between India and Europe.”

Leonard Ansorge, Director, Rocklink, said, “Rocklink is committed to establishing vertically integrated long-loop recycling solutions to support government efforts to establish a functional rare earth magnet supply chain in India. Our alliance with BatX brings together our materials and refining expertise with BatX's innovative and practical approaches on refining to deliver tangible results in short development cycles.”

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Parkobot, a startup offering an ‘Airbnb for parking’ using Internet of Things (IoT) smart barriers, has secured INR 20.9 million in seed funding led by Inflection Point Ventures and participation from high-net-worth individuals (HNIs).

The start-up aims to use the funds towards expanding infrastructure, new markets, strengthen backend and increase product portfolio.

Parkobot enables owners to monetise private parking spaces hourly. A mobile app provides real-time, location-based booking. The platform features an in-house tech stack, scalable IoT devices and automation.

Mitesh Shah, Co-Founder, Inflection Point Ventures, said, “Urban parking is a huge challenge facing today’s cities. Poor planning and lack of proper parking spaces lead to encroachment on roads, illegal parking and congestion. However, Parkobot is driving the change by bringing in technology and smart parking systems that provide real-time availability of parking spaces and making underutilised private parking spaces available to the public.” 

At present, Parkobot operates in a market with a global total addressable market (TAM) of USD 114 billion and an Indian TAM of USD 9.5 billion, growing at 6.5 percent CAGR. In stealth mode, the startup has deployed spots at key locations.

Amrit Choudhury, Founder, Parkobot, said, “Parkobot envisions decongesting India’s streets by utilising underutilised private parking spaces, transforming them into revenue-generating assets via our IoT-enabled Parkobot barrier and app. Our goal is to create cleaner skies, less traffic congestion and seamless urban mobility for all.” 

The start-up claims to have over 20,000 monthly bookings and uses a proprietary Parking Management System (PMS), smart boom barriers and pre-booking to boost parking revenue and reduce manual intervention.

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