Held on 6 July 2023 and 7 July 2023 at the ‘Feathers – A Radha Hotel’ in Chennai, the Future Mobility Conference 2023 turned out be a big success. First of its kind to be organised by Motoring Trends magazine with the support of SLACMA, ATMA, ASDC, TAITRA, ARAI and SAEIndia, the conference attracted auto industry leaders, analysts, and academia veterans in the field of engineering. Over 170 delegates made it to the two-day event from companies like Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Mahindra & Mahindra and others. Announcing the start of the conference, anchor Shilpa Menon spoke about mobility and the challenges as well as technologies associated with it. 

In his inaugural address, Bhushan Mhapralkar, Editor, Motoring Trends, spoke about the factors that led up to the organising of the Future Mobility Conference 2023. He mentioned about the inputs received from various industry stakeholders and how the theme ‘Automotive Outlook 2030’ for the conference as finalised. The Chief Guest of the event, Professor Satya Chakravarthy of IIT Madras, and Founder & CEO of ePlane Co, spoke about the efforts to develop future mobility technologies that would truly address the needs of the users. He referred to intelligent drones, hyperloops and electric planes. Stating that flying taxis or ambulances could form an integral part of future mobility, he said that they will contribute to vertical elevation in view of the road congestion and other challenges.  

Special invited guest, Gopalakrishnan VC, Director – Automotive & EV Sector, Government of Telangana, could not make to the event due to personal reasons. VG Ramakrishnan, Managing Director, Avanteum Advisors, set the tone by stressing on the challenges and opportunities that future mobility would present. Touching on electro-mobility and ‘connected and autonomous’ vehicles as key contributors to future mobility, he drew attention to the rapid pace of developments in the mobility space. “It may have taken 100 years to evolve until now, the same amount of journey will be achieved in the next one decade alone,” he said. The inaugural ceremony ended with the lighting of the lamp.  

The first session of the conference -- Electrification of vehicles – saw Jayapradeep Vasudevan, Chief Business Officer, Raptee, speak about EV landscape and the opportunities in two-wheelers. He drew attention to the greater issue of pollution, which is contributed by the mobility sector or the transportation sector, and said, “In view of the government goals and initiatives, the transition to electric two-wheelers has been slow in India.  

Speaking on electrification in the logistics industry, Uday Narang, Founder and Chairman, Omega Seiki Mobility, mentioned about the two are complimenting each other. Observing that the logistics industry will boost EV adoption, Narang drew attention to the penetration of electric commercial vehicles in the last mile segment. 

Girish N Ramaswamy, Head of Engineering, Vitesco, said in his presentation that legislation will continuously focus on eliminating CO2 emissions in terms of how the future vehicle markets shape up. He stated that gram CO2 per kilometer has been reducing and by 2027 and BEV and PHEV models will outnumber ICE models. 

The second session of the conference – Future of Manufacturing Technologies – saw L J Clement Ravi, Head – Project Planning, Ashok Leyland, speak about efficient manufacturing in VUCA using contemporary, smart and sustainable manufacturing technology. He drew attention to mega trends such as EVs and other alternative fuel vehicles; connected vehicles; autonomous vehicles, and shared/MaaS mobility.  

Stating that the global manufacturing market will reach the USD 44.4 trillion mark by 2024 and will contribute 19 percent increase in global production output, Dr Srini Venu, Director, Power Gear Sustainability Pvt Ltd, commented that that manufacturers should protect operating profit as the industry average EBITDA margin declined from 11.2 percent in 2015 to 8.6 percent in 2018.  

The third session of the conference – Autonomous & Connected Vehicles – saw Sadananda Bondade, Head – R&D (Telematics, Architecture and Networking), Continental Automotive India, speak about connected vehicles and telematics technology. He referred to key opportunities and challenges and stressed on the importance of software defined architecture and the way it is growing. 

Ravikumar Reddy, Head – Bangalore Division, DEP India, spoke about revolutionising product design and development of sustainable future vehicles using advanced simulation techniques. He stressed on environmental and fuel challenges, which are driving countries to adopt new innovations and technologies to provide better mobility solutions. 

In his presentation, Ramanathan Srinivasan, Managing Director, Automotive Test Systems, mentioned that testing and validation of ADAS systems for Indian conditions involves unique driving scenarios, captured through in-car data acquisition and scenario generation. Referring to various sources such as sensor measurement data, camera sensor, GPS sensor, accident database and open data sheets, Ramanathan showed a scenario generation sample gathered from a Chennai piece of road. 

Durgadutt Nedungadi, Senior Vice President – India and International Business, Netradyne, spoke about the role of AI technologies to redefine road safety. He commented that road safety is of major concern to India and costs two to three percent of the GDP. Stating that driver behaviour is the centre point, Nedungadi averred that his company is leveraging deep tech to revolutionise road safety. 

The first session on the second day – Reduction of Carbon Footprint – saw Meenakshi Sundaram, Chief Technology Officer (Advanced Engg.), Amalgamations Components Group, speak about sustainable electric powertrain for two-wheelers and three-wheelers in India. Raising the question of how a sustainable electric powertrain could be defined, Sundaram said, “It is aspects like long life of an electric powertrain in comparison to an ICE powertrain that hold the key.” “Also, the quality and reliability of the powertrain, and the speed and cost parity of an EV powertrain in comparison to an ICE powertrain,” he added. 

D Rajesh, Vice President, Volvo Group Trucks Technology, spoke about his company’s global R&D efforts and that India is the second biggest after Sweden. Highlighting long-term ambition of his company in the form of three points: 100 percent safe (zero accidents), fossil free and productive (optimised transport flows) future, Rajesh said the focus continues to be on battery electric, fuel cell and ICE (bio-LNG, other bio fuels and hydrogen) with the intention to break free of fossil fuels by 2040. 

Panindar Mecharla, Area Manager Sales, European Trailer Systems, spoke about lightweighting of trucks and trailers to increase payload. He highlighted his company’s long experience in the field of trailers and expressed that it has been offering sliding roofs for trailers since 1969. 

The second session on the second day – Future of Tyres and Testing – saw Renji Issac, Senior Vice President and Head of R&D and Technology, CEAT Tyres, speak about fuel efficient tyres and they are contributing to a sustainable future. He drew attention to the chemistry behind tyre manufacture and highlighted the progress achieved until now. Stating that low resistance tyres would facilitate the growth of EVs and alternative fuel vehicles, Issac said, “The rise of non-pneumatic tyres and the attention it is getting from all the tyre makers around the world, the future looks exciting.” 

Claude Rouelle, President, Optimum G, spoke about tyre characteristic optimisation driven by vehicle level metrics. He mentioned that his company provides end-to-end tyre services, including testing, supervision, design procedure, tyre modelling and tyre simulation. 

Balamurugan Ravichandran, Technical Manager – India (Sound, Vibration, Test and Measurement), HBK, spoke about the futuristic approach in EVs, NVH and product physics testing. He pointed at scalable, flexible, and distributable solutions his company provides in terms of the requirements in the present-day testing scenarios. 

Brahmanand Patil, President and Managing Director, Vector Informatik India, spoke about software testing and vehicle architecture for the future. He averred that the future is software intensive and replete with computers as control units and CAN-Bus, FlexRay or ethernet as the communication arteries.
The last session of the conference – Future of EVs 2.0 – saw Hemal Thakkar, Director – Consulting, Crisil, speak about vehicle electrification. He highlighted EV landscape against factors like a global economic growth that is expected to taper amid elevated interest rates. 

Kaushik Madhavan, Vice President and Head of Consulting – Automotive, Markets and Markets, spoke about Growth Opportunities in the e-mobility ecosystem. He highlighted the EV value chain and ecosystem shift towards dynamic customer driven approach with complex GTM requirements. 

Atul Patil, Vice President, PIN 365 (the organisation that publishes Motoring Trends and Tyre Trends magazines), gave the vote of thanks to all those who made this conference happen. He also thanked his team and the event sponsors, CEAT Tyres, Continental Automotive India, Detroit Engineered Products, Automotive Test Systems and Optimum G.

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Japanese mobility company Suzuki Motor Corporation and Tata Elxsi, a leading design and technology services company have inaugurated the ‘Suzuki-Tata Elxsi Offshore Development Center’ in Pune, India.

The facility will focus on driving innovations in advanced engineering for Suzuki Motor Corporation’s future offerings. Tata Elxsi says it will support Suzuki in its green mobility vision by aligning with the OEM’s global focus on sustainable innovation in lightweight design, safety, styling and engineering, eco-friendly materials, and advanced simulations to improve time-to-market.

Furthermore, the partners will also focus on developing next-generation powertrains (across electric, hybrid and alternate fuels) and software-defined vehicles (SDV).

Katsuhiro Kato, Chief Technology Officer, Suzuki Motor Corporation, said, “As the industry progresses in Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric technologies, Suzuki must accelerate electronic and virtual development to meet evolving demands. Tata Elxsi’s expertise in advanced computing, simulation, and design digital makes them an ideal partner in bringing forward-thinking solutions to market. This strategic and long-term partnership incorporates Suzuki’s endeavor of minimising energy and enables India’s talent to actively contribute to our development efforts globally.” 

Manoj Raghavan, MD & CEO, Tata Elxsi, said, “The inauguration of Suzuki-Tata Elxsi Offshore Development Center marks a significant milestone in our partnership with Suzuki and our shared vision for the future of mobility. Tata Elxsi’s design-led, digital-first approach is uniquely positioned to support Suzuki’s energy minimisation and sustainability goals, advancing the future of automotive engineering with precision and responsibility. We are delighted to support Suzuki in this journey towards transformative automotive engineering.”

MathWorks, a leading developer of mathematical computing software, and NXP Semiconductors, a leading provider of automotive processing technology have joined forces to introduce Model-Based Design Toolbox (MBDT) for Battery Management Systems (BMS).

With this, engineers will be able to not only develop models but also validate BMS applications on MATLAB and Simulink. They will also be bale to automate C code generation from MATLAB for NXP Battery Cell controllers, and also support NXP’s software solution, the BMS SDK components. 

For the unversed, BMS is one of the crucial technology for electric vehicles that ensures optimal performance, durability and safety for the battery packs. The BMS design process the partners state increasingly relies on modelling and simulation to fine-tune algorithms tailored to EVs' specific battery cell types and battery pack configuration. 

The Model-Based Design provides efficient design of the BMS algorithms, which allows it to be tested in simulation for different scenarios, such as driving habits, environmental conditions, and fault occurrences. 

Lars Reger, CTO, NXP Semiconductors, said, "We’re excited to collaborate with MathWorks to support automotive engineers in developing the next generation of BMS solutions. Simplifying direct testing with MBDT on NXP processors offers a broad range of benefits, including faster design iterations that allow engineers to identify and fix issues upfront in the design process and reduce time to market.” 

The MDBT acts as a bridge between theoretical design and practical application.

Jim Tung, MathWorks Fellow, said, "By enabling engineers to go directly from creating BMS algorithms in Simulink to running them on an NXP processor, we're simplifying and accelerating the development process. The growth of the EV market demands more efficient, reliable, and safer battery systems, and tools like MBDT that streamline and enhance the engineering process will be critical. Reducing development times, facilitating easier testing, and accelerating market entry will be differentiators in this competitive market.”

Mushin Innovation Labs, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) start-up providing digital solution for the automotive manufacturing industry, has raised USD 250,000 in Seed Series Round led by Inflection Point Ventures. The startup through its Mushin Aqua platform supports Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers to optimise their compliance and improve quality management. This it claims helps to reduce upto 85 percent cost reduction.

The new funds it intends to deploy towards improving sales and marketing operations, accelerate its R&D efforts, and further innovate its product suite. It also aims to expand its market presence, enhance product offerings, and develop new solutions to meet the ever-evolving needs of the automotive manufacturing sector.

Interestingly, Mushin Innovation Labs claims it already secured partnership with 15 leading automotive brands and has onboarded 70 factories within two years. It has successfully passed the Maruti Vendor System Audit (VSA) and obtained Letters of Intent (LOIs) from 15 factories. It currently has 14 active deployments and a pipeline of 52 factories. The start-up claims it has received interest from global OEMs such as Volkswagen, Skoda, Volvo, JCB, and Aston Martin. The start-up was founded by Rachit Srivastava (CEO) and Amman Batra (COO).

The company estimates that the total addressable market (TAM) for Mushin Aqua, is estimated at INR 7,000 billion annually. The serviceable available market (SAM), specifically targeting Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers in India, is valued at INR 450 billion. Based on the company's current capabilities and market focus, the serviceable obtainable market (SOM) stands at INR 45 billion annually.

Vikram Ramasubramaniam, Partner and CIO, Inflection Point Ventures, said, “The automotive manufacturing industry has stringent compliance standards to follow while minimising costs and maintaining top-notch quality. Many Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers struggle to meet these demands efficiently due to fragmented processes and outdated systems. Mushin Innovation Labs addresses this challenge and streamlines compliance and enhances quality management in an accessible price range, making lives easier for tier 1 and 2 manufacturers. IPV believes Mushin is well-positioned for sustainable growth, making it a right investment choice.”

Schaeffler India, a leading motion technology company, in partnership with Buddy4Study Foundation, has announced the winners of its 2024 edition of the Schaeffler India Social Innovator Fellowship Program.

The initiative under Schaeffler India’s CSR initiative HOPE (Healthcare, Occupational skill development, Preservation of Heritage & Environment and Empowerment of Society) in its third edition recognises and rewards social entrepreneurs for their unique sustainable solutions that has positive impact to the society.

The programme is open to applicants between the ages of 18 – 35 across different institutions including IITs, IIMs, NITs, non-profit organisations, and early-stage startups, to pitch their ideas and prototype solution across six key categories. These include environmental sustainability, renewable energy, carbon neutrality, circular economy, natural resource management, and application of technology in the social sector.

The participants undergo rigorous screening, of which 10 projects are shortlisted and receive a grant of INR 150,000 each. The winners were awarded 24-week hybrid mentorship at IIMA Ventures formerly (IIMA-CIIE), a startup incubator founded by the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. They also get an opportunity to connect with Schaeffler India's network of industry partners, and fellow innovators in the program.

The initiative which started in July 2024, has received over 276 registrations from over 25 states, including the Northeast, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, and more, with 78 shortlisted applicants for assessment.

Harsha Kadam, MD and CEO, Schaeffler India, said, “At Schaeffler India, we are dedicated to advancing motion to foster a sustainable, efficient, and resilient world. The remarkable response to this year’s Social Innovator Fellowship Program highlights the potential of India’s youth to be agents of transformative change. Sustainability and innovation are inherently linked, and through this initiative, we are committed to nurturing young innovators who will help shape the future of India, where both people and the planet can thrive.”

The award ceremony saw attended by Munish Bhatia, Co-Founder, India Accelerator & CEO, Bharat Ventures, and Praveen Bhadada, CXO Advisor and Mentor, along with the Leadership Team of Schaeffler India.