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[ad_1] Maruti Suzuki India will roll out its first electric vehicle (EV) by 2025, Hisashi Takeuchi, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India, said, adding the company has been testing 50 electric Wagon R units in India. “Weather conditions here are tough for using EVs, so we have to make them perfectly safe,” Takeuchi said in an interaction with journalists. The CEO noted that while the Indian EV market is growing, it is very small and the market share of EVs will only be 10% by 2030. “We have already announced and started our work for establishing our factory for EVs and localisation of batteries, Takeuchi said. Suzuki Motor Corporation announced last month it would invest `10,445 crore (150 billion yen) in Gujarat by 2026 to locally manufacture electric vehicles and batteries. The CEO observed that in order to have an overall market share of 50% in India, the company needs to have a big presence in the SUV segment. “We have a pipeline to make a strong comeback in the SUV space,” Takeuchi said, adding the SUV market is almost 40% of the total market. “We are very strong in the small car and MPV segments. It is not necessary to have more than 50% share in every segment. But still, we need to have some level of market share in SUV segment also,” Takeuchi noted. The company had a market share of 51% in the PV segment in FY19 as well as in FY20.While the shortage of semiconductors has eased there will be no significant improvement in the next few months, according to the CEO. “There is still a shortage and I think this will continue for a while,” Takeuchi said. He noted that although the unavailability of diesel models has hurt the company’s volumes, a strong recovery has been made with CNG models, which now account for about 17% of the total sales. The company sold around 163,000 CNG cars in FY21 and 235,000 units last year, an increase of 44%.“In the long run, we see CNG as a viable option. The government is now expanding CNG stations from 3,300 nationwide to more than 12,000. With this strong government support, we think the CNG market will expand further and we too can increase volumes,” he said. Maruti’s market share in the domestic passenger vehicle (PV) segment dropped to 43% in FY22 from 48% in the previous year, due in large measure to the shortage of chips. The company has close to 300,000 pending bookings at present. “Our order backlog is increasing right now as semiconductor constraint has affected production. Clearing them is a big challenge for us right now,” Takeuchi said. He pointed out that 90% of the semiconductors are going to the electronics industry. Maruti’s total output of passenger vehicles, including domestic models and export models, in FY22 was 15% higher than in the previous year, at 1.62 million . The company’s market share in the domestic PV segment dropped due to the semiconductor shortage even though demand was strong Takeuchi said. “Last year, the chips were not enough for the domestic models but were available for export models,” the CEO said. The company registered its highest-ever exports of 238,376 units in FY22. In comparison, the company had exported 96,139 units in FY21. [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] In what has become a concerning trend for the EV ecosystem in India in the past few weeks, an Okinawa dealership in Tamil Nadu went up in flames due to a reported EV fire inside the outlet. No casualties have been reported and the fire was put out with the help of locals. However, the incident has further fueled the debate over the safety of electric vehicles. It still remains to be disclosed to what extent the dealership has been damaged. However, going by what the visuals suggest, there might hardly be anything left unburnt inside the outlet. On March 26, 2022, a father-daughter duo tragically died due to a blast in the battery of their Okinawa scooter while they were charging it at their home. On the same day, an Ola S1 Pro made the headlines after the electric scooter caught fire in Pune. In another incident, recently , a fresh batch of 20 electric scooters from Jitendra EV turned to ashes while being transported in a container. Okinawa Autotech, on Saturday, just before the dealership was engulfed in flames in Tamil Nadu, had announced that they will be recalling 3,215 units of its Praise Pro Scooters as part of their ‘Health Check-Up’ camps. This is the sixth EV fire case reported since the onset of summer this year. Following a series of continued cases of EVs blowing up in smoke across the country, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways recently ordered a probe into the recent incidents of electric scooters catching fire. [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] Tata Motors is planning to invest  INR 2,000 crore at Ford’s Gujarat Plant in Sanand in their bid to manufacture two lakh electric vehicles (EVs) by 2026, according to a leading daily newspaper. The staff employed at the plant had protested against Ford India’s decision of closure of the manufacturing facility amid fears of losing their livelihood. Over 23,000 workers had been employed directly/indirectly at the plant. However, according to reports, Tata Motors has assured the Gujarat government that none of the existing workers employed at the Ford facility will be laid off by the new owners. Tata Motors has been seeking a concession on the land transfer rate and has proposed a 20% of jantri rate of the land – that will amount to INR 66 crore. Tata Motors will continue to relish the exclusive incentive and benefits that were granted to Michigan-headquartered manufacturers when they set the plant up in Sanand. “The proposed takeover will become a major landmark in EV production in India and will trigger interest from local and global players for setting up capabilities and capacities for new technologies in the state”, said a note from Gujarat Government on the proposed takeover. Tata Motors intends to ramp-up their production of EVs in Sanand. With the potential investment of INR 2,000 crore in the facility they are most likely to acquire soon, the automobile manufacturers  will be able to produce a projected two lakh EVs per annum. [ad_2] Source link

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[ad_1] Indian police arrest 14 after communal clashes in New Delhi [ad_2] Source link

[ad_1] By Pradeep Chamaria Every year, the world observes April 18 as the World Heritage Day. Also known as The International Day for Monument and Sites, it is an internationally recognised day to raise awareness about preserving the history, diversity, and vulnerability of world heritage sites and monuments. The idea behind celebrating this day is to encourage local communities and individuals to consider the importance of cultural heritage in our lives and to promote awareness about the efforts required to protect and conserve it.  The idea was floated on 18 April 1982 during a symposium in Tunisia by The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). The idea was approved by the UNESCO General Conference at its 22nd session in November 1983, and since then it has been traditionally been called the World Heritage Day, and aims to celebrate the heritage of the entire human race.  On this day, the world also aims to recognise the efforts of all involved in the reservation, e.g. architects, engineers, geographers, civil engineers, artists, and archaeologists who are involved in protection of heritage.  Rich Cultural Past  World Heritage Day is celebrated to spread awareness of our rich cultural diversity that our ancestors have given us, and the importance of preserving our ancient heritage. The purpose of celebrating this date is to share an important message to the younger generations to carry forward their legacy and preserve our culture through recreational activities in school. The activities could include storytelling sessions, visits to monuments and heritage sites, organising essay & speech writing competitions, drawing & poster making design, photography contests of ancient heritage monuments, conducting heritage festivals, telecasting movies with messages of culture and traditions.Theme for year 2022 – Heritage & ClimateThis year, the theme is entitled Heritage and Climate, and the stress is on the impacts of Climate Change on the Built Heritage.  We are all aware of the importance of the issue of climate change and its impact on infrastructure, including buildings, both old and new. But while we talk about ways to build better modern day city, we often forget the existing infrastructure and also the heritage buildings.   The theme for the current year is the best opportunity for us to draw our attention to preserve and conserve our heritage by adopting climate-resilient solutions to strengthen sustainable development. It is an opportunity to respond to questions such as how to protect the climate as well as our heritage.  Importance of World Heritage Day in India India is immensely rich in history, nature, heritage and culture. It is one of the most vibrant and colourful country in the world. Various states have famous forts and palaces along with wildlife sanctuaries and various other monuments which attract a large number of tourists from across the globe hence it is imperative for us to save our heritage. Howrah Bridge, Pradeep Chamaria India with 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites has the sixth largest number of UNESCO sites in the world. The latest additions are  Dholavira and Ramappa Temple in the ‘Cultural’ category which already has Taj Mahal, Hampi, Ajanta and Ellora Caves, Sun Temple, Sanchi, Ran Ki Vav, Hill Forts of Rajasthan, Churches and Convents of Goa, etc.  There other two categories are Natural and Mixed. The natural heritage sites include the Western Ghats, Great Himalayan National Park, Tadoba Tiger Sanctuary, Sundarbans National Park, Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks, and more.  Church in Goa, Courtesy: Pradeep Chamaria Apart from these India has 3691 protected monuments and sites. The walled cities of Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmadabad, and other various well planned cities with architectural buildings have also found their names inscribed as World Heritage Cities. Many other smaller cities of India also have a glorious history and rich heritage sites.  Leh palace Courtesy: Pradeep Chameria Unfortunately, with time some of these historical buildings are fading away. Today, the empty passages of some of the great heritages that have been the pride of the country narrate a grey story of the fate that has occurred. Few are being destroyed to make way for new construction. Some left unattended are surrounded by weird calm instead of the chaotic liveliness that they have seen in past.  Wildlife Safari, Courtesy: Pradeep Chamaria World Heritage Day is an opportunity for India to present the objectives and activities of our heritage to the world. We have already done a lot to save and preserve our heritage.  A few monuments are well maintained as they have been converted to hotels or important Tourist sites. Govt. of India is also taking a keen interest in conserving our heritage and culture so that the future generation can witness and admire our heritage. But still a lot more has to be done. Many of the sites are being damaged and removed due to lack of resources, vandalism, and theft. We should now try to look at the conservative efforts being followed at various sites and also look at the fact that there still is so much more to do.  The onus to conserve the rich art forms and cultural heritage lies on our shoulders our heritage is the symbol of our identity and also of our country.  (The author is a well-known travel writer. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of Financial Express Online.) [ad_2] Source link