Adieu 2022: Key moments and developments that defined Indian automobile industry

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While the year 2022 would be remembered for the inflection point of the booming electric two-wheeler (E2W) market, multiple developments, which will set the ball rolling for the next year, took place in the domestic automotive industry. The year would be marked by announcements and activities such as fire incidents followed by testing standards for E2Ws, disruptive introductions by EV start-ups, Metaverse, Flex Fuel Vehicles, opening of super expressways, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and ethanol blending in petrol, among others.

The year will also be remembered for the passing away of Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) Vice-Chairman and former president of SIAM Dr. Vikram Kirloskar.

As the year approaches its end, let’s take a sneak peek at all the progress and developments that took place in the auto industry so far:

1)      Avalanche of next-gen EVs by start-ups and traditional players 

While adoption of e-mobility gained traction even before the pandemic had struck, the industry this year has been working on some ground-breaking products in the EV space

Tata Motors set the ball rolling by unveiling ‘Avinya’, its first car based on a dedicated EV platform, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) did a similar move by lifting the wraps off its Born Electric range of EVs in London. While the former rolled out India’s most affordable electric passenger vehicle (e-PV) Tiagio, the latter is all set to introduce XUV400 to take on the electric variant of Nexon.

However, the real disruption was created by new-age start-ups. For instance, Bhavish-Aggarwal-led Ola Electric rolled out an e-scooter 'S1 Air' at Rs 79,999,  a price point similar to a petrol-driven scooter . On similar lines, Mumbai-based PMV Electric launched the country's smallest electric car-EaS-E, at an introductory price of Rs 4.79 lakh. Another EV start-up Pravaig Dynamics unveiled the Defy e-SUV, which the company claims, is being built with Indian expertise for global markets.

2)      Metaverse

The future of the automotive industry is believed to be shaped by Metaverse and car companies in India are exploring this space very actively.

Metaverse is a virtual world experience that is enabled by the use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) headsets.

MG Motor India claims that it has become the first auto original equipment maker (OEM) in the country to roll out its own Metaverse platform ― MGverse ― in order to provide an ‘immersive experience’ to its customers and stakeholders through multiple arenas.

On similar lines, Volvo Auto India claimed that it became the first-ever luxury automobile brand in India to unveil a car on the Metaverse platform, which it had dubbed ‘Volvoverse’. The company had collaborated with Mindshare India to conceptualise and execute the launch of its EV SUV ‘Volvo XC40 Recharge' in the Metaspace.

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki has unveiled a Metaverse rendition of NEXA called ‘NexaVerse’ in order to enable its consumers to take virtual tours of the company’s Grand Vitara midsize SUV and place orders online.

3)      10 percent ethanol compatibility achieved

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on World Environment Day, had announced that India has achieved the intended target of 10 percent ethanol-blended petrol, five months ahead of schedule.

With this, India has managed to cut down carbon emissions by 27 lakh tonnes and saved Rs 41,000 crore in forex reserves, he claimed. Besides, farmers have managed to earn Rs 40,600 crore due to increased ethanol blending over eight years, the PM said.

On 5th June, the PM had also revised the target date of 20 percent ethanol blending in petrol from 2030 to 2025.

4)      Standards and regulations

During the year, the government put in place mandatory standards and testing norms for battery components, including cells. The decision was taken in the wake of rampant fire incidents in electric two-wheelers.

For traditional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle makers, Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had announced that the deadline for mandatory implementation of six airbags in a passenger car has been pushed by a year and will now be implemented with effect from October 1, 2023.

5)      Non-Fungible Tokens gain currency

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digital assets backed by the technology that drives cryptocurrencies, are now finding its way into the domestic automotive market.

While MG Motor claims to be the first auto company in the country to launch its own NFT in December last year, many new brands jumped on to the bandwagon.

For instance, M&M claims to be the first Indian automaker to commercially roll-out NFTs. The Mumbai-based automaker released its first tranche of such tokens, which are based on the Thar SUV.

Furthermore, Royal Enfield claimed that it became the first two-wheeler brand in the country to introduce its NFT featuring 10 winning artworks from its ‘Art of Motorcycling’ (AOM) programme. The Eicher Motors-owned company also claimed that all the NFTS are sold out.

6) Super expressways to connect between distant cities

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 11 December, inaugurated the first phase of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi expressway. Spanning a distance of 701 km, the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway is billed as one of the most hi-tech e-ways in India.

The government claimed that the super expressway will have several amenities, including EV charging stations, at regular intervals.

While the first phase of the expressway from Nagpur to Shirdi is operational, the second phase from Shirdi to Mumbai will open for traffic in June 2023.

7)      Dr. Vikram Kirloskar's untimely demise

A pall of gloom enveloped India Inc, particularly the auto industry, at the untimely death of Dr. Vikram Kirloskar on November 29. He was 64.

Better known as the doyen of the auto industry, he was credited with bringing Toyota to India.

People close to him say that he was an affable, soft-spoken and down-to-earth businessman, and the void left by his death cannot be easily filled.