India’s commercial vehicle (CV) industry is rapidly aligning with global standards, thanks to policy reforms, evolving customer expectations and a robust domestic ecosystem. Automakers and suppliers are making significant strides in cost competitiveness, safety innovations and integrating alternative energy solutions. As the sector continues to evolve, the need for collaboration and strategic discussions has never been more critical.

Recognising this imperative, Motoring Trends, a leading automotive magazine, hosted its inaugural Commercial Vehicles Conference on 21st November 2024, in Pune, India. Themed ‘Moving India Forward’, the event served as a platform for industry leaders, including OEMs, suppliers, technocrats, fleet operators and industry partners, to address challenges and identify opportunities shaping the future of the Indian CV landscape.

By bringing together stakeholders from across the value chain, the conference underscored the importance of collective action in driving innovation, enhancing safety standards, and adopting sustainable practices. As the CV industry transforms to meet global benchmarks, such forums are vital to ensuring India’s leadership in the sector while addressing its unique market dynamics and needs.

Mahindra Truck & Bus, Ashok Leyland and Apollo Tyres supported the event as sponsors, while Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) was the Associate partner, while Asian Trucker and Tyre Trends were the Media partners. The delegates at the event attended from a range of companies such as Tata Motors, MAN Trucks, Continental India, Tyresoles India, and Volvo Trucks among others.

The event kicked off with Dr Seshu Bhagavathula, Director, CityQ and an automotive industry veteran delivering the Keynote address, where he highlighted how urban cities around the world are working to decongest and decarbonise their streets. “This (decongestion and decarbonisation) requires a serious relook and focus on improving urban mobility as well as the role of alternative energy to support the transition,” Dr Bhagavathula.

Rashmi Urdhwareshe, Former Director, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) shared her perspective on how the automotive industry has been focussing on not just introducing the latest technologies, but also co-developing solutions to meet the India-specific needs. She emphasised  the close cooperation between testing agencies, suppliers and OEMs that is accelerating the transition to the latest technologies.

Making commercial vehicles safer

The commercial vehicle population on Indian roads accounts for a small parc of the total vehicles, but ranks 3^rd when it comes to the vehicles involved in road accidents. In 2022, more than 460,000 accidents took place in India, which resulted in over 168,491 people losing their lives and over 443,366 people being injured.

The first panel discussion of the day focussed on one of the most important aspects pertaining to the CV industry – Safety. The panellists for the session included – Dr Venkat Srinivas, Head Of Business, Mahindra Truck & Bus; Rahul S. Mahajan, Deputy Director, The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI); Sudeepth Puthumana, Head of Segment – ADAS, Autonomous Mobility, Continental Automotive India and Prashant Kakade, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH).

The session, moderated by Bhushan Mhapralkar, Editor, Motoring Trends, touched upon various factors ranging from ADAS technology, and road designing to driver training and sensitisation.

SKP Amarnath, Group Head - R&D, Apollo Tyres gave a presentation on ‘Commercial Vehicle (Truck) Evolution In India And Impact On Tyres’. He dwelled into the key developments that have taken place in the CV industry and how tyres can play a key role in influencing vehicle safety and efficiency.

Vijay Shrinivas, Member, TREA - Tyre Retreading Education Association and CEO, Indag, gave a presentation on ‘Driving Sustainability and Circularity in Commercial Vehicle Industry’. He presented his thoughts on how treading not only helps save costs on tyre replacement but also enables higher circularity and thus helps reduce carbon emissions too.

Alternative energy & future of commercial vehicles

The role of alternative energy has been a key topic of discussion globally across vehicle segments. While there has been a focus on electrification in certain vehicle classes, the commercial vehicle segment will need to adopt a mixed approach depending on the application and use case.

The second panel discussion was on the topic of Alternative Energy and the Future of Commercial Vehicle. The panellists – Dr Bhagavathula ; Mahesh Babu, CEO, Switch Mobility; Anil Baliga, President, EKA Mobility; Boddapati Dinakar, Executive Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, Volvo Trucks, VECV; Shailesh Zinge, Director - Marketing, Growth Initiatives and Program Management, Engine Business, Cummins India and A Ramasubramanian, CTO, Blue Energy Motors presented their perspective on the alternative fuel segment.

The session was moderated by Nilesh Wadhwa, Assistant Editor, Motoring Trends.

The discussion focussed on how industry stakeholders were exploring various energy mix ranging from electric, LNG to future fuels such as hydrogen and fuel cells. The panellists agreed that globally too at present there was no single fuel that could completely overhaul the commercial vehicles segment. There was a need to not only focus on the vehicles but the necessary charging/refuelling ecosystem.

Transport ecosystem

The health of the CV industry is one of the key barometers to understand a country’s economic prosperity. While one can discuss the trends, policies and technologies, it is imperative that the views of the key stakeholder – fleet operators – are taken into account.

The third panel discussion of the day was on the topic of ‘Transport Ecosystem’. The panellists for the session were - Bal Malkit Singh, Chairman - the Core Committee, Former President, All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) Prasanna Patwardhan, President, Bus & Car Operators Confederation Of India (BOCI) and Sanjay Sasane, Principal, Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR).

The session, moderated by Sharad Matade, Executive Editor, Motoring Trends, had an indepth discussion on how fleet operators continued to face headwinds ranging from increases in operational expenses, driver shortages and road infrastructure among others. At the same time, the revenues had not kept up at the same pace. The panellists also presented their perspectives on the adoption of newer technologies and alternative fuels.

Atul Patil, Vice-President – Marketing, Pin 365 delivered the Vote of Thanks. 

Michelin North America and HAAS Alert are rolling out a new safety initiative that uses digital alerts to protect stranded truckers and roadside technicians across the United States and Canada.

The system integrates HAAS Alert's Safety Cloud technology with Michelin's ONCall emergency roadside service. When truck drivers request roadside assistance through ONCall, the system automatically sends alerts to nearby motorists through navigation apps like Apple Maps and Waze, as well as built-in vehicle systems in several auto brands.

These alerts warn approaching drivers to slow down and move over, providing up to 30 seconds of advance notice before reaching the breakdown site.

"Since 2009, Michelin ONCall has responded to almost 3 million roadside emergency service calls in the U.S. and Canada," said Ed Quigley, Director of Sales & Operations, Connected Solutions at Michelin North America, Inc. "That's why this partnership with HAAS Alert is so important. We want to help improve the safety of everyone on the highway, including commercial truck drivers and service providers, as well as consumer vehicle drivers like you and me."

The partnership comes as research demonstrates the effectiveness of digital alert systems. A 2021 Purdue University study found that such alerts can reduce hard braking incidents by up to 80 percent.

"This new product is designed to help protect commercial vehicle operators by alerting approaching drivers who are using pertinent navigation apps, through Safety Cloud until help arrives," said Tom Parbs, VP of Sales at HAAS Alert.

Michelin ONCall, launched in 2009, aims to respond to service requests within two hours and has handled nearly 3 million tyre and mechanical emergency roadside service events.

Satish Sharma recently joined BKT as Senior President for Strategy and Business Development.

Sharma brings a rich experience of over three decades in the tyre industry.

Prior to this appointment, Sharma was the President spearheading Apollo Tyres’ operations across the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa regions. Sharma oversaw key functions, including manufacturing, sales and marketing, customer relations, and regional profitability.

Sharma holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Raipur, and a post-graduate diploma in Business Management from the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad.

A veteran of India’s automotive sector, Sharma previously served as Chairman of the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA).

Hans Beckhoff, Founder and Managing Director of Beckhoff Automation, was honoured for his entrepreneurial achievements on 29 January 2025 by German business newspaper Handelsblatt, KPMG and the Stiftung Familienunternehmen (the Foundation for Family Business) and inducted into the Hall of Fame for Family Businesses.

Beckhoff, 70, was honoured in front of more than 170 family business owners during a ceremony in Munich, Germany. For 45 years, he has maintained a high rate of innovation at his technological business, which is no small feat. Instead of being driven by the digital transition, he is driving it. He has also not lost sight of today's global issues, including climate change. According to Beckhoff's slogan, ‘Engineers must save the world’, sophisticated automation technology is crucial in this context since it establishes the groundwork for enhancing sustainability as well as energy and resource efficiency.

The company's technological inventions, many of which have established worldwide market standards in automation, have proven groundbreaking, substantiating its claim to be a pioneer in the field. The core Beckhoff philosophy of PC-based control technology, which leverages the vast development potential of the IT industry for industrial applications, is a perfect illustration of this. PC-based control, which Beckhoff introduced to the market in 1986 and is today essential in a variety of sectors, including the semiconductor, automotive and packaging industries, is where automation and IT meet. It is especially used for high-performance applications.

Another milestone is the bus terminal, fieldbus technology in terminal block format, which was introduced in 1995. This fundamental automation building block allowed for the implementation of strong, small, modular and finely granular control systems that were customised to meet specific needs. The ultra-fast EtherCAT communication technology, introduced by Beckhoff in 2003, has grown to become a crucial global standard for high-performance automation. Today, more than 8,000 businesses from all around the world support this intriguing technology as members of the EtherCAT Technology Group. Despite its reputation for inventions and revolutions, Beckhoff's system idea is still widely used. Today, Beckhoff technology handles all aspects of control tasks: from machine vision and control cabinet-free automation with a comprehensive hardware and software suite to modular I/O components, flexible drive technology, intelligent product transport and TwinCAT control software with artificial intelligence (AI) features, powerful industrial PCs, and EtherCAT.

The next generation has also benefited from Beckhoff's passion for automation and innovation, as seen by the fact that his children, Frederike and Johannes Beckhoff, have long held prominent roles within the business. As a result, Beckhoff Automation is still a family business 45 years after it was founded.

Kenda Tires has appointed Rebecca Karbon as its new Bicycle Sales Director for North America, the company announced.

Karbon, an industry veteran with extensive experience in the bicycle sector, will lead Kenda’s bicycle sales division, focusing on expanding market engagement and strengthening distributor and retail partnerships.

“We are confident that Rebecca’s expertise will further enhance our partnerships with long-lasting customers while maintaining our exceptional service you’ve come to expect from Kenda,” said Eric Yang, Vice President of Development at Kenda.

Karbon, who will be based in Minneapolis, said she looks forward to increasing brand engagement.

“I’m excited to join the Kenda team and look forward to increasing brand engagement with our distributor and retail partners,” Karbon said.