Business
Bajaj Auto to invest Rs 300 cr for new EV making unit

Two-and-three wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto on Wednesday announced an investment of Rs 300 crore for a brand-new unit at Akurdi for manufacturing EVs.
The company said it has commenced work for the new unit.
The company said the unit will have a production capacity of 500,000 EVs per annum.
Notably, Akurdi (Pune) is also the site of the original Chetak scooter factory that made Bajaj Auto a household name in India.
“In 2001, Bajaj 2.0 took off on the roaring Pulsar, in 2021 Bajaj 3.0 arrives on the charming Chetak. Going forward, for the Bajaj portfolio, except for implementing one state-of-the-art ICE platform that is currently under development, all our R&D drive train resources are now laser focused on creating EV solutions for the future,” said Rajiv Bajaj – Managing Director, Bajaj Auto.
“This alignment reflects our belief that light Electric Vehicles for sustainable urban mobility is an idea whose time may finally have come. Thus, this investment at Akurdi completes the virtuous cycle of hi-tech R&D competencies, high-efficiency engineering capabilities, world class supply chain synergies, and global distribution network which should leapfrog us into a market leading position in EVs in India and overseas.”
As per the company, the new unit will have cutting-edge robotic and automated manufacturing systems for everything including logistics and material handling, fabrication and painting, assembly and quality assurance.
The new unit is spread over half a million sq feet and will employ 800 personnel.
Besides, the investment made by Bajaj Auto will be supplemented by a number of vendors, who will invest a further Rs 250 crore.
The first vehicle from this unit is expected to roll out by June 2022.
“This new EV manufacturing unit at Akurdi is co-located with Bajaj Auto’s state-of-the-art R&D centre to foster greater collaboration, leading to faster time-to-market,” the company said in a statement.
“It should transform Bajaj Auto’s Akurdi facility into a hub for design, development and manufacturing of a complete range of Electric Vehicles.”
Business
Demand for homes priced Rs 1 crore and above boosts market in India: Report

Mumbai, April 24: The demand for homes prices Rs 1 crore and above bolstered the Indian property market in the first quarter this year, preventing overall sales of 65,250 units from hard landing, a report said on Thursday.
Residential sales in Q1 2025 (January-March) experienced only a modest decline and added up to 65,246 units. This limited drop was primarily due to robust demand in the Rs 3-5 crore and Rs 1.5-3.0 crore segments, which helped counterbalance the slowdown in relatively affordable housing, according to a JLL report.
The steady growth in higher ticket size homes indicates increasing affluence among homebuyers, changing lifestyle preferences and buyers prioritising larger and premium properties.
According to the report, housing sales in India’s top seven cities continued to be dominated by Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Pune, which collectively accounted for 66 per cent of Q1 sales.
High concentration of MNCs and startups creating significant employment opportunities and ongoing infrastructure improvements make these cities increasingly attractive places to live and work.
It is interesting to note that over the last few quarters a significant share of quarterly sales volume has been contributed by projects launched during the same quarter.
Q1 2025 was no exception, with around one-fourth of its sales being contributed by quarterly new launches. Launches by reputed developers with assurance of timely delivery and steady price appreciation, are driving the trend, the report informed.
“The residential real estate market is showing signs of a shift in buyer preferences with lowering of demand for less than Rs 1 crore housing and a growing affinity for mid to high-end properties. This as well suggests a potential upward movement in the overall market dynamics,” said Dr Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research and REIS, India, JLL.
“This upswing in the higher-priced segment demand has shielded the overall housing sales from a sharper decline,” Das added.
Developers are focusing more on mid to high-end projects to align with current demand patterns. High-end housing sector experienced a steady upswing with 107 per cent year-on-year growth in launches of properties priced at Rs 1 crore and above, driven by strong sales in this segment.
Growth in launches despite economic uncertainties signals robust developer confidence in high-end housing demand, said the report, adding that 2025 is poised for robust growth in the residential sector demand.
Business
GreenLine flags off LNG truck fleet for Bekaert to drive sustainable logistics

Mumbai, April 24: GreenLine Mobility Solutions Ltd., an Essar venture and India’s only green logistics operator of LNG and electric-powered heavy commercial trucks, has partnered with Bekaert, a global leader in tire reinforcement technology, to decarbonise road logistics and support India’s vision of a gas-based economy.
The partnership was flagged off with the deployment of GreenLine’s LNG-powered trucks at Bekaert’s Ranjangaon Plant, marking the beginning of a pilot phase that aims to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of Bekaert’s logistics operations.
Each GreenLine LNG truck is expected to reduce up to 24 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, contributing to Bekaert’s ambition of becoming carbon net-zero by 2050 and achieving 65 per cent of sales from sustainable solutions.
Commenting on the partnership, Anand Mimani, CEO, GreenLine Mobility Solutions Ltd, said, “Our partnership with Bekaert demonstrates the growing commitment of forward-thinking corporates to drive sustainability at scale. At GreenLine, we are proud to offer not just green trucks, but an integrated ecosystem — from LNG refuelling to real-time telematics — that empowers our partners to make meaningful progress on their net-zero goals.”
Dinesh Mukhedkar, Procurement Operations Lead — South Asia and Procurement Global Shared Service Centre Lead, Bekaert, added, “As part of our purpose ‘Establishing the new possible,’ and our ambition to lead in safe, smart, and sustainable solutions, decarbonising logistics is an essential step. This directly supports our commitment to ESG principles and long-term sustainability goals.”
GreenLine’s expanding fleet of LNG-powered trucks has already clocked more than 40 million km, avoiding over 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The company’s ongoing expansion includes plans to deploy over 10,000 LNG and EV trucks, supported by a nationwide network of 100 LNG refuelling stations, EV charging hubs, and battery swapping facilities — targeting a reduction of 1 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
Business
US tariffs pose major headwinds, need to diversify supply chains: BOK chief

Seoul, April 24: South Korea’s top central banker has said global trade tensions sparked by the United States’ sweeping tariff policy are a major headwind for the country’s export-driven economy, and the issue will likely accelerate its efforts to diversify supply chains.
Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Rhee Chang-yong made the assessment during an interview with CNBC in Washington, where he is attending meetings of the Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers and central bank chiefs, as well as International Monetary Fund–World Bank Group (IMF-WBG) meetings, reports Yonhap news agency.
“We are an export-oriented economy. So the trade tension, definitely, too is large headwinds. We will be affected directly by the U.S. tariffs, and also indirectly to its tariff to other countries. For example, our semiconductor production in Vietnam, car and electronics production in Mexico and our battery production in Canada will be affected,” Rhee said.
“I really hope this trade tension will dissipate, because it’s bad for everybody,” he added.
But South Korea has “some strengths” to manage the issue, as the country has been “luckily” diversifying its supply chains, particularly from China, over the last several years amid growing competition from China and some political issues between the two nations.
“This is a kind of natural movement to diversify our supply chain and also move up to the value chain. So that will continue, but at the same time, the recent trade tension will probably expedite the move,” Rhee said.
Speaking of economic growth, Rhee said it is hard to present a growth outlook due to high uncertainties surrounding the U.S. tariff policy.
“At this moment, I don’t know what kind of trade tension scenarios we have to assume as a baseline or reference scenarios,” Rhee said. “I may have a better idea after tariff talks with the U.S. tomorrow.
South Korea and the U.S. are set to hold tariff talks in Washington on Thursday (U.S. time), as the Donald Trump administration has put on hold the implementation of 25 percent reciprocal tariffs on South Korean imports for 90 days.
South Korea’s real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.2 percent in the January-March period from the previous quarter, according to the BOK’s preliminary data released in the day.
The BOK earlier expected the South Korean economy to expand 1.5 percent this year, but Rhee later said the outlook seemed “too optimistic” and the central bank will come up with its adjusted figure in May.
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