Hyderabad has become home to Stellantis India’s latest establishment – a Digital Hub. It spans over 75,000 sq. ft. and is designed on the company’s “New Era of Agility” model – a hybrid work initiative mixing remote and in-office work. Over 700 workstations have found space that will eventually play a role in product development, IT services and software technologies. According to the company, the new hub will also support its ‘Dare Forward 2030’ strategic plan. Moreover, the Digital Hub will help nurture Indian talent in the software and technology sectors while becoming a platform to gain deeper insight into the domestic market.

The Indian arm of the German carmaker Audi has released sales numbers it achieved in the first half of 2023. It retailed 3,474 units between January and June this year. That equates to a 97 per cent growth over the same period last year, during which Audi India sold 1,765 new vehicles. Besides that, its used car business – Audi Approved: plus – also witnessed a promising increase in sales and registered a growth of 53 per cent (H1 2023 vs H1 2022). Audi India confirms that in the second half of the year, it will introduce the Q8 e-tron. That, like the outgoing e-tron, is likely to be available in both body styles – SUV and Sportback.

Indian auto giant Mahindra has been producing the Scorpio for over two decades. Over the years, the recipe has been improved, but the basic mantra has remained the same – rugged, simple, tall and powerful. And that has clearly worked because the Scorpio brand has surpassed the 9 lakh production mark. Presently, it is sold in two versions – the Scorpio Classic and the Scorpio-N. Introduced in June last year, the latter broke booking records in India. Mahindra registered 1 lakh (100,000) bookings in less than 30 minutes. The SUV has bagged 24 awards, including various viewers’ choice recognitions.

The Glastonbury Festival, one of the world’s greatest live music events, had the iconic Defender as the Official Vehicle Partner for the 2023 edition. A fleet of 20 Defender 110 electric hybrids transported headline artists such as Elton John, Guns N’ Roses, Arctic Monkeys to and from their performances at the Worthy Farm in Somerset between 21-25 June. The trim level offered for the event was the P400e electric hybrid, capable of a real-world range of 25 miles in EV mode, so the plug-in fleet operated with zero emissions throughout the event and drew electric charges from Glastonbury’s solar panels. Mark Cameron, Managing Director, Defender, said: “The Defender electric hybrid’s zero-emission all-terrain capability makes it the perfect choice for Glastonbury, whatever the weather. Charging our electric hybrids with solar energy at the world’s greatest music festival shows Defender’s commitment to going anywhere and making a difference.” 

As part of the centenary parade at this year’s 24 hours of Le Mans, the winner of the 2003 edition and Bentley’s most famous race car of the modern era, the Speed 8, returned to the famous racetrack. It was piloted by Guy Smith, the same driver who took the chequered flag twenty years ago and completed two laps of the circuit. The Speed 8 004/5 had recently undergone a complete rebuild to return it to the new standards as it was before its most famous victory. The car was displayed at the Le Mans museum for the entirety of the centenary event. This year’s Le Mans Classic also saw the return of a Works Bentley for the first time since the victory in 2003. A pair of Blower Continuation Series cars took part in the Grid 1 race – one owned by the factory and the other a customer car. 

A new building will be built at the Molsheim site in the second half of 2024 – next to the Bugatti studio. This new facility will support the ongoing production of the most extreme Bugatti – the Bolide and the W16 Mistral. It’s a two-storied building spread over a total area of 2120 sq. meters which would house the upcoming team members, a 50 per cent increase in workforce targeted by the brand by 2027. “The construction of this new building at our home in Molsheim is perfectly matched to the expansion of the brand and the product range and shows the strength of Bugatti on the way to an exciting future,” said Christophe Piochon, President of Bugatti Automobiles.

UAE-based Al-Futtaim Group expands its international presence by opening a massive facility in Qatar. To be precise, the conglomerate’s Al-Futtaim Automotive division takes the lead in this development. In Qatar, it is represented by Doha Marketing Services Company (Domasco), which has been in operation since 1965 and is the sole distributor of three brands – Honda, GAC Motors and Volvo. The 3S (sales, service, spare parts) facility is the new home to two car brands – Honda and GAC Motor and is spread over 22,700 sq. m. Besides boasting a parking space for 362 vehicles, the facility can also cater to service and spare part jobs for 140 cars daily. At the inauguration event, Domasco Honda unveiled the 2023 range of Honda cars, including the Civic Type R, ZR-V, Pilot and e:HEV – the first Honda hybrid in the Middle East region. Similarly, a new compact SUV, the Emkoo, was unveiled by Domasco GAC Motor. The same side will also be home to GAC Approved Pre-owned Programme – a first for the brand in the Middle East.