TVS Reportedly Working to Launch Two New Electric Scooters in India

TVS Motor company reportedly is planning to expand its electric two-wheeler portfolio in India this year and early next year. The brand is reported to launch a new electric scooter this year and another model by March 2025. The company's Chief Executive discussed their Electric Vehicle (EV) plans during an investor call, which confirmed this development. The company is currently offering the iQube in a number of different versions which has been very successful in India. TVS has also introduced the X sports electric scooter. However, due to some technical issues, the brand did not commenced the deliveries of the product. The TVS X was a visually appealing product that could have helped the corporation attract a lot more customers to the showrooms.

According to a report by Bikewale, the brand is reportedly developing a variety of electric scooters. Moreover, the brand is also working on an electric motorcycle. The upcoming bike might come with an affordable price tag. The report further highlights that the brand might be preparing to launch an electric version of Jupiter. Moreover, the brand could also launch an EV for the B2B segment, which might be known as XL Electric. 

The brand recently trademarked two names for its electric vehicle, namely E-XL and XL EV. The report further claims that the company might unveil the electric vehicle at the 2025 Bharat Expo, followed by an official launch by March 2025. 

Although EV adoption has not yet reached double digits, automakers believe there is a lot more room for growth in this market. Up until August, TVS was the second-biggest producer in India's electric two-wheeler sector, after Ola Electric. With 19,128 vehicles rolling out of the Chakan facility in September, Bajaj Auto surpassed TVS for second place, while TVS manufactured 18,099 units.

 

 

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Ballon d'Or Organisers Break Silence On Real's 'Boycott Over Vinicius Snub'

The organisers of the Ballon d'Or award insisted on Monday that "no player or club" knows who has won the award, responding to Real Madrid's decision to boycott the event because they believe that Vinicius would not win. "All the clubs and players are in the same boat," a Ballon d'Or source told AFP, pointing out the strict confidentiality rules laid down for this 2024 edition.

Real Madrid said they will stay away from the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris on Monday as they are convinced that their striker Vinicius, the favourite to win the men's award, has been snubbed.

The club told AFP it questioned the methods behind the selection of the Ballon d'Or winner, saying that defender Dani Carvajal, another of the 30 players nominated, had also been unfairly overlooked. 

"If the award criteria doesn't give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to Carvajal as the winner," the club told AFP. 

"As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d'Or-UEFA does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected."

The Ballon d'Or organisers decided to innovate this year by keeping the winner's identity a secret until the very end, to avoid any leaks to the press. 

In previous years, the winner was revealed a few days before the award ceremony. 

All the nominees were invited to the ceremony in Paris this evening. 

The absence of the Real players and the club's declaration suggest that neither Vinicius, Carvajal nor Jude Bellingham, the architects of the club's European triumph, will win the trophy.

That could leave the way clear for Manchester City's Spanish midfielder Rodri, who won Euro 2024 and was named the tournament's best player by UEFA. 

The Ballon d'Or is awarded by a jury of journalists representing the top 100 nations in the FIFA rankings. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Toyota and Suzuki Reportedly Collaborate to Launch a Compact EV in 2025

As per reports, Japanese car manufacturers Toyota and Suzuki are collaborating to launch a new compact electric vehicle (EV), which is expected to hit the global markets next year. The two Japanese automobile giants have signed an agreement to share technologies and models with each other globally. Codenamed ‘bZ' (Beyond Zero), this crossover is dubbed as the compact version of the Toyota bZ4X, which is available in the international market.

Suzuki and Toyota aims to form a partnership which will lead to developing compact vehicles. Their partnership has resulted in successful models which are available in the Indian and European market.
The partnership is part of a effort by Toyota to improve its EV lineup. The company has been continuously working towards improving and expanding its Electric Vehicle catalogue. When launched, bZ will be Toyota's budget friendly EV till date, thus attempting to attract a large pool of customers especially in markets prefers Electric cars.

Upcoming EV Expected Features and Specifications

Toyota's e-TNGA platform will serve as the cornerstone for the bZ. Thus, guaranteeing a strong performance and efficiency base. It can be noted that the Japanese Carmaker is also developing a new SUV. This will be a marketed below the Fortuner in the price range and will be sharing its platform with bZ.

Bz is expected to have an impressive range of over 300 kilometers when fully charged. This will make it suitable for commuting in Urban roads. The overall length is expected to be 3700mm, width 1700mm and a height of 1530mm. The wheelbase is expected to be around 2450mm. This Ev will have a power output of approximately 118bhp and 294Nm, thus making it an ideal and efficient choice for driving in the city.

This can be seen as great initiative between the two companies as both Toyota and Suzuki share a substantial market share in the automobile market. This partnership will especially help Toyota, which has been hesitant about entering the EV market to grab the consumer's attention in the global market.
This collaboration will see a direct rival in Tata Punch EV and the upcoming Hyundai Inster.

 

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Congress Releases Second List Of 23 Candidates For Maharashtra Polls

The Congress on Saturday released its second list of 23 candidates for the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections, fielding a "strong" contender against state Bharatiya Janata Party President Chandrashekhar Bawankule.

Bawankule, who is recontesting Kamthi seat in Nagpur district - which he had bagged in 2004, 2009 and 2014 till he was dropped in 2019, will lock horns with Suresh Y. Bhoyar, a former President of the Nagpur Zila Panchayat.

Similarly, in Savner in Nagpur district, the Congress has fielded Anuja S. Kedar, the wife of former minister and five-term MLA Sunil C. Kedar, who was convicted in a graft case and disqualified. The daughter of the legendary cricket administrator and former Maharashtra Speaker SK Wankhede, whose name adorns the BCCI stadium in Mumbai, Kedar had filed her nomination papers as an Independent, but will now contest on a Congress ticket.

The Congress' second list comes two days after the first list with 48 candidates was issued as the party was purportedly in a tug-of-war with Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ally Shiv Sena-UBT over certain seats in the Vidarbha region.

The others figuring in Saturday's list also include Rajesh Manavatkar (Bhusawal), Swati Wakekar (Jamod), Mahesh Gange (Akot), Shekhar Shende (Wardha), Girish Pandav (Nagpur South), Pooja Thavker (Bhandara), Dalip Banson (Arjuni-Morgaon), Rajkumar Puram (Amgaon), Vasant Purke (Ralegaon), Anil Balasaheb Mangulkar (Yavatmal), Jitendra Moghe (Arni), Sahebrao Kamble (Umarkhed), Kailas Gorantyal (Jalna), and Madhukar Deshmukh (Aurangabad East).

Vijay Patil will contest from Vasai, Kalu Bhadeliya from Kandivali East, Yashwant Singh from Charkop, Ganesh Kumar Yadav from Sion-Koliwada, Hemant Ogle from Srirampur, Abhay K. Salunkhe from Nilanga, and Ganpatrao Patil for Shiro).

Maharashtra Congress Legislative Party Leader Vijay alias Balasaheb Thorat is likely to call on NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and SS-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray this afternoon to finalise the remaining seat-sharing ratio, including the number of seats that will be allocated to smaller allies, as the last date for filing nominations (October 29) approaches.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"Unfortunate...": Sharad Pawar's Grandnephew On Contesting Against Ajit Pawar

Despite familial ties, Yugendra Pawar, a candidate from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, is set to contest the Maharashtra assembly elections against his uncle Ajit Pawar from Baramati.

Yugendra Pawar is the grandnephew of Sharad Pawar and will be making his political debut in the Maharashtra Assembly elections to be held on November 20.

Speaking to ANI, when asked about him contesting election against his own uncle who has won this seat seven times, he said, "I feel it is quite sad, quite unfortunate that this had to come in the family. Not in Vidhan Sabha but it started in Lok Sabha and we were always together and even the incumbent MLA was always under the guidance of the founder of the party and family patriarch Sharad Pawar Sahab. What happened all of India has seen. The party split and the symbol was given to them by the election commission."

Baramati will see another Pawar versus Pawar contest, after Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar, defeated Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. Ajit Pawar had split the NCP in June 2023.

Yugendra Pawar added, "This was unfortunate but all of us in the family decided that we need to stay with Pawar Sahab because he is the founder of the NCP, he is the patriarch of the family and it is because of him that not only Baramati but everybody around also prospered."

Yugendra Pawar feels that the fight against his own uncle won't be tough but won't be easy either. He said, "I don't think it will be tough but I don't even think that it will be easy either. Initially, Pawar Sahab was supporting Ajit Pawar, we fondly call him Dada, but people of Baramati in large numbers are behind Pawar Sahab and that is what they showed in Lok Sabha. They will show this in the upcoming assembly as well as other elections also."

On his political debut from Baramati he said, "It is very satisfying, I am quite happy and I humbly accept the responsibility given to me by the party and respectable Pawar Sahab, State President Jayant Patil and as well as our Working President Supriya Tai Sule," he said.

In its first list, the Nationalist Congress party (Sharad Pawar faction) has fielded 12 sitting MLAs who remained loyal to Sharad Pawar when the party split last year. The party declared its first list of 45 candidates on Thursday. It has been allotted 85 seats in the seat-sharing arrangement among the three parties in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition.

The Baramati candidate emphasised various issues that need to be addressed in the region.

"There are lot of issues, there are a range of problems that need to be taken care of. Like crime has increased not only in Baramati but all of Maharashtra. Then there is also a local issue like the old people, we call them Gao Pudharis, these local netas or the sewaks have not been changed for quite some time. They have not been the way a lok pratinidhi should behave. That needs to change somewhere. We need someone who will be amongst them, somebody who will be with them, will be available, who can hear them out and that system has not only been there in Baramati for quite a long time that needs to change," Yugendra Pawar said. 

"Unemployment is a very big issue in Baramati as well as in Maharashtra. Also, water is a major problem in Baramati. Today, even though the monsoon is going on, there are close to 25 to 30 villages that still do not have drinking water. This is a drought-prone area. Pawar sahab brought water to the region around 35 to 40 years ago but after that not a single irrigation scheme has been brought to Baramati because of which a lot of villages today also are still drought-prone. We have a river over here called the Nira, the water is so polluted that even though we have water we cannot spread it to where it is actually needed," he added.

Mr Pawar also spoke about the controversies going around the reservation system in the country.

"Reservation is something that was given to us by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and I feel like there are certain sections of society that still do need them. It will still be useful to them and our MP from Baramati Supriya Tai Sule has also spoken on this issue in Parliament and asked for reservation for certain sections so I personally also support her stand and our party's stand on this issue," he said.

Yugendra Pawar has been to all the villages in Baramati before contesting the election and plans to go around the area again after two days. "Pawar sahab is my mentor, my guide or 'margdarshak'. He always tells me that you should go amongst people, you should not only focus on big cities or the big villages but it's important to go to small 'wadis' or 'vastis'. When I go there people, tell me after Pawar Sahab nobody else has ever reached out to them. Being there, you get to see the constituency and the issues, the problems that people are facing. I like to be on the field and not sitting on a desk or (in front of a) computer," he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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iQOO 13 Price, Key Features Leaked Ahead of October 30 Launch

iQOO 13 is set to launch in China on October 30. So far, the company has teased the phone's design and colour options. Details regarding the display have also been confirmed. iQOO has also revealed that the AnTuTu benchmark numbers for the device. It is confirmed to be powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC paired with an in-house Q2 gaming chipset. The battery and charging details of the phone have been revealed as well. Now, a tipster has suggested the expected price of the smartphone and hinted at additional features.

iQOO 13 Price (Expected)

The iQOO 13 price will start at CNY 3,999 (roughly Rs. 47,200) for the 12GB + 256GB option, according to a now-edited Weibo post by tipster Digital Chat Station. An older claim by the same tipster suggested that the iQOO 13 would be more expensive than the preceding iQOO 12. However, the new leak suggests that the expected price of the upcoming handset will be the same as the launch price of iQOO 12.

Screengrab of the unedited Weibo post by Digital Chat Station
Photo Credit: Gizmochina

 

iQOO 13 Features (Expected)

In another Weibo post, the tipster suggests that the iQOO 13 will sport a 6.78-inch screen and come with support for a 100W PPS+ direct drive power supply. The phone is also tipped to support LPDDR5X RAM and a 1016H super large motor.

Previously, the company has revealed that the iQOO 13 will be powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC paired with a Q2 gaming chipset. It will be backed by a 6,150mAh battery with 120W wired fast charging.

The phone will carry a Q10 8T LTPO OLED display with 2K resolution, a 144Hz refresh rate, 1,800nits of HBM brightness, 510ppi pixel density and HDR10+ support. The screen for the phone has been co-developed with BOE. 

iQOO 13's display will come with TÜV Rheinland certification as well. The handset will be available in four colour options — black, green, grey, and white. Notably, the phone is also confirmed to launch in India soon, but a date is yet to be announced.

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Ship Firms, US Agree On 'Cost Payment' Over Collapse Of Baltimore Bridge

Ship management firm Synergy Marine and Grace Ocean, owner of the Singapore-flagged cargo ship with 22 Indian crew members that collided with a US bridge in March, have reached an "agreement" with the US government on cost payment, while rejecting liability for the incident.

Container ship 'DALI', with an all-Indian crew of 22 members onboard, had collided with one of the pillars of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March this year. The crew had issued a mayday call before the collision that led to the collapse of bridge, prompting authorities to limit traffic movement.

"We confirm that Grace Ocean and Synergy have reached an agreement with the United States regarding the payment of those costs, which are fully insured," Synergy Marine Group said in a statement on Friday.

"The settlement strictly covers costs related to clearing the channel, which we would have been responsible for in any case, and is not indicative of any liability, which we expressly reject for the incident that led to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge," it stated.

According to the statement, Grace Ocean and Synergy are prepared to vigorously defend themselves in the limitation of liability proceedings pending before the Federal Court in Baltimore and to establish that they were not responsible for the incident.

Synergy Marine Group also said "no punitive damages have been imposed as part of the settlement".

"In accordance with the settlement, the United States has dismissed its claim," it said.

In the incident, the cargo ship outbound from Baltimore to Colombo, rammed into one of the pillars of the bridge, while under pilotage with two pilots onboard. Shortly after the collision, the bridge collapsed, crashing on the cargo ship.

Following the disembarkation of crew members from the vessel, Synergy Marine and Grace Ocean have put measures in place to support their well-being, the company said and added the 11 crew members who disembarked in Baltimore and Norfolk in June 2024 are accommodated in serviced apartments in Baltimore.

One crew member was granted approval by the US government to return to India for a family ceremony. The US government further granted an extension to this crew member, who is expected to return to the US in mid-November, to further assist with the ongoing investigation, Synergy Marine said.

Besides, two other crew members who were granted approvals by the US government to return to India for family reasons have joined their colleagues in the US, the company said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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