The Adaptive Shift: How Leaders Are Rethinking Mobility:

Hearing automotive leaders speak candidly about their industry is a rare privilege - one that offers an unfiltered glimpse into the forces shaping mobility today. It’s in these conversations that you truly sense how a volatile geopolitical landscape, rapid technological shifts, and evolving consumer expectations are converging to define a new threshold for innovation. 
One such moment unfolded at the 4th edition of the Global Mobility Summit, organized by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore Alumni Association (IIMBAA) a few weeks ago. Held within the iconic IIMB campus, the summit gathered some of the most influential voices in mobility under the theme “Adaptive Mobility: Navigating Volatility, Building Resilience.”
Sitting in that hallowed hall, you cannot help but feel that humanity is collectively embarking on an extraordinary journey - one defined by everything SMART. Whether it’s your phone, your car, your computer, or even a microchip wafer - It’s the intelligence and connectivity that now power every facet of our modern lives.
As expected, the day unfolded with impactful keynote speeches, thought-provoking fireside conversations, and the release of a compelling ESG research paper. AEM distilled the most meaningful insights from these conversations, gaining the privilege of offering exclusive media coverage of the summit.

written by Sarada Vishnubhatla_sarada@autoelectronics.co.kr
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The 4th Global Mobility Summit 2025, hosted by the IIM Bangalore Alumni Association, brought together some of the brightest minds in the automotive ecosystem to examine the trends reshaping mobility globally and within India. Designed to foster deeper collaboration between corporates, startups, and government, the summit also positioned academia at the center of shaping dialogue, influencing policy direction, and driving meaningful knowledge exchange. A key objective was to create a platform that nurtures innovation, and accelerates startup momentum for the mobility landscape of the future.

The panel featured a distinguished line-up of experts, including Prof. Sourav Mukherji (Dean - Alumni Relations, and Professor, IIMB), Prashanth Doreswamy (President & CEO, Aumovio India), Prasanna Gonuguntla (Senior Vice President & Head - R&D Functions, Mercedes-Benz RDI), Pravin Swaminathan (Vice President - Data & AI, Agratas Energy Storage Solutions), Dr. Charan Gurumurthy (Senior Vice President, Tata Electronics & Business Head - TSAT), Subodh Patil (CEO, Brisa Technologies), Anil Radhakrishnan (Chief Product Officer, Tata Elxsi) Dr. Sajiv Madhavan (Chief Risk & Sustainability Officer, Tata Elxsi), Pramod Nanjundaswamy (Global Delivery Head, Cyient), Keerthi Prakash V M (Managing Director, Renault Nissan India), Vishwanath Surendiran (Co-founder & CEO, Steam A), Bala Pachyappa (CEO, ARAM), Sukhianju Srinivasan (Director - Automotive Go-To-Market, ARM), and Dr. Shankar Venugopal (Vice President, Mahindra & Mahindra), Vishwanath Surendiran (Co-founder & CEO, Steam - A),and Pramod Reddemreddy (Senior Director - Marketing, Strategy & Innovation, BOSCH Mobility, India) among others.

The audience witnessed the release of the ESG Research Paper ‘Sustainability in Mobility; A study on ESG Trends in Mobility Ecosystem’ by Prof. Sourav Mukherji. As expected, the paper stoked a fiery conversation on the impact of ESG on the value chain and the significance of the responsible manufacturing. The discussions that followed explored the complex trade-offs companies face between prioritizing investments and building sustainable practices that can be maintained over time.
Throughout the sessions the mobility thought leaders explored the evolving contours of the global automotive landscape - from digital transformation and electrification to sustainability and resilience - while drawing meaningful parallels with India’s rapidly shifting mobility ecosystem.
Here are the excerpts from the keynote speeches of the experts and fireside chats:

 

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On the far right: Prashanth Doreswamy, President & CEO, Aumovio India.


 
The automotive industry - the world over - is experiencing disruptions creating dilemmas for the OEMs and the tier-1s.
Doreswamy shared, “The automotive industry is in the midst of a significant period of disruption driven by new technologies, and volatile geopolitical events, which may continue to radically transform markets and supply chains for the foreseeable future.”
He predicted a shift in the ‘center of gravity’ of the industry too. He said, “All along, we have only seen growth in the western markets. But it is now slowly shifting from West to East to China, and Asia, specifically India.”
As the market uncertainty continues, the experts are looking at the previously identified shift towards innovative shared mobility solutions and are being forced to deduce the fact that what was predicted earlier to be a global phenomenon, is in fact, largely limited to the mega cities.
He added, “In the last few years, we have talked about ACES meaning Automated, Connected, Electric and Shared but a new trend that is emerging is polarization. In my view, polarization will have the maximum impact on the industry compared to the rest.”
Other forces reshaping the industry include sustainability transition, next-gen mobility enabling seamless and interconnected transportation, exponential innovation with ever increasing computing power and rapid advancement in AI touching everyday lives.
He also pointed out the realities of automated driving, “Automated driving is facing multiple emerging challenges, but I think there is opportunity for countries like India to come up with frugal solutions. L3 and L4 levels might still be a long-term aim for the Indian market. What we need to focus on is not just the technology but also on driving discipline, infrastructure, roads and making driving safer with assisted functions.”
Doreswamy is convinced that there is no secret recipe to profitability and asked a pertinent question, “How do we boost R&D in India? To truly take a global leadership role, India needs to significantly boost its R&D investment, currently averaging less than two per cent, to accelerate innovation. Simultaneously, there must be a concerted effort to elevate and rigorously promote quality standards across the entire automotive value chain to enhance its international reputation.” 
In a rapidly transforming automotive landscape, it is sustained investment in innovation that will allow a country to set the trends. 

 

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From left: Keerthi Prakash V M, Managing Director, Renault Nissan India; 
and Pramod Nanjundaswamy, Vice President & Global Delivery Head - Automotive & Mobility, Cyient.


  Speaking about sustainability, its growing for the automotive sector, Keerthi Prakash V M, Managing Director, Renault Nissan India emphasized, “Sustainability must become the most important priority for companies and societies alike. We must focus on it and ensure that the world around us does the same. Our initiatives need to be ambitious. Circular economy is where sustainability becomes action since it transforms waste into resource.”
He outlined two critical components of this shift, “The first is the role of the producers, their manufacturing practices, product designs, and the materials choices. The second will be the consumers who ultimately determine the total cost of ownership. In complex scenarios or where the residual value is low for waste-resource conversion, collective solutions - involving a range of stakeholders including government, industry and end customers - can be developed. Otherwise, sustainability will become difficult to achieve and the business itself may not remain sustainable.”
Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd has incorporated these principles into its operations. The plant is a zero-waste discharge facility, powered to a large extent by green electricity, with 91% of its water sourced through rain harvesting.
Keerthi concluded with a reminder that sustainability cannot be driven by companies alone - it requires collective commitment from industry, consumers, and policymakers to build a future that is resilient and responsible.
In short, the Global Mobility Summit 2025 by IIMBAA underscored the reshaping of the future of the mobility by software-defined vehicles, localized innovation, generative AI, and a fast-emerging semiconductor ecosystem, where India is playing an increasingly decisive role. While disruptions, geopolitical shifts, and slower-than-expected autonomous progress continue to challenge OEMs, leaders emphasized that the way forward lies in ecosystem partnerships, platform-based development, responsible sustainability practices, and bold investments in R&D and talent. 
Together, these forces signal future mobility to be smarter, greener, and one that is built on collective action rather than isolated efforts.

 

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  “Adaptive mobility is a collective journey since no single company or stakeholder can achieve it alone,” said Pramod Nanjundaswamy, Vice President and Global Delivery Head - Automotive & Mobility, Cyient. He added further, “In today’s fast changing world, technology cycles are shortening and customer expectations - especially those of the younger generation- are high. Along with this, the current geopolitical shifts are also adding to the strain the supply chains are undergoing.”
Adaptive mobility demands localization, partnerships and shared innovation. Only by co-creating relevant solutions can mobility become smarter, more inclusive and truly sustainable.
He also shared, “Equally critical is the ability to bring solutions to market faster which will define the leaders of tomorrow. This requires system-level problem-solving where mobility solutions are developed by integrating overlapping technologies and industries - from semiconductors to AI, from energy infrastructure to policy frameworks.”
Cyient, he said, is committed to enabling this adaptive future by fostering responsible innovation and developing engineering solutions that are upgradable, secure, and resilient.
He concluded by saying, “Adaptive mobility for us is about ensuring sustainability by working together.”
In a nutshell, it is about laying the foundation for mobility ecosystems that are genuinely future-ready.

 

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Center: Dr. Sajiv Madhavan, Chief Risk & Sustainability Officer, Tata Elxsi.


  “Sustainability is still seen, to some extent, as a regulatory obligation. And the reality is that meeting these requirements is extremely challenging.”
Dr. Madhavan explained his statement, “There are pertinent questions that must be answered. For example, you need to capture the complete life cycle and carbon footprint of each product that your company manufactures. This becomes tough for a company long in business to catch up with.”
The challenge becomes even tougher when the companies must maintain profitability while committing significant investments to their ESG agendas.
Dr. Madhavan agreed, “There are multiple pressures that the mobility domain faces. And companies are aware and feel responsible towards fulfilling the requirements in their bid to save our environment. Even consumers are highly aware of these pre-requisites and insist on various ratings towards net zero goals of the companies. But if there were a wish list for me regarding what the state can do, I would say, there is much innovation that is waiting to be accomplished in material science, on how we can generate power - be that hydrogen or fuel cells, for example.” 
It is a fact that transformative inventions that can shift the entire ecosystem can be hastened if the government offers a fillip to both the established companies, and the start-ups who are staring at huge requirements for funding. 
Yet in a positive trend, many companies are consciously moving beyond compliance and taking genuine proactive steps toward creating meaningful impact, and that is a cause of celebration.

 

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On the right: Prasanna Gonuguntla, Senior Vice President & Head - R&D Functions, Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI).


  It is true that the OEMs are moving from hardware-centric to software-centric product development globally. Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) is already ahead of this curve, having launched its own operating system last year across Europe, the US, and China - with an India rollout expected soon.
Gonuguntla shared further, “We are now focused on customer experience, personalization and offering more digital functions and feature enhancements. We are using generative AI in product development and allowing the vehicle to learn from user preferences. We have already moved compute to the edge - meaning the car now hosts the intelligence.”
These capabilities power features such as climate comfort, seat positions, and driving characteristics, making them more adaptive and personalized.
He added, “We are currently working closely with startups and academia to define some of the generative AI solutions to train our models. We have decades of our own data and we are developing in-house models in the development of body, chassis, thermal and battery performance.”
MBRDI is witnessing huge efficiency in terms of shortened development timelines. 
“The entire product development space is poised for transformation with generative AI emerging as one of the front runners in technology for OEMs. The question every OEM must ask is - how will they empower themselves using these technologies in their decision-making?”
He emphasised that MBRDI is already acting on this. “We are integrating generative AI into our lifecycle and process flows, and we are making strong progress.”
This is particularly reassuring at a time when the global automotive industry is undergoing a paradigm shift toward software-defined vehicles - a shift that places immense pressure on OEMs to maintain precise traceability, safety, and security across every software and hardware version in the vehicle.

 

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Left: Pramod Reddemreddy, Senior Director - Marketing, Strategy & Innovation, Bosch Mobility India.


  India’s mobility challenges require a collective effort from all the stakeholders. And this must be addressed with two fundamental priorities- efficient and reliable movement of goods, and safe, convenient and increasingly personalised mobility of people.
With India’s diverse mobility needs spanning urban, rural, commercial, and personal transportation, collaboration across the ecosystem is essential. Aligned with this vision, Bosch’s Mobility Business is building solutions that connect vehicle systems to the cloud, enabling seamless interaction across multiple ecosystem layers. Its modular SDKs and flexible operating framework empower developers to build applications to solve not just diverse but specific problems by providing them with platforms - streamlining development and accelerating localized innovation.   
Reddemreddy underscored the role of software in this context, “The future is one where software enables entrepreneurs to solve the problems that matter to them by building applications for different vehicle types. That is how mobility becomes more efficient. This also requires a massive rewiring of the way business models work today and how revenue is distributed to players who add value.”
Bosch India - Mobility Business is shaping this future across four key pillars, namely, powertrain, fleet operational efficiency, safety, and user experience. These pillars guide its expansion and strategic investments in technologies covering hardware, software, and services technologies.
He explained, “We evaluate the technology stack needed because we are living in a polarized world, and this stack must integrate our regional ecosystems.”
He agreed that India is uniquely positioned for this shift, owing to its robust digital public infrastructure - from UPI to Aadhaar. These foundational capabilities must be woven into the mobility architecture of the future. 
In his words, “For this to materialize, we need to build platforms and solutions together so that innovators can solve real problems.”
Across the mobility domain, software-defined vehicles (SDVs) are already reshaping development strategies. Both global and domestic OEMs are adopting a software-first mindset, accelerating innovations across hardware and software to make SDVs the most personalized and intelligent ‘living’ spaces on wheels.

 

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In short, the Global Mobility Summit 2025 by IIMBAA underscored reshaping of the future of the mobility by software-defined vehicles, localized innovation, generative AI, and a fast-emerging semiconductor ecosystem, where India is playing an increasingly decisive role. While disruptions, geopolitical shifts, and slower-than-expected autonomous progress continue to challenge OEMs, leaders emphasized that the way forward lies in ecosystem partnerships, platform-based development, responsible sustainability practices, and bold investments in R&D and talent.
Together, these forces signal future mobility to be smarter, greener, and one that is built on collective action rather than isolated efforts.

AEM(오토모티브일렉트로닉스매거진)

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