evo India Podcast

Mahindra has just unveiled its Global Pickup - the Scorpio Lifestyler (just Lifestyler in international markets). But the lifestyle pickup phenomenon has not really caught on in the last 19 years; Mahindra thumbstarted the segment way back in 2007 with the Scorpio Getaway. Since then we have had the Tata Xenon, Isuzu D-Max and V-Cross and of course the Toyota Hilux. Toyota, in fact, just launched the updated Hilux. But the segment remains at less than 5,000 units a year. Editorial Director Sirish Chandran and Senior Editor Aninda Sardar dive deep into the pickup story in India. In this episode:•⁠ ⁠What the Mahindra Scorpio Lifestyler is•⁠ ⁠Where the pick up story started•⁠ ⁠Remembering the Tata Mobile and what happened to it•⁠ ⁠The Scorpio Getaway story•⁠ ⁠Mahindra pick ups in the international market•⁠ ⁠Limitations of the Getaway, revealed to Sirish by an international cricketer•⁠ ⁠The Isuzu pick up story and why it failed to make a dent•⁠ ⁠The aftermath of pandemic and emission norms•⁠ ⁠GST and registration plate challenges for the pickup segment •⁠ ⁠The flourishing commercial pickup story•⁠ ⁠Can the lifestyle segment in India be cracked at all, and who can do it

Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer sat down exclusively with evo India and confirmed it — the Volkswagen compact SUV is coming to India next year.Thomas Schäfer also addresses VW's electrification roadmap for India — a localised EV platform is a must for CAFE compliance and the group is actively working on what that looks like. CNG is back under consideration. Diesel is not ruled out — the FTA makes it viable for certain models. On the FTA, Schäfer confirms Volkswagen has already exported from India to over 40 markets, including Mexico. The last time the GTI arrived in India it sold out in minutes. On partnerships with Indian manufacturers — discussions are happening; they are serious, and nothing is closed yet. 0:00 Introduction: Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer0:23 Views on VW's India 2.0 1:07 When does Volkswagen's Kylaq launch?1:56 Differentiation in the Kylaq and the VW subcompact SUV3:26 VW's Electrification roadmap for India?5:02 VW cars in India to get CNG and diesel?6:05 VW's strategy on the India-EU FTA?7:10 Will India get more VW GT and GTI cars?7:56 Addressing rumors about partnerships in India8:57 What do the next 5 years look like for the VW brand in India?

What does Dolby Atmos actually mean in a car — and why does it matter more in a car than in your living room?

In this episode of the evo India Podcast, Karan Grover, Senior Director at Dolby Labs, sits down with executive editor, Aatish Mishra to explain exactly how Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision work in cars, why a car is actually the most perfect listening environment Dolby has ever worked with, and why India is doing things in car audio that have never been done anywhere else in the world.

The conversation covers the detail that will stop most people cold: AR Rahman composed 1,100 individual chimes for the Mahindra BE6 and BE9, all mixed in Dolby Atmos — so when a warning sound tells you there is an obstruction on your left, it genuinely comes from your left. That is not a gimmick. That is object-based audio design applied to a car's entire sound ecosystem.

Karan explains how Dolby Atmos goes from a recording studio to a streaming platform to your car's speakers, why the car is the only listening environment where every speaker position and every seat position is fixed — which makes it the ideal space for Atmos tuning — and how Mahindra Auto became the first manufacturer in the world to put Dolby Atmos on a 4-channel non-branded speaker setup in the XUV 3XO. Mahindra also pushed Dolby to deliver Atmos on the Thar, previously thought impossible at that speaker configuration. Both were firsts. Both happened in India.

The episode also covers the Mercedes-AMG GT63 Electric's synthesized V8 sound and whether it is tuned in Dolby Atmos, how EVs are changing the science of sound design because there is no engine masking the audio environment, why Apple CarPlay supports Atmos playback and what Android's recent update means for wireless Atmos in cars, and where car audio goes from here — including the possibility of film premieres in cars and Dolby Atmos eventually reaching buses, tractors and auto-rickshaws. He also talks about the various cars which have Dolby Atmos like the XUV 7XO, the Maruti Suzuki Victoris, Tata Sierra and more.

Dolby currently works with 38 automobile manufacturers and over 150 car nameplates globally.

Norton is back. And the company that saved it isn’t British — it’s Indian.

In this episode, evo India Editor Sirish Chandran and Executive Editor Aatish Mishra go deep on one of motorcycling’s most unlikely comeback stories — how TVS Motor Company acquired a bankrupt Norton, poured serious money into it, rebuilt the factory, the workforce, and the engineering, and then produced the Manx R Superbike as proof that it worked.

They cover TVS’s investment and what Norton actually did with it, how the brand was upgraded from the ground up, which Indian components are on the Manx R, styling and first ride impressions, the V4 engine history and what makes it special, performance impressions from Spain, India launch plans, motorsport ambitions, how former JLR design boss Gerry McGovern is involved, and why Norton’s revival matters to India.

This is just the beginning.

evo India is India’s leading automotive enthusiast magazine and podcast — covering cars, motorcycles, motorsport, and the culture around them.

Callum Nicholas spent 10 years as a senior power unit assembly technician at Red Bull Racing — building and servicing Redbull F1 race engines, a part of the pit crew on three world record pit stops, and living through the most intense championship battle in modern Formula 1 history.In this episode of the evo India Podcast, Callum Nicholas talks about what Max Verstappen is actually like behind closed doors — why winning by 10 seconds is never enough for him, why he never stops pushing, and what makes him different from every other driver on the Formula 1 grid right now.He takes us inside Abu Dhabi 2021 — the safety car, the 15-second radio call, and where exactly Callum Nicholas was when the most dramatic finish in F1 history unfolded. He breaks down the world record 1.8-second pit stop at Brazil, the Sergio Perez stop in Russia that went badly wrong, and what a sub-two-second stop actually feels and sounds like from the garage floor.He also talks about Red Bull Powertrains building a Formula 1 engine from a gravel car park from scratch in four years — now outperforming manufacturers with 75 years of F1 engine experience — and why 2022 meant more to him personally than 2021.0:00 Precap
0:14 Introduction
0:25 Who is Calum Nicholas and his role at the Red Bull F1 team
1:31 Being a part of the world record pit stop crew
3:00 The feeling of an under 2sec pitstop
3:57 One pit stop that will stay with him forever
4:51 Are injuries common during pit stops?
6:05 Working with Max Verstappen
6:31 What is Max Verstappen's secret sauce
8:38 Any other driver that is close to Verstappen's mindset
9:54 The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021
12:50 The whole moment when the safety car was deployed to the end of the race
16:05 Was that the most cherished championship
16:57 Current F1 regulations
19:08 Red Bull powertrains
20:03 Was there a base from Honda for the engine?
20:47 A road car with a Red Bull powertrain?