evo India Podcast

In this special episode of the evo India Podcast, Editor Sirish Chandran and Assistant Editor Aatish Mishra talk about the recently finalised India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), signed on May 6, 2025. This landmark trade deal is set to boost bilateral trade between India and the UK, open up market access, and significantly influence the Indian automotive industry.What does the FTA mean for imported luxury cars and motorcycles? Will we finally see a price drop on vehicles like Range Rover, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, and Norton Motorcycles? How will this impact automobile imports and exports, local manufacturing, and car pricing in India? Sirish and Aatish discuss the expected tariff reductions, and the potential long-term impact on both Indian and British automotive brands.

Diesels are very much on the agenda says Ashish Gupta, brand director of Skoda India on the evo India podcast. In this conversation with editor Sirish Chandran, Ashish Gupta hints at the time frame for the Octavia vRS launch plus they delve into hot topics such as ownership and service costs of Skoda cars, the facelift of the Skoda Kushaq, and discuss whether there is a rivalry between Volkswagen and Skoda in India. Watch the podcast now to get the inside scoop on Skoda India's future plans!

In this week’s episode, Sirish and Aatish discuss the affordable enthusiast cars in India. Last decade, it was a booming segment with over six warm hatches on sale, however in 2025, it is just the i20 N Line holding fort. With customers moving to the compact SUV segment, manufacturers are focussed there as well creating a whole spectrum of options. There are pics for the enthusiast — the Kylaq and Mahindra 3X0 come to mind. This free-wheeling conversation explores the state of the enthusiast market in India, the dying phenom of the warm hatch, the rise of the compact SUV and so much more. Enjoy listening!

In this episode of the evo India Podcast, Editor Sirish Chandran and Assistant Editor Aatish Mishra bring you the latest updates from the Indian automotive world — including detailed insights, first impressions, and expert opinions on the cars and bikes in India. They start with the two new SUVs from Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, as the new Skoda Kodiaq and the Volkswagen Tiguan R Line were recently launched in India. They give their opinions about how similar yet different these two SUVs are to each other in terms of features on offer, design, improved driving dynamics, and also the price. Aatish talks about his experience driving the new Windsor EV Pro, which now gets more range, features and also ADAS. Sirish shares his joy of drifting the BMW M5 and his time in Spain driving one very expensive Maybach, the Mercedes-Maybach SL 680 Monogram Series. Do watch the full episode to stay up to date with all the latest news and updates from the Indian automotive industry.

In the latest episode of the evo India podcast, Sirish Chandran, editor, evo India, sits down with Aravind Mani, co-founder and CEO of River Mobility and takes a deep dive into what it takes to setup a successful startup in this day and age. Aside from that, Aravind tells us how him and his co-founder went about getting funding, what the major challenges were, the inspiration behind setting up River Mobility, why EVs and not ICE, the Indie, what the plan is going forward and a lot more. Buckle in, this is going to be an interesting oneChapters: 0:00 - Precap0:21 - Introduction1:01 - why should we talk about River Mobility?1:13 - 100 crores in revenue2:03 - River Mobility's competitors2:25 - How it started3:23 - How do you attract investment?3:58 - Arvind was in Petrochemical business5:01 - Being in Ultraviolette5:28 - Quitting job in covid6:59 - Power of well curated presentations8:03 - First product8:11 - First startup funding9:58 - How to find investors?11:29 - Yamaha's investment in River Mobility13:42 - River Mobility's cap table14:58 - Setting up an EV startup today?15:49 - Advice to enter the EV space16:31 - River Mobility's niche20:11 - Nobody will say this21:42 - Integrating different components22:41 - Utility vehicles24:19 - Front foot-pegs25:38 - Target audience26:33 - Is pricing a critical factor?28:33 - Customer's ROI in EV29:18 - Subsidies30:15 - What keeps your awake at night?33:34 - River Indie34:56 - Manufacturing the product37:37 - Testing37:58 - Importance of quality39:37 - Software40:02 - River Mobility's team41:48 - Is software crucial in an EV?42:11 - River EV's infotainment43:18 - EV fleet44:23 - Origin of River's name45:01 - Why not a motorcycle?46:48 - Learnings from customers51:30 - Selling in stores instead of online52:16 - Difference in customers North vs South India53:06 - One on one with customers54:16 - Getting finance partners55:25 - How many products needed to sustain57:10 - River Mobility's second product58:32 - What one thing is Arvind the most proud of?59:32 - Outro

In the latest episode of the evo India podcast, Sirish Chandran, Editor, evo India is in conversation with our chief videographer, Sachin Khot. Sachin started out as an intern and now heads the entire team of videographers. He tells Sirish all about automotive videography. He also talks about how one can build a career as an automotive videographer, the skillset needed along with the equipment, and everything else that you need to know about videography in the automotive space. Have a passion for automobiles and love videography? Want to make it into a career? Watch this podcast now!For internship opportunities, please write to us on workwithus@gtopublishing.com

In the latest episode of the evo India podcast, Aatish Mishra, assistant editor, evo India is in conversation with our chief photographer, Rohit Mane. Rohit has been with evo India for the last 9 years and started as an intern. He tells Aatish all about automotive photography. He also talks about how one can build a career as an automotive photographer, the skillset needed along with the equipment, and everything else that you need to know about photography in the automotive space. Have a passion for automobiles and love photography? Want to make it into a career? Hear this podcast now!

In this podcast, Sirish and Aatish discuss the top 10 best road trips in India. They cover every corner of the country, from the Himalayas in the north, to the western coast, the gems of the south and even the north east. At evo India, we spend so much time on the road that we discover some really special roads and destinations. This is a culmination of over three cumulative decades of road tripping between the Ed and Assistant Editor to every corner of India.

In this podcast, Sirish and Karan dive into the making of the latest record set by evo India – the fastest time from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in an EV. Set with the Tata Curvv.ev, they talk about how the record attempt was different from the attempt with the Nexon EV in 2023, how the infrastructure has improved since (both roads and charging) and what the importance of having safe and skilled drivers for a drive of this magnitude is. Apart from that, they also tell you how the drive was planned, what the major obstacles were and how India is a lot better equipped now, to do road trips in an EV.

In this podcast, Sirish and Aatish recount the epic adventure they had covering 2500km in two Porsches. They took the Porsche 911 Carrera and electric Macan Turbo on a drive from Delhi to Pune, but they took the long road home. Taking the route via Jaisalmer, they stayed away from the mega expressways and drove through the true India. In this podcast, they discuss what it is like to drive a sports car in India, how comfortable it is, how practical it is and whether you can actually, realistically road trip with a Porsche sports car in India!Chapters:0:00 - Intro1:31 - Driving the 911 Carrera and Macan Turbo from Delhi to Pune2:19 - Can the Porsche handle Indian roads?2:52 - Porsche 911 can be everyday sportscar in India3:02 - Start of the drive3:18 - Porsche Macan Turbo Electric as a support car4:05 - Porsche press fleet4:58 - No hotel rooms to stay in for the night5:54 - Jhunjhunu6:29 - Sirish's mistake7:21 - Fabulous roads of Rajasthan8:03 - India's highway network is growing fast9:52 - Everybody stopped and stared10:23 - Porsche is expensive11:28 - 911 without the aero kit12:35 - Shade green metallic12:59 - Bharatmala road14:09 - Beautiful scenic journey15:14 - 380bhp is enough17:21 - Drag race between 911 Carrera and Macan Turbo electric17:34 - Thoughts on the Macan Turbo electric20:04 - Electric sound costs extra20:16 - Impressive range of the Macan Turbo electric21:04 - How do you deal with bad roads?22:15 - Dealing with bad roads in a Porsche24:46 - Porsche meets Statue of Unity26:27 - Aatish's nightmare road28:44 - Porsche gave zero problems29:20 - Saputara ghat31:29 - Sirish's criticism31:40 - Space is enough inside the Porsche32:22 - Creature comforts32:45 - Where the 911 earns it's name33:52 - Greatest sportscar in the world34:10 - BMW M234:28 - Nuance in a car36:10 - Grateful towards Porsche37:41 - Crack on the windshield38:41 - If you have a nice car39:37 - Cover of Evo India March 202540:21 - Outro