South Korea's car exports rose 5.5 per cent on-year in October to reach a new record, data showed on Thursday, driven by the global popularity of eco-friendly models, including hybrid vehicles.

The combined value of vehicle shipments reached $6.2 billion last month, marking the highest amount for any October, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, reports news agency.

The number of cars shipped totalled 243,367, up 8.1 per cent from a year earlier, the report showed. Shipments of hybrid cars alone amounted to $1.1 billion, soaring 80.3 per cent on-year to surpass the previous record of $1.07 billion set in August.

The number of cars produced in October reached 367,624 units, rising 7.8 pe rcent from the previous year, on the back of the release of new models, such as Kia’s electric EV3 SUV and the upgraded K8 sedan.

Domestic automobile sales, meanwhile, rose 3.1 per cent to 145,756 units, marking the first on-year increase since November 2023.

Total two-wheeler sales in the country surged by a robust 14.2 per cent to 21.64 lakh units in October this year, compared to 18.96 lakh units in October 2023, according to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Wednesday.

Passenger vehicle sales, including cars and SUVs, also increased to their highest ever monthly level of 3.93 lakh units in October which represents a 0.9 per cent rise over a high base figure of 3.9 lakh units for October 2023.

Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM said that “October 2024 saw two major festivals Dussehra and Diwali, both occurring in the same month, which traditionally drive higher consumer demand providing a significant boost to the auto industry’s performance”.

Passenger vehicles (PVs) posted its highest ever sales of October in 2024 of 3.93 Lakh units, with a growth of 0.9 per cent, albeit on a high base of last October.

Homegrown ride-sharing platform Rapido registered a net loss of Rs 371 crore last fiscal (FY24) from Rs 675 crore in FY23.

Controlled expenditure helped the company cut losses by about 45 per cent in FY24 from Rs 675 crore in FY23, as return on capital employed (ROCE) and EBITDA margins stood at -90.7 per cent and -52.5 per cent, respectively.

The Swiggy-backed platform spent Rs 1.65 to earn Rs 1 last fiscal, according to its financials.

Its operational revenue went up almost 46 per cent to Rs 648 crore in FY24 against Rs 443 crore in FY23.

Its transportation services made 55.9 per cent of the operating revenue, which increased 48.4 per cent to Rs 362 crore in FY24. Rapido cut down employee costs by 16.9 per cent to Rs 172 crore.

Mercedes-Benz India is on course to close the current year with a double-digit jump in sales, fuelled by the rising demand for luxury cars in a fast-growing economy, the company’s managing director Santosh Iyer has said.

Mercedes-Benz India has now launched its new 'AMG C 63 S E PERFORMANCE' model equipped with F1 hybrid technology priced at Rs 1.95 crore. This is the company's 14th product launch this year, aimed at driving up sales volumes of its high-end vehicles which are priced upwards of Rs 1.5 crore.

Speaking to reporters at the launch, Iyer said that the festive season brought the company’s best sales figures, reflecting the strength of the auto major’s performance in a fiercely competitive and fluctuating market.

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD on Wednesday officially announced its plan to enter South Korea's passenger car market.

BYD Korea, the company's South Korean sales subsidiary, said in a statement that it has "completed review to release passenger car brands in the domestic market" and officially confirmed its entry with a target date, likely early next year, to be set in the near future.

BYD Korea said it is currently working on establishing regional sales and service networks, recruiting staff, obtaining vehicle certifications, and finalising marketing plans and employee training, reports news agency.

"To meet the high expectations of Korean consumers, we conducted in-depth evaluations with experienced employees and partners," Cho In-chul, head of BYD Korea's passenger car division, said.

With AI-driven transformation, India is projected to increase its workforce from 423.73 million in 2023 to 457.62 million by 2028, a net gain of 33.89 million workers, according to a report on Wednesday.

Emerging technology will transform talent across India’s key growth sectors, generating 2.73 million new tech jobs by 2028, according to new research by AI platform for business transformation, ServiceNow.

The research, commissioned from the world’s leading learning company, Pearson, showed that the retail sector is set to lead employment growth, requiring an additional 6.96 million workers to fuel its expansion.

This is followed by manufacturing (1.50 million jobs), education (0.84 million jobs) and healthcare (0.80 million jobs) sectors.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd on Tuesday reported a 16 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 1,375 crore for the July-September quarter of the current financial year on the back of lower car sales both in the domestic and export markets.

The country’s second-largest car manufacturer had reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,628 crore in the year-ago period.

This is Hyundai Motor’s first earnings report since listing on the Indian stock exchanges this year. The auto major said its consolidated revenue from operations declined 7.5 per cent to Rs 17,260 crore in the second quarter of 2024-25 from Rs 18,660 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.

The South Korean carmaker's Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 10 per cent to Rs 2,205, while the margin narrowed by 30 basis points on a year-on-year basis to 12.8 per cent from 13.1 per cent in the year-ago quarter. During Q2FY25, HMIL's domestic sales declined by 5.75 per cent to 1,49,639 units vis-a-vis 1,58,772 units in the same period last year.

Japan plans to encourage automakers to make all new passenger cars biofuel-compatible by the early 2030s in an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from gasoline vehicles, local media reported.

The new goal, unveiled by the industry ministry at a subcommittee meeting, aims to urge oil wholesalers to begin supplying gasoline blended with up to 10 per cent bioethanol by fiscal 2030, with plans to increase the share to 20 per cent by fiscal 2040, reports news agency.

The ministry is also considering making this change mandatory through legislation.

In addition, the ministry is preparing an action plan, which is expected to be finalised by next summer and will support the necessary upgrades to gas stations to accommodate bioethanol-blended fuels, according to the report.

India’s IT spending is projected to reach $160 billion in 2025, an increase of 11.2 per cent from 2024, according to a report on Tuesday.

Fuelled by expansion in both application and infrastructure software markets, software spending in India is projected to record the highest annual growth rate, increasing 17 per cent in 2025, according to a Gartner report.

“In 2025, Indian chief information officers (CIOs) will start allocating budgets for generative AI (GenAI) beyond initial proof-of-concept projects,” said Naveen Mishra, VP Analyst at Gartner.

“While spending on GenAI will increase, CIOs’ expectations for its capabilities will diminish. Additionally, Indian CIOs are expected to significantly boost spending on technologies such as cybersecurity, business intelligence, and data analytics in 2025 compared to 2024,” Mishra added.

World’s biggest cryptocurrency Bitcoin is heading towards $100,000 amid President-elect Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance and promise for clearer cryptocurrency regulations.

On Tuesday, the Bitcoin price was hovering around $87,880 apiece. Bitcoin price has surged about 30 per cent since the US election.

According to Nigel Green of deVere Group, “Bitcoin could hit $100,000 by the end of January 2025 after Donald Trump takes office”.

The bullish prediction from Green comes after the cryptocurrency has experienced a staggering 93 per cent price rise year-to-date.

“We expect that this is just the beginning, with the cryptocurrency set to break more records under an incoming Trump administration. President-elect’s crypto-friendly stance signals a transformative moment for Bitcoin and the broader digital asset market,” said Green.