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BusinessWire India
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], February 6: ACKO Drive concluded the thrilling third edition of the TOTMs, The One That Matters (#TOTM), its annual awards programme for the Indian automobile industry, on Saturday, February 1. Across two full days of events, more than 50 awards were handed out to honour the best cars, bikes, manufacturers, and people who made their mark in the past year. Special awards recognised Manufacturing Pioneers in and around Pune, while the Communications TOTMs were awarded for the best advertising and marketing campaigns and teams, in a dedicated ceremony. Mahindra & Mahindra was the biggest winner of the night, claiming TOTMs for the 2025 ACKO Drive Car Manufacturer of The Year, 2025 ACKO Drive Car of the Year (and the first runner-up position as well), 2025 Subcompact SUV, 2025 Compact SUV, 2025 Off-Roader, 2025 Best Creative Film (Car), and the Jagdish Khattar Rising Star Award for Reeti Nageshri, Head of Business Operations, Mahindra Electric SUVs. The prestigious 2025 ACKO Drive Car of the Year was the Mahindra Thar Roxx, while the Mercedes-Benz E-Class won the 2025 ACKO Drive Premium Car of the Year TOTM. The 2025 ACKO Drive Bike of the Year was the Aprilia RS 457, and the 2025 ACKO Drive Premium Bike of the Year was the Ducati Streetfighter V4. The 2025 Bike Manufacturer of the Year was Royal Enfield. The 2025 Viewer's Choice Bike was the Royal Enfield Goan Classic 350, and the Hyundai Creta won ACKO Drive's 2025 Viewer's Choice Car TOTM. Maruti Suzuki India was also named the 2025 Safety Champion. Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor-in-Chief of ACKO Drive, Chief Creative Officer, ACKO, and Chair, World Car Awards, said: "The credibility of the TOTMs has already been established in such a short time. The turnout from the industry, and the excitement generated by the wins, are testimony to that. We will keep growing the scope of the TOTMs so consumers have a fair, transparent, and respectable benchmark to look up to, which showcases the very best products, technologies, campaigns, and people from India's vibrant auto industry." He added: "It has been a big year for Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki, and it was fitting to see their products and management in the limelight. The same is true for Royal Enfield, and Mercedes-Benz." VIP guests in attendance, many of whom helped present awards to their industry peers, included Rajesh Jejurikar, ED & CEO - Auto and Farm Sectors, Mahindra; Santosh Iyer, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India; Hisashi Takeuchi, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India; Ashish Singh Joshi, CEO, Classic Legends; Bipul Chandra, MD, Ducati India; Balbir Singh Dhillon; Head, Audi India; Petr Janeba, Brand Director, Skoda India; Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, VW India; Sandeep Raina, EVP, Maruti Suzuki India; Ravneet Phokela, CBO, Ather; and Yogesh Mathur, Director Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India. The 2025 ACKO Drive Awards included four panel discussions that captivated the audience's attention. Industry stars including Audi India Head Balbir Dhillon, Maruti Suzuki India EVP Sandeep Raina, Ultraviolette CTO Ravneet Phokela, and BMW Group India Marketing Director, Vitesh Barar, shared their insights and experiences about the Indian EV Battery Ecosystem, Software Defined Vehicles, CNG For the Discerning and Premium Customer, and Marketing for a New Age Automotive Consumer. This year the TOTMs took place for the first time in Pune on January 31 and February 1. The 2025 edition of the ACKO Drive Awards continues a tradition established last year of holding a two-day event that recognises various aspects of the industry. The TOTMs continue to set new benchmarks in the industry as India's most credible automotive awards, celebrating excellence across various categories from vehicles to technological innovations and even media strategy. Pune was chosen to honour the city's incredible industrial legacy and pioneer status in the automobile manufacturing history of India. Furthering our mission to bring Indian audiences our honest, transparent opinions, each TOTM winner is decided by a jury made up of industry stalwarts. There are three separate juries for the car, bike and communications categories. As always, the jurors bring their own unique experiences, skills, and perspectives to the particular categories they are evaluating. Cars and bikes across all segments and price bands were tested hands-on at dedicated jury meets held at the Buddh International Circuit, with the jury evaluating them for technology, innovation, reliability, safety, and performance. At the communications awards, a distinguished panel goes through the year's many advertising, marketing, public relations, messaging, and other campaigns. Jury members: * Product Jury (for cars and bikes): Jens Meiners, founder of German Car of the Year * Dr V Sumantran, senior engineer and industry veteran * Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor-in-Chief - ACKO Drive and Chairman, World Car Awards * Gul Panag, automobile enthusiast, biker and actor * Hani Musthafa, Chief Editor, Flywheel * Rayomand Banajee, racer and mentor * Steve Fowler, award-winning auto journalist and consultant * Aishwarya Pissay, off-road motorcycle racer * Anand Dharmaraj, track instructor and former racer * Ameya Naik, Executive Editor - ACKO Drive * Arun Mohan Nadar, Senior Editor - Bikes - ACKO Drive Communications Jury: * Ashish Chakravarty, Executive Director and India Head of Creative - McCann Worldgroup * Rohit Ohri, former Group CEO and Chairman, FCB Group India * Anita Sharma, automotive marketing and PR veteran * Ashish Mishra, Chief Marketing Officer - ACKO * Nikhil Chawla, auto and tech creator * Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor-in-Chief - ACKO Drive * Suparna Singh, CEO and Co-Founder, Frammer AI * Yogendra Pratap, Editor-in-Chief - Auto Today ACKO Drive is proud to be associated with HP Lubricants as the Lubricant Partner, IDFC First Bank as the Banking Partner, YouTube as the Media Partner, LG OLED as the Technology Partner, Laqshya Media Group as the Outdoor Partner, Grant Thornton Bharat as the Knowledge Partner, KYT as the Safety Partner, and HopCharge as the Charging Partner for the 2025 ACKO Drive Awards. Complete list of winners: 2025 Micro SUV: Tata Punch.ev2025 Subcompact Car: Maruti Suzuki Swift2025 Subcompact Sedan: Maruti Suzuki Dzire2025 Subcompact SUV: Mahindra XUV 3XO2025 Compact SUV: Mahindra Thar Roxx2025 MPV: MG Windsor EV2025 Off-Roader: Mahindra Thar Roxx2025 Luxury Compact Car: MINI Cooper S2025 Luxury Car: Mercedes-Benz E-Class2025 Luxury Compact SUV: Maserati Grecale2025 Luxury SUV: Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV2025 Luxury MPV: Kia Carnival2025 Performance Car: BMW i5 M60 xDrive2025 EV Car (Tie): MG Windsor EV and Tata Punch.ev2025 Luxury EV Car: BYD Seal2025 Car Design (Tie): Citroen Basalt and MG Windsor EV2025 ACKO Drive Car Manufacturer of The Year: Mahindra & Mahindra2025 Viewers' Choice Car: Hyundai Creta2025 ACKO Drive Premium Car of the Year: Mercedes-Benz E-Class2025 ACKO Drive Car of the Year: Mahindra Thar Roxx (First runner-up: Mahindra XUV 3XO)2025 Entry Bike: Bajaj Freedom 125 CNG2025 Commuter Motorcycle: Hero Xtreme 125R2025 Performance Motorcycle: Aprilia RS 4572025 ADV Motorcycle: Yezdi Adventure2025 Modern Classic Motorcycle: BSA Gold Star 6502025 Premium Performance Motorcycle: Suzuki GSX-8R2025 Premium Motorcycle: Ducati Streetfighter V42025 Premium ADV Motorcycle: BMW R 1300 GS2025 Scooter: Ather Rizta2025 EV Bike: Matter Aera2025 Bike Design (Tie): TVS Jupiter 110 and Aprilia RS 4572025 Bike Manufacturer of The Year: Royal Enfield2025 Viewers' Choice Bike: Royal Enfield Goan Classic 3502025 ACKO Drive Premium Bike of the Year: Ducati Streetfighter V42025 ACKO Drive Bike of the Year: Aprilia RS 457 (First runner-up: Hero Xtreme 125R)Google Most Searched Bike: Royal Enfield Classic 350Google Most Searched Premium Bike Brand: Harley-DavidsonGoogle Most Searched Car: Hyundai CretaGoogle Most Searched Premium Car: Kia Carnival2025 Safety Champion: Maruti Suzuki India2025 Acko Byte Car Tech of the Year: MINI round screen OLED interface2025 Acko Byte Bike Tech of the Year: Bajaj Freedom - World's First CNG bike2025 Person of the Year: Santosh Iyer, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India2025 Business Leader of the Year: Hisashi Takeuchi, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India2025 Jagdish Khattar Rising Star Award: Reeti Nageshri, MahindraTOTM Hall of Fame Manufacturing Pioneer (Pune): Tata MotorsTOTM Hall of Fame Manufacturing Pioneer (Pune): Force MotorsTOTM Hall of Fame Manufacturing Pioneer (Pune): Bajaj AutoTOTM Hall of FamePioneer Journalist (Pune): Adil Jal Darukhanawala2025 Best Creative Film (Car): Thar Roxx - Intehaan Ho Gayi2025 Best Creative Film (Bike): Royal Enfield Classic 3502025 Best Phygital or Social Media Innovation (Car): Tata Motors - Perry Punch2025 Best Phygital or Social Media Innovation (Bike): Harley-Davidson: World's Best Job2025 Best Integrated Campaign (Car): MG Windsor Launch2025 Best Integrated Campaign (Bike): Pulsar NS400Z - Chala Apni2025 Best PR Team (Car): JSW MG Motor India2025 Best PR Team (Bike): Ultraviolette2025 Brand Ambassador: John Abraham - Aprilia RS 4572025 Best Use of AI In Marketing/Sales: Bajaj Pulsar - Chala Apni (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
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