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.ev
2025 Subcompact Car: Maruti Suzuki Swift
2025 Subcompact Sedan: Maruti Suzuki Dzire
2025 Subcompact SUV: Mahindra XUV 3XO
2025 Compact SUV: Mahindra Thar Roxx
2025 MPV: MG Windsor EV
2025 Off-Roader: Mahindra Thar Roxx
2025 Luxury Compact Car: MINI Cooper S
2025 Luxury Car: Mercedes-Benz E-Class
2025 Luxury Compact SUV: Maserati Grecale
2025 Luxury SUV: Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV
2025 Luxury MPV: Kia Carnival
2025 Performance Car: BMW i5 M60 xDrive
2025 EV Car (Tie): MG Windsor EV and Tata Punch.ev
2025 Luxury EV Car: BYD Seal
2025 Car Design (Tie): Citroën Basalt and MG Windsor EV
2025 ACKO Drive Car Manufacturer of The Year: Mahindra & Mahindra
2025 Viewers’ Choice Car: Hyundai Creta
2025 ACKO Drive Premium Car of the Year: Mercedes-Benz E-Class
2025 ACKO Drive Car of the Year: Mahindra Thar Roxx (First runner-up: Mahindra XUV 3XO)
2025 Entry Bike: Bajaj Freedom 125 CNG
2025 Commuter Motorcycle: Hero Xtreme 125R
2025 Performance Motorcycle: Aprilia RS 457
2025 ADV Motorcycle: Yezdi Adventure
2025 Modern Classic Motorcycle: BSA Gold Star 650
2025 Premium Performance Motorcycle: Suzuki GSX-8R
2025 Premium Motorcycle: Ducati Streetfighter V4
2025 Premium ADV Motorcycle: BMW R 1300 GS
2025 Scooter: Ather Rizta
2025 EV Bike: Matter Aera
2025 Bike Design (Tie): TVS Jupiter 110 and Aprilia RS 457
2025 Bike Manufacturer of The Year: Royal Enfield
2025 Viewers’ Choice Bike: Royal Enfield Goan Classic 350
2025 ACKO Drive Premium Bike of the Year: Ducati Streetfighter V4
2025 ACKO Drive Bike of the Year: Aprilia RS 457 (First runner-up: Hero Xtreme 125R)
Google Most Searched Bike: Royal Enfield Classic 350
Google Most Searched Premium Bike Brand: Harley-Davidson
Google Most Searched Car: Hyundai Creta
Google Most Searched Premium Car: Kia Carnival
2025 Safety Champion: Maruti Suzuki India
2025 Acko Byte Car Tech of the Year: MINI round screen OLED interface
2025 Acko Byte Bike Tech of the Year: Bajaj Freedom – World’s First CNG bike
2025 Person of the Year: Santosh Iyer, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India
2025 Business Leader of the Year: Hisashi Takeuchi, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India
2025 Jagdish Khattar Rising Star Award: Reeti Nageshri, Mahindra
TOTM Hall of Fame Manufacturing Pioneer (Pune): Tata Motors
TOTM Hall of Fame Manufacturing Pioneer (Pune): Force Motors
TOTM Hall of Fame Manufacturing Pioneer (Pune): Bajaj Auto
TOTM Hall of Fame Pioneer Journalist (Pune): Adil Jal Darukhanawala
2025 Best Creative Film (Car): Thar Roxx – Intehaan Ho Gayi
2025 Best Creative Film (Bike): Royal Enfield Classic 350
2025 Best Phygital or Social Media Innovation (Car): Tata Motors – Perry Punch
2025 Best Phygital or Social Media Innovation (Bike): Harley-Davidson: World's Best Job
2025 Best Integrated Campaign (Car): MG Windsor Launch
2025 Best Integrated Campaign (Bike): Pulsar NS400Z – Chala Apni
2025 Best PR Team (Car): JSW MG Motor India
2025 Best PR Team (Bike): Ultraviolette
2025 Brand Ambassador: John Abraham – Aprilia RS 457
2025 Best Use of AI In Marketing/Sales: Bajaj Pulsar – Chala Apni
