🔋 Honda’s 30-EV Play Is On

☕💥 Happy Monday, Chai Lovers! Hope you had a great weekend!

The earnings season is heating up, crypto hacks are back in the news, and Reliance just added another legacy brand to its growing empire. Oh, and Honda’s 2030 India ambitions now include you, your neighbour, and probably your maasi too.

Let’s dive into the biggest stories brewing across business, tech, and markets today 👇

Chai Shots ☕️

• 🛵 Honda targets 30% two-wheeler market in India by 2030: Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) plans to push its Indian market share from 27% to 30% over the next five years. The big unlock? Female customers, who currently account for just 10% of two-wheeler sales. With women increasingly entering the workforce, Honda sees this segment as a major growth driver. More in the Big Brew 👇

• 🔐 CoinDCX confirms ₹380 Cr server-side breach, but user funds safe: Blockchain sleuths spotted suspicious movements worth ~$44M from a CoinDCX-linked wallet via Tornado Cash—before the company even acknowledged the hack. CoinDCX says the breached account was for internal liquidity, not customer holdings, which are safe in cold wallets.

• 🐄 Dodla Dairy buys Osam for ₹271 Cr to crack eastern India: Dodla Dairy is expanding beyond its southern stronghold with a full acquisition of premium eastern brand Osam Dairy. This ₹271 Cr deal is one of the largest in the region’s dairy sector and gives Dodla access to a fast-growing market driven by urbanisation and higher income levels.

• 🛒 Reliance acquires iconic Kelvinator brand from Electrolux: Ending its licensing deal, Reliance Retail has now acquired Kelvinator outright from Sweden’s Electrolux. The 1970s-era fridge icon was once a middle-class status symbol in India. The acquisition strengthens Reliance’s presence in the ₹3 lakh crore consumer durables market, where it already sells smartphones, washing machines, and air conditioners through Reliance Digital stores.

Market Masala 📉

• 🏗️ JSW Steel to pump ₹20,000 Cr into Dolvi plant upgrade: Most of JSW Steel’s FY26 capex will go into expanding its Dolvi plant in Maharashtra from 10 to 15 million tonnes by 2027. It’s part of a broader push to hit 50 million tonnes of annual steel output by 2030. The company is also investing in Bhushan Power and downstream units, while refinancing to lower its cost of capital amid weak export demand.

• 🧨 Gaming firms hit with fresh GST blow over bonuses and cashbacks: The GST Council’s Rule 31B now treats non-withdrawable gaming bonuses and cashbacks as taxable at 28%. At least four gaming firms have received show-cause notices, despite arguing these aren’t actual payments. With thousands of crores at stake, the matter is likely headed to the Supreme Court for clarity.

• 🕵️‍♂️ Vedanta’s chip unit branded a ₹2,500 Cr ‘sham’ by Viceroy: U.S. short seller Viceroy Research has accused Vedanta Semiconductors of being a shell created to bypass NBFC regulations and funnel funds during a liquidity crunch. Vedanta denies all allegations, calling them misleading and baseless, and insists it’s operating within full legal compliance.

• Looking at the Week Ahead

  • 💼 Earnings overload: Reliance, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank results due

  • 📉 Market reaction: Can the Nifty bounce back above 25K?

  • 🏗️ Capex watch: Govt focus shifts to urban infra

  • 🛍️ Retail eyes: More Reliance acquisitions incoming?

Global Masala 🌍

• 📊 US stock futures steady as Big Tech earnings and tariff deadline loom: Markets are in wait-and-watch mode as Tesla, Alphabet, and Meta prepare to report Q2 results. Analysts expect the “Magnificent Seven” to drive the bulk of the S&P 500’s earnings growth this quarter. Meanwhile, the U.S. reaffirmed August 1 as the tariff enforcement deadline, keeping trade watchers and global investors alert.

• Looking at the Week Ahead

  • 🧠 Big Tech earnings: Alphabet, Tesla, Meta, and Microsoft report

  • 🏭 Industrial outlook: Honeywell, GE, and Boeing results

  • 📉 PMI and leading indicators: Fresh macro data to watch

  • ⚠️ Tariff tensions: Countdown to the Aug 1 U.S. deadline

  • 🏦 Fed watch: Dovish signals could stir rate cut bets

The Big Brew ☕️ Honda’s 2030 Dream: More Scooters, More Women Riders, and a Big EV Bet

Honda is going beyond the gear shift and tapping into a whole new demographic—Indian women riders.

Currently, women make up only 10% of two-wheeler users in India. But HMSI (Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India) thinks this is where the next growth curve lies. With more women joining the workforce and becoming financially independent, two-wheelers offer a safe, economical mobility option. Honda wants to be the first-mover in truly serving this segment.

Here’s what the plan looks like:

• 🧕 10% today, but 10x tomorrow: Honda wants to unlock a huge new customer base by designing and marketing scooters tailored to women’s preferences.

• ⚡ EV push begins now: Honda aims to launch 30 electric two-wheeler models globally by 2030 and set up a dedicated EV plant in India by 2028.

• 🏭 Challenges ahead: Poor charging infra and erratic power supply remain major speed bumps for EV adoption.

• 🌏 Global ambitions, local strategy: Honda already owns over 80% of the ASEAN market. Now, it’s sharpening its India strategy with localisation and a long-term approach.

What does this mean?

If Honda cracks this strategy, expect more women riders, more EVs on Indian roads, and a shake-up in the current two-wheeler pecking order. Scooters could go from being functional to aspirational—again.

Startup Scoop 🚀

• 🍱 Rebel Foods new CEO alert: Ankush Grover now leads the global charge at Rebel Foods, taking over core ops across geographies. With an IPO on the horizon, and a strong brand lineup, the company is focusing on tightening its unit economics and scaling both delivery and dine-in segments.

• 🥛 Milky Mist to raise ₹357 Cr ahead of IPO splash: Milky Mist, a Tamil Nadu-based dairy brand, has secured board approval to raise ₹357 Cr in a pre-IPO round. It’s also gearing up for a ₹1,785 Cr fresh equity issue ahead of its public listing. With product diversification and nationwide expansion in its sights, the funding will boost its positioning in the competitive Indian dairy landscape.

Chai Break Trivia 🤓

• 🧊 Did you know: Back in the ’80s, Kelvinator refrigerators were so iconic in India that people took family photos with the fridge. The tagline “The Coolest One” wasn’t just marketing—it was aspirational middle-class gold.

What’s Brewing Next 🔮

• 🧾 GST battle: Gaming companies may head to the Supreme Court

Until next time...

Your cup’s empty, but the week’s just getting started. From scooters and semiconductors to stock markets and cold coffees, we’ve got our eyes on every ripple in the brew.

Catch you tomorrow, same chai-time, same chai-channel.

☕