Brands
TVS revs up global design with Italian CoE launch
MUMBAI: Talk about shifting gears. TVS Motor Company has hit the accelerator on global innovation, unveiling its new Global Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Design and Engineering in Bologna, Italy. The move comes with the full acquisition of Engines Engineering S.p.A., the Italian powerhouse behind high-performance motorcycles and Motogp prototypes.
“This Centre marks a milestone in reimagining mobility,” said TVS Motor Company chairman Sudarshan Venu. “By blending Engines Engineering’s racing expertise with our global design and engineering capabilities, we aim to deliver premium, connected, and electric vehicles that set new benchmarks.”
The Italian CoE will act as a concept-to-product innovation hub, integrating world-class engineering teams to speed up product development, enhance design flexibility, and expand TVS Motor’s premium portfolio. It also strengthens Norton Motorcycles, supporting its ambition to craft modern luxury motorcycles that honour its iconic legacy while pushing the boundaries of performance.
Key focus areas include digital simulation, rapid prototyping, modular platform development, AI-driven design tools, advanced materials, and global collaboration with universities, startups, and suppliers. The initiative promises faster development cycles and a pipeline of next-generation scooters, high-displacement bikes, and electric mobility platforms.
With this move, TVS Motor is not just racing ahead in design and engineering but is steering the global motorcycle industry into a future where innovation meets performance and sustainability.
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
