Autoparts Asia June 2017

ACMA To Scale Up In Tune With OEMs For $200 Bn Production

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Vol.No.3 Issue No.1 June 2017 | US$ 20 `200

Riddles Of New Mobility And Digitalisation

Vol No 3 | Issue No 1 | June 2017

ISSUE

IN THIS

10

22

Mathis Is New CFO Of Bridgestone Americas

ACMA To Scale Up In Tune With OEMs For $200 Bn Production

PEOPLE

INTERVIEW

6

IMPRESSIONS

7

EDITORIAL

8

TRAILBLAZING TRENDS

10

PEOPLE

- Innovating Mobility

- Hackett Is New CEO Of Ford - Mathis Is New CFO Of Bridgestone Americas - America’s Registry Honours Johnston - Additional Global Charge For MSIL MD - Shahani Appointed VP Of Toyota US - Krantz To Lead Swisslog Americas Auto Group - Management Changes At Fiat Chrysler UK - New People At The Helm Of Global Automakers - New Regional Sales Engineer (Industrial) For Schaeffler UK

50

16 CORPORATE

MOBILITY AND DIGITALISATION

22 INTERVIEW

COVER STORY - THE RIDDLES OF NEW - Artificial Intelligence Holds Key To Autonomous Driving - By Sachin Lawande - Innovation In New Mobility Landscape- By Swamy Kotagiri - Threats, Opps. Of New Trends - By Harish Lakshman - ZF Takes The Leap Forward - By Mamatha Chamarthi - Wabco Wins India With Global Standards At Local Cost – By P Kaniappan - Business Disruption Through Superior Value Propositions - By Srinivasa Raghavan - Seamless Mobility - By Ralph Lauxmann and Andree Hohm - Hella Brings Tomorrow’s Technology For Life Today - By Rama Shankar Pandey - Transition Towards New Mobility Offers New Opportunities - By Kalyan Varma - German Companies Turn Industrie 4.0 Into Reality - By Rajesh Nath - Self-Driving Cars: How Soon is Now? – By Stephanie Brinley - Digitisation Is Imperative! But Are We Ready? - By S Raj - Efficiency Has Its Price - By Michael Karl - New Projects For Connected Mobility - By Franco Annunziato - Data Creation Is Key To Digitalization – By Micromatic Machine Tools team - Opportunities Emerge From Digitalisation – By Sridhara Dharmarajan

- Continental Automotive Prepared To Support Indian Auto Industry Ramp-Up - Dana To Expand Aftermarket In Middle East, N Africa

- ACMA To Scale Up In Tune With OEMs For $200 Bn Production - Volvo Transforms Mobility Of People, Goods In India - Innovations Keep Ashok Leyland In The Forefront - Tenneco India Leads With Customised Solutions

118 TESTING

- FEV Develops Competencies In India For Future Mobility

120 PREVIEW

- Automotive Testing, Engine, Interiors Expo 2017 In Novi During Oct. 24-26

122 SPECIAL REPORT

- Freudenberg On Track To Become Innovative, Diversified Tech Group - Müller Brakes America Develops New Technologies, Plans To Enter India - BKT Narrows US Market Focus

134 REGULATION

- UAE Law Soon To Rate Light Vehicle Workshops

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156

EVENT

CORPORATE

- Telematics To Play Bigger Role In CV Industry Development - Malaysia CV Show Presents Leading Products, Innovations - Automechanika Dubai Opens Doors To New Markets

Continental Automotive Prepared To Support Indian Auto Industry Ramp-Up

FEATURES

168

GLEANINGS India - Isuzu launches mu-X in India

- Axalta Opens New India Headquarters - Maruti Suzuki Launches All-New Dzire Sedan - GM India To Focus On Exports - Volvo To Roll Out Cars Made In India - IRMRA Gets BMO Accreditation - Ford Endeavour Drive Event In Chennai - Sandhar Tech, Daewha Fuel Pump Sign JV

176 GLEANINGS International 136

TECHNOLOGY

140

FOCUS

- Intelligent Material-Mix To Shed Weight for Audi A8

- BorgWarner Remains Close To Customer, Market

144 MANUFACTURING

- Design Freedom Makes Additive Manufacturing Acceptable

150

INSIGHTS

- GM Recasts Global Business - Toyota Celebrates 40 Years Of R&D In America - Faurecia, ZF Partnership For Innovation - Magna, Schaeffler receive PwC’s Automotive Innovations Award - VW Group To Make Multi-Billion Investments In e-Mobility - OMRON to Launch New AI-Equipped Controllers, IoT Technologies - Millionth Porsche 911 Rolls Off Production Line - Honeywell Plant To Make New Auto Refrigerant - Volvo Trucks Safety Report Focuses On Vulnerable Road Users - FCA US Honours 16 Automotive Suppliers - Modular Telematics To Connect CVs - Bosch Automates Automated Mobility - GAC Builds Industrial Park For EV Business - Lear Sets Up New Asia Hq. In Shanghai - Jacobs, Diamler Trucks Sign New Deal - BASF To Showcase Ultramid Endure

- Venezuela Takes Over GM Plant, Similar Fate Awaits More MNCs - She Ain’t Your Momma!

153 ANALYSIS

- Passenger Vehicle Sales Spurt in April; CV Market Falls

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Cover Photo Courtesy: Bosch

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While every care has been taken during production, the publisher does not accept any liability for errors that may have occurred.

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IMPRESSIONS

Too Long Often I see long-winding articles in your magazine. Though they are interesting having in-depth information, I think it would be better if you cover more stories in an edition than a few large ones.

Siddharth Samudram, Indore, India.

READERS’ LETTERS

Allison & Gestamp I enjoyed reading the stories on Allison Transmission and Gestamp. (AutoParts Asia – April 2017) It gives interesting information on the current trends and future technologies.

Raymond Davidson, KL, Malaysia.

We Welcome Your Comments We will continue to bring to you every month AutoParts Asia magazine with the latest news and trends in Indian, Asian and global automotive industry. We present them in the way we think is the best. But you may think differently. Your different perspective may be a stepping stone to our ambitious target of achieving superior quality in content and style of presentation.

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6 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

T

he imminent implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) by the Union Government in India has kindled the spirit of the vehicle manufacturers. The auto component sector now hopes to achieve the US$ 200 billion turnover envisaged in the Automotive Mission Plan 2026. GST will cover all the automotive companies, homegrown and overseas. BMW India believes that GST will strengthen and foster growth in the country and benefit consumers at large. The company has decided to give in advance the benefits of GST to its customers.

Similarly Mercedes-Benz India has reduced its transaction prices to cover the difference between the current ex-showroom price and post-GST exshowroom price, on the entire ‘Made in India’ product portfolio.

While there are positives for the automotive industry from GST, the unexpected turn is the proposal to impose higher taxes on hybrid vehicles than on the electric, under a new unified tax regime from July 1. This is said to promote electric vehicles. According to a policy blueprint unveiled recently, the Indian Government is planning to electrify all vehicles in the country by 2032. It also recommends lower taxes and low interest rates on electric vehicle loans while capping sales of petrol and diesel cars.

This is seen as a radical shift in policy. Hybrids play the role of a conduit for mobility to transform from conventional internal combustion engines to electric motors. Therefore, prudent planning is warranted.

Your favourite magazine AutoParts Asia is stepping into the third year of publication and the issue that you hold is the special Second Anniversary Edition. The theme for the cover story is: ‘The Riddles Of New Mobility And Digitalisation.’ Experts from 17 organisations from across the world have unfolded their thoughts, visions and anxieties on this theme.

In addition to this, we have interviews of ACMA President, Ashok Leyland’s CTO and Tenneco India. We have also other regular features, including one on additive manufacturing, and reports.

Happy Reading.

Kurian Abraham Editor-in-Chief

E DIT OR IAL

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Editor-in-Chief: Kurian Abraham | President: Antony Powath | Editor: Murrali Thalor | Associate Editor: KS Nayar Executive Editor: P Raghav Varma | Assistant Editors: Prof T N Kalamani, A Saj Mathews, P Venugopal | Correspondent: Sharad P Matade | Contributor: ShamPrasad.

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June 2017 | Vol. 3 | Issue No. 1

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US Correspondent: Dr Louis P Rumao, 621 Lockmoore Court, Rochester Hills, Michigan +1 48307-4229, Tel: +1 248 747 7201, Email: louis.rumao@ yahoo.com | China: Ella Liu (Liu Ting)/Terry Yin (Yin Tian), China United Rubber (Group) Corporation, Beijing, Tel +86-13911580967, +86-10-5377 9793, Fax: +86-10-5377 9608, E-mail:liut@chrubber.com, expo@chrubber.com | South America: Ms. Carina Bini Fernandes, Atman Filmes e Criacoes, SCLN 215, Bloco B, Sala 114, Asa Norte – Brasilia – DF, Brazil, CEP 70874–520, Tel: +55 61 3033 8007, +55 6181497800 (Brasil), +91 9895555281 (India), E mail: carina.bini@gmail.com European Representative: John Stone, 73 Chaney Road, Wivenhoe Essex, CO79RR, England. Sapphire Media, Tel: +44 (0) 1206 822320, Mob: + 44 7769 675232, Email: john.stone@sapphire-media.co.uk | Australia: Jacob Cherian, Ausker Pacific Pty. Ltd., Suite 1, 1401 Burke Road, East Kew Vic 3102, Melbourne Australia, Tel: +61 3 9859 8922, Email:ausker@auskergroup.com.au | Japan: Shinichi Kato, Shinichi Kato Office Co., Ltd., 11-7 Nihonbashikabutochou, Chuoku, Tokyo 103-0026, Japan. Tel: +81 3-5645-8670, Fax: +81 3-5645-8671, Email: shinichi.kato@rubberstation.com South East Asia: A. Divakaran A.D. Nair, 33, Jalan PJU 1A/43F, Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, 47301 Selangor, Malaysia. Tel: +60 3 78454608, Mobile: +60 12 3985357, Email: aaps_avico@yahoo.com | Thailand: Ms Somruetai Patana-anek (Mott), Managing Director, Busgum Co. Ltd., 1093/115, 21st Floor, Central City Tower, Bangna-Trad Road (K.M.3), Bangna, Bangkok 10260, Thailand, Tel: +66-2-3993946, 399-4374, 399-3896, Mob: +66-1-8429105, Email: mott@busgum.com | Sri Lanka: P P Perera, No.20, 4th Cross Lane, Borupana Road, Ratmalana, Sri Lanka. Tel: +94 11 4863529, Mob: +94 772 972571, Email: ppperera1946@gmail.com |Middle East: Dubai, UAE - Markose Chenthitta, Email: 101@ hotmail.com & Varghese Philip, Tel: +971 4 2276825, Mob: +971 50 7480984, Email: vp39386@gmail.com, Iran: Ms.Azita Eftekhary, International Business Development Manager, RIERCO, Karaj Highway-Pajouhesh Blvd. – Iran Rubber Industries Researches Institute, TEHRAN-IRAN, ZipCode: 1497716365, P.O.Box: 15875-5981

AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 7

TRAILBLAZING TRENDS

Innovating Mobility

N

ot all the innovative ideas are commercialised or patented, from the automotive perspective. While this is a universal truth, Protean Electric, the global technology company that designs, develops and manufactures ProteanDRIVE in-wheel motors, a fully integrated in-wheel drive solution, has secured its 100th patent, 150 more are pending, establishing itself as the pioneering innovator of inwheel electric drive solutions for the automotive industry.

The Protean team developed the in-wheel, electric-drive system (IWM) for hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric light-duty vehicles. The IWM market is set to grow with China alone aiming to have five million new-energy vehicles on the road by 2020. These worldwide patents, which pertain to around 70 inventions, protect ProteanDRIVE technology in Asian, European and North American markets.

Protean maintains operations in the UK, Shanghai, China and the US. Among the many technological developments in new-energy vehicles, Protean Electric’s patents cover scalable ideas that create energy efficiencies, superior vehicle handling, power electronics and safety.

Volkswagen Since the beginning of the 20th century, the dream of affordable driving for all social classes had fascinated people and engineers. The National Socialist regime in Germany exploited this popular idea for their own interests, and in 1934 the “Reichsverband der Automobilindustrie” (“Reich Automotive Industry Association”) commissioned Ferdinand Porsche to handle the engineering design of a ‘German people’s car.’ Together with his team, Porsche developed a vehicle that was ready for production in 1938. It has been democratizing mobility for decades since the end of the Second

8 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

World War, which began with the production of what was affectionately called `Beetle’.

Beetle laid the foundation for the Volkswagen Group and was the most successful car of its time with more than 21.5 million vehicles produced.

A company, whose history began with the production of the Beetle, has developed over the past 80 years into a global player with 12 brands, 120 production sites on four continents, more than 620,000 employees and more than 10 million vehicles sold every year.

After years of continuous growth, the diesel crisis new challenges in the markets necessitate a realignment of the Volkswagen Group. With its ‘TOGETHER – Strategy 2025,’ the company is resolutely driving its transformation from one of the biggest carmakers to a leading provider of sustainable mobility.

AHSS In Volvo Recently the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), a business unit of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), honoured the Volvo Car Corporation body structure team with its Automotive Excellence Award for its advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) innovations in the 2016 Volvo XC90. Volvo created a new generation architecture for the XC90, the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), which achieved a stiffer, stronger, larger and lighter body structure to optimise driving performance through extensive use of advanced high-strength steel AHSS. This achievement earned the vehicle a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in 2015 as well as North American Truck of the Year in 2016.

Volvo used steel in such a way that it would launch a new generation of applications of the material. By utilizing a steel-intensive structure, Volvo was

By T Murrali able to reduce mass without sacrificing strength and safety.

Vehicle Software Last month the Groupe Renault announced the signature of a final agreement on acquisition of Intel’s French embedded software R&D activity based in Toulouse and SophiaAntipolis, France. This will help the group bring in a full spectrum of skills to reinforce developments in the next-generation embedded vehicle software. Besides, it will help imbibe valuable experience in areas such as personalised services and remote, autonomous, real-time updates with no outside intervention.

The Intel employees who are joining Renault hold highly relevant skills in what is a strong competitive technical field, where the Alliance is one of the world leaders. In the words of Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Renault, “Groupe Renault, thereby continues to support French innovation and economic development in France”.

Student Power Innovation is also increasing from the students’ side. Recently the Ohio State University took home first place in the third year of EcoCAR 3, an Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition, sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors Corporation. EcoCAR 3 is the latest Energy Department Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition (AVTC) series and challenges 16 North American University teams to redesign a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro by incorporating cutting-edge advanced powertrains as well as emerging connected and automated vehicle technologies that are helping to re-invent the future of mobility.

See you next month with more Trailblazing Trends...

PEOPLE

Mathis Is New CFO Of Bridgestone Americas

Hackett Is New CEO Of Ford

B APA Bureau

J

im Hackett is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company, effective May 22, 2017. He is also a member of the company’s Board of Directors.

Under Hackett’s leadership, together with Bill Ford, Ford is strengthening its automotive business and accelerating a strategic shift to capitalize on opportunities during a transformative period for the auto industry and the broader mobility space.

Prior to serving in this role, Hackett was chairman of Ford Smart Mobility LLC, a subsidiary of Ford, formed to accelerate the company’s plans to design, build, grow and invest in emerging mobility services. He was named to the position on March 10, 2016.

Before joining Ford Smart Mobility, Hackett was a member of the Ford Motor Company Board of Directors starting in 2013. As a member of the Sustainability and Innovation committee, he was actively involved with the Ford senior leadership team in launching the company’s Ford Smart Mobility plan. He also served on the Audit and the Nominating and Governance committees.

Hackett was vice chairman of Steelcase, the global leader in the office furniture industry, from 2014 to 2015. He retired as CEO of Steelcase in February 2014, after having spent 20 years leading the Grand Rapids-based office furniture company.

As a consumer-focused visionary in the office furniture industry, Hackett is credited with guiding Steelcase to becoming a global leader. During his 30 years there, he helped transform the office furniture company from traditional manufacturer to industry innovator.

Having spent his career focused on the evolving needs of consumers, Hackett is recognized for predicting that the office landscape would shift away from cubicles to an open space environment, giving employees the flexibility to work where they want.

10 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

APA Bureau

ridgestone Americas, Inc. has named Amanda Mathis as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Bridgestone Americas.

Mathis is responsible for overseeing all strategic aspects of finance, accounting and financial shared services, as well as mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting, cash flow and debt management. Mathis has held the role of Acting CFO since September 2016.

“Amanda is an exceptionally talented financial executive and trusted adviser to many throughout the Bridgestone organization,” Bill Thompson, Chief Operating Officer, Bridgestone Americas, said.

“She has done a tremendous job since assuming the Acting CFO role late last year. Her familiarity and expertise of our financial organization coupled with her strong leadership make her an excellent fit for this position,” he said.

Mathis joined Bridgestone Americas as Controller for the Consumer Tyre Division in 2012. She was later promoted to Vice President, Finance, for Bridgestone Americas

Tyre Operations (BATO) North America and concurrently named Acting CFO in September 2016.

Prior to joining Bridgestone, Mathis served in a number of different leadership roles for YUM! Brands,including CFO for the Long John Silver’s and A&W Restaurants divisions. She has also held roles at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Capital Markets and Morgan Keegan. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

America’s Registry Honours Johnston APA Bureau

M

onte Johnston of Springdale, Arkansas, will be honoured by the America’s Registry of Outstanding Professionals as a Lifetime VIP Member.

This honour is bestowed in recognition of his distinguished contributions and achievements in the field of Automotive Sales and Management. Johnston wears many hats but the centrepiece of his business empire is the Automatic Auto Finance (AAF) based in Springdale, Arkansas, which has multi-location dealerships and offers customers credit to purchase and finance reliable

vehicles on site.

America’s Registry is a membership organization that gives its members the type of national recognition they strive for. Professional business people may join memberships, societies and organisations to develop business contacts, thus gaining image and credibility for themselves and their organisations. As a powerful third party endorsement, America’s Registry offers this kind of recognition for individuals on a national basis with the added benefit of instantaneous networking with the other members.

PEOPLE

Additional Global Charge For MSIL MD

Shahani Appointed VP Of Toyota US APA Bureau

APA Bureau

K

enichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), has been given additional global charge as the Executive Vice President, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan. He was the Senior Managing Officer, Suzuki. The new role will be effective from July 1, 2017.

Ayukawa led Maruti Suzuki from the front and was responsible for the launch of successful models like Vitara Brezza, Baleno, Ciaz,

and the recently introduced new Dzire. Under his leadership, Maruti Suzuki has improved its market share to 47.38 percent ; profits have also gone up.

Before coming to India as the MD of MSIL, he had served as the Managing Executive Officer handling global marketing for Suzuki Motor Corporation in Japan.

Ayukawa had served as MD of Pak Suzuki Motor Company during 2004-2008.

Krantz To Lead Swisslog Americas Auto Group

S

wisslog Warehouse and Distributions Solutions Americas, a Member of the KUKA Group and leading provider of best-in-class intralogistics solutions, has formed a new Automotive Business Unit focused on developing and delivering intralogistics automation to tier one suppliers and OEMs. It has appointed Terry Krantz as Vice President of Sales and Consulting.

According to Markus Schmidt, President of Swisslog WDS Americas, “Tier one suppliers and OEMs have been turning to Swisslog and benefiting from our turnkey solutions designed to streamline their work-in-process (WIP) manufacturing, kitting, and parts storage. We have found a need to designate a business unit to meet the growing demand for our solutions and to offer a clear commitment to our current customers who will continue

12 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

APA Bureau to rely on us for support as their needs adapt and change. We are pleased to have Terry who has deep knowledge about supply chain solutions and software, which is now proving invaluable to the automotive industry.”

Krantz has more than 20 years of experience in the material handling industry, the last 11 with Swisslog.

With extensive experience in intralogistics, he is ready to introduce Swisslog’s expertise to more suppliers and OEMs in the automotive industry.

“We are revolutionizing the industry with flexible automation strategies that reduce storage and provide virtual management. Our clients enjoy better visibility into their operations with realtime tracking of their inventory as well as management of specific sequencing for kitting or line-side manufacturing,” Krantz said.

T

oyota Motor North America has appointed Vinay Shahani as Vice President, Integrated Marketing Operations, effective June 5, 2017. Shahani’s responsibilities include leading media strategy, digital and social media, vehicle incentive strategy, motorsports, engagement marketing, auto shows, and other consumer events throughout the US. Shahani reports to Ed Laukes, Group Vice President, Toyota Division Marketing.

“Vinay brings fresh perspective to Toyota that is complemented with his marketing background and cross-functional experience in the automotive industry.

We are eager to have him on the team, and look forward to his contributions as we transition to our new home in Plano,” Laukes said.

Previously, Shahani was the Senior Vice President, Marketing, for Volkswagen of America. In that role, he was responsible for leading all aspects of marketing for the Volkswagen brand in the US. Shahani was with Volkswagen for over three years after almost ten years at Nissan North America, where he held various management positions in marketing, sales and manufacturing. He has also worked for Sun Microsystems, Arthur Andersen and Ford Motor Company in a variety of marketing, management and engineering roles.

Shahani holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and has earned Master’s degrees in both Business Administration and Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Stanford University.

PEOPLE

New People At The Helm Of Global Automakers APA Bureau

A

uto industry veteran Steve Gehring has joined the Association of Global Automakers (Global Automakers) as its Vice President of Vehicle Safety and Connected Automation. Under this newly created position, Gehring will lead the Association’s efforts on auto safety, connected and self-driving vehicle policies.

Lauren O’Toole Boland has joined the Association as the new Communications Manager. She will support the integration of Global Automakers communications across multiple channels to advance its objectives. “With the auto industry in the midst of a technological evolution, we are thrilled to have a proven leader like Steve join our team,” John Bozzella, president and CEO of Global Automakers, said. “Mobility is changing and Steve’s extensive background in the automotive policy space will support our members’ efforts to deliver advanced vehicle safety technologies to consumers.”

With over 25 years of experience in various engineering and management positions at ‘intelligent’ transportation organizations and major carmakers, Gehring comes to Global Automakers after serving as Director of Public Policy for Vehicle Safety at General Motors. He has a strong track record working on both traditional historical areas of auto safety and with emerging new safety technologies. Boland has spent her professional career in political communications.

Prior to joining the Global Automakers, she served as communications director for two members of Congress and worked on issues including national defence, transportation, healthcare, trade and the budget.

“With a new Administration, a new Congress, and an evolving automotive industry, we are excited to have someone as talented as Lauren to join our team. Her political communications background will be a major asset as we work to meet our strategic priorities,” Annemarie Pender, Director of Communications for Global Automakers, said. Boland is a graduate of Miami University with a degree in Communications and Marketing.

The Association of Global Automakers represents the US operations of international motor vehicle manufacturers, original equipment suppliers, and other automotive-related trade associations. “We work with industry leaders, legislators, and regulators to create the kind of public policy that improves vehicle safety, encourages technological innovation, and protects our planet. Our goal is to foster a competitive environment in which more vehicles are designed and built to enhance Americans’ quality of life,” Pender said.

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Management Changes At Fiat Chrysler UK APA Bureau

A

s part of senior management changes at Fiat Chrysler UK, Andrew Tracey has been appointed Brand Country Manager, Alfa Romeo and Jeep. Tracey brings to Alfa and Jeep’s UK operations more than 15 years’ experience across senior roles in automotive sales, marketing, product and planning functions. He has most recently held the role of Head of Marketing, Seat UK, overseeing the company’s brand and product strategy.

He has also been Seat UK’s Head of Planning, and has held managerial posts in sales operations,

national planning and supply, and product.

“I am delighted to be joining the Jeep and Alfa Romeo brands at this exciting time. With award-winning products such as Jeep Renegade and Alfa Giulia already here to work with, I’m looking forward to the opportunities that cars such as the new Jeep Compass and Alfa Stelvio will present us as we further grow our business in the UK market,” Tracey said.

Tracey takes over from Damien Dally who has moved to a role in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles HQ, in Turin.

New Regional Sales Engineer (Industrial) For Schaeffler UK

T

he German automotive supplier Schaeffler has appointed Richmond Averill as Regional Sales Engineer for South West England and South Wales, Industrial Division, Schaeffler (UK).

In this role, Averill is responsible for sales of Schaeffler’s complete range of industrial bearings and linear systems, as well as related hardware and services, including condition monitoring systems, bearing fitting and maintenance tools, lubrication equipment, bearing failure analysis, online and offline

APA Bureau condition monitoring, customer training and consultancy. He will report to Leigh Hopkins, Industrial Sales Director at Schaeffler (UK).

“There are many growth opportunities in the UK for our linear products, particularly in hightech industries, as well as in special purpose printing machines and mechanical handling systems. My aim is to help grow the linear side of the UK business by advising, guiding and supporting customers in designing and selecting the right linear motion systems for their application,” Averill said.

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CORPORATE

Continental Automotive Prepared To Support Indian Auto Industry Ramp-Up

By T Murrali the global economy, India is poised for consistent growth,” Claude d’Gama Rose, Managing Director, Continental Automotive India, told AutoParts Asia.

Continental Automotive expects to have a steady and attractive growth in India, though not as explosive as that of China. This expectation is based on the growth in the domestic market and also exports.

I

n the recent past there has been a recalibration by global players on what to expect from the Indian automotive industry, especially in terms of vehicle production, and now there is a more realistic view of the Indian market. This was after the expectation that the Indian market would be the next big thing after China. Obviously that didn’t happen; not only did it not grow like China but the market and the global industry actually went through a setback. In the past, not just the Indian automotive market

but the Indian economy itself has had a tendency to over-promise and under-deliver.

“With this recalibration combined with what is happening in terms of the government intervention, management of the economy and so on, we are now looking at years of stable and attractive growth of the automotive industry which may be in double digits in the future.

This is how we are looking at vehicle production in India. There could be periods when the market grows slowly but our expectation is that, barring an earthquake in

Electric drum brake

16 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

“As the Indian vehicle standardises, in line with those sold the world over, the attractiveness of India as a manufacturing hub is bound to increase. Even now a substantial portion of the production of passenger cars is exported; this could increase further. For Continental Automotive, being primarily an electronic supplier, we see an increase in the electronic content of vehicles. We have seen this in passenger cars but are disappointed that it does not happen sooner in commercial vehicles (CV). With BS-IV in vogue now, and CVs also going in for BS-

Claude d’Gama Rose

Closed-coupled exhaust aftertreatment

VI in 2020, we are sure this gap in electronic content, as compared with the rest of the world, will be closed,” he said.

However, for Continental Automotive, the two-wheeler market is very significant.

Now it has volumes in the 20-million range.

“While the instrument cluster was perhaps the only significant electronic component in the two-wheeler earlier, we now see legislation and ABS coming in for twowheelers above 125cc, and Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) mandatory by 2020 for all two-wheelers. With production volumes going up across vehicle segments, it is the increase in electronic content that is of interest to us. We have already seen the first wave driven by safety legislation; a significant portion of our growth is coming from the safety side. As we approach 2020 it will then be the consequence of BS-VI,” d’Gama Rose said.

New Market Segments In India Continental Automotive has not gained a foothold in areas like electrification. Though there is a lot of interest among the OEMs there has not been any major initiative. “But it should fall into place soon. I think we are getting into a phase where change will not be linear, it will be pretty sudden. The gaps which the Indian industry has with other markets will reduce considerably, and electrification is one area where we believe this will happen. At this point in time there are companies going in for electrification on an accessory basis, for mobility services. Going forward, mobility services will be very important for Continental globally. The first steps with respect to mobility services in the vehicle will be connected with the use of the mobile phone; it will definitely be an area that will contribute to our global growth,” he said.

Continental Automotive expects the behaviour of the Indian market to change when automated driving comes into the country in a big way. It may take some more time owing to the infrastructure problems. But assisted driving will come in, particularly for parking

MK 100 ESC Base

Electric parking brake systems

of vehicles. There could also be specific services connected to mobility and automated processes in the vehicle – it will come sooner than later.

The process for supporting the Indian automotive industry to be BS-VI-ready by 2020 is under way. “We would support customers across all vehicle segments. We are very active with the two-wheeler OEMs as it is completely new to them, moving to EFI and with it the norms for BS-VI. Basically, we have the competence in our global organisation with people in our off-shore teams who have worked with the relevant software - I think we are more ready than the OEMs,” d’Gama Rose said.

AMP 2026 With regard to technology and the access of transportation looked at in AMP-2026 Continental Automotive is well placed to support the Indian industry. With the arrival of BS-VI, the global giant expects to have sufficient volume to consider localising a number of products that are required both on the propulsion (electronics for gasoline and diesel) and after-treatment (sensors, SCR systems). There would be a lot more value addition in development and manufacturing that Continental would bring to India, which would help AMP-2026 realise its revenue and employment targets.

“Continental sees the market developing very positively, not least because of the increase in the electronic content but the fact that Indian vehicles, in terms of technology and capability, will resemble the vehicles we have across the world. We inaugurated our Tech Centre in India in 2015 and have already doubled the space we started off with.

Continental Automotive is really committed to development in India. However, I am sure that the growth we visualise cannot be captured within the existing infrastructure. To capture a larger market share we have to expand and that would certainly include these facilities,” d’Gama Rose said.

AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 17

CORPORATE

Dana To Expand Aftermarket In Middle East, N Africa

By Sharad Matade

T

he US-based Dana Incorporated, a worldwide supplier of drivetrain, sealing, and thermalmanagement technologies, will leverage its strong position in the original equipment space for its aftermarket business in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) .

“We are already focusing on building the aftermarket in the MENA region for our Spicer brand, under which Dana makes driveline solutions, as we have for Victor Reinz, the brand for our sealing and gasket products. We see a huge potential for Spicer driveline components in the region,”.

Alfred Wimmer, Director Aftermarket EMEAR, Dana’s Aftermarket division, told AutoParts Asia on the sidelines of the 15th Automechanika Dubai show.

Dana displayed its Spicer and Victor Reinz brands of products at the show.

Alfred Wimmer

Under the Spicer brand, the company manufactures axles, driveshafts, u-joints, and lubricants and under Victor Reinz, cylinderhead gaskets, cylinder-head bolts, sealants, gasket materials, oil seals, valve stem seals, turbocharger-mounting-kits and valve cover gaskets.

“We are not only a leading supplier of automotive components in term of volumes, but a leading technical innovator for OEMs around the world for applications like drivetrain

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solutions and service parts for passenger cars, commercial, off-highway and military vehicles along with industrial, and performance applications. We believe, the MENA region is being sought by all global automotive companies owing to the future growth in the automotive aftermarket industry,” he said.

According to Wimmer, being a leading OE automotive component supplier, Dana has some advantages, which it leverages in the automotive aftermarket segment. “When it comes to product quality, we do

CORPORATE different sealants have to be used for different applications. However, we offer products such as REINZOSIL, which sustains stability in a wide range of temperatures —from -50 °C to up to +300 °C. It can also be used for sealing all surfaces in engines, gearboxes, and axles, including synthetic housings. It is very suitable for uneven and rough surfaces. It also has very good durability against internal combustion fuels and diesel fuels, bio-diesel, oil, grease, lubricants, water, seawater, sunlight and ozone,” he said.

Dana started selling its original-equipment line of gaskets and sealing products, under the Victor Reinz brand name directly to its network of aftermarket customers in North America, from November 1, 2016. According to the company, with this move, Dana can provide better service, technical support, and a more cost-effective solution for distributors.

not differentiate OE and aftermarket. We supply the same product standards to the aftermarket, which we supply to our OE customers and that is how we assure the quality of our products in the aftermarket. We offer a wide range of applications to our customers,” he said.

Wimmer indicated that developing markets are inclining towards genuine and quality products.

“There is always demand for OE quality in the aftermarket, not just low-cost. Now, customers have realised that there is a big performance gap between quality and spurious or cheap products.

They are also realising the additional value that the quality products provide.”

To ensure availability and delivery to the growing regional operations that provide hands-on service and support, Dana has a network of 17 distribution centres. The MENA region is supplied through three warehouses in Europe.

Gaskets And Sealants Thermal efficiency is paramount in modern vehicles and Dana tests gaskets and sealants in the harshest conditions. “Today, engines are getting compact and powerful, thus, they generate tremendous heat. So we have developed gaskets and sealing solutions which keep emissions and temperatures under control. To tackle this challenge we have introduced a multi-layer steel (MLS) head gasket. MLS head gaskets have two to five sheets of spring or carbon steel, which are sandwiched between the sealing material to form multi-layer steel head gaskets and the coating. Full interior surface and partial exterior surface with elastomer coatings improve the sealing potential of these modern sealing systems,” Wimmer said.

The company has sealings solution for the engines and exhaust. “Our sealants are specifically made for high temperature applications. Many times,

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OEMs are replacing conventional materials by new materials to make vehicles lighter, safer and fuel efficient. Dana develops sealing and gasket products to sustain the efficiency with the new materials being used to make the vehicles. “We always want to be a frontrunner. We do not wait for the requirement to be generated from the OEM side. We work closely with OEMs and monitor the current market developments to meet their present and future requirements and come up with innovative solutions for them,” Wimmer said.

Different markets have different regulations, and global automotive suppliers have to keep an eye on the global trends to manage their inventories.

Dana makes customised products and with its own logistic support, manages its inventories meticulously. “Our products are tailor-made for specific application, and we offer a wide coverage from the latest models to the oldest models.

Coupled with this, we also have a big logistic support behind the scene to make sure that our production and product stocks are optimized,” he said.

Dana is investing in digitization to enhance its customer support service. The company has made available its product catalogues online in a user friendly manner. “Customers can access our online portal to place their orders. On the portal, they can get information on the availability of the products and track their orders, right to the delivery,” Wimmer said.

INTERVIEW

ACMA To Scale Up In Tune With OEMs For $200 Bn Production The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) is the apex body representing the interest of the Indian Auto Component Industry. Its membership of over 750 manufacturers contributes more than 85 per cent of the auto component industry’s turnover in the organised sector. ACMA’s charter is to develop a globally competitive Indian Auto Component Industry and strengthen its role in national economic development as also promote business through international alliances. “We are looking at five million passenger vehicles by 2020 up from 3.5 million today. In the Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) that we have jointly scripted with the Government and all the OEMs, we are looking at going to USD 200 billion as passenger vehicles scale up to about 13 million ,” Rattan Kapur, President ACMA, told T Murrali of AutoParts Asia, in an exclusive interview. The excerpts:Q: Can you describe the current scenario of automotive industry in India?

A: The automotive industry is clearly a growth engine for our economy. The component industry alone contributes about 4% of our GDP. The industry’s current turnover is around USD 39 billion with USD 11 billion in exports.

We export to more that 160 countries today, with Europe accounting for the maximum – 36% followed by North America at 23%.

The automotive industry is also a huge employment generator; the component industry has 1.5 million in direct employment and two and a half times that in indirect. Going forward, we are looking at 5 million passenger vehicles by 2020, up from 3.5 million of today.

In the AMP that we have jointly scripted with the Government and all the OEMs, we are looking at the passenger vehicles to grow to about 13 million, which means there is a huge potential for more employment generation

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and absorption of people. We believe that by 2026, the entire automotive industry will create employment opportunities for additional 25 million people. The Government is very proactive as far as this industry goes.

Q: This is the time for conducive growth, so what are your plans to make the auto component industry scale up to reach USD 200 billion, according to the AMP, by 2026? How can you leapfrog to this from the present level?

A: The component industry will grow in tandem with the vehicle industry. As per AMP, by 2026, the PV industry will grow to 13 million, two-wheelers to 56 million, CVs to 3.9 million and tractors to 1.8 million, clearly every vertical in the vehicle industry is set to grow several fold thus creating huge opportunities for the component sector.

That apart, component exports are expected to scale up from USD 11 billion today to USD 70-80 billion. All in all, we are set for accelerated growth, but of course there is no denying that there

will be many challenges that will have to be overcome.

Q: Are there external drivers that influence this growth, or are there pain points or impediments?

A: India is no longer isolated from global trends, especially with our exports growing and Indian component industry setting footprints in other parts of the world. Infact, the automotive value-chain is fast becoming globally integrated.

As far as external factors go, we are closely monitoring the BREXIT – EU dynamics as well as the US with its trade policies becoming uncertain with the new adminstration, as mentioned earlier, our exposure to these markets is the maximum. That apart, India has signed several free trade agreements which have led to increased imports; several new FTAs and trade agreements are today on the drawing board, all these will play a significant role

Rattan Kapur AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 23

INTERVIEW

in meeting our targets of AMP 2026 which is 70-80 billion. That apart, the automotive industry at home as also globally is going through a lot of technological changes with increased regulatory pressure for environment, safety, fuel efficiency etc. Trends such as e-mobility, autonomous driving, are also on the horizons. How fast we adapt to these changes and evolve will also determine our global competence.

Q: When it comes to the US, a major market for India, will there be any change or threat to your plans, considering the changed political situation there? If so, how do you plan to mitigate them?

A: It is somewhat early to comment on how the new political situation in the US will impact the auto industry and in-turn our exports, it is still a wait and watch situation.

Recently we took a delegation of 22 CEOs from ACMA to the US, to study the emerging trends as also to gauge what the industry there feels about India. We visited a number of OEMs and found that they are fascinated about India; Tesla is very keen to come here. Also, what is very interesting is that every car maker is coming to the Silicon Valley – that place is going to be a bigger hub than what Detroit is today – because there is a paradigm shift in

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the mind-set of people that pollution is something that has to be fought and eradicated. Electric vehicles, with zero pollution, are probably an answer and all of them are moving there because it is the hub for research on e-mobility.

I feel very strongly that in the next five years more than 50 percent of the vehicles produced in America will be electric. This is bound to have a rippling effect all over the world. India has already seen it - the Government wants local manufacturers to increase their R&D spends and focus on electric mobility.

Q: So the changes in the US will be positive for India but what will it be from the ground reality point of view?

A: The ground reality is that the US is enjoying one of the strongest economic

growth phases today with the rate of unemployment at its minimum, the dollar is becoming stronger and the car industry has produced the maximum number of cars last year; they are at the peaking point of the cycle. The most important takeaway for us from the recent trip is there are no negative indications as far as India is concerned. We have to however wait and watch as the policies from the new administration unfold.

Q: They are recognising our quality but what is ACMA doing to enhance the quality of Indian products?

A: ACMA, through its ACMA centre of Technology has been carrying out shop floor interventions in the industry for the past one decade. We have helped over 700 companies become world-class in their manufacturing practices. Today we employ over 50 councellors who are running over 13 cluster programs with over 150 companies. That apart we are helping over 200 tier-2s and tier-3s enterprises through our ACMAUNIDO program. We are witnessing a significant improvement in the industry as the PPM levels have been consistently dropping. I am very happy to mention that 5-6 of our members

INTERVIEW

have become ‘0’ PPM companies, this is indeed a great achievement.

Q: By doing all this, are we losing the cost advantage in the global arena?

A: No, in fact we are gaining because rejections are getting out of the system.

The intangible benefits are much more than the tangible losses from direct costs. With increase in quality, OEMs are helping with additional business and volumes, so bottom lines have gone up for all in the value chain. We are also requesting OEMs to support us for R&D. I am pretty certain they will support us.

Q: Motorisation in India has been growing from about 18-20 per thousand of population 10 years ago to around 50 now, as aspirational levels have increased. What, according to you, have been the impetus, and impediments, for this growth?

A: Lack of skill training institutes is a major impediment. Skill upgradation is very important for the individual to grow.

We have units in some states with full Government support but more has to be done. Government has also brought in a minimum wage across the states (Rs 13,000/pm for unskilled and Rs18,000/ for skilled). More States are likely to fall in line as the industry is poised for significant growth; all these certainly help.

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Q: Automation is also on the cards.

How do you see that happening?

A: Automation is a necessity. When the same job has to be done repeatedly, humans are bound to make mistakes.

In such cases it becomes mandatory to go in for at least semi-automation. There is a huge spend by companies today on different automation levels and this trend is gathering steam.

Q: The players in the auto component industry have graduated from print-topart to concept-to-part and a number of them have opened design centres outside also. In what way do you think our players add value to customers outside India than our competitors, in China for example?

A: China has had Government support for a very long time vis-a-vis design. All the zones that were created in China and Thailand have proper R&D test centres, which are open for everybody in the industry to use. In our case such facilities are limited, completion of the NATRiP project will greatly help, however this will only be partial help.

We need many more testing and validation centres for the component industries while companies may create basic test facilities themselves.

Q: In 2015, the global innovation index survey ranked India 66, China 25, Russia 43, South Africa 54 and Brazil 69. India was 76 three years ago and has gained 10 ranks now. If we want to improve this further what do you think has to be done?

A: We must have skilled people.

Unfortunately skilled workers are few and many of them are poached upon by competitors or OEMs. You have to find a way to retain them by giving them the best of facilities with freedom to work and be creative. Senior management should allow professionals to do the job rather than taking decisions on how to run the company or make products.

Q: Will this open up lot of creativity?

A: Yes, adequate financial support and freedom to create will help. The entire ecosystem has to be energised.

Q: How is ACMA supporting its members to go beyond boundaries, like for example exports in a big way?

A: We are conducting a number of programmes for the Industry for developing exports. ACMA has been recognised as an Export Promotion Council by the Government of India which helps us extend Govt. export promotion measures for the Industry.

Recently we had a reverse buyer-seller meet with the support of Ministry of Commerce & Industries, Govt. of India.

We were able to sponsor the travel and stay for over 150 buyers from across the globe to participate in the dedicated exhibition for 200 ACMA members in Delhi.

We have also facilitated participation of ACMA members in several of the vibrant automotive markets such as the US, Germany, Australia, Iran, Dubai and South America. Apart from the US mission that we had in March, we also organised an ACMA technology show for select OEMs in France, Sweden and Germany. .

Q: Lastly, your short-term and longterm plans?

A: Targets have to be met – what the Government has laid down for us taking the industry turnover from USD 40 billion to USD 200 billion in next 10 years.

This will require ACMA to hand-hold the industry for more technology absorption and creation, adequately skilling the people to be future ready and ensure a robust supply chain that the industry has a better bottom line that we can sustain in the long-run.

NB: Photos of components / shopfloor are representational.

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INTERVIEW

Volvo Transforms Mobility Of People, Goods In India Volvo Group is now in its 19th year in India, employing about 3,500 people directly and, including its joint ventures, close to 15,000 people indirectly. It has three plants, one each for Volvo Trucks, Volvo Buses, Volvo CE and Road Machinery, and the JV plants for trucks, buses and the global hub for medium-duty engines.

“The Volvo Group’s mission is to drive prosperity through our transport solutions. In the Indian context, this translates into creating value that leads to infrastructure development, urban development, progress in urban mobility and raising the standards in the area of safety and holistic sustainability. We envisage an India progressing towards a safe and efficient transport system, marked by improved mobility for both goods and passengers,” Kamal Bali, Managing Director, Volvo Group India Private Limited (VGIPL), told T Murrali, of AutoParts Asia in an exclusive interview.

The excerpts:-

Kamal Bali

Q: What is the current scenario in the Indian commercial vehicle (CV) sector?

A: The growth rate for the automotive industry in the medium to long- term, which would depend on the country’s real GDP growth, would be between eight percent and 12 percent. The key is the demand drivers like the successful implementation of GST, logistics and trucking efficiency across state boundaries, massive increase in infrastructure spends (especially on roads) by the government, creation of dedicated freight corridors and the growing need for sustainable public transport. These, together with the new Motor Vehicles Act with focus on safety, end-of-life policy and stringent emission norms (BS-VI by 2020), FAME programme and smart cities, will provide a huge fillip to the automotive industry in general.

Q: How will be the next phase of growth?

A: The next phase forward is not going to be about numbers. What we have to measure is the ability of the industry to take part in the national priorities of sustainability, commitment to COP environment, economic growth, rapid urbanisation and better quality of life for people. The industry will have to take the lead in this road forward.

The next couple of years may see moderate growth rate of four to seven percent for the CV industry in view of the time lag between projects’ clearance and commencement of work on ground. However, the construction equipment (CE) industry continues to be on a roll and I expect it to continue to grow at double digits for at least the next decade. The country is at a

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transient stage. While the industry is seeking directions and an eco-system to get to the critical mass and economies with new solutions, the authorities are demanding demonstration of viable solutions from the industry. We need to marry these two ends and drive change.

Q: Do you think there will be any role for alternate propulsion?

A: We also must be aware that while we talk of electro-mobility, we also have a scenario where the fleet operators are still not able to put enough buses on road for basic public transport needs. There are quite a few smaller but fast growing cities, which let cars dominate and create congestion on the roads. While we talk of improved efficiencies, we must be aware that while a long-distance coach in India does around 150,000 km a year, a bus operator in South Africa does about 400,000 km with a similar coach.

Q: When do you think we can see a transformation in India?

A: Of course, things are changing in India. There are clear indications that the higher tonnage

CVs are eating away share from the medium tonnages (MCV), which means that we are on our way to do more with less. The HCV segment will see more momentum and the MCV share will decline.

When we use higher capacity vehicles, the need to consolidate fleet business, the loads, customers, and routes will increase, giving way to more organised and professional fleet operators. This trend will continue, but we need to see how fast can it move, because our challenge is to reduce the logistics cost in India which is at nearly 13 percent of GDP, over 50 percent higher than the average for advanced economies.

Urbanisation is a lot more challenging but exciting. While trucking demand and trends can be aggregated at a national level, the public transport demand is State-wise. Also, the solutions we build have to be sustainable – they have to be economically viable, environmentfriendly and socially inclusive. Public transport has to be the priority in every city, or else we will be stuck with congested and immobile cities.

When it comes to cities and urban mobility, the vision, plans and the determination or the will power to implement have to be bigger, stronger and holistic.

Q: Where do you think is the problem?

A: The authorities do understand the issues but implementation of the solutions is the challenge. We need to find an optimal mix among regular diesel, hybrids, and full electric year by year, before we reach our final ambition of zero emissions with public transport becoming the mainstay of mobility in the cities.

Products like the Volvo Hybrids are on the ground in India and we have seen initiatives across the board in this direction. Here the maturity and attractiveness of these solutions will matter a lot. Providing right experience in our demonstrations can easily make 30 percent of the fleet being hybrids or electric by 2025.

AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 29

INTERVIEW

But if we do not, then the job can be harder and the industry will come under pressure. On a simple analysis, the demand for buses will be good, as we see replacement requirements and urban population growing. The volume demand for buses will remain good in the longterm, both for the city buses and the intercity coaches. But then, as said before, this will no longer be the measurement of the health of our industry.

As we have seen in most developed markets, the industry will split between high capacity vehicles and LCVs, backed by hub and spoke distribution models. There will be additional costs in the vehicle, but the overall increase in efficiency and consolidation of businesses will offset this increase. And when that happens, the benefits of improvement in driver habits, using modern systems like telematics, and proactive service management will improve customer profitability and thus the demand for value-added services.

Q: Where do you see VGIPL in the progression of Indian CV industry?

A: At Volvo Group, we are both proud and fortunate that our focus lies in the areas that are also our national priorities, such as infrastructure development, urbanisation, and skill development backed by vehicles that are safer and sustainable. And this is complemented by our presence in trucks, buses, construction equipment and engines for the marine and industrial applications.

Today, along with our JV with the Eicher Group, we are the third largest CV manufacturer by volumes.

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We have intense engagement with every segment where we operate: Volvo City Buses in 34 cities in India and across every key highway in the country; we facilitate movement of a third of the overburden in Indian coal mines; and our CE business is present in every third large infrastructure project in the country.

We are now present in the country with multi-brands – Volvo, UD, Eicher and SDLG – catering to various segments and customers Q: How do you see the future for VGIPL? A: We are confident of the future because we are present in the segments that are progressive with solutions that do ‘more with less’ when compared to typical solutions. With every measure that the industry moves to higher performance, demand for our kind of solutions will grow. We are not the biggest player by numbers in the country. But the Volvo Group has the richest experience when it comes to the impact its brands have made on India over the last two decades through highperforming solutions and new paradigms.

I dare say this with many Volvo trucks and CEs

INTERVIEW

operating for 19 hours a day, and buses operating twice the typical distance, even weaning people away from their personal vehicles to public transport.

Q: How was the year 2016 for VGIPL? A: Overall, we grew in double digits in 2016 from the previous year. And, 2017 has seen further growth over the same period in 2016, driven largely by our CE business on account of increased spends in the infrastructure and the growing need for high-capacity, highperforming solutions. As we see greater efficiencies in the trucking industry thanks to the crucial GST reform, you can expect a significant role for Volvo Trucks, especially in the long-haul HD segment.

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We are working with the authorities in the areas of electro-mobility, alternate fuels, logistics’ efficiency and public transport concepts, bringing to the fore our global experience and success in some of these areas. We will continue to play a leading role in the area of safety, together with focus on drivers, as India seeks to raise the bar on safety standards across the automotive industry.

We will also focus on new technology solutions, both on the product and soft services. Over 90 percent of our trucks in India and a majority of our buses are equipped with the I-shift gearbox, the first step to automation. I-shift also saves fuel.

Volvo is today a very strong, premium and an esteemed brand in the country.

Our ambition is to remain dedicated to driving prosperity through sustainable transport solutions.

Q: Connected vehicle has become a topic for every forum everywhere.

What is your own take?

A: Connected vehicle is getting closer to reality, and maybe CV industry will witness that quicker than cars.

Recently we displayed two solutions – a self-driving truck in the mines, and the five-trucks platoon in Europe. In that sense we may be ready quicker when regulations come. The problem sought to be solved is very clear – ‘connected vehicles,’ will reduce safety concerns, reduce fuel consumption and impact on environment, and improve logistics’ efficiency. Over the years, the Volvo Group has developed several ‘backbone systems’ in this framework, resulting in fuel efficiency, greater safety and better overall performance and driver comfort. Some of these include higher level of electronics, emergency braking system, 360 degree all-around vision, adaptive cruise control, Volvo dynamic steering, lane keeping and changing support, electronic stability programme and similar ones.

Studies for the US alone indicate a potential to save 30,000 lives, 5 billion less hours in congestion, 80 percent lane capacity improvement, and 40 percent fuel economy improvement.

The benefits are indeed compelling.

associated customer experience. But having data on anything that ‘moves’ and its wear and tear means a huge amount of predictability that needs to be built-in. A concurrent example of this is in Volvo Trucks where intelligent vehicles are connected to back-end systems. The trucks are able to talk and update their status and circumstances – ensuring there is no down-time.

Using digital technology, networking and knowledge of the application, the Volvo Group hopes to arrive at a point where we achieve zero downtime. To that effect we already have systems on-board our trucks, construction equipment and buses. These systems have the capacity to support from basic positioning services to service planning and management and interactive communications and decisions.

Q: Tell us about the activities of the business units under VGIPL?

Q: Will these concepts make sense for markets like India?

A: With the favourable socioenvironmental impact, economic benefits and the problems that these features and technologies are seeking to address, it makes a lot of sense for any country to adopt these solutions.

If you do not consider the initial capital cost alone, but do a holistic comparison comprising life-cycle, social and environmental impact costs, it will more than justify itself. Of course, we will need to create awareness, a new culture and mind-set shifts which are indeed a slow process. Above all, for any transformation you need strong leadership, transparency, purity of purpose and political will. This is India’s best chance to leap-frog.

Q: Do you see opportunities in Digitalisation and IoT as they influence manufacturing and distribution ?

A: Digitalisation and Industry 4.0 are the flavours of the current times and are going to become more and more relevant. Industry 4.0 is much discussed in the West, where lack of manpower, aging population and the need to be competitive in the emerging global environment, are important considerations.

The opportunities to integrate seamlessly raw materials, component suppliers, the product, the manufacturing system, the logistics and the final customer are enormous. The

gains include optimised inventory, real time response to customer needs and enormous efficiency through valueadded activities.

The steps towards digitalisation and IoT are connected with parallel development in 3D printing, cloud analytics, 3D technology in general, robotics, smart logistics and the convergence of R&D, manufacturing, after-market, logistics, the final product and customer.

Q: Can you share the experience at VGIPL? A: At Volvo Group in India we are operating in this direction. We have quite a high degree of digitalisation in our product development and manufacturing, including robotics. In our local factories we have digitalisation.

The real steps ahead will lie in operating within a collaborative eco-system.

In our medium duty engine factory at VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), we have over 30 percent automation. The flexible final assembly line boasts of automated and guided vehicles and smart cell technology which can assemble 166 components in 120 seconds without human intervention. The plant looks like fully automated.

Q: What are the opportunities for aftermarket in this transition to new mobility and connected vehicles etc.?

A: Aftermarket is a key area since it spans the product life cycle and the

A: Each of our business areas has an in-built time-tested relationship with the various segments we are addressing.

In most cases, many of these segments have been established by Volvo Group itself. Volvo Group is now in its 19th year in India, employing about 3,500 people directly and, including our JV, close to 15,000 people indirectly. We have three plants, one each for Volvo Trucks, Volvo Buses, Volvo CE & Road Machinery, besides our JV plants for trucks, buses and the global hub for medium-duty engines.

Starting with Volvo Trucks, we remain the number one manufacturer in the high- performing mining segment and the (over dimension cargo) ODC segment having set the standards in the segment. Volvo CE is experiencing an outstanding growth phase on account of increased road construction, mining activity and an overall infrastructure development. We have a strong share in the CE market, especially for large excavators. The Volvo CE introduced a highly localised paver for the Indian market.

Within the construction equipment range, we also sell the SDLG brand which includes motor graders and wheel loaders. We export almost 20 percent of our CE products to other Asian countries and Latin America.

Volvo Buses have become generic with the luxury bus category. We remain leaders in the low floor city bus and the luxury AC coach segments. We have embarked on the electro-mobility path with the first delivery of India-built hybrid buses to Navi Mumbai. Volvo Buses are exported to the South Asian countries and South Africa and are on their way to Europe. Volvo Penta continues to grow AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 33

INTERVIEW

in its chosen segments and is a leading importer of engines in the country. We are actually one of the key providers of marine solutions for the navy and patrol boats. Since last month, Volvo Penta engines are being manufactured in India, at the new dedicated production line at our JV, namely the VE Powertrain (VEPT) plant.

The company is ready to serve Indian customers with off-road industrial engines that are made in India.

Following the inauguration of an exclusive Volvo Penta production line at its manufacturing base in Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh, customers are now taking delivery of the 5 and 8-litre engines being produced in India. Volvo Financial Services (VFS), an NBFC, is a separate legal entity.

Q: Tell us about your plans for the next five years?

A: The Volvo Group’s mission is to drive prosperity through our transport solutions. In the Indian context, this translates into creating value that leads to progress in the areas of infrastructure development, urban development, urban mobility and raising the standards in the area of safety and holistic sustainability. We can envisage an India progressing towards an efficient transport system, marked by improved mobility for both goods and passengers.

Q: How are you aligned with the Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) 2026?

A: I would say we are quite aligned with the AMP objectives and will continue to increase our contribution. To begin with, we have now a solid ‘Make in India’ footprint with factories across trucks, buses, construction equipment where we will continue to increase the localisation level. We have started new lines for Volvo Penta engines. India is now the global hub for our medium-duty engines produced in Pithampur which supplies these engines, including the Euro VI engines to Volvo Group globally.

34 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

India is now the 3rd largest R&D site within Volvo Group globally, supporting key global and regional product projects. There are nearly 1,000 engineers located in Bengaluru for R&D activities and another 1,500 in IT services supporting the Volvo Group.

We had focussed on skill development even before we sold our first Volvo vehicle in India. Today we have covered almost 90,000 drivers under the Volvo Driver training programme and this figure is almost 190,000 if we include our JV training.

We also train CE operators in our industry, besides teaming with GMR to support underprivileged youth in remote areas to become operators, including supporting them in placement. We are now tied up with IISC Bangalore on advanced research projects.

On the other end, we have the RASTA institute where we provide PG degrees in Road Technology besides consultancy in that area.

Q: What is your take on the aspect of ‘safety’ in India?

A: When it comes to safety development, which is a crucial aspect in India, we had set the standards across the industry even before the current regulations were set out. We continue to exceed them and aim to co-operate with all the stakeholders in this area.

In areas like end-of-life, Volvo Trucks are over 90 percent recyclable. For enhanced emission norms like Euro VI, we produce these engines in India for our global markets. Hence a transition would be easy. We will expand on all these areas and continue to drive change in collaboration with all stakeholders.

We continue to encourage sustainable transport through programmes like the Volvo Sustainable Mobility Awards, and the Annual Volvo Nobel Seminars on sustainable transport.

INTERVIEW

Innovations Keep Ashok Leyland In The Forefront Q: Integrating various systems into a vehicle is a big challenge. How does Ashok Leyland tackle this issue?

A: For BS-IV we sent lots of vehicles out there with our own drivers. They drove BS-III vehicles next to BS-IV, and did the same things for us to compare. We made an important algorithm that picked up the best places in the country from where all the duty cycles were possible, from Rajasthan to Kerala, Shimla, Assam and Meghalaya. The trucks travelled thousands of kilometres and we collected all the data for the analysis. We compared everything and identified issues that cropped up. We narrowed them all down to different failure modes that could occur.

Sometimes we missed certain things but we picked them up again from the field as fast as was possible. That was how Ashok Leyland performed and we are very confident of our products today from what we were 10 years ago. We focus on how we can help the driver very fast, a characteristic of our organisational maturity.

Q: Next to vehicle integration what really helps a company is standardisation and the economies of scale. It is not only on systems and modules but also on the development process itself. Your views?

Seshu Bhagavathula

Indian automotive industry is BS-IV compliant since April 2017. Now the industry is working on BS-VI emission norms, to be effective from April 2020. While most of the vehicle makers adopted the SCR technology to comply with the BS-IV norm, Ashok Leyland developed iEGR, which the company claims is more cost-effective. Will Ashok Leyland replicate this technology for BS-VI also? “Our BS-VI solution will definitely be different from others as we get the engines in-house and I have the flexibility to play around,” Seshu Bhagavathula, Chief Technical Officer, Ashok Leyland , told T Murrali of AutoParts Asia, in an exclusive interview.

Edited excerpts:

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A: Ashok Leyland is going through a transformation. In Europe three big long-term initiatives have been taken on standardisation across the bus and trucks called MQB (Modular Cross Modules, in German) or MLB and so on. There are 21 brands over 100 platforms; they share the concept, architecture and parts. They can mix different brands out of the same architecture which is what we do as well; we have 700 varieties of trucks running today, all different from one another. This is the DNA or soul of AL – to offer always customer-specific trucks and buses; we can always standardise within our architecture. Vehicle makers will be able to offer more variants in future with less number of parts. When

Circuit’ Series - first Electric Bus Made in India

there are fewer parts, reliability goes up and we can have better relationships with the suppliers.

Q: Will this help AL consolidate its suppliers?

A: In general, we could. The quality of the supplier will go up in future because the relationship will start much earlier than today. In a modular programme the R&D and advanced engineering give us aggregates for all solutions. So we can pick up combinations and industrialise whenever required; this means faster reaction to the market. That’s what we do.

Q: You had mentioned about vehicles for different kinds of roads. It is said that SCR will help longer drives at constant speed. Will the new roads and express ways hamper the prospects of iEGR,

which Ashok Leyland developed to achieve BS-IV ?

A: Let me tell you something about iEGR. To reduce emissions like NOX you have EGR and SCR or a combination, which with DPF will achieve BS-VI. Our EGR combined with the optimisation we have done with in-cylinder combustion is iEGR; we have got rid of POC. So it’s intelligence plus EGR; this is fundamentally our patent.

Normal EGR requires 20 percent to do back but we only use 10 to 11 percent. If I can reduce the droplet size in the injection nozzles of the combustion chamber from nanometres to picometres my efficiency will go up by 15 percent.

Q: Will not the fuel quality affect injectors?

A: Of course it will; that’s where you will have to compromise. The patent is not on EGR, but the combustion; we generate fewer particles at the origin itself. Since I get the engines from my own department I have the flexibility to play around, so our BS-VI will definitely be different from others. In EGR, you have a valve, cooler and some pipes. You optimise the valve and cooler and it’s all over; you have nothing much to do, unless you address at the source. That is the key.

Q: You said you are developing vehicles for all kinds of roads. The challenge for Indian vehicle manufacturers is much more than for their European counterparts. When you do this, there is always a trade-off. You have to compromise at one place to achieve something at the other. How do you do it?

A: What you do is optimise based on the application. In the case of long hauls, if the road is bad you optimise for 90 percent.

Tippers, on the other hand, generally AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 37

INTERVIEW

stay put at one place and work. So the applications are different. You will have to fine-tune depending on the application taken. Where we will have an issue is when people mix up the applications. What we can do is educate our users but as time passes we will also master the drive dynamics in such a way that we will have adaptive systems. We are not yet there; I can do it today but it’s too expensive.

In AMTs, our R&D labs are at least two to four years ahead of the market.

Q: How does exchange of ideas with your other companies help you optimise for the global market?

A: Consider, for example, Optare with very light-weight buses (aluminium body and monocoque), which is very good at using electrical technology for them. We get a lot of information from Optare on how to optimise electric vehicles for light-weight buses.

We sometimes buy batteries and controllers from them and leverage with our R&D and best practices available.

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It makes business sense. Similarly, for SCR systems it is Albonair.

Q: You want to be present in all segments of the pyramid; what you cater to at the bottom is exactly opposite to what you do at the top or the premium segment. Is this not diluting your focus?

A: The market is thin at the top and bulky at the bottom. My problem is that they are all there at the same time. I have to be there for all of them all the time. You will see more representation for AL in the premium segment in future but at a higher cost. We cannot sell too many units but I don’t want to lose that business. It will certainly dilute my attention but there is no other way.

This means you will have departments working at the premium, mid-level and normal levels.

Q: Do you see the boundaries getting blurred gradually?

A: Yes, gradually. There is a shift to higher horse power; for the same 49

tonne truck I might require 225 HP in future. Change is happening with rated loads coming in, full body with a/c; naturally, it all influences my design. One of the biggest things for me is the shift of 180-190 HP to 220 HP and above; 90 percent of my vehicles today run in this range so our N-series engines will play a bigger role than the H-series in future; they will all go up in HP. For optimisation, I feel chances are better since we have our own engines. We keep doing research all the time; strategically we have an advantage.

Q: There are some other technologies like Opposed-piston that are coming in a big way where they claim that without EGR and SCR or other paraphernalia in after-treatment they can achieve BS-IV or BS-VI. Do you agree and what is your experience?

A: Theoretically, yes but practically, no.

Today, on a world average of thermal efficiency, engines are only 40 percent thermal efficient. It is impossible to make an engine with no after-treatment. The material technology has to become 60 percent better than what it is today, otherwise the costs are prohibitive.

Friction has to be zero to achieve very high efficiencies. That is not practically possible but on paper it can be done theoretically. With Euro-6, engines will improve quite a bit, and after-treatment will reduce or come down. That is where we are concentrating.

Q: ADAS has caught everybody’s fancy but it depends upon its adaptability to market conditions. Where does AL fit in, in this phase?

A: ADAS has four stages. First one is just to warn the driver, second is partially AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 39

INTERVIEW

doing some jobs of the driver, third is to take over most of the things the driver does and the fourth is fully autonomous, where you do not need the driver – he is free to do other things like filling in applications, writing cheques and doing other office work, sitting on his seat.

Q: Can you clarify ADAS vis-à-vis SAE level-5 of autonomous driving?

A: ADAS is generally for the second and third levels; we are working on all of them. As the Indian market goes from unorganised to organised, you will move from simple warning systems to advanced warning systems. For example, if the driver is drowsy he hears an alarm bell; if he continues like that the system will either apply partial brake or, in future, take over the steering for 30 seconds. Take the mining industry where drivers face difficult working conditions; there is already a market for guided vehicles there – it’s a push market.

India will soon catch up in this sector also.

Q: What are your opportunities to leverage Internet of Things?

A: Vehicle to infrastructure (backend) is one; the other is vehicle to vehicle. Infrastructure relates to traffic lights and signs, and the service centre. IoT comes in for the supply chain getting connected to the work in progress, the movement of goods inside the factory and optimising themselves based on make-to-order coming in. This will take very long as it requires lots of changes in all the capital equipment but we will do it gradually.

What we begin to do is to make the peripheral parts internet capable and then slowly go into the factories.

For us IoT has already started in R&D; an example is driver assistance systems. The change that is happening in AL is fascinating because we talk in the customer’s language.

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‘Aap ki jeet, hamari jeet’ is really the DNA of this company. It is all about getting the goods at the right time with the driver still feeling happy. Then I look at what the fleet owner is willing to pay and accordingly give him the necessary solutions. A simple warning system or applying half brake; we prepare the brake so much that the time lag is reduced.

In some cases we might have to take over braking from the driver but it’s going to be very expensive.

Q: Your views on Industry-4.0; how is it relevant for India?

A: You have a factory, R&D departments, inbound logistics, work in progress, outbound logistics to customers and the supply chain with suppliers all over the place. You first start optimising transport inbound logistics, work in progress and outbound logistics.

Ultimately you go in to robot talking to robot, robot talking to part. For Audi and Daimler, 50kms before the supplier trucks come into the factory they talk to one another. That’s how the gate passes are all done, well in time before the trucks approach the gate; two km before the truck comes in the driver also gets information on where to park and how long he will have to wait. This is Industry 4.0 in today’s form but people are already talking of 5.0 where factories here and abroad are optimising themselves right from the made-toorder stage itself.

AL has already taken the first steps but the degree of 4.0 we can do - the applications will depend upon the amount of money we have to invest. We have a modular business programme with less number of parts offering more variants and optimising products by sharing of components. This is the beginning of 4.0 company-wide; we start optimising what is outside the factory initially.

INTERVIEW

Tenneco India Leads With Customised Solutions Tenneco Inc. is a $8.6-billion global company that designs, manufactures and distributes clean air and ride performance products and solutions.

Its diversified markets include light vehicle, commercial truck, off-highway equipment and the aftermarket. Tenneco India has been developing customised solutions for the local customers to achieve their clean air and ride performance objectives.

Sagar Hemade, Managing Director and Pankaj Kapoor, Deputy Managing Director, Tenneco Automotive India Pvt Ltd, spoke to T Murrali of AutoParts Asia on the emission challenges, and the solutions that the company offers to the automotive industry.

Edited excerpts:.

Sagar Hemade

Q: What are your offerings to the Indian OEMs to mitigate fuel economy concerns?

Hemade: Tenneco can mitigate some of the fuel economy concerns faced by our customers. To start with we have heat retention strategies; our products are developed in such a way that the loss or dissipation of the heat generated by the engine is minimised. This warms up the catalyst elements inside our products, helps to improve the conversion performance much earlier, and reduces the PGM (platinum group metal) content.

The second technology we use is flow dynamics; the way we treat gas flow, we can cover maximum uniformity index on the face of the catalyst elements. This improves efficiency as they can perform at a much lower temperature. All these strategies help in reducing the heat generation requirements from the engine, aiding fuel economy.

Q: Will this offset the issues relating to engine back pressure?

Hemade: Yes, we make sure that we stay within the back pressure targets at all times as all the software and controls of the engine are calibrated on the back pressure. The fuel economy may not be same with or without after-treatment.

For after-treatment you put in blockages in the system; we are trying to reduce the substrates or blockages that go in. On the face of a larger substrate the back pressure is reduced.

The less exhaust temperature you have for a catalyst reaction,

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the bigger are the substrates you need. We try to retain the heat in the system, so thermal management is extremely critical. We also have to ensure the distribution of urea in the exhaust is homogeneous. The more you distribute properly, the better will you be able to use the surface of the catalyst, so you can reduce the size of the substrate.

Q: Do you find it difficult to design the exhaust system for tippers and tractors as the length is less?

Hemade: There are challenges, given the tight space-claims in these typical applications. The US or European designs will not fit here for want of space. We have to develop designs that can be packaged in the available space and try to minimise the length of the catalyst elements without compromising on the performance requirements including conversion, fuel economy, and heat retention.

Pankaj Kapoor We also have a modular design concept where we can pick up bits and pieces of different designs and package it in the given space-claim. We have certain design guidelines and deliverables when it comes to the uniformity index, emissions, back pressure, flow dynamics and heat retention. None of our designs get passed through the concept reviews before the mandatory deliverables are met.

Q: In India we have adverse driving conditions especially in mines where the tippers work; ground clearance is a key. So are you in a unique situation in India?

Hemade: Yes, we are, but these issues are all a part of our initial design FMEAs. We carry them out them along with our customers and take up all the challenges with solutions addressing the DFM and DFA problems. This includes not only our products but the complete system.

Q: Has Tenneco got any role in weight reduction?

Hemade: If you see what is happening overall in the automotive industry you find a couple

of things – regulation is driving change, fuel efficiency and emissions play a big part. Then there are others like shared mobility that is driving the industry. We definitely contribute to this big time. On emissions, our clean air business is helping customers succeed by providing solutions that help to meet the new regulations. On fuel economy there is a penalty for after-treatment on the vehicle; we do our engineering processes and simulations in such a way as to minimise the fuel penalty as much as possible by optimising thermal management and flow. The challenge today is to use thinner welds on both light vehicles and CVs. In case of European OEMs, the box design was used as in the US. For India we have changed it to a cigar design, which helps to maintain ground clearance and reduce cost. On the shock absorber side we have redesigned the complete front strut model - a lean design with huge cost reductions for the customer. That is one of the reasons why we have a big market share in shock absorbers.

AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 43

INTERVIEW

Q: With BS-IV coming to India, there are challenges faced by the CV operators in terms of managing aqueous urea solutions or AdBlue.

Is Tenneco working on some other solvents?

Hemade: We have worked with customers to provide the entire system for India-specific applications.

We have made changes in the system based on our experience with customers in the field.

Some of the issues are taken care of by the BSIV regulatory authority themselves. For urea we have early detection of AdBlue (called DEF-Diesel Exhaust Fluid-in the US) quality with our software and controls. Regarding driver awareness Tenneco has been conducting training for our customers and their dealers to tackle and mitigate problems with the use of analytics and diagnostics. SCR and urea technologies are new so it might take some time Catalytic convertor to set in with customers and their drivers.

Q: Is there a way for customers in India and similar economies to overcome certain difficulties on this?

Hemade: For alternative technologies – yes; we are working in our engineering and core science functions on future technologies for NOX reduction.

Q: After BS-IV, BS-VI is another challenge. You need to have SCR, DPF and others. How do you see these emerging challenges since it is necessary to reduce CO-2, also in tune with Euro-6?

Hemade: The CO-2 regulations for India come in 2018, preceding Euro-6, in line with the Paris Accord that India has signed. Our Euro-6 products have been running in Europe for several years now.

Our job is to apply those technologies here and make them India-specific. The challenge is not on technology but the timing required for the application of solutions at effective costs. In two and a half years, everything will have to be done first-time right – there is no scope for a second chance. Customers are very serious about it. Though the date has been fixed as 2020, people want to be ready six months earlier to avoid the situation that cropped up in BS-IV. That is the challenge.

44 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

Q: One is time, second the BS-VI fuel quality / availability and third is the packaging. How are you going to optimise the architecture considering all parameters?

Hemade: We have the technologies to meet the challenges. As far as packaging is concerned we have technologies where we take a filter and have a SCR coating on the filter itself. So the filter serves a dual purpose, it traps and oxidises the soot so the SCR down-stream can be of a smaller size or volume. These are already running in Europe, it is only a question of duplicating it here. Other challenges would be on after-treatment integration as all these technologies involve a lot of electronics, software and controls that need to be integrated with the engine controls. All these modules have their own controllers or ECUs and they need to be integrated with one another. There has to be effective hand-shaking between software platforms. That is a big challenge and the third one is the on-board diagnostics - OBD regulations for BS-IV. A typical document for BS-IV could be 75 pages while for BS-VI it would be around 1,500 pages, as so many OBD peripherals get enforced by the regulations. Larger OEMs have software / control / OBD departments to handle this.

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INTERVIEW

Q: This is one of the reasons for the growth of the sensors market by nearly 300-400 percent.

Since their thermal characteristics are very high, there is a big risk when you package sensors together. Is there a safe way to do that?

Hemade: Nowadays we have virtual sensors where you can map the entire system at all speed load points to create a look-up table of all the temperatures, using a physical sensor. You can use the look-up table as a virtual sensor in real-life applications. This is how Compact mixer you can use technology to reduce dependence on physical sensors. There are also unique challenges in the Asian market; we have faced that in our China applications, where some customers would remove the sensor, put in a resistor and try to fudge the controls. So Tenneco has been aiding and assisting OEMs in developing virtual sensor technologies; we have already launched one of the virtual sensors in one of our BS-IV applications in India where we have got rid of a urea quality sensor and use our proprietary software and control technology to detect urea quality.

Q: Is there a way for sensors to communicate without wiring?

Hemade: I can’t answer that; we are just integrating the sensors from the suppliers into our system. We are not sensor experts.

Q: For the AdBlue tank is there any issue with the pumps, from the aftermarket perspective?

Hemade: We have seen urea quality issues especially of contamination by sand. Our pump designs have been changed to make sure they are robust and last longer. Our filter modules are designed such that they are easily accessible and replaceable on the vehicle itself. These are all exclusive to the Asia market where challenges are more.

Q: Were the pumps integrated to the tank earlier?

Hemade: We don’t have a design where the pump is inside the urea tank. The reason for this is that a lot of sediment accumulation occurs in the urea tank.

Q: What are the initiatives taken to reduce the cost of manufacturing for Tenneco in India; many companies have

46 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

combined digitalisation with the IoT; what’s your experience?

Hemade: In any manufacturing we have to eliminate waste. We have dedicated teams on the shopfloor to identify and remove waste. The key competency that Tenneco has to be successful in the Indian market is that we are highly customer focused.

We have high- performance teams led by good technological leadership which results in operational excellence. We have a business system that brings all these elements together to cater to our customers and grow in the market.

Globally, we are working on the ‘focused factory’ (factory within factory) concept where there are empowered people within each area to deliver set parameters. We now have an internet tool called ‘SharePoint,’ a social media tool that is India-specific, where people can collaborate seamlessly and share information. This helps to speed up things and make it more efficient. In the shop floor we have put production control systems where everybody can visibly see the performance of the cell. Instead of looking at problems at the end of the shift, you can see it as it happens and take corrective action immediately.

Q: Are you working on new methodologies to optimise your supply chain?

Kapoor: Yes, absolutely. That is the key to deliver the best cost to the customer.

Earlier, logistics was taken care of by logistic personnel but today logistics is run by packaging engineers. At most places we have returnable packaging, instead of disposable, which brings down cost and is environmental friendly. We are constantly trying to optimise the yield of

the packaging – how many parts are going on each trolley and how we can improve the packaging density of a truck. Also, the efficiency of logistics is important; we have GPS on all the

trucks going to customers to optimise the route taken Q: Is there a case study on India operations for Tenneco HQ; something from here that has been deployed across other plants?

Kapoor: In India, we have various tools to benchmark cost of manufacturing, logistics, optimisation of design and other activities. Since all these are integrated, we make sure that benchmarking takes place at the design stage itself. Before we go in for tooling we make sure the manufacturing cost is optimal to cover tools, processes, etc. When we execute production we use tools like focus-factory, waste elimination, productivity improvement - all the best practices available - to ensure costs are minimised. Our Bhawal plant is an example of lean manufacturing; it can be used as a benchmark globally, in all aspects.

There are definitely many takeaways from India. Ultimately, what the customer wants is good quality with timely delivery at minimum cost. In Tenneco there is a lot of sharing of AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 47

INTERVIEW one may prefer a soft one. On the highway you need a hard ride, to feel you are in control of the vehicle, but in the city you will go in for a soft ride so as to manoeuvre very easily. We are going to launch this technology soon with one customer in India.

Q: Can you elaborate a bit on the technology?

Kapoor: It is totally automatic and the valves create the required frequency; it is tuned for that.

That is why it’s called frequency dependent damping for which you don’t need any electronics Ultra Catalytic Converter or sensors. This is an innovative technology where you don’t best practices; it keeps on happening add too much cost. Of course it cannot across all the plants. match the performance of an electronic Q: What is the role played by the India shock absorber where the response is technical centre of Tenneco? very fast; tuning changes take place in one-tenth of a second. Above that is Hemade: Our technical centre the shock dual mode where driver will comprises all the test facilities and have a button for operation. Then there requirements for developing BS-IV is the semi-active shock absorber called and BS-VI systems. We have just mono-intelligence system, and going commissioned it. This centre has the above the higher ranges is the fully same competencies and capability that active suspension. Semi and fully active our tech centres all over the world have. shock absorbers are used in high-end It is designed to take other European cars in India as well as globally. In India, and US workloads; we can take up any because of cost constraints, we need to EPA-2018 or Euro-6D programme. So focus on these types of technologies. far international testing has not started as we have sufficient local loads, but it is There are some more advanced technologies we are working on that are very much possible to do it here. electronic but within the absorber.

On the engineering side we do a lot of Hemande: The value proposition we simulation for our North American and European projects. We have also started give to the customer has also changed with weight reduction of primary building prototypes for requirements importance. Earlier, the strut module in the US as here it is faster with lower was partly designed by us and partly by lead times. We also have a software the customer. What we are proposing centre in Bangalore with a small team to the customer now is that we take working on global embedded software full responsibility for the entire module requirements; they work on both the clean air and ride performance. Our tech so that we can optimise the system in terms of weight and cost; we have been centre in Hosur is a centre of excellence very successful with three customers for lean design of shock absorbers. on this. This helps us design our own Q: What are the new technologies for brackets, stamping parts, rubber parts the Indian customers from the ride and even springs, to make sure the performance division? weight is optimised.

Kapoor: On the ride performance, the Q: The world is moving towards technology is of the multi-tuneable valve autonomous cars where EVs will be that we launched about four years ago; more suitable; the horizon is near and we have compressed the tuning so visible now. Has Tenneco a line of that it is more durable. In this we have business to handle this? launched more than 20 platforms in the Hemade: Our projection is that the EV last four years. The technology is much population will not be more than three better, so customers who had gone in percent. Cars won’t be totally electrical; for standard valves have now moved on it will be more of a hybrid, semi-hybrid to multi-tuneable ones. or micro-hybrid variety. So the IC engine The next one is frequency damping is there to stay for a long time – this is technology which is based on the what our detailed studies reflect. When customers’ preference of hard or soft it moves to electrical with autonomous, tuning. Once set, you cannot change is where our value addition will increase the tuning during the life of the vehicle. as demand for our shock absorbers For example, a German customer may go up; we see big scope for electronic want a hard ride while a Japanese suspensions.

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COVER STORY

The Riddles Of New Mobility And Digitalisation The next big disruptive event in the automotive world will be the arrival of self-driving or the autonomous vehicle. This new mobility has been driving to reality throwing up a host of unanswered and unanswerable questions like ‘Who wants autonomous vehicles? `Why should we have them?’

Look at a London street on a regular working day. The average speed of cars is just 7.8 miles an hour. It is less than the speed of a 19th century horse cart, making automotive mobility redundant.

The scenario is similar in all major cities the world over. More productive man hours are spent behind wheels than at their work place / work stations.

Slow speed is not the only issue. The

50 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

increasing rate of fatal road accidents where there is speed, and the enormity of toxic emissions from the fossil-fuel vehicles are other existential problems that demand immediate solutions to maintain and increase the speed, safety and sustainability of individual mobility.

Studies indicate that there is potential in the US alone to save 30,000 lives, five billion less hours in congestion, 80 percent lane capacity improvement, and 40 percent fuel economy improvement.

A self-driving, intelligent and autonomous vehicle, with alternative source of fuel, is the answer taking shape on drawing boards and, to a limited extent, on the roads, in the developed world. Technology leaders like Google are working with the world automotive giants for this breakthrough.

People across the world are enthusiastic about it. A recent global survey has found that about 33 percent of the

consumers would like to ride in and purchase a self-driving vehicle. Another 23 percent said they would be willing to ride in a self-driving vehicle, but may not purchase one.

The transition to autonomy, described as a change from driving to commuting, will be gradual. The target year is beyond 2030.

SAE International’s new standard J3016: Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to On-Road Motor Vehicle Automated Driving Systems, has identified five levels of driving automation from ‘no automation’ to ‘full automation.’

Level 1 – Driver Assistance: The driving mode-specific execution by a driver assistance system of either steering or acceleration/deceleration using information about the driving environment and with the expectation

that the human driver performs all remaining aspects of the dynamic driving task; Level 2 – Partial Automation: The driving mode-specific execution by one or more driver assistance systems; Level 3 – Conditional Automation: The driving mode-specific performance by an Automated Driving System of all aspects of the dynamic driving task with the expectation that the human driver will respond appropriately to a request to intervene; Level 4 – High Automation: The driving mode-specific performance by an Automated Driving System of all aspects of the dynamic driving task, even if a human driver does not respond appropriately to a request to intervene; and Level 5 – Full Automation: The full-time performance by an Automated Driving System of all aspects of the dynamic driving task under all roadway and environmental conditions that can be managed by a human driver. For the fully autonomous status the vehicle manufacturers have begun working with conventional parts suppliers, the electronic hardware vendors and software developers. Suppliers and the OEMs are charting out strategies to capitalise on the emerging opportunities of more electronics, better suspension and improved NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) management.

Digitalisation Digitalisation is playing a crucial role in reaching the goal of automation faster.

Internet of Things (IoT) is the enabler of several technologies. Reports say that, by 2020, over 20.8 billion connected things will be in use worldwide, from about 6.4 billion in 2016. Every machine / equipment / gadget in every organisation involved in service and manufacturing, is digitised and connected to optimise the throughput.

The autonomous vehicle that is capable of solving many of the present issues can generate new and unprecedented problems. There are cyber security risks like hacking. The recent malware named ‘Wannacrypt’ which wreaked havoc around the globe is an indicator.

Another aspect of the riddle is, ‘who will be held responsible for a mishap when the vehicle is on auto-pilot.’

Recently a LeClairRyan attorney Peter Hart wrote that for companies with drivers on the payroll, the shift to fully autonomous vehicles could usher in massive reductions in potential liability.

He states that driver error is the leading cause of accidents on the US roadways.

When perfected forms of autonomous driving technology replace error-prone human drivers, many are betting that businesses such as trucking firms, delivery services and shuttle operators will face dramatically fewer legal settlements and court battles triggered by vehicular accidents.

Similar is the case with the insurance industry. Should there be a global, national and regional regulatory framework for the roll-out of autonomous vehicles to the public roads? How to ensure the security of connected vehicles; safeguards against hacking; remedies for secrecy and security violations? Several are similar questions for the automotive, information technology, software and allied industries and the governments to answer.

As the automotive and technology players, the consumers and regulators are in the beginning of an evolutionary process that can change even the fate of humanity, AutoParts Asia, now a common denominator for all the stakeholders, decided to bring to light what the players in this game-changing game think and do. We wanted to take a closer look at their perspectives, prospective plans, aspirations and actions.

Many of the industry leaders, who spearhead, prepare for, and invest in this futuristic drive for autonomous vehicles across the world, representing different sectors and segments, have unfolded their thoughts, visions and anxieties for our readers. In the following fifty plus pages, we present them for you as our Second Anniversary Cover Story: The Riddles Of New Mobility And Digitalisation.

-T Murrali

AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 51

COVER STORY

Artificial Intelligence Holds Key To Autonomous Driving

By Sachin Lawande

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nce considered a fantasy, self-driving cars are moving closer to reality. Thanks to technology advancements, the question no longer is whether autonomous vehicles will one day be commonplace on roads, but rather when. As the buzz about autonomous cars grows louder, some are asking, “why do we need autonomous vehicles?” and “what technology holds the key to their success?”

Autonomous driving is evolving not from a want, but from a need – to improve the quality of life by addressing road congestion and safety. Approximately 1.3 million people around the world die each year in road crashes, and millions more are injured. It may take many years before fully autonomous cars occupy our roads and highways. But their potential for reducing accidents by handling difficult road and traffic conditions better than people, and avoiding human error cannot be overlooked.

Self-driving cars also offer the potential to make better use of one of society’s most underutilized assets. (Most cars sit idle 96 percent of the time, according to Uber.)

Autonomous vehicles hold promise as cost-effective transportation options, as part of a future mobility model that relies heavily on car-sharing and vehicles-on-demand.

Beyond ADAS: Technology Challenges and Opportunities Autonomous driving poses two main technology challenges: Monitoring what is happening around the vehicle, and executing the driving function.

Perhaps surprisingly, the execution is actually relatively easy. However, monitoring and planning the car’s path is incredibly difficult.

The industry’s current suite of advanced driver assistance systems

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Sachin Lawande

(ADAS) relies mainly on radar and cameras to warn drivers of pending collisions, and to control certain features such as steering and brakes.

Yet, most current ADAS products are not capable of accurately detecting and classifying objects – such as cars, pedestrians or bicycles – at a level required for autonomous driving.

Monitoring the environment and negotiating it safely poses the biggest challenge to autonomous driving, and requires new capabilities in computing and image processing.

Where does the solution lie? The answer is machine learning, a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), which focuses on creating computer software that is capable of intelligent behavior. What makes artificial intelligence ideal is that the algorithms – the software that implements the

task of object detection and classification – keep getting more precise and accurate as they gain in experience and collect more data about the road environment.

In theory, this means autonomous cars can be “trained” to eventually be better at driving than humans.

Our Path To Autonomous Driving As a leading vehicle cockpit electronics supplier, Visteon recognizes the promise of artificial intelligence, and is driving to be a top supplier in AI and machine learningbased solutions for autonomous driving for automobiles. Our initiative to develop artificial intelligence-based autonomous driving technology is led by a team out of Germany and supported by engineering teams in Silicon Valley in the US, and in India.

Visteon’s approach to autonomous driving encompasses three elements: •

Creating fail-safe, centralized domain controller hardware that provides a high degree of scalability in terms of computing power, and offers integration of data from multiple cameras, Lidar and radar sensors.

•

Unlocking the innovation potential of algorithm developers through an open framework for sensorbased AI algorithm development, complemented by a test and simulation environment.

•

Applying artificial intelligence for object detection, classification, perception and decision-making in autonomous vehicles.

This new technology platform from Visteon is called DriveCore, and it consists of the hardware, middleware and frameworks to develop machine learning algorithms for object classification, detection, path planning and execution.

DriveCore is targeted at autonomous driving applications of Level 3 and above, and is unique in its approach of providing an open platform for the development of sensor-based solutions for the automotive industry.

We believe that successful implementation of autonomous driving technologies will require collaboration from multiple companies that offer specific expertise in different aspects of the solution. Visteon has deep expertise in developing autograde solutions for cockpit electronics, and with the investments made in new technologies such as machine learning, is in a unique position to address the new challenges of the industry.

Visteon plans to launch its autonomous driving platform at CES in Las Vegas in January 2018. We look forward to opening a new era in the collaborative development of autonomous driving solutions. By doing so, we will be helping the industry steer toward a future of autonomous driving that holds great promise for the industry – and for society.

(Sachin Lawande is the President and CEO of Visteon Corporation) AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 53

COVER STORY

Innovation In New Mobility Landscape

By Swamy Kotagiri global automakers, while developing new technologies for those providing mobility as a service.

Spanning across both aspects in the new mobility landscape plays to Magna’s strengths. We are tackling the technology challenges of today and defining what future systems will be needed 10-15 years from now.

As the only automotive supplier in the world with the ability to contribute to every part of the vehicle design, engineering and production, from electronics to complete vehicle assembly, Magna believes three key areas - autonomous vehicles, electrification and ride sharing - will continue to make the largest impact on the industry.

Autonomous Vehicles Autonomous vehicle technology is setting the pace of change in the industry and therefore continues to be a key development focus for automakers and suppliers alike. This is an area where Magna continues to push the boundaries of innovation.

Swamy Kotagiri

A

utomotive is one of the most complex and innovative industries in the world. The industry manufactures in high volume, is highly regulated, and the vehicles produced are safety products requiring more lines of code than an airplane.

Innovation continues to transform the industry and drives change from vehicle design and manufacturing to greater vehicle electrification, increased connectivity and automation. This innovation is not only about developing new technologies for future, it is also about improving in-market applications to address ongoing or emerging industry needs.

Magna International is one of a few global suppliers flexible enough to adapt and grow through this transformation. It is a two-pronged approach of creating world-class products and systems for

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Our electronics capabilities offer features to enable autonomy at different levels.

This includes sensor fusion, hardware, software and integration. We enable many features on the road today such as surround view, automated emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control.

Building on our leadership position in driver assistance, our strong systems knowledge and complete-vehicle expertise give us the ability to efficiently fuse various sensors and develop robust systems as vehicles continue to progress towards full autonomy. In addition, we continue to work with the broader ecosystem to address topics such as data privacy and cyber security.

Although autonomous vehicle technology development is active among automakers and suppliers, Magna believes it will be several years before fully autonomous vehicles will be ready to leave controlled zones and gain widespread market acceptance.

This creates opportunities to continue to

and modules for vehicles equipped with 48 volt systems or mild hybrids as well as high voltage systems including full hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle powertrains.

Ride-sharing The rising popularity of ride-sharing in mega cities is changing traditional vehicle use.

According to industry analysts, ridesharing currently represents four percent of the miles driven globally and by 2030 it is believed the number could grow to more than 26 percent.

Miles driven by privately-owned vehicles is also expected to increase dramatically over the same period. Consequently both are creating opportunities for Magna and other automotive suppliers.

improve essential safety features and software integration as well as the regulatory framework and infrastructure to support it. It also will be crucial to set a common technical standard that will allow the industry to provide the technologies to a wide range of customers.

Both advanced driver-assistance and electrification technologies go beyond today’s owned vehicles to include shared vehicles, ride-hailing services and new forms of short distance travel that complement or can be integrated into public transportation. All of these modes of transportation will be smart and connected to provide convenient, safer and cleaner transportation.

These advanced technologies are leading to opportunities for Magna throughout our entire product portfolio to deliver innovations for all those who share the road now and in the new mobility landscape going forward.

The pace of innovation development in the automotive industry is like nothing we have ever seen before.

Vehicle Electrification While there is much talk in the industry regarding autonomous-drive and connectedcar technologies, automakers are still challenged to improve fuel efficiency.

The industry continues to develop innovative powertrain products in response to global trends driven by legislation and consumer preferences to improve the environmental friendliness of passenger vehicles. Vehicle electrification remains one of the best ways to reduce carbon emissions and increase vehicle efficiency and it will play a key role in automotive engineering over the next decade.

As a result a new mobility landscape is emerging, creating even more challenges and opportunities in an enlarging ecosystem. For Magna, this means leveraging our culture of innovation internally and embracing a new level of external innovation outreach with universities, startups and other industries.

Whether the next 10 to 20 years include an influx of autonomous vehicles, electrification, shared economy or new modes of transportation, Magna is ready with the expertise and global experience to help create the future of mobility.

(Swamy Kotagiri is the Chief Technology Officer of Magna International)

Magna’s complete vehicle knowledge supports our electrified powertrain products. These products are based on a platform approach to maximize economies of scale where increasing numbers of vehicles will be produced with hybrid and full electric propulsion systems.

New products under development at Magna include powertrain systems AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 55

COVER STORY

Threats, Opps.

Of New Trends

By Harish Lakshman with Leaf. Their recent Note e-Power, which is electrically driven but has an IC engine to charge the battery, is a strong contender of future powertrains. Another big news, in my view, is Volkswagen publicly committing, in its vision document 2025 that 25 % of its vehicles are going to be electric. All these news point to the fact that there is accelerated adoption of electric powertrain. This presents significant threat as well as opportunity to many auto component players.

Though electrification is also a function linked to gas prices, it has finally reached a stage where even if the price comes down further, the electrification journey will continue. With the extreme case of the complete IC engine going away it is going to drastically impact the multi-billion dollar powertrain industry. At the same time, it is going to give many opportunities to those in electronics and battery-related technologies. For the Indian auto component players it will be a big challenge to come up with innovative products applicable for electrification.

Harish Lakshman

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few disruptive trends, such as autonomous driving and electrification, have taken root in the automotive industry.

The progress in the last 24 months has got most of the players in the industry worried with many of them taking significant action to address them. I feel these two trends are the biggest since the development of the Internal Combustion (IC) engine about 110 years ago. Most people in the industry agree that the next 15-20 years will be the most disruptive. In addition to traditional OEMs such as GM and Ford, this has caught the attention of technology players such as Google, Uber and Apple as well.

Take electrification for instance, where Tesla has set new benchmark in terms of range. Nissan is committed to electrification and has made a mark

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However, most forecasts for Indian industry suggest that by 2025 hardly five to seven percent will be electric, but often industry insiders are very blind.

Who would have thought in early 2000 that Apple and Android would disrupt the smartphones market denting the then market leader Nokia. Even Toyota, which had earlier said that electric cars would not take off, has invested one billion dollars in electrification. Companies like Ford, GM and BMW are taking the lead.

Regardless of whether the powertrain is hybrid, electric or IC engine, autonomous is on a parallel track. This technology is bound to be developed further. Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), headquartered in the US, has clearly defined levels of automation from L-0 to L-5. India is somewhere between 0 to 2, with some models of levels 3 and 4 starting to come out.

Google has shown that level 5 autonomous is possible and Ford has committed that the autonomous car will

be on road by 2021 and commercially sold by 2023. In L-0, L-1 and L-2 the driver is fully in control, assisted by support systems. L-5 is where he can switch off mentally – the car is fully autonomous. L-3 and L-4 are neither here nor there; it is the most dangerous because the ultimate responsibility, if any failure occurs, is with the driver. It is extremely difficult for the driver to be always in control; with so many things automated in the vehicle the driver may not be able to take control swiftly when required. It is better to jump to L-5 from L-2 as the level is fully autonomous.

However, from the mass market point of view, especially the Indian perspective, we are years away - but it will start happening, initially in a closed environment and you will see it soon.

Threats, Opportunities Definitely there are threats and opportunities. For the Rane Group’s product portfolio, valve train components face threat due to electrification; but all the other products, such as friction materials and steering components, are all necessary for electric and autonomous vehicles.

Obviously, the opportunities are immense. I see it at two levels – more opportunities with autonomous

because it is all software and India has an inherent advantage in IT. As autonomous cars evolve, lots of opportunities in software will crop up which I believe Indian entities can support. We already have Global Tier suppliers such as Bosch and ZF with technology centres in India to support their product development globally. The second point is increased electronics content in the vehicles with the suppliers’ need to strengthen their electronics capability and benefit out of it.

Home-grown Companies For the home-grown companies it is going to be tough – for multiple reasons. One is that India does not have a good electronics manufacturing ecosystem. Everything is imported, from cell phones to TVs – all forms of consumer electronics. Unfortunately we missed the electronics boom that started in the 1980s, unlike countries like China and Taiwan.

The good news is that the Indian market is growing significantly – all the top automotive electronics players - Bosch, Magna, Continental, Wabco, etc. have a presence in India that is going to increase in the future. The country will benefit as they will bring in huge investments. I see possibilities for us to be Tier-2 suppliers to such large automotive electronics players and system integrators. The other challenge is that we don’t have the technology to compete with the big names. That is why I believe being Tier-2 creates more opportunities; we cannot compete as Tier-1.

Digitalisation This is clearly a trend that is going to continue, thanks to the internet

AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 57

COVER STORY

boom with all the connected devices driven by the mobile revolution. Obviously there is significant advantage as a user with the connected world of information and processing. Industry 4.0 takes our traditional factories to a completely new level. A country like the US has lost a lot of manufacturing during the last 1520 years. I feel manufacturing will come back to the US but it would be of a much higher level with sophisticated robot-based technologies, and Internet of Things (IoT) where data management is at a much superior level.

From the Indian context, there is lot of interest on many of these aspects as lots of it is low-cost automation. We will not take a full-fledged Industry 4.0 transformative exercise as it will be difficult to justify the Return on Investment. However, we will invest on tailor-made bolt-on projects.

This kind of experimentation has already started in many of our plants where we connect machines to a computer to get live information on vital parameters. These kinds of technologies will only increase in the coming years. The only challenge that I see is standardisation of solution. Solutions are available but each follows its own methodology. We are not able to replicate these solutions across similar requirements.

Standardisation helps companies to structure their cost economics. We need standard solutions to address Industry 4.0 on a large scale.

IoT To Fuel Supply Chain In India, we will see a lot of progress in the supply chain as there is more inefficiency compared to other developed economies. The average cost of supply chain in India is 13 percent while in the developed markets it is between 4 and 6 percent I think technology will help narrow the gap bringing in operational efficiency to the supply chain. Today the tracking mechanism we have for

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vehicles is far superior to what we had five years ago; technology based solutions for logistics is at a much higher level now, at lower costs enabling shorter delivery times.

Additive Manufacturing Additive manufacturing is very useful from an R&D and product development standpoint. Many of our plants are already using it where we are able to reduce product development lead times. At this point, many companies outsource the 3-D printing considering the cost aspects.

As the costs are coming down, we may consider investing in a 3-D printing machine in a year or two. But I don’t see additive manufacturing being utilised in automotive space with high volume mass production setup. The technology has not evolved to that stage to give very high volumes of millions of pieces. I see additive manufacturing coming into industries that have low volumes but require lot of engineering like aerospace and defence.

Our Group’s performance last year was decent for us. We are growing - both in the domestic and international front. Every few years we are also adding new products to our existing portfolio which helps to sustain better growth. Our recent addition was airbags and we continue to explore opportunities to add newer products. In most of the products we make we are ranked either number 1 or 2. The strategy is to defend our share and also grow in the domestic market, in line with the Indian industry.

Another strategy is to grow exponentially in the international market which we are achieving through a combination of exports and expansion of footprint by M&As. Rane has one overseas plant - in the US - and two sales offices in North America and Germany where we have been adding employees.

(Harish Lakshman is Vice Chairman of the Rane Group)

COVER STORY

ZF Takes The Leap Forward

By Mamatha Chamarthi Requiring more than just intelligent mechanics, AV systems require comprehensive, precise, and reliable information about the state of the human driver. In the highly automated driving scenarios, where the driver could have the option to relinquish monitoring of the vehicle systems, he or she would remain responsible for taking back control of the vehicle when prompted. Driver monitoring is, therefore, a critical part of the AV development process. ZF believes that the future of urban mobility lies in intelligent networking, namely the interconnection of the chassis, driveline and driver assistance systems.

This can be demonstrated in its electricallypowered, cloud-connected Advanced Urban Vehicle, which features partially automated functionality.

The Evolution

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Mamatha Chamarthi

ith communication technology and robotics now accepted as the norm in many aspects of everyday life, it is no surprise that these technologies also have a huge influence on our transportation systems. Beginning with the introduction of mechanised highway systems in developed nations during the 1980’s, the impetus for the advancement of the driverless vehicle followed rapidly.

While the concept of the AV (Automated Vehicle) has been around for a long time, since 1920 in fact, pilots of AVs were not credibly developed until the last two decades of the twentieth century. Between 1980 and 2000 these were established mostly in Germany and in the US. The recent years, however, have seen a rapid increase in their development activity globally, driven by their perceived benefits which include safety, ecological improvements, cost reductions and ‘free’ time for consumers. With the unceasing advancement of technology combined with consumer demand, Automated Vehicles are currently a major topic of discussion.

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ZF believes that autonomous driving is likely to evolve through five distinct stages.

At present, ZF supplies subsystems and sensors for the first two stages which focus primarily on safety and driving comfort. Typical examples include adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance. During these initial stages, drivers must keep their hands on the steering wheel.

As automated driving evolves through stages 3-5, with the increasingly intelligent interaction of sensors, control units and systems, the vehicles could gradually take control, most likely beginning with the highway driving functions. The challenge to this, in general terms, is achieving real-time processing of huge volumes of data. These increasing volumes stem from a growing number of sensors coupled with increasingly higher resolutions. Autonomous driving Levels 3 to 5, and many other predictive functions which may be found in future vehicles, are not possible without the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

ZF ProAI At the beginning of 2017, ZF and Nvidia officially announced a development collaboration and unveiled the ZF ProAI supercomputing self-driving system. This system uses the scalable Nvidia DRIVE PX 2 AI supercomputing platform to process inputs from an array of cameras, LIDAR, radar and ultrasonic sensors, enabling ZF ProAI

to monitor the surroundings of the vehicle in real time. In addition, ZF ProAI satisfies all automotive-grade industry requirements, ensuring functionality throughout extreme temperature ranges, high humidity and dust levels and the rigours of commuting.

The future has begun. We have taken a leap forward. Already useful and usable, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and lane-change assist are all forerunners of automated driving, the megatrend defining today’s automotive industry.

Volume production of ZF ProAI is scheduled for 2018 and will be supplied as a vehicleintegrated system updated via the cloud. Additional functions and capabilities can be added throughout the lifetime of a vehicle. The system is designed for V2X applications, communicating with other vehicles as well as the surrounding infrastructure.

Furthermore, the learning and networking capacity of ZF ProAI can use swarm intelligence to help make an entire fleet safer and more efficient.

Growing Competencies ZF is strategically growing its competencies to expand its portfolio of fully-integrated intelligent systems. These investments are in line with the company’s ‘See – Think – Act’ philosophy. Since the acquisition of the US company TRW in 2015, ZF’s range of systems supporting ‘See – Think – Act’ has significantly increased. It will continue to expand this range. ZF’s vision of making vehicles see, think and act is also transferrable to other applications such as smart factories, autonomous harvesters, and wind farms.

The concept of ‘Vision Zero’ – or a mobile world without emissions and accidents – also requires solutions that can improve fuel efficiency or, potentially, replace internal combustion engines with electric motors. With Vision Zero as a target and

to support its achievement, ZF integrated its e-mobility activities into a separate division in 2016.

ZF also launched its India Technology Centre in Hyderabad, India, recently, reinforcing its global engineering network with an emphasis on software

development supporting both Vision Zero and See – Think Act. In a dynamically changing and increasingly digital world, speed is of the essence and ZF is proud to have been able to set up the India Technology Centre quickly. The technology centre fits seamlessly into ZF’s research and development network and will become a pillar of innovation for the company. The demand for software solutions is growing, and ZF is increasing its capacity in this field exponentially. This will help us support our customers’ growth aspirations in both the global and local markets.

(Mamatha Chamarthi is Chief Digital Officer at ZF Friedrichshafen AG) AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 61

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Aftermarket Special

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Globally automotive aftermarket is about USD 400 billion and in India is only at USD $ 7 billion only by 2021. This is because the motorization levels are abysmally low in India at 18 cars per 1000 population while it is about in few hundreds in developed countries. However, the key growth drivers for aftermarket currently are poor condition of roads that causes increased wear of parts and even increasing technology; but the key concern is the financial constraints that the players, especially in the after sales service face. The special issue will cover these challenges and also give options to overcome them.

Issue Release:

December 2017

Advertising Deadline :

15th November 2017

To advertise contact:

Devakumar

+91 99401 72323 deva@abm.net.in

www.autopartsasia.in

Manatec

COVER STORY

Wabco Wins India With Global Standards At Local Cost The Brussels-based Wabco, a global supplier of technologies and services that improve the safety, efficiency and connectivity of commercial vehicles, continues to pioneer breakthrough innovations for advanced driver assistance, braking, stability control, suspension, transmission automation and aerodynamics.

Wabco India designs, manufactures and markets conventional braking products, advanced braking systems, and other related air-assisted products and systems. The company has a major share in the Indian OEM market and aftermarket.

It has five world-class manufacturing facilities, software design centre, application engineering centre, a test track and nation-wide distribution network.

“We do not give the products developed in Europe to customers in India. We develop products here that meet the local needs considering cost, and necessary functionalities that align with our global standards and development programmes.

This is how we have evolved in India”, P Kaniappan, Managing Director, Wabco India, told T Murrali of AutoParts Asia, in an exclusive interview. The excerpts:-

P Kaniappan

Q: Globally Wabco has a three-pillar strategy, technology leadership, globalisation and excellence in execution, which applies to all the plants across the globe. When it comes to India, how are these things relevant? How do you sandwich globalisation between the other two?

A: Wabco is a truly global company having nationalities from many countries. This is a company that is ahead of the curve in terms of looking at emerging markets. Even before the financial crisis our CEO looked at the potential in India and China; we came here to take advantage of the inherent opportunities available. Second is that we don’t have the concept of expats coming and running the company here - we believe that local leaders must run local business as they are used to the cultural environment. Of course we take the support of the global team whenever needed.

The third dimension is that we do not give the products developed in Europe to customers in India; we develop products here that meet local requirements and customer needs considering the cost and necessary functionalities, definitely well aligned with our global standards and development programmes. That is why we are positioned in the top rank in these markets.

Q: It is the ‘minimum cost of ownership’ that drives business as that’s what the customer wants. Some of the OEMs tell suppliers to approach them only if they also supply to European OEMs. How do you cater to this? What are the pain points here?

A: There are two dimensions to this issue. One is that the standards and specifications should meet global standards. In India we take the full support of our global development base. India’s strength comes from our ability to design these products with global standards in a most cost effective and frugal manner. We have been in India for the last 50 years and have continuously improved our cost leadership capabilities through target costing, value engineering, lean manufacturing and so many other practices that have given us a

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strong position on how to look at cost. So now we have global standards at Indian cost, which is what the Indian customer wants. It is a blending of three – cost, global standards and product access. This is how we have evolved in India.

Q: Innovation makes the suppliers stay afloat as only innovative products will help OEMs but it comes at a cost.

Beyond a point the scope is limited to meet global standards because you have to squeeze in the cost advantage. How do you overcome the challenges arising out of this situation?

A: One is the change in scale. For example, when ABS came to India the volume increased 10 times, so the easiest option was to go in for localisation and approach the development centre available here. What we are doing now is to see how we can help customers improve tyre life using ABS. Without ABS the tyres will be pulled to one side when you apply the brakes; ABS makes sure the tyres stop at that point, so tyre life is increased as wear and tear is reduced. Also, ABS prevents roll back when the vehicle is going up a gradient which again reduces wear.

The third one is how we can give electronic stability control with the same investment that the customer has made. We have a system called electronically controlled air processing that contributes to saving of fuel of about 1.5 percent.

Finally it all boils down to the total cost of ownership; if the customer is convinced there is a payback for investment, he will go for it. Mobilising vehicle intelligence to improve safety and efficiency is our focus now. BS-IV will drive these new technologies into the market. We will take advantage of the increase in scale, combined with localisation, to reduce the cost of manufacturing.

Q: Is the smart compressor in the system already being supplied to customers in India?

A: Yes, some customers have started using it; it comes as a package.

Q: What are the other innovative products in line?

A: We are now moving to telematics and fluid management solutions. For Wabco, apart from safety and efficiency, the third dimension of the value proposition is connectivity. We acquired a company called Transics a few years ago and in India have already launched the fleet management solution that was initially started as a base system for the aftermarket. Now we have an advanced system with CAN connectivity etc which is a cost effective solution with lots of functionalities that also help in monitoring and predictive maintenance.

As we move to autonomous driving the advanced emergency braking system can stop the vehicle longitudinally and the use of telematics will inform the driver the speed range of operation to get the best fuel efficiency. We have sold nearly 3,000 sets of this fleet management solution in the aftermarket and are also supplying it to an OEM. Q: This is a plug and play product for the aftermarket or is it for OE supplies?

A: It is both. It is a standard system for use in fleet. From the control room, at a basic level, you can see where the vehicle is running. What we are trying to do is to see how the fleet itself can become more efficient by tracking the trucks coming into our factory from a distance of two km so that work on the truck is done in optimum time.

Q: In your experience, to what extent has the time come down?

A: Right now I don’t have the data to share with you but my gut feeling is time saved is 50 percent. The idea is to minimise the waiting period so that the transport company becomes more efficient. The differentiation comes when you show the fleet how efficiently it can be run and the savings from this operation.

Q: What are the challenges in manufacturing? The cost arbitrage for Indian industry as a whole is coming

ABS Wheel speed sensor

ABS- ECU

ABS solenoid valve

AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 65

COVER STORY

Height Sensor

RCU

down though technologically they have raised the bar – there is always a trade-off. The same applies to Wabco in India, so what are the initiatives you have taken at the manufacturing facilities to overcome this?

A: In the Wabco model in India we are not actually looking at the labour cost arbitrage as an element of cost competitiveness. It is there but it is not the main scope. Our scope is to be lean in the value chain; we are one of the few companies to implement lean practices as early as 2000. Our model is lean in investment first - this is one of the leanest facilities – the lean comes out of minimising investment.

We have a machine here, bought in 1976, recently refurbished by us. I am sure it will work for another 20 years; we have upgraded the machine to include features of the Internet of Things - it has features that even new machines don’t have. Our fundamental approach to improve capacity is first to eliminate waste in the system. The second step is to go in for cycle time reduction and remove bottlenecks. Thirdly, if you have exhausted all other options, then only do you go in for lean investment.

We still go for simple machines and then use our engineering capability to make our own facilities. This helps us to compete in the market continuously.

This is number one.

supplier produces at the rate that I do through a TAKT-time type of interface.

In each of our manufacturing cells we continuously re-engineer with a focus on labour productivity etc. Since we are a welfare-oriented company we try to reduce the manual work content through simple, low-cost automation.

Q: What about Internet of Things and Industry 4.0; how are you leveraging these emerging technologies?

A: We are trying to do in our own way to make sure we reduce the cost of operations; it is a continuous journey.

From the TQM framework, there are two things we constantly practise: Employee involvement and continuous improvement in everything we do.

These are the two pillars on which the whole system stands. We call it unleashing the passion of the people; to me it is the ability to see opportunities constantly.

Q: You want to match the TAKT time of your customers with that of yours and your suppliers’. That

Number two is that the entire supply chain may need constant upgrading.

Our chain is one of the leanest and our suppliers have been working with us for more than 30 years. We deploy the same practices we do with them. To a large extent we try to offset inflation through productivity in the entire supply chain.

The third dimension is the investment on inventory and other things. We are moving rapidly to a direct-supply-toline model in which either we or the suppliers hold inventory so both our production lines are linked invisibly; the

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Modular AMT

Pressure Sensor

Solenoid Valve

is a big challenge because you are sandwiched between your customer and down the line supply chain. Any fluctuation would affect you first. Also, the days of holding inventory are gone. So your operating bandwidth is very limited, still you have to innovate and save cost. How do you do that?

A: We use the seven-step approach to lean manufacturing, something that we practise in India. First is to map the value stream to get the total picture of customer to supplier and within that framework to find out how the information and material flow. These are the two elements of the value stream mapping concept. For every TAKT time one piece has to flow from the supplier to the customer at the fastest possible rate without any waste in the system – that is what the value stream is supposed to deliver.

But in reality there is something called value added ratio. If a material moves from a supplier to a customer in two days, the actual value of the time may be only a few minutes or an hour; the rest of the time it is only waiting. Scrap in the system, material movement, handling, inspection, etc are all waste, except the value added to the portion of the work; that is the only time the component gets added value. The whole concept of lean manufacturing is how you are able to see waste versus value-addition. Anything that improves value-addition and minimises waiting time will contribute to lean manufacturing.

Cabin mounted ECU

What we do first is create a physical flow. If the work goes to different suppliers before coming to us, we try

to find out if one supplier can do all the jobs. This can save not only time but also unnecessary documentation.

You can also save on logistics and transportation. Earlier, we never saw these things but there is a huge opportunity here for savings at different levels. The third step is balancing to the TAKT time where you have to balance the multiple machines working in an assembly. To do this we have created many manufacturing cells.

Next is communication and effective information flow throughout the supply chain.

Q: You have a control on your system and your suppliers but you cannot have control over your OEMs. So if you map the value chain, one is always dynamic, which is the customer. How do you exercise control?

A: There are two philosophies in this. One is producing and pushing whatever you have produced to the customer called the push system. The other one is the pull system where you respond to customer needs. Today, what we do is either have a vendor managed inventory at the customer’s site or a warehouse or plant close to the customer. The customer goes to the portal, selects the items for the day and informs it to you. You deliver from your stock to them and replenish your inventory constantly; that is the model followed. Though my line is linked to both my customer and supplier based on TAKT, the reality is that every time you cannot connect, you need to have a buffer in-between. Through this buffer you are actually de-coupling yourself from the customer as he will always AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 67

COVER STORY

Air Disk Brake unit

Air Disc Brake

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take the items from the stock in the buffer. This is an element of the lean model that we do in Wabco India.

Q: When it comes to quality, producing one product is fine but the challenge is in sustaining quality. With all the variations you have, how do you control this?

A: Our model is based on the TPM driven system though we are now taking a lot of input from our global practices particularly related to change control. We must have a mechanism to prevent any failure to the customer from getting repeated; the preventive or corrective action must be robust enough. Also, you must make sure you have a firewall in the system, whatever you deliver.

If you can’t prevent a defect from occurring you must put in a firewall.

There must be no drastic change when new operators, systems, suppliers or processes come in; for effectiveness there must be control over change management. Real sustainability comes when you put in capable processes – it must be a capability driven system. Very recently we have gone through a major quality transformation, taking a lot of input from global learning.

Q: Can you throw more light on the transformation?

A: With all the product liability issues, risk management is very critical here. Missing something small could result in a major catastrophe. So change control is very crucial as we change designs and introduce new products; these are some of the new dimensions of Quality Management.

Q: For the supplier, the cost of ensuring continuous production quality has to come down otherwise it will eat into his bottom line. What are Wabco’s safety reins in India?

A: The real strategy is to create a capable organisation in which all the processes are capable at the design stage itself. When you invest on a new line you make sure the

process capability is as per the required level of minimum 1.67, which means that you prevent fault recurrence with consequent savings in cost. Improving quality need not necessarily cost money; one must make sure that certified competent people with the right skills are there at the right time and right place.

Q: Tell us about your technical centre. Does it help the global organisation to go connected?

What is its overall contribution, particularly for the connectivity towards mobility?

A: The Wabco Technology centre is at Porur, Chennai, India, with close to 300 people working there.

Most of the software for Wabco is written here; even for the most advanced brake system devised recently, about 85% of the software is developed here. The industry is moving more and more towards software driven connected mobility.

For fleet management solutions and telematics related issues we also work with some start-ups in India and utilise our global capability through the Transics team. We don’t have a standard solution – solutions come by working with customers. Every fleet needs a different solution, whether it’s a school bus or a logistics company.

This involves a lot of joint working so partnering with OEMs is the key to develop new functionalities.

Q: Are you working with start-ups to get fresh ideas?

A: Yes, there is a good eco-system in India for that. We work with some of the start-ups here, both on the software and hardware sides, in Bangalore and Chennai. This is assessed and released with the support of our global team.

Indian fleet and customers need local solutions; though we do take the help of the global team on standards and specifications, and to assess the start-up’s capability, the solutions are driven by the OEMs and Wabco India.

COVER STORY

Business Disruption Through Superior Value Propositions

By Srinivasa Raghavan

I

n my role in TVS today I straddle between two large businesses. One is TVS dealerships where we sell close to 60,000 new vehicles every year, 12-15 percent of the trucks sold in the country. We have 2.5-3 lakh customers coming to our outlets to service their vehicles every year. We have the largest customer base of two million in the country, among the top 30 in the world. From that perspective I have two implications; one, I come in touch with a crosssection of the customer community with the eco system around it that links more than 100,000 garages or 40,000 retailers.

The second part of our business is the aftermarket where we essentially look at vehicles that have gone outside the dealership community to a completely fragmented market of a combination of retailers, distributors and garages. The issue is how we can consolidate that part of the aftermarket. We undertook this journey 3- 4 years ago and today we aggregate all the CV retailers under one banner called ‘PartSmart’ with a franchisee model for retailing multi-brand, multi-vehicle parts.

Similarly, with MyTVS we aggregate the garages for passenger vehicles. Between the business disruptions through superior value propositions today we have more than 200 stores; we expect to reach 500 by 2018.

Then we have an insurance portfolio–the eighth largest non-life insurance broking firm. We also have roadside assistance, a JV with the AA group and extended warranty with TWG group so that we are able to extend the life of the vehicle; backed by our investment in jazzmyride.com on e-commerce.

In addition, we have an eco-system where we have invested in start-ups that include telematics and IoT, big data and CRM analytics. So we look at technology, insurance, services and front-end aggregation, to try and bring modern retailing into India.

Though we can look at these two as separate businesses the underline is that technology has brought in one common, seamless platform for TVS and TASL (TVS Automotive Solutions Ltd) where we create the eco-system of suppliers and customers; we call it Community, Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Community is how to bring suppliers and customers together; Entrepreneurship is the franchisee model through which we aggregate, and Innovation is how we digitally interface it, to make this a self-serving industry.

That’s the way we look at it; we would like more people

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Srinivasa Raghavan

to participate to modernise the trade. We believe GST will further facilitate this and make it more proactive.

Global Perspective When we did this, a question arose – is the aftermarket industry local or global? We consider it global because three distinct things are happening. First one is that vehicle platforms are becoming global.

This means that parts also become global; which means that the servicing eco-systems become global.

On the line we made a few acquisitions in the UKUniversal Components that specialises on European trucks; Scuderia that looks at a complete high-end performance system for cars like Ferrari and Maserati.

We are actively looking at participating in large buying and distribution houses.

The second point is that logistics have become global - the sourcing in engineering. Our group companies have invested significantly in logistics. We have established our sourcing and engineering of parts between Turkey, India and China, forming three hubs to provide good designing and engineering capability.

The third one is acquisition of distribution business;

Vehicle diagnostics

we have launched in the US, South Africa and Middle-East - we expect that these will grow. What enables and drives globalisation is technology.

For us technology has 4 aspects; a digital platform that comprises mobility, telematics & IoT, with very strong Artificial Intelligence (AI) built into Indian systems that are analytics embedded. The whole idea is to enable our parts dealers to give customers appropriate choices at optimum pricing as soon as queries come up and make it available physically in minimum time; to have an efficient master data management system.

The next sense of mobility is when a vehicle breaks down on the highway. The vehicle gives an alert in different forms, depending on the different category of vehicles. You must have a mechanism that can read the error code sent out and integrate it with road-side assistance to

ensure the necessary tools are carried to the breakdown site quickly. For larger vehicles you will have to further integrate with the network data and compare it with the OEM’s specific master manual error code to provide a solution. So here, one end is telematics while the other end utilises IoT, which are all integrated by the e-learning systems.

The idea is to marry technology with the consumer-use case to give him good service. We have our own IoT, we have developed our own algorithms in converting the DTCs (diagnostics trouble codes), integrated that with the call centre, to enable mobile enabled vehicles to reach the breakdown point within 30-45 minutes, across the country. Instead of confusing the customer with technology what we have to ensure is that he is connected or protected 24x7 when he drives.

Big Data And OEMs My view is that there is no need to get all the data. An average car can throw about 25 GBs of data at any point of time. Do you really need such a huge volume? We need data only from the use-case point of view.

Of course, vehicle manufacturer’s fears are justified as IPRs come into play. If you are insensitive to it, it becomes a problem.

The manufacturer must be shown a way to manage his Intellectual Property and security.

Theft alert Split Screen

There are a number of cases where IPR has been opened out and people have come in and damaged the car. There is a grey area here - a thin line between what’s right and not right. We have to respect the autonomy that players require; AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 71

COVER STORY

TVS Connect Device

information must be related to the use-case. OEMs are fairly open on this as their customer satisfaction goes up; they are ready to collaborate from the application viewpoint. What is more important is how to marry your business model with the customer experience that you want to provide.

As long as your value proposition is articulated clearly, I don’t think there is any confusion. If you focus more on frills than on the core, you get into either over-information or undue expectation from the manufacturer.

I would request more and more players to focus on the core business transformation, otherwise the technology will get defeated.

If you focus without disrupting the existing system, it remains an idea that will never become a business. I don’t need technology ideas - there are quite a few; we need business disruption through superior value propositions. That’s what we are

trying to work out at TVS – translating and capturing the value proposition on the data platform, assimilating and converting that into knowledge, bringing it back by integrating the services portfolio and delivering with an agreed SLA.

Digitalisation If I look at it from the last-half-mile of delivery, it plays a big role as I have to connect 40,000 retailers every day, which means there is a huge amount of last-half-mile flow happening. I am doing it because I want to reduce the working capital of my retailers as they are struggling with keeping 4-6 months of inventory.

Today, we have a mandate that every PartSmart retailer should not carry more than 45 days stock; I feel this is still high. So when you do that you actually unleash cash back into the business, to grow. You get more depth of parts placement with the retailer,

which will help you increase your coverage and relevance. You have to capture the inventory information of every single parts retailer and integrate it with your supply chain model to make successful deliveries. I am going away from a forecasting method to a replenishment method of logistics.

From there I integrate with my backend, which has a very strong analytical engine, to replenish and then link with my mobility-enabled vehicle that does intelligent route planning to increase coverage.

So for me digital business has multiple connotations. It is a connect between different facets of the business but the real value will transfer only if it gets embedded into my supply chain analytics. Today we have 95 percent fill ratio and delivery within 24 hours.

We want to beat that and do better; go twice a day to the retailer, but I think it will take another 12 months for us to reach there. In the aftermarket we are on par except for North America.

If you look at the UK, Europe or India, I think we are developing a universal platform.

Business Sense If a technology does not leapfrog in value generation, it will get defeated; it will get bypassed. You really have to marry the process and technology in such a way as to disrupt old procedures. For me the objective is whether I can reduce my working capital 30 percent and that for the retailer 100 percent. Everything digital should drive that.

Accident alert split screen

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(Srinivasa Raghavan is the Global President of the Dealership and Distribution business of TVS & Sons)

COVER STORY

Seamless Mobility Different types of automated driving complement one another to create the seamless mobility of tomorrow

By Ralph Lauxmann and Andree Hohm particularly to areas with dense populations, which will only increase in the future. Some projections predict that in just a few decades possibly half of the world’s population will live in megacities. Mobility must change if we do not want our lives to be completely dependent on face masks and NOX alarms.

These environments are dominated by commuting between home and work and by recreational traffic. These days, however, most drivers spend a lot of their time in congestion.

London is already at risk of total gridlock. With a current average speed of 7.8 miles an hour, you can hardly use the term “automotive mobility” in Britain’s capital city.

T

Ralph Lauxmann

here are four main global drivers that require the innovative engagement of the automotive industry and, with it, the large technology suppliers: The vision of accident-free driving, air quality problems, irritation over time lost in traffic jams, and an increasingly older population. This is where connected automated driving can make an important contribution. But what does this actually mean for a car journey?

Which systems and solutions must a supplier have in his portfolio to enable seamless and comfortable individual mobility?

Far too many people are still being killed in road accidents. More than 1.3 million people lose their lives in this way every year. And this is just one of the big challenges facing technology companies for mobility solutions.

Increasing traffic levels also mean that the issue of emissions is becoming more and more important. This applies

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On the contrary, traffic is practically back to the speed level of the horse and cart as at end of the 19th century. The traffic figures are even worse in megacities in other continents.

New solutions are, therefore, required to maintain and increase individual mobility.

Demographic development is another challenge. The proportion of older drivers is increasing. The decision to stay behind the wheel is not always simply a matter of free choice. In rural Japan, for example, people are often forced to continue driving into their old age because they have no other option of getting around. There are already not enough younger people living there who can work as taxi drivers.

Conditions in Germany are very different, but after 2030 there will be more people here drawing a pension than in gainful employment. This development will change the demands on mobile technology as well.

Automation – Step 1: Starting From Home The technology of automated driving (AD) will provide an important contribution to making life easier for the driver, and to creating a more efficient overall traffic flow, with fewer critical situations or accidents. Particular attention must be given to fully automated driving in line with the current SAE/VDA definition Level 4 as well as Level 5, driverless.

Level 4 refers to connected vehicles which are able to assume driving tasks completely in certain driving situations. The driver can then focus on other tasks and use the travel time meaningfully. At Continental’s automated driving project house, the Cruising Chauffeur and Self Driving Car projects utilise a common technology base, as well as numerous other technologies from Continental’s wide range, to achieve the different levels. A hypothetical trip from Hamburg to Munich illustrates which technical conditions have to be satisfied.

Several automation capabilities are required to make this trip safe and comfortable. Let’s assume the driver is starting the journey from home. The first task is to find an arterial road from the city centre – using the driver’s own knowledge or a navigation system – and from there to get onto the correct highway. If the sensor system and vehicle intelligence recognizes the highway situation, the driver is given the option to transfer the driving task to the vehicle (“AD is now possible”). If the driver decides to accept this option, the AD system assumes the role of the “Cruising Chauffeur” for the highway section of the journey (Figure 1).

Continental PP Self Driving Vehicle

The technical infrastructure required for this process along the logical chain Sense Plan Act (sensing

Andree Hohm

the environment, action planning for the control units and activating the actuators) may be invisible to the driver, but it is remarkably extensive (Figure 2).

The environment sensor system alone, which is part of the automation process, includes several camera types (mono, stereo, surround view), radar sensors of varying view ranges and range characteristics (long range radar, short range radar) and LiDAR sensors (for example, high-resolution 3D Flash LiDAR).

This data is used together with information from vehicle-to-vehicle communication, communication with other motorists, the infrastructure and the cloud, as well as high-resolution map data, to create an extensive model of the driving environment. Based on this so-called environment model, the main participating control units (assisted and automated driving control unit as well as the safety domain control unit) for basic driving and safety functions, such as the minimal risk manoeuvre, can determine and implement the appropriate driving strategy.

The system intervenes in the braking, steering and engine control units to implement the driving strategy during highly automated and autonomous driving.

At the same time, all actuators must be designed with built-in redundancy to ensure that the required actuations are still carried out even in the event of a fault.

If we use the brake as an example, this means that Continental combines the AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 75

COVER STORY

Continental PP Sensorkonzept EN

highly dynamic MK C1 with the additional module for a redundant brake system, the Highly automated Brake Extension, HBE. The complexity is even greater at the overall vehicle level: Solutions from all the divisions of Continental work together to provide an integrated, single-source solution. The most important issue for the driver is how to communicate with the Cruising Chauffeur and how the Cruising Chauffeur can respond to the actuation and requests of the person behind the wheel.

Once again, a sensor system is required for this, as it is an important part of the interaction concept between man and machine. The development of the Cruising Chauffeur in accordance with SAE/VDA Level 4 is currently being pursued. Almost all vehicle manufacturers have announced their intention to implement comparable vehicle-based systems.

Technologically, Continental predicts series production of AD Level 4 from 2020. However, this depends on legislation. Development of automated driving at Continental is currently focusing on environmental modeling and algorithm development for the driving strategy.

Automation Step 2: Vehicle Parks Itself Let us assume that our driver is approaching Greater Munich after a long and relaxed journey – thanks to

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automated driving on the highway – and will therefore soon reach the end of the Cruising Chauffeur’s control task. The person behind the wheel is now asked in good time to resume driving.

This stage of the journey could lead to a park-and-ride parking lot to ensure maximum comfort and mobility. This is still a sticking point for many drivers today, as the transition from a comfortable passenger car to the next means of transport can feel like a cold shower.

There are many reasons for this. You start out by looking for a parking space in a typically large area. Then you might have to walk quite a distance, possibly with luggage and in bad weather, to the next public transport stop. The timings of buses or trains can cause further irritation if they result in long waiting times.

Another common problem can be broken ticket machines.

These kinds of experiences cause many drivers to drive directly to their destination, even though many have probably already experienced the stress of driving the last few miles to their destination. This means that even though the car is comfortable for longer journeys, it can feel like quite a liability in city centres, due to a lack of parking space and heavy traffic – welcome to London.

Automation can be a great help in this situation as well, because a vehicle with an automated parking function (Figure 3) fundamentally changes the quality

COVER STORY

Continental PP Parking

of this part of the journey: Drivers and passengers entrust the vehicle to a mobility terminal instead of having to look for a free space themselves. At the press of a button, the vehicle autonomously looks for a free space, and then parks and locks itself (Valet Parking). This is an enormous advantage for the operator of the parking lot, because the vehicles can be parked much closer together, making it possible to use the available space much more efficiently.

The vehicle infrastructure for automated parking basically corresponds in type and scope to the infrastructure of fully automated driving on the highway (Figure 2). However, the requirements for the range of the sensor system are not as high due to the considerably lower driving speeds on a parking lot. Instead, precision down to the last centimeter is required for self-localization and manoeuvring. The technical implementation is by far the most advanced today for automated parking.

Initial series applications have already been implemented and, due to the stable starting point, this will very quickly evolve to valet parking in dedicated areas.

Automation, Step 3: Reaching Destination With Robo Taxi Now the driver and passengers are precisely where they need to be to continue the last part of their journey seamlessly, without any walking at all.

An automatically pre-ordered self-driving vehicle drives up to the mobility terminal (Figure 4). There are many names for this new category of driverless vehicle

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in accordance with SAE/VDA Level 5 driverless, such as “People Mover�. We will call it a robo taxi to make things simpler.

This fully automated vehicle transports travelers right up to the door of their destination, which spares them any difficult navigation through a big city as well as the hunt for a parking space.

Compared to your personal car with the optional automated driving function, the robo taxi no longer has any operating elements for a driver. It is therefore a vehicle without steering wheel or pedals. It is used in inner city traffic at comparably low speeds but a high level of environmental complexity.

Continental will set up a shuttle service with the innovative test platform CUbE (Continental Urban MobilityExperience) on its company premises in Frankfurt this year to test the practicality of robo taxis. The electrically-driven robo taxi connects the main building with the onsite test track.

There is another difference between the requirements for the automation of a robo taxi and those of a private passenger vehicle. Studies have shown that a typical private passenger vehicle is driven less than one hour a day on average. This means that, with the exception of longer journeys, these vehicles are stationary 23 hours a day, or are not used at all. The situation is quite the opposite for a robo taxi. The profitability of this vehicle class depends on the robo taxi driving as much as possible and generating revenue, just like in the logistics sector. Modification of the operating models and use of electric

COVER STORY

Continental PP Cruising Chaffeur

drives changes the requirements profile of the brake components as well. The thermal load created by deceleration from high speeds is an important design criterion for a brake system today. In comparison, the number of actuations during daily use is the main component taken into consideration for a robo taxi. These changes in components are being examined at Continental and taken into consideration as they are developed for future mobility concepts.

seamless transition between individual sections of a journey and different transport vehicles. The requirements of the AD solution and participating components change according to the section of the journey. From the current perspective, automated driving level SAE/ VDA 5 (driverless) will be the next step in supporting seamless mobility with free flowing transitions between the most comfortable modes of transportation on a journey.

The conviction is growing in many parts of the automotive industry that robo taxis will play an important part in urban mobility in the future. So it hardly comes as a great surprise that a large number of companies and research institutes are tackling the development of this new type of individual mobility.

The range and complexity of the participating technical systems is great and can only be provided by a technological company with a very broad base and an integrated approach. Continental is driving the development of all types of AD forward so that, in future, we can offer solutions to everyone for challenges such as those presented by the planned use of robo taxis during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Today’s form of individual mobility presents problems in many parts of the world.

Singapore and Japan are prime examples of this. The particular combination of enormous congested urban areas and very sparsely populated rural areas is problematic. For this reason the Japanese government has announced the widespread use of autonomous vehicles during the Olympic Games as a measure for coping with the numerous visitors. Even today the government is very actively encouraging technological developments in this direction. This is an excellent opportunity for Continental to develop technical solutions together with public administrations in actual areas of application.

Summary Thanks to different developments in automated driving, it is possible for

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Automated driving places high demands on the innovative capacity of the big players in the global automotive supplier industry. At Continental, we believe it is our responsibility to make intelligent and sustainable mobility possible and to continue to develop its efficiency to achieve Vision Zero in the long run, the vision of accident-free driving. Across the group, Continental is working with well-known colleges and universities to research the potential of artificial intelligence for decision chains in automated driving.

(Ralph Lauxmann is head of Systems and Technology and a member of the Chassis and Safety management team at Continental in Frankfurt; Andree Hohm is head of the Self Driving Car project at Continental.)

COVER STORY

Hella Brings Tomorrow’s Technology For Life Today

By Rama Shankar Pandey committed but teams are already working to achieve the time targets.

Coping up with lack of infrastructure, urban congestion, meeting efficiency needs, and safeguarding intellectual property rights are another set of challenges. One challenge which has been haunting the auto industry is lack of ‘End of Life Policy’ and this is not only limiting the growth opportunities for auto industry players, it also throws huge difficulty for governments in India to arrest alarming road deaths and achieve effective safety on roads and it also is an impediment to scale up fulfilment of our environmental concerns as majority of the vehicle parc always remains older and polluting.

Rama Shankar Pandey

T

he Indian economy grew 7.6 percent in FY 2016, and managed a growth of 7.1 percent during the first half of FY 2017 despite a subdued global economic scenario. With the current focus on ‘Make in India’, and an overall positive sentiment in the area of infrastructure development, all stakeholders, including the current government through its Automotive Mission Plan, are projecting an excellent outlook for the automotive industry, a major contributor to India’s manufacturing GDP. India’s key strengths such as a large domestic consumption base, a cost competitive value chain with highly competitive design, testing and validation costs, prudent engineering capabilities and low cost of labour will go a long way to develop the country as a world- class automotive manufacturing base.

Some of the key challenges for the industry are the ongoing alignment with the global emission standards and safety norms and implementation of GST, to which not only each one of us is

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One of the key pain points for the industry on which our organisation is working is the alarming road deaths in our country. Every four minutes an Indian dies in a road accident.

Road safety is a major public health concern for authorities in India.

Millions drive every day on Indian roads but around 400 of them never come back to their homes. Despite concrete laws and penalties levied on breaking road rules, the number of traffic accidents is increasing every day. Breaking road rules, rash driving, failure to abide by set speed limits, not wearing seat belts are the top reasons for traffic accidents in India. Hella, however, discovered from intensive research that one important aspect has not yet caught full attention: Recognition of moving traffic and objects on the road as the first step to provide the muchneeded alertness to the Indian driver. Lighting plays an important role to ensure recognition, to avoid fatal traffic accidents. It is very important ‘to see’ and ‘to be seen’ to avoid road fatality in emergency situations while driving on Indian roads.

Digital Technology Hella India Lighting has set up its company vision to impact the aspect of recognition and hence saving lives on Indian roads. The safety cycle during night – ‘to see and to be seen’ – is of great importance. Looking at the number of road accidents, the increasing death toll and its social and economic impact, Hella is committed to road safety through its company

As stated earlier, many accidents on Indian roads are the result of poor lighting and visibility.

Many studies have verified the importance of having sufficient and good quality front lighting and signalling systems to avoid accidents at night. Huge investments in research have made lighting in modern vehicles more innovative, effective and efficient than ever. Since the first development of electrical headlamps for vehicles in 1908, Hella has been contributing worldwide to road safety through innovations in lighting engineering, such as LED, xenon technology, intelligent lighting, Matrix Lighting and Digital Lighting.

90 MM Modules

vision. We call this mission as bringing ‘Technology of Tomorrow for the Life of Today’ on Indian roads. Industry is keen on deploying newer and newer ‘Digital and Electronics Technology’ to this purpose, throughout the product life cycle from designing, developing and to manufacturing to how it is being used on the vehicle.

Hella India Lighting has launched India’s full LED rear and signal light system for commercial vehicles at an affordable price and with a strong value proposition for the end customer with ‘FIT and Forget,’ five-year warranty options. This has been developed by putting the most cost-effective and latest electronics engineering and to stay close to purpose we are using the laser

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COVER STORY

technology coupled with IT Cloud support to serialise every lamp with a unique serial number, so that it can have track and trace feature, to measure its effectiveness over five to 10 years for avoiding accidents caused by tail-gating into CV’s on Indian roads.

We have been successful in putting these lamps onto the trucks of three major CV OEM’s in India. This product is manufactured in India, for India. In contrast to bulb systems, an LED lights up instantly and provides extra braking distance through this first ever all in one LED combination lamp for commercial vehicles in India. The advantage is that the cost of ownership over the product’s lifetime is lower than that of bulb based lamps since it ensures up to 80 percent lower power consumption and is a maintenance-free solution.

On the other hand, our 90mm Modular Projector lamps allow the light to be focused more on the road with less scatter.

That gives you a nice sharp cut-off which prevents blinding other drivers while putting more light on the road. Another example is, our new Auxiliary lamp series, known as ‘Highway Hawk Safety Fog lamps,’ an ideal companion for improving visibility in case of fog, heavy rain or snow fall conditions. Highway hawk series uses the clear lens technology with superior high finish which gives best in class light output making it an essential life saver product aimed at reducing the alarming Indian road accident menace. It has a unique compact oval design which defines style and safety at an affordable price. These products are produced in state-of-the-art metalizing machines with top coat protection.

Currently, light emitting diodes or LEDs as light source and projector modules in the front lighting are being used more and more in automotive areas. First of all, they have simply proven

themselves to be the better solution in many ways. Secondly, as a lighting pioneer, Hella made use of these ‘better solutions’ early on, in a broad range of applications. Today, the company offers a wide range of LED lighting solutions for commercial vehicles in India. Our experience in electronics, thermal engineering and design ensures that these LED headlights and lighting systems provide consistent high lighting performance and increases vehicular safety.

LEDs offer immense possibility of design and styling options due to their flexibility of application. LEDs indeed are a boon for future mobility, especially electric and hybrid vehicles.

In electric vehicles, LEDs can help batteries retain charge for a lot longer – a pain point for the industry until now. To bring LED application in front lighting is still an expensive proposition. However, signal lighting cost is moderate, and that’s the reason why most of the signal lighting is getting converted to LEDs. That leads me to another important point.

In front lighting, even if you don’t convert the full headlamp into LED, adoption of add-on features such DRLs (daytime running lamps) or even signatures will pick up speed. Styling and signature is a very strong trend, and we ride that wave as well with our products. OEMs can change the look and feel of the vehicle by using lights as a signature or differentiator. This is a great

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COVER STORY

opportunity for us to push technology as a differentiator. But in doing this, it is important to understand that we won’t be able to push technology till the time it is affordable. Frugal engineering, cost innovation or reverse innovation will be fundamental, and that’s what we are working on.

Hella produces millions of products at its own facilities – thanks to the optimized production we have been able to keep our pricing attractive. Large volumes are produced in a fully automated process, while small volumes are produced with semi-automation. This means the company is able to respond quickly to customer needs and create new variants, in addition to its existing range of short-term products.

But, we realised that only by making the products available one time to the road users via OE channel is not enough to manage end-to-end safety on our roads and after sales service equally needs to be redefined with the help of Digital Technologies and Innovations so that the vehicle is not only fit when it leaves an OEM factory but remains fit for safer drives till its life time.

Digital Disruptions When digital disruptions are impacting global supply chain of the automotive industry, in particular the independent aftermarket segment elsewhere in the world, driving consolidation at distribution level and challenging multi-layered channel structures to redefine repair cost models to endconsumer, Indian automotive aftermarket industry has a different set of challenges and a unique opportunity to leverage the digitally enabled young consumers to leapfrog and develop a modern ecosystem for our industry.

Plagued by very high share of unorganised, substandard and spurious products and services, the industry is facing a unique dilemma to upgrade its distribution and repair business model and complement the rising share of OES by upgrading , organising and digitising the complete value chain.

As part of the Committee at ACMA, we are working to bring a minimum standard into independent aftermarket, help our technicians, retailers and distributors to organise themselves and build progressive digital IT platforms to provide cost effective ‘Track & Trace’ and POS solutions. This will not only help us in our effort against counterfeits and substandard parts and services, but it will help the trade quickly adopt to the GST network and benefit from it.

As independent aftermarket players are questioning the viability of further investments into its traditional approach to independent repair chains amid increasing complexity of repair due to mass customisation, electronification and digitisation of today’s automobile, it also throws an interesting opportunity to a company like Hella to co-

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create independent multi-brand repair chains with all the needed capabilities, as Hella has successful diagnostics, knowhow, technical hotline and other garage/workshop support systems in various other regions of the world.

Another facet that will get involved because of digitisation is social media. Keeping a tab on social trends will enable manufacturers to learn about component breakdowns on a realtime basis. This, in turn, will force suppliers to be more diligent with regard to defects.

Today a good percentage of our customers in aftermarket are using our applications on Android and I-phone before they decide on our products and services and many of the satisfied customers spread the positive word of mouth via our social media channels.

They are able to reach us much faster with their feedbacks, comments and suggestions through these channels.

Another important demand of the hour is predictive asset maintenance. If this mechanism is realised, it will be able to predict the possibility of machine or part failures.

In-vehicle diagnostic systems are another mechanism of this predictive maintenance.

Smart components can aid a vehicle and its parts to indicate when they need maintenance and repair.

Vehicles today demand upgrades and technicians function as diagnostic digital experts who uses scanners and cloud services alike and vehicles do not have to go for service visits, many times. These innovations in technology help make transportation even safer. And this will fulfil our vision for Hella India Lighting Ltd., which is to bring ‘Technology of Tomorrow for the life of today.’

(Rama Shankar Pandey is Managing Director of Hella India Lighting Ltd)

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COVER STORY

Transition Towards New Mobility Offers New Opportunities

By Kalyan Varma

I

ndustry 4.0, which is the roadmap for automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies, revolves around the three key components of cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things (IoT) and cloud computing. As a leading provider of technical services worldwide, the Cologneheadquartered TÜV Rheinland, is the certification body and key assessor of critical industrial components, electrical aspects, cyber security and IoT verticals, and the one-stopsolution for all the regulatory requirements of Industry 4.0.

IoT is gaining momentum as there are multiple wireless protocols that are being deployed into the market and TÜV Rheinland, being a globally recognized standards and alliance test house, offers an end-to-end assistance to OEMs for their systems and products.

We have a global reach with 5 test facilities in Europe, North America and Asia covering various protocols and technologies. Our multi-customized toolset covers a broad range of industry standard requirements. We also conduct a custom debug pre-compliance testing to minimize failure risk during official certification process.

Kalyan Varma

With newer technologies and new innovations coming-up in the Industry 4.0, TÜV Rheinland is able to come up with the best possible solutions to make Industry 4.0 a secured experience for its users. Critical or fatal aspects such as data privacy and security and system component malfunctioning can post serious threats to the work-force of any industryoriented work environment, making it susceptible to lower performance grades. TÜV Rheinland’s omnidirectional regulatory assessment, will lead to a more optimized and fruitful experience.

The advent of IoT, is closely related to a series of geographical questions, ranging from ‘Media’, ‘Environmental monitoring’, ‘Infrastructure management’, ‘Manufacturing’, ‘Energy management’, ‘Medical and healthcare’, ‘Building and home automation’, ‘Transportation’, ‘Waste Management’, ‘Metropolitan-scale deployments – like smart cities and smart grid’ and other ‘customer applications’.

IoT also has a few drawbacks which can be contained by the right regulatory compliances across various verticals, making it a major domain where TÜV Rheinland can look into for its futuristic solutions

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to fit-in. TÜV Rheinland is continuously working with the industry-leaders and standard-bodies to evaluate and assess the need for right solutions that caters to vast applications covered under IoT.

Innovative Solutions TÜV Rheinland’s customized test harness tools let the OEMs or module vendors to place their products with almost minimalistic time lines. The five key functions of TÜV Rheinland labs are to simplify wireless product integration and speed time to market, reduce costs and risks in embedding wireless connectivity, position products competitively with the independent third party test certification, benefit from fast turnaround times and long-standing experience, and to be the exclusive partner for one-stop services for the radio products The transition towards new mobility such as connected vehicles offers new opportunities. General Motors was the first automaker to bring the first connected car features to market with OnStar in 1996 in Cadillac De-Ville, Seville and Eldorado. Ever since 1996 the Car manufactures are in a continuous race to make their cars smarter and well connected.

With the global innovations in wireless and IoT, the car manufacturers’ stand-a-chance to make their long- desired connected car

a reality in the coming years. Currently, the automotive industry has made major break-through in: GPS Tracking; SmartNavigations (which predicts the congestion in traffic and suggests better route options); Advanced Driver Assistance systems; Infotainment systems and Bluetooth / Wi-Fi and other wireless driven diagnostics etc.

Statisticians and analysts predict to have 250 million connected cars by the end of 2020.

Connectivity, digitalization and technology advancements come with a cost of multiplerisks which may prove fatal for the system or device. The risks may be related to: Security and privacy; System malfunction and Loss of the control device, which would mean loss of control over the car. With the list of risk factors piling up, there will be a niche requirement to comply with the automotive regulations and other necessary regulations to minimize the impact of the risks involved in the evolution of the connected-cars.

This opens the doors for possible regulatory opportunities, which would evolve and grow continuously with the evolution of the features that would add value to the services offered by the connected cars.

(Kalyan Varma is Vice President, Products, TUV Rheinland India) AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 89

COVER STORY

German Companies Turn Industrie 4.0 Into Reality

By Rajesh Nath

T

Rajesh Nath

he term `Industrie 4.0’ was first presented to the general public at the Hannover Messe 2011. Industrie 4.0 refers to a fourth industrial revolution (following water/ steam power, mass production, and automation through IT and robotics) and introduces the concept of `cyberphysical systems’ to differentiate this new evolutionary phase from the electronic automation that has gone before.

Digitization and networking are at the heart of this development. The digital model and the real-life work place are to match continuously and without any disruption, within the company in the form of networked production (vertical integration), and beyond corporate boundaries (horizontal value chain networks), in real time. The concept is multifaceted as it encompasses a great variety of different solutions and technologies, making it highly complex. In addition, it makes a difference whether a company is itself applying this technology or offering it – or both.

And its position in the value chain network is also of great importance.

Industrie 4.0 cannot be bought as a full-fledged concept, there is no blue print. Every company needs to develop its own strategy for its digitization. Also, Industrie 4.0

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is not an end in itself, but stands and falls with its economic benefit.

Many technologies for Industrie 4.0 solutions are already available.

The benefits, however, can only be reaped if these technologies are combined in an intelligent manner.

But Industrie 4.0 is about much more than technology. The aspects relating to people and organization play an equally important role.

In addition to technologies (electrification, assembly lines), organizational aspects (division of labor – Taylorism, mass production) were of crucial importance in the second industrial revolution as well.

And without free trade, availability of capital, expansion of technical education and social legislation, Industrie 2.0 would not have been successful. The lively debate about new business models and disruptive innovations shows that even today, focusing on technical aspects alone is not effective.

The topic of Industrie 4.0 has made its mark on the German mechanical and plant engineering sector. This is obvious from the result of a recent analysis, the Industrie 4.0 Readiness Check, commissioned by the IMPULS Foundation of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). As is always the case with new technologies, the pace of implementation is different from company to company, but the German mechanical and plant engineering sector in general is already well-positioned. After an initial phase of searching for information and orientation, the focus is now on introduction and implementation. So far, the projects and application examples mainly concentrated on a company’s own production and on refining its own products.

The horizontal value chain, i.e. networking across company boundaries, is the supreme

discipline and a major task. To enable cross-company data exchange, it will be necessary to develop new forms of cooperation and to clarify questions of data protection and legal certainty as well as know-how protection. It still remains unclear which digital platforms will be used to cooperate with other companies and customers and what form they will take.

Mechanical and plant engineering can play different roles here. It is currently not possible to predict how companies will develop their digital business models. Co-operations with start-ups or software companies can unlock new perspectives and approaches.

But the framework conditions also need to be right. The infrastructure required for digital networking must be available.

Another important aspect is education and training. When it comes to technology engineering, the strengths and abilities of the people have to be tapped in order to achieve optimal interaction between technology and people. There is no universal solution, but it is rather the application scenarios that play a decisive role.

German mechanical engineering companies are turning the vision of Industrie 4.0 into reality – with innovative ideas and technologies that help Germany to position itself as a lead supplier and a lead market of Industrie 4.0 in global competition.

By using Industrie 4.0 technologies, companies can rise to the global challenges of increasing customer requirements and volatile market developments. When products and processes are interconnected, and data are available in real time and are transparent, the foundation for decentralized production control is laid. This allows greater flexibility in production and thus increases competitiveness.

Through the interconnection of intelligent measurement technologies

in production, data becomes available which together with automation solutions can be used for self-optimisation, self-configuration and selfdiagnostics. In this way, the state of machines can be continuously captured and monitored from anywhere in the world. Thus, the conditions for predictive maintenance and services are created. That everything is interconnected is both a blessing and a curse.

To make use of the benefits for production, security aspects must be considered with the planning and operation of production facilities.

Especially relevant is the security of data in a company and in our dealings with it.

The German mechanical engineering industry has a key function in the context of Industrie 4.0. As the backbone of German industry, it is a guarantee for growth and prosperity in our society. Almost one million people are involved in producing the future, day after day. Given this position – and the sector‘s innovation and market leadership in many areas – the German mechanical engineering industry has an obligation to shape new developments in industrial production. Industrie 4.0 is, without doubt, one of these new developments.

With the fourth industrial revolution, information technology and Internet technologies are integrated little by little into products and factories. The virtual world of IT draws nearer to the real world of production. The most significant effects are greater flexibility and customisation in manufacturing, improved resource efficiency and cost savings as well as new business models. Industrie 4.0 is thus not a parallel world, but rather an important trajectory on the way to the future of production. Industrie 4.0 is a topic for all companies – certainly for small and medium-sized companies. It is against this backdrop that VDMA established the “VDMA Industrie 4.0 Forum”.

The forum comprises an interdisciplinary team of VDMA experts, who view themselves as partners of companies and service providers. Together with VDMA members, the key action fields of research, norms and standards, IT security, production and business models, legal frameworks and employee qualification are advanced and the sharing of information and AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 91

COVER STORY

experience is stepped up. As a practical example, VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association recently demonstrated the possibility to realize the vision of Industry 4.0 at the Interpack Fair in Duesseldorf. VDMA, as the client, and ITQ GmbH, as the idea generating and project-oriented company, have implemented the smart4i demonstrator. In collaboration with partners from industry, science and research, ideas and solutions for tomorrow’s machines were presented in detail in the VDMA Technology Lounge.

The smart4i demonstrator shows how the customer can individualize a Powerbank on the Internet via smartphone or tablet PC. The configuration options include colour selection of the Powerbank, its accessories (with or without USB cable) as well as a personalized text for labelling both the Powerbank and the packaging.

The customer sends the order to the central order management system of the demonstrator and from there it is passed on to its sequence control. With this direct route from the customer to the shop floor the order can be processed much faster.

The demonstrator consists of several modules or stations. The central element is an intelligent transport system

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operating according to the principle of the linear drive. Its shuttles are individually controllable.

Carriers for different blisters as well as for the Powerbanks are mounted on these. Depending on the order, the transport system carries the shuttles to different modules. The blister module separates the appropriate blisters depending on the order (with or without a cable) and places them in the corresponding carrier of the shuttle. The transport system then carries them either to the cable module for inserting a USB cable or directly to the laser module. At the same time, the Powerbank module uses an articulated robot with its vacuum gripper to select a Powerbank in the chosen colour and place it on a shuttle which then takes it to the laser module. Here, a worker takes the Powerbank as a “Cyber-Physical-System� and places it in the laser station for engraving the personalized text as well as a data matrix code. The operator then places the printed Powerbank in the blister pack, which is also present at the station. Once the blister is completely filled, the shuttle moves to the lid module which places a cardboard cover on the blister. From there it is transported to the sealing station. The sealed and finished packaging travels on to the output module.

It should be emphasized that it took ITQ only a few weeks to introduce a nearly 40-member student team of five universities to the latest engineering methods and tools. From different locations in Germany and Gran Canary these teams conceived and realized the smart4i demonstrator using nothing but standard components. All modules were completely simulated during the development phase and tested with a virtual control run. The subsequent implementation and commissioning was therefore extremely short. The students also proved how efficiently complex tasks in virtual teams can be solved across national borders, and what modern training or the new way of working in the virtual world can look like where Industrie 4.0 is concerned.

(Rajesh Nath is Managing Director of VDMA India)

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COVER STORY

Self-Driving Cars: How Soon Is Now?

By Stephanie Brinley

O

ne of the hottest subjects of discussion in the automotive industry has been the autonomous or self-driving car.

When will it arrive, who is investing in, acquiring and developing the necessary technology, and who is making progress in testing systems. The automotive and technology teams at IHS Markit, the automotive industry’s leading source for market-wide insight, expertise and advanced planning solutions, have followed the developments closely and developed forecasts on technology deployment and its impact on automakers and automotive suppliers.

As the market is seeing increased research and development by automotive OEMs, supplier and technology companies, increasing activities in partnerships and acquisitions and activity within various regulatory environments, IHS Markit has developed a long-term outlook for sales of autonomous vehicles.

Additionally, as the sales of autonomous vehicles requires a unique set of sensors and technology to enable these systems, IHS Markit forecasts that the number of vehicles equipped with advanced driver assist systems will surpass 302 million a year in 2022.

Globally, the IHS Markit forecasts indicate tremendous growth of sales of vehicles equipped with some level of autonomous drive capability between 2025 and 2035. IHS Markit forecasts sales of all autonomous vehicles (L4 and L5) growing from just under one million units in 2026 to 21 million units in 2035. The autonomous vehicle and its potential for meaningfully improving mobility will drive a compound annual growth rate of nearly 63 percent between 2020 and 2040.

Drivers of this growth are investment from automakers, suppliers and nonautomotive technology companies; pressure created by increasingly congested megacities; and the attraction of huge gains in vehicle safety, tempered by an uncertain regulatory environment.

The pace is increasing rather than slowing, and automakers cannot afford not to be involved. However, even against this growth, it must also be noted that traditional vehicles are expected to

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account for the majority of the global lightvehicle parc and new sales through at least 2040.

The tremendous opportunity suggested by autonomous vehicles is undeniable and the pace of growth expected to quicken rapidly, but it will take time to filter through the vehicle parc and infrastructure.

The IHS Markit vehicle forecast (including light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles) suggests that the overall vehicle sales in 2026 will reach 115.2 million units—and the one million in autonomous vehicles will be a small share of the market for decades to come.

“The future fleet of driverless vehicles will provide mobility services for anyone and anything, creating exciting and new opportunities for the automotive industry,” Egil Juliussen, Director of Research at IHS Markit, said. “Increasing competition from the high-tech and other industries is accelerating the auto industry’s autonomous software and cyber security development efforts,” he said.

The IHS Markit principal analyst Jeremy Carlson added, “Those who do not adjust to a changing world will unfortunately be left behind, or will at least face a very different industry.”The US will lead the world in initial deployment and early adoption of autonomous vehicles, while Japan will simultaneously ramp up industry coordination and investment ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics in

Stephanie Brinley

Tokyo. Along with technology, key factors influencing growth include new mobility solutions such as ride-hailing and car sharing programmes. These include discussions and initiatives among OEMs and their suppliers, between OEMs and mobility companies, technology company initiatives and increased investment in autonomy and mobility by other entities as well.

“Future mobility will connect and combine many different modes and technologies, and autonomous vehicles

will play a central role,” Carlson said.

“IHS Markit expects entirely new vehicle segments to be created, in addition to traditional vehicles adding autonomous capabilities. Consumers gain new choices in personal mobility to complement mass transit, and these new choices will increasingly use battery electric and other efficient means of propulsion. As much as the technology and implementation matters, the use case and business model impact the forecast outlook more than anything,” he said. “Ownership in mature markets will remain strong, while more approachable and less expensive mobility-as-a-service options are likely to gain favour in some emerging markets as well as in major metropolitan areas within mature markets.”

Along with expected potential for improving safety and reducing cost of mobility, the regulatory environment, cyber security and software are key development influencers for autonomous vehicles. Continued challenges to autonomous vehicle deployment include potential risks for software reliability and cyber security.

In addition, the implementation of local and federal guidelines and regulatory standards, as well as a legal framework for self-driving cars, continue to prove challenging. Various states and regions have taken appropriate measures to begin to develop these frameworks, while others are still crafting their approach.

What Do Consumers Say? While the industry is moving full steam ahead on developing these technologies, consumers will be the final arbiter of success. Consumers today can access lower levels of driver assist technology, but very few are currently exposed to Level 4 technology, and AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 95

COVER STORY access to use and understand the technology in stages, building trust and overcoming resistance to fully self-driving cars over time. ADAS growth will be supported by new introductions of automated autopilot, driver monitoring systems and side and rear mirror cameras, each aimed at making the driving activity safer, more convenient or more efficient. This growth is enabled by advances in sensor technologies including radar, camera and LIDAR sensors.

Combined implementations of these technologies enable higher levels of automated driving on a global scale.

none to Level 5. IHS Markit has conducted consumer research into the area, focusing on people who already own a car and want to buy a new car within three years. According to the latest findings, issued in April 2017, about 33 percent of consumers globally say they would ride in and purchase a self-driving vehicle, with another 23 percent saying they would be willing to ride in a self-driving vehicle, but not to purchase one.

IHS Markit data shows that more than half the new-car buying population is willing to at least ride in a fully autonomous vehicle, supporting the faith that the industry has in the eventual acceptance of this technology.

As this is technology that will filter through the global vehicle parc over decades, these are encouraging figures. The IHS Markit survey also peeped into regional and age differences in consumer responses. According to the research, younger consumers gravitate toward self-driving cars and older consumers remain wary, a conclusion that is widely expected and reflects that younger generations have grown up with more technology, while older generations grew up with less technology and have had to overcome past patterns in adopting new technology. Another encouraging point for the industry is that according to the results people who are interested in self-driving vehicles also indicate they are willing to pay for the technology.

Increased Autonomy The necessary autonomous technology is being built on the driver assist systems available today. As the industry and consumers grow into this technology, the latest IHS Markit forecast for deployment of advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) suggests more than 302 million ADAS system applications will be sold annually by 2022, compared with about 116 million in 2016 (one single vehicle often has several systems available). ADAS technology plays a significant role in the deployment of Level 3 autonomy, and provides increasing consumer

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“Many OEMs have started offering partially automated systems that execute accelerating, braking and steering together,” Aaron Dale, Senior Automotive Analyst at IHS Markit, said. “These systems combine multiple sensors and multiple single-function ADAS features to allow the vehicle to drive, albeit under driver supervision. While some of these individual technologies are wellestablished, combining functions and sensors requires higher levels of integration as well as substantial computing power,” he said.

Changing View Of Mobility Autonomous and self-driving vehicle deployment is enabled by constant technology development, as well as interest in safer roads and an expectation for increasingly crowded urban environments. Along with sensors and increasing on-board computing power, artificial intelligence solutions are also expected to be part of the equation.

That element of the equation has drawn in technology companies from NVIDIA to IBM and its Watson programme. Watson is working with several automakers for a variety of solutions that will not only contribute to the success of self-driving cars, but also to a shift that could see people using cars as an extended personal assistant as much as for transportation services.

This can include learning about routines and pulling data from calendars to take riders home via the best route and assisting in getting people to a location on time or without forgetting to do an errand. In the long run, the power of artificial intelligence solutions is also going to be a key enabler of self-driving cars, as a tool for ensuring that the vehicle can sense, think and act safely, as a cloudcoordinator for vehicles and the greater transportation ecosystem, and for creating an environment in which the vehicle has the ability to do far more than get a person from A to B. (Stephanie Brinley is a senior automotive analyst with IHS Markit, covering Americas)

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COVER STORY

Digitisation Is Imperative!

But Are We Ready?

By S Raj

T

he invention of the wheel some 5000 years ago was a great boon to mankind. It changed the way people travelled and connected.

However, it was 131 years ago, in 1886, that the modern automobile, with the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, by German inventor Carl Benz, was born. Motorised vehicles replaced animal drawn carriages, particularly after automobiles became affordable for many when Henry Ford started assembly line production and introduced the Ford Model T in 1908.

Though the technology made gradual progress for a few decades, the strides by the automotive sector in the last few decades, and more so in the last decade, in terms of safety, comfort and efficiency is mind boggling. The automotive sector is one of the most innovative sectors, particularly in Germany where an average of 10 patents are registered every day.

Globally, more than 81 million cars were produced in 2016. Majority of these (estimated 98 percent or more) are of conventional IC engines, driven by fossil fuel, causing environmental concerns and depletion of natural resources. By 2020, the global car market is expected to grow around 11 percent to 91 million.

Add commercial vehicles, two-wheelers, three-wheelers and tractors and the figure is very huge.

Germany, a global automotive powerhouse, manufactured around 5.8 million cars last year and exported more than 74 percent (4.4 million). German manufacturers continued the trend of manufacturing more cars outside Germany and crossed 10 million for the first time. For most Americans, the aspirational brands are BMW, Mercedes, Audi or Porsche – all of which are German and embodies precision engineering, quality, fit and finish, giving the owner the ultimate in driving and riding experience, with highest safety standards. No wonder, President Trump is planning to make German cars more expensive by increasing taxes on them.

The German automotive industry is right on track with a proposed investment of over 40 billion euros in alternative powertrains by 2020 and targeting to treble the electric car portfolio from 30 models to 100. Corresponding

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S Raj

infrastructure to support electric mobility is addressed by the German Government with a plan to invest 300 million euros in the charging infrastructure by 2020.

This would take public charging points to around 15,000 (currently around 6,800) and in the case of rapid charging stations from 150 to several thousands. The recently announced joint venture between German automotive manufacturers and Ford Motor Company for installing 400 ultra-fast, high-power charging network on Europe’s freeways signifies the intent of the German manufacturers in providing clean mobility. By 2025, around 15 to 25 percent of new registrations are expected to come from electric cars. The increase in models and affordability would enable electric mobility reach the mass market in the next decade.

Innovations Disruptive technologies like the Internet of Things, Big Data and sustainable

COVER STORY

energy together make what is referred to as `Industry 4.0’. It is also called a `smart factory’. Within the modular structured smart factories, cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes, create a virtual copy of the physical world and make decentralised decisions. In the Internet of Things, cyber-physical systems communicate and cooperate with each other and with humans in real time via the Internet Services.

Both internal and cross-organizational services are offered and used by participants of the value chain. Simply explained, it is connecting your life to the computers and controlling it using your computer or smart phone, be it the machines in factory or the gadgets at home or office like cooling/heating, lights, security systems, your schedule, etc.

The automotive sector has made great strides in digitisation - from engine management to diagnostics to navigation.

According to some reports, almost 75 percent of the parts are designed by the suppliers, indicating that car manufacturing is no longer the job of an individual enterprise. It is a complex ecosystem of supply chain partners. With advancement in technology, the automotive industry is bracing for more changes in the supply chain as well as manufacturing.

Such technologies include 3D printing, robotics, and collaborative IT, all of which help automakers improve product design and transform the supply chain. In fact it has connected the entire value chain by way of robotics and artificial intelligence which enables to customise the platform.

The machines communicate with the computer and take input from the customer requirement fed into the computer, to produce customised cars. Digitisation has thus enabled mass customisation.

Digitisation has also enabled the cars to communicate with the external world and gives inputs to the driver on the traffic, alternative routes, weather condition, etc.

This results in saving time and conserves energy. In fact, cars are becoming more of a computer on wheels, indicating a shift in manufacturing from the conventional car manufacturer to the Googles and Microsofts of the world. With digitisation, cars have become more intelligent. Take for example the Hybrid cars which switch from conventional fuel to electric depending on the driving patterns, weather condition, etc.

This helps a great deal in conservation of fuel and environment.

The main objective of all this is to aid humans in becoming more productive and creative. In the developed countries, the trend is gradually moving towards

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driverless (autonomous) cars controlled by computers, and tests are being conducted.

It is because they have the systems in place and the necessary infrastructure.

Any change in a system, such as this one moving from manual to digital and driverless , requires discipline, civic sense and strict adherence to road safety rules, which has to be monitored and regulated.

Developing nations like India should first regularise the driving rules. This should begin by regulating issuing of licence as in developed nations. Once a system is implemented and monitored and the price of non-adherence is severe, digital systems can be implemented successfully.

Of course, the basic infrastructure of roads, power, etc. have to be in place for this to happen. Hopefully, by then the developed nations would have tried and tested driverless cars. But with the organised chaos in traffic, it is a no go for now.

Moreover, with a population of 1.3 billion and growing, India has to have a mix of digitisation/automation and manual labour to ensure employment and livelihood for all.

The imagination and fantasies of humans will decide the future of the automotive industry. Take the example of mobile phone - who would have ever imagined that this device, the basic purpose of which is communication between people, would combine the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone (smart phones) to give an entire gamut of functions like banking, travelling, scheduling appointments, booking tickets, and also controlling other gadgets. This saves a lot of time and energy.

However, for countries like India one also needs to take into consideration the weather conditions which are not conducive to electronics and digitisation unless they are in a controlled environment.

One also needs to study and consider the sociology of the country carefully. Training, skilling, retraining and customer education is extremely important before introducing new technology in any eco-system.

While digitisation and artificial intelligence (AI) would certainly make humans more productive and creative, we also become vulnerable on the internet. A hack or malware into the system could bring your world, if not the whole world, to a standstill.

We have recently witnessed a ransom malware attack. Therefore, a cautious and balanced approach is the key.

(Raj is the Regional Director-Southern Region of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, and also an automotive expert)

COVER STORY

Efficiency Has Its Price

By Michael Karl And only the oil with these properties will then work in this motor. It used to be the case that motor oil was a universal, interchangeable lubricant. Today it is a liquid component, which has to precisely match the motor. Using the wrong oil is like installing the wrong replacement part.

The thicker and more viscous the oil is, the better it sticks to the surfaces. But thick and viscous oil also has a certain internal resistance. The motor has to use more fuel to pump it. That’s why the car industry is working on motors that can tolerate very thin oil. Thin oil is easier to pump. The result: The motor has a better performance on the road, consumes less fuel and therefore generates fewer emissions.

This effect is not huge. The fuel saving is in the low single figures, percentage wise.

Yet together with other improvements, the oil ensures a significant increase in vehicle efficiency. The challenge for oil manufacturers such as Liqui Moly is to produce oils that, on the one hand, are very thin, but on the other, still ensure the necessary lubrication. And do so not only in normal use, but also under extreme conditions.

M

Michael Karl

odern motors are consuming less and less fuel, but are ever more sensitive to the wrong oil and bad fuel. Reducing the pollution load of their vehicles is one of the central goals of the car manufacturers. With combustion motors, the technology is so advanced, that no more major leaps in development are expected. Instead of a huge leap, the car manufacturers are making lots of small steps to get closer to this goal. Vehicle technology offers lots of approaches here, which may not appear particularly effective in isolation, but, when taken as a whole, lead to significant savings.

One of these many adjusting screws is the motor oil. Motor oil has to be able to do a lot more than just lubricate. It has to be able to keep the motor clean, neutralize acids, protect surfaces against corrosion and work reliably, even under extreme conditions.

The desired properties of the oil are set out early on in the development of a new motor.

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The disadvantages of low fuel quality can be balanced out a fair bit by additives. Liqui Moly offers a comprehensive range of additives that improve combustion, remove deposits, protect sensitive components such as the diesel particulate filter and increase the octane number or cetane number.

However, this efficiency has its price. The number of oil types is growing and it is becoming harder for car drivers and garages alike to find their way in the jungle of specifications and manufacturer approvals. And garages have to keep more and more oil types at hand to be able to serve every vehicle.

Furthermore, the risk of motor damage increases if the wrong oil is used.

After all, the new, particularly thin oils only work in motors that are equipped for such oils.

They are not able to lubricate properly conventional motors. In the past, the worst case scenario was ‘only’ more wear and the occurrence of oil sludge, today oil and motor combinations are possible that can lead to a catastrophic motor failure in no time at all.

The motors streamlined for efficiency are less and less tolerant when it comes to the motor oil. In order to achieve the promised consumption and exhaust values, many motors are reliant on high-quality fuel. In Europe, for example, this concept has worked out for the car manufacturers. However, in other countries where premium quality fuel is not so readily available, it has not gone down so well. Here it causes additional problems.

The company is also working on additive development in close cooperation with car manufacturers.

After all, they also want to ensure that their vehicles do not pose any problem to their owners even under difficult conditions. Liqui Moly has 60 years of experience with additives and is the undisputed market leader in its home country of Germany.

With around 4,000 items, the company offers a global, uniquely broad range of automotive chemicals: motor oils and additives, greases and pastes, sprays and car care, glues and

Clean engine

If quality is not right, the fuel no longer combusts cleanly.

Dirty engine This clogs the exhaust filter systems and deposits occur in injection systems. This leads to the fuel no longer being so finely atomized.

The combustion is made even worse by this and even more deposits are created – a vicious cycle. The motor loses performance, consumes more fuel and emits more exhaust gases. Another example is sulphurous diesel and vehicles with diesel particulate filters. The combustion residues of the sulphur clog the diesel particulate filter in no time at all. Modern motors react very sensitively to the fuel quality.

sealants. Founded in 1957, the company develops and produces exclusively in Germany.

There it is the undisputed market leader for additives and is repeatedly voted the best oil brand. The company led by Ernst Prost sells its products in more than 120 countries and generated 489m euros in sales in 2016.

(Michael Karl is the Export Area Manager at Liqui Moly) AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 103

COVER STORY

New Projects For Connected Mobility

By Franco Annunziato propositions and benefits. Bridgestone has a range of projects under way in an effort to understand and participate in this area and to become a solution provider in the various markets that we serve and compete in.

By the time the new technologies are becoming available in tyre sensing application, tyre + telematics systems definition, connectivity to destination through new concept product release, we introduce them in our new products to contribute to safety, customer’s environment management and cost optimization.

Regarding Industry 4.0, the pace of implementation may vary depending on the type of business. For Bridgestone, this new approach brings highly interesting opportunities in the areas of maintenance, logistics and productivity, including but not limited to, flexibility of the overall manufacturing process.

While we’re heading towards the Industry 4.0 concept, Bridgestone is already harvesting the contribution to productivity and quality that Industry 4.0’s individual technologies can bring.

Digitalisation

C

Franco Annunziato

onnected vehicles and connected tyres are a key focus area for many industries, including technology companies, vehicle manufacturers, transportation companies and tyre manufacturers. This space is dynamic and rapidly evolving and there are many potential applications of connected technology that can provide consumers and businesses with a range of value

Digitalisation is creating opportunities across two dimensions: Horizontal, which is the creation of solution business models that represent added value propositions to consumers and businesses by contributing towards the optimisation of the efficiency, quality and cost of their operation; and Vertical, the definition of customer valuebased value chain solutions that develop the function scope (by function) necessary to best support the solution business models being developed. One prime example is Bridgestone’s B-tag system, an advanced

Contact Patch

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tyre management tool, which delivers realtime measurement of both tyre pressure and temperature every five minutes. It also boasts of unparalleled sensor reliability proven by extensive testing in extreme climatic environments.

With this advanced system, the vehicle operator can drive while accessing information on running tyres, and simultaneously, maintenance staff can monitor tyre pressure remotely. Early warning of a drop in tyre pressure or a rise in temperature can avert possible tyre damage and potential danger, ensuring a safer working environment.

Another example is Bridgestone’s ability to customize a package of products as a solution to support a customer’s operations.

For example, in mining, Bridgestone is able to provide not only off-the-road tyres to support the large mining vehicles, but also conveyor belts and tyre pressure monitoring systems. In totality, this package of products not only supports the customer’s operations, but have real-time monitoring technology to determine when maintenance or replacements are required, ensuring less interruptions, higher operational efficiency and greater return on investment.

Bridgestone has recently developed non-pneumatic tyres for bicycles - a technology for creating tyres that do not need to be inflated with air. The Air Free Concept supports the weight of the bike through a unique structure of resin spokes that stretch along the inner side of the tyres. The Air Free Concept develops bicycle tyres that cannot be punctured. In addition, the flexibility of resins has now opened up several concepts for bicycle design that impacts eco-mobility and promotes a more sustainable environment for the community through more efficient use of resources. We will advance feasibility studies seeking to make this new tyre available in the market by 2019.

Passenger Car Tyre - Next Generation ECOPIA: We are investing in and developing the ECOPIA EP300 progressively in Asia Pacific markets. ECOPIA EP300 provides low rolling resistance and higher safety through improved wet grip and wear life. Optimised for medium sedans, EP300 encapsulates the needs of a green-minded user and is environmentally driven. Its key features include greater fuel efficiency, enhanced wet grip and extended wear life, to achieve significant fuel savings.

Through the innovative design concept and engineering solutions adopted in its

Innovative Products We are working on the whole spectrum of tyre categories, from bicycles to offthe-road, aircraft, passenger, commercial and agricultural vehicle tyres. Innovative solutions are continuously being developed and introduced into the new products that are being released by Bridgestone with the intention to meet and exceed customers and businesses’ expectations by creating added value. Some examples of such new releases are:Air Free Concept Bicycle Tyre: Through advanced technologies and testing, AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 105

COVER STORY a drop in tyre pressure or a rise in temperature can avert possible tyre damage and potential danger, ensuring a safer working environment.

Aircraft Tyres: In December 2016, Bridgestone announced the construction of two new manufacturing plants in Thailand.

One plant will produce new aircraft tyres, while the second plant will produce retread aircraft tyres. The total investment will be approximately JPY15.0 billion (USD 150 million) and both of them are scheduled to begin production in December 2019.

CAIS development

development, EP300 revolutionises and redefines the concept of an eco-tyre. In fact, our goal as a global tyre manufacturer is to safe-keep the environment for future generations and we hope to strengthen our efforts in innovation in order to meet this objective with ECOPIA and other tyre products offered by Bridgestone.

Sensor Technology – CAIS: Contact Area Information Sensing (CAIS) is a tyre sensing technology that collects and evaluates road surface conditions in real-time through sensors located within the tyres. The new technology utilizes sensors attached to the inside of tyres to obtain information on changes in tread condition during normal driving. By analysing this information, the technology provides the driver with real-time monitoring of tyre/asphalt contact conditions.

CAIS will allow the driver to be better prepared for rapid changes in dangerous driving conditions, such as ice, snow and rain by providing immediate road surface information to enhance safety. By bringing this technology to practical application, Bridgestone hopes to help customers cut costs while also delivering peace of mind.

Commercial Vehicles - Tirematics for better fleet management: With Bridgestone’s Tirematics fleet solution, it is possible to interpret tyre information while on the road and in real-time, with a high degree of accuracy. When abnormal air pressures or temperatures are detected, the system will inform the service manager and the driver via an alert. This will make it possible

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to prevent unexpected operation problems or major delays caused by tyre failures.

By monitoring tyre information remotely, it is not necessary to manually check tyre pressures, which can make tyre maintenance more efficient and effective. This should, in turn, allow for tyres to be used for a longer time and in the best performing condition, reducing the number of tyres to be replaced. In addition, the Tirematics fleet solution can contribute to the reduction of operating costs such as fuel and tyre related expenses for fleet customers, and help fleet customers achieve a more efficient operation.

Off-The-Road Mining Technology: Bridgestone has made significant investments in technology and training to ensure that we are producing the world’s leading offroad radial tyres. We remain highly committed to our mining customers around the globe and will continue to make the right investments for this important segment of our business.

As mentioned earlier, Bridgestone’s B-tag system, an advanced tyre management tool, delivers real-time measurement of both tyre pressure and temperature every five minutes.

It also boasts of unparalleled sensor reliability proven by extensive testing in extreme climatic environments.

With this advanced system, the vehicle operator can drive while accessing information on running tires, and simultaneously, maintenance staff can monitor tyre pressure remotely. Early warning of

The Bridgestone Group’s aircraft tyre solutions business combine products, such as new and retread tyres, with services to deliver solutions for the issues faced by both aircraft manufacturers and airlines. Bridgestone leverages its strengths of new, retread tyres and service networks and will continue to work together with aircraft manufacturers and airlines to create new value that ensures safe and secure aircraft operation.

CSR Commitment On March 29, 2017, Bridgestone Corporation unveiled a refined global corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment to ‘Our Way to Serve,’ centred around three priority areas: Mobility, People, and Environment.

Through innovative technology, Bridgestone is committed to providing easier, safer, smoother and more seamless mobility for their customers. Building on the enthusiasm of its employees to connect people worldwide, the company is also focused on building safer and healthier communities, and improving access to education.

With regards to environment, Bridgestone continues to work towards a sustainable society by operating in harmony with nature, valuing natural resources and reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Conducting business in more than 150 countries, Bridgestone always operates in full transparency and in compliance with local regulations and political guidelines in order to best contribute to the creation of safer, healthier and more sustainable communities.

(Franco Annunziato is Executive Chairman and CEO of Bridgestone China and Asia Pacific)

COVER STORY

Data Creation Is Key To Digitalization I

ndustrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is all the rage in production these days. But, actual implementation of IIoT-based technologies comes with its own set of challenges and rewards. We bring you three success stories from our customers who implemented the AmiT – TPM-Trak, a manufacturing intelligence suite from the Ace Micromatic Group. They now reap the benefits of their machines: Productivity, employee performance and better understanding.

The long-anticipated future is here, and IIoT is a reality in the manufacturing sector today.

Simply put, IIoT-based technologies help us ‘see’ each unit in a manufacturing set-up during production, allowing better control and analysis of the process. It is the first step towards real Smart Manufacturing.

“Whether you call it IIoT, Smart Manufacturing or the German term Industrie 4.0, it is the buzz word in the manufacturing industry, indicating integration of sensors, communication technology, and software all put together as one solution,” M N Somashekhar, Product Head, Manufacturing Intelligence, Ace Micromatic Manufacturing Intelligence Technologies Pvt Ltd (AmiT), said.

Sagar Inamdar, Vice President, Projects, Bharat Forge Ltd, said his company implemented IIoT because “we wanted to optimize and automate to keep our productivity going up.”

Executive Director, Manufacturing RIJ Engineering Pvt Ltd, Kamaal Qasmi, who recently purchased the AmiT TPM-Trak, has observed a jump in productivity. “It is not possible for the supervisor to go and monitor each machine manually. But with this system he can monitor all the machines at one go on one system. We have seen 10 per cent increase in productivity.”

Prashant Shete, Managing Director, Samarth Engineering Services, said: “With the help of TPMTrak software, we were able to manage production schedules meticulously and save ourselves from buying an extra machine.

It helped us reduce our investment. The working was healthy and very predictable.”

About the relevance of IIoT in the industry, Rammohan Yadati, Regional Lead, Western India, AmiT, said that “the Indian companies

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are at an early stage of adoption in the IIoT journey. Readiness largely depends on the maturity profile of the individual company in terms of processes, IT infrastructure and alignment and sponsorship from senior leadership. Many companies are taking up IIoT programmes by involving domain experts, system integrators and technology OEMs to understand and benchmark several aspects of manufacturing productivity.”

The Product AmiT was the first to provide Industry 4.0 and Industrial IoT solutions to the manufacturing space in India, and it continues to create robust innovation which can deliver quick, tangible benefits to customers. “Our solutions span different areas of Industry 4.0 such as Realtime OEE and Production Analytics; Process Energy Monitoring; Online Inspection and Poka Yoke; Visual Factory and ANDON; Workflow Apps; Machine Diagnostics; and Assembly and

Conveyor Monitoring,” Yadati said.Being a part of the machine building Group, Ace Micromatic AmiT is fully prepared to serve the manufacturing industry in the IoT space, developing smart machine technology for CNC turning, machining and grinding machines. One of its customers, Bharat Forge Ltd, is the world’s largest crankshaft manufacturing company. While the company deals in a variety of products, its backbone is automotive products – crankshaft, steering knuckle, drive and transmission channels.

The company has also diversified into gear shaft and turbocharger business; besides interests in aluminium and most recently, defence and locomotive.

Samarth Engineering Services manufactures small precision components, with a product basket including poly grooves pulley, valve cap components etc. and is belting out around four lakh components a month.

RIJ Engineering Pvt Ltd is an integrated OE Gear manufacturer, providing high quality machining support to the automotive sector in India. Its clientele includes Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Fiat India Automobiles Ltd, Dana Spicer,VE Commercial Vehicle Ltd, Eaton, etc. All manufacturing processes are performed in-house, with a production capacity of two lakh components a month.

components for Indo Schöttle Auto Parts Pvt Ltd, and Turbo charger for Tata and components for Borg Warner. Sensing a need to expand, the company is moving from its current 2500 sq ft facility to a 10,000 sq ft industrial space next year. AMG will accompany them to the new set-up.

Detailing the objective of buying TPM-Trak for RIJ Engineering, Qasmi said, “We have hundreds of machines and it is difficult to monitor productivity of each machine manually. We were looking for an automated product which could give all information on machine productivity and provide unfiltered information without any intervention or manipulation so that we could monitor the machine productivity transparently.” Having found encouraging results after the first TPMTrak installation around 10 months ago the company got it installed on 32 machines in two plants at different locations.

The Challenge Shedding light on the project at RIJ Engineering, Yadati said, “We came across the challenge to harmonize the best practices and requirements across plants which have different processes and skill levels for technology adoption.”

For Samarth Engineering, the 2008 recession was a wake-up call to take a hard look at the way it was producing. “At the suggestion of Chandrashekhar Bharti, Managing Director, AmiT, we implemented TPM-Trak on four machines, and the results were very effective,” Shete said.

He said that “Bharat Forge is passionate about IIoT, and its projects are technically challenging. Working with corporate sector such as BFL involves discussions and coordination with several stakeholders to finalize requirements of the solution and methods of execution. Providing training to different levels of the workforce in different departments/ teams to suit the usage and skill sets was another challenge.”

At present, the company is making

“Every project brings its unique set of

Foray Into TPM

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COVER STORY

challenges, and the same was true for Samarth as well where the first task was to overcome the hesitation or prejudice in the minds of the workforce,” Yadati said. “A monitoring solution was being perceived as a ‘policing tool’ by the Samarth Engineering team members. They had to be educated about the importance of fact-based working and adoption of IT-based solutions in manufacturing shops. It was explained to them that the objective is to address the processrelated issues that would subsequently help increase their own productivity. Today, all the 14 CNC machines are enabled with TPM-Trak.

Workers review their performance themselves using TPM-Trak dashboards.”

The Transformation The leap of faith in purchasing TPM-Trak was duly rewarded in each case in RIJ Engineering. For Qasmi, the first benefit was that automation meant no manipulation of data. “The best part is the report gets generated in time and reaches us on the set schedule. We have 400 people and our first shift starts at 6 a.m. With the implementation of this system tracking is easy,” he said.

RIJ engineering is using TPM-Trak OEE monitoring and add-on IoT alerting modules.

Yadati said, “At RIJ Engineering, technical prerequisites such as getting the required signals from machines for TCS_PLC variant involved the coordination between their electrical maintenance team, AmiT team and MMT team.

AmiT also helps the customer to identify right choice of IT infrastructure. Today, RIJ TPMTrak servers are available remotely to the AmiT technical team in Bangalore which allows RIJ users to interact with AmiT team at any time to clarify the doubts or get required technical help.”

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Production reports for RIJ have become timely and more constructive too. “TPM-Trak gives timely insight on each machine’s production capacity, idle time, set-up time, all correlated with the operator. Hence, we now understand every operator’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the kind of training he requires.

We develop a matrix based on the report in terms of every operator’s output,” Qasmi said. “The TPM-Trak is an innovative product in our sort of manufacturing set-up. The idle time and wastage of components have reduced drastically. We can now monitor the production on hourly basis. After installing the TPM-Trak we have seen an increase of 10 percent productivity. RIJ Engineering is affirmatively on board for more connectivity.

Ultimately we want to connect all the machines – the entire plant. The software provides us the productivity we are looking for,” Qasmi said.

Leveraging the most, Samarth Engineering is using TPM-Trak OEE monitoring solution.

Expressing his satisfaction Shete said, “We have developed capacity calculation software, where we enter the part names, cycle time and man hours. It instantly generates data on capacity, based on which we can decide if we are falling short and need to outsource some of the components. We are working with 90 per cent productivity. We have confidence and back-up, and software never betrayed us.

Productivity of TPM-Trak is 85-90 per cent.”

Challenges can be either technical or personnel. Both can be overcome by working closely with the customers, and with generous interaction to educate and address all concerns of the employees before installation.

This article was written by Micromatic Machine Tools team as per the discussion with their customers.

COVER STORY

Cyber Security Challenges Of Driverless Cars

By Rajesh Maurya threats has become a major development focus and challenge in the automotive and security industries.

A driverless car is a very advanced mode of transportation, possibly even without a readily available steering wheel. They have considerably more electronic components than conventional cars, and rely on sensors, radar, GPS mapping, and a variety of artificial intelligence to enable self-driving. These new guidance and safety systems must be integrated into the electronic onboard systems present in modern day vehicles, connect wirelessly to the manufacturer, and probably even offer third-party services via the Internet.

And that is where the problems begin: With hackers remotely accessing a vehicle and compromising one of its onboard systems, resulting in a range of risks from privacy and commercial data theft, to actual physical risks to people and property.

The following are some possible attacks that could be targeted at highly connected and autonomous cars:-

Privilege Escalation And System Interdependencies Rajesh Maurya

C

ars are an essential part of our everyday life, and are crucial to transporting thousands of commuters on a daily basis through busy towns and cities, and from one country to another. With `smart’ vehicles playing such a major role in our day-today lives, it is no surprise that semi- and fully-autonomous transportation and the potential for driverless cars have become hot topics of discussion. Countries like the UK, France, and Switzerland are testing forms of autonomous cars on public roads.

According to Gartner, “driverless vehicles will represent approximately 25 percent of the passenger vehicle population in use in mature markets by 2030”.

While highways full of driverless cars may be a shining vision of the future for some, from a hacker’s perspective they represent yet another opportunity to wreak havoc. Driven home by the rise in increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks and data breaches over the past several years, ensuring driver safety from cyber

Not all systems and in-car networks will be created the same way. Attackers will seek vulnerabilities in less-defended services, such as entertainment systems, and try to `leap’ across intra-car networks to more sensitive systems through the integrated car communications systems. For instance, a limited amount of communication is typically allowed between an engine management system and an entertainment system to display alerts (`Engine fault’ or `Cruise Control is Active’) that can potentially be exploited.

System Stability And Predictability Conventional, legacy car systems were self contained, and usually came from a single manufacturer. As new autonomous cars are developed, they will very likely need to include software provided by a variety of vendors – including open source software.

Information technology (IT), unlike industrial controls systems such as legacy car systems, is not known for predictability. IT systems, in fact, tend to fail in unpredictable manners. This may be tolerable if it is just a matter of a website going down until a AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 111

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server re-boots. It is less acceptable in the event of a guidance system being degraded even slightly when an adjacent entertainment or in-car Wi-Fi system crashes or hangs.

Also expect to see known threats are adapted to this new target, expanding from common Internet platforms like laptops and smart phones or an IoT device like an autonomous car. The following are a few examples:-

Ransomware Ransomware is certainly on the rise on PCs and mobile phones. But driverless cars represent an almost ideal target. Imagine the following scenario: A hacker uses the in-car display to inform the driver that his car has been immobilized and that a ransom must be paid to restore the vehicle to normal operation.

While a laptop or tablet may be restored relatively easily with potentially no damage, assuming backups are available, a car is a very different story. The owner may be far from home (the ransomware could be programmed to only launch when the car is at a predetermined distance from its home base.)

Naturally, few dealerships would be familiar with resolving this sort of problem, and specialist help would most likely be required to reset affected components. The cost of such a ransom is expected to be very high, and will likely take time.

In the meantime, the vehicle may have to be towed. So the question is, what is the amount of the ransom demand that we expect to see? Estimates are that it is likely to be significantly higher than for traditional computer ransomware, but probably less than any related repair costs so that the car owner is tempted to pay.

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Spyware Perhaps a more attractive target for hackers is collecting data about you through your car.

Driverless cars collect massive amounts of data, and know a lot about you – including your favorite destinations, your travel routes, where you live, how and where you buy things, and even the people you travel with.

Imagine a hacker, knowing that you are traveling far from home, sells that information to a criminal gang who then breaks into your home, or uses your online credentials to empty your bank account.

That last risk exists because your driverless and connected vehicle is likely to become a gateway for any number of electronic transactions, such as automatic payment of your daily morning coffee, or parking charges, or even repairs. With sensitive information stored in the car, it becomes another attack vector to obtain your personal information. And with RFIDs and Near Field Communications (NFC) becoming commonplace in payment cards, accessing their details through your car would be another way to capture data about you and your passengers.

And last but not least, there are legal and authenticity issues. Can we consider the location data of the car as authentic? That is, if your car reports you opened it, entered it, and traveled to a particular location at a certain time of the day, can we really assume everything happened as recorded? Will such data hold up in court? Or can this sort of data be manipulated? This is an issue that will need to be addressed. Similarly, if cars contain software from several different providers, and spends the day moving from one network to another, who is accountable or liable for a security breach and resulting losses or damage? Was it a software flaw?

Was it negligent network management?

Was it on-board user-error or lack of training? Hence the question: How to secure autonomous cars?

How To Secure Autonomous Cars The first step must be a greater awareness by the manufacturers of the potential cyber threats. While manufacturers have vast experience associated with automotive safety, it is reasonable to suspect they have less expertise in the dark arts of cyber compromise and exploitation. A closer alliance with the Internet security industry will benefit everyone. The Automobile ISAC (information Sharing and Analysis Centre) is an interesting precedent.

Next, incorporating more and more technology into a vehicle, whether for improving the customer’s driving experience or enhancing the vehicle’s performance, must be balanced with the management of their potential threats and risks. Ensuring that appropriate and effective security technologies are implemented within these systems must be a mandatory objective, even if it is not (yet) a regulatory requirement.

Additionally, a growing problem with many IoT devices is that they use common communications programmes that have no security built into them at all. As a direct result, an alarming number of IoT devices are highly insecure. We need to achieve better for autonomous cars than what is the current IoT benchmark.

At the same time, manufacturers must work with their different technology and

Intra-vehicle Communications Smart vehicles will have several distinct on-board systems, such as vehicle controls systems, entertainment systems, passenger networking, and even third-party systems loaded on-demand by owners. To a certain extent, these systems will need to engage in `cross-talk’ to bring new services to life, but this cross-talk needs to be closely monitored and managed by systems such as firewalls and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) that can distinguish between legitimate and normal communications and illicit activity in the car’s area network.

External Communications Many, if not all on-board systems will have reasons to communicate to Internet-based services: For manufacturer maintenance, software updates, passenger Internet access, travel and driving instructions, and for service requests, to purchase items, services, or to back up data. External communications will very likely be both `push’ and `pull’ – they may be initiated either from inside the vehicle, or to the vehicle from a manufacturer or the Internet. This also means that traffic to and from the vehicle will need to be inspected and managed for threats and illicit, defective, or unauthorized communications using firewalls and IPS-like capabilities.

Connectivity Infrastructure The connectivity infrastructure used by a vehicle will likely be based on well-established cellular networks, such as 3G and 4G data services, but with a twist. While these cellular services provide connectivity to billions of smart phones and other devices around the world, they also suffer from inconsistent security. Smart, driver-assisted, or even driverless vehicles will raise the stakes significantly. A directed attack on or through the cellular network could trigger significant, safety-critical failures on literally thousands of moving vehicles at the same time. Securing cellular networks providing critical vehicle connectivity will require a thorough review in the light of such potential catastrophe.

Access Control

communications suppliers, across all of the territories where their vehicles are sold, to ensure that any network connections to the vehicles are appropriately hardened.

Automotive security can be addressed as three distinct domains that may make use of similar techniques in some instances, and require novel treatments in others.

Finally, high-assurance identity and access control systems suitable and designed for machines, not people, will need to be incorporated so that cars can authenticate incoming connections to critical systems, and internet-based services can positively and irrefutably authenticate cars and the information they log to the cloud, or transaction requests they may perform on behalf of owners – such as service requests or transactions to buy fuel or pay tolls.

(Rajesh Maurya is Regional Vice President, India & SAARC, Fortinet) NB: Vehicle photos are representational.

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COVER STORY

Opportunities Emerge From Digitalisation

By Sridhara Dharmarajan virtual validation of new complex systems that have been added to vehicles.

Virtual prototyping uses computational methodologies running on high-end hardware, whose costs have been rapidly declining over the years due to technological advancements. What this means for companies is that they are able to validate quickly and effectively parts, systems, assemblies and the whole vehicle. They are able also to beat competition by going to market faster with newer models. The industry has been smart to adopt virtual prototyping (CAE or Computer Aided Engineering) techniques. The OEMs that have implemented CAE processes in their product development are reaping rich benefits from the reduced production and warranty costs.

Many automotive suppliers have realised the value of investing in these tools and have been getting trained in CAE methods to become tier-1 suppliers to the OEMs that they cater to.

New Opportunities

Sridhara Dharmarajan

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usiness landscapes are rapidly changing worldwide. Disruptive technologies that have the potential to upend industries faster than one can imagine are at play across verticals.

Automotive and aerospace companies have been embracing new technologies and far-fetched ideas like autonomous cars, connected vehicles etc. are becoming realities.

In India, consumers (especially families) look at mileage and resale value as decisive factors in investing in a new car. The industry is changing its view on reliance on natural resources alone and move towards electric vehicles. Digital technologies can affect both the consumer and the industry. Still a lot of brainstorming has to be done for the effective implementation of technologies.

MSC Software has been supporting large OEMS and suppliers across the world to adapt, and to implement new technologies by

India, being a follower market, has been scaling up to the advancements made by the major automotive OEMS and private players in Europe and North America. The OEMs act as component integrators. Many tier-1 suppliers in India have taken up the challenge to ensure that they do not compromise on functional safety of the components, to maintain the tier-1 status. The suppliers have been supporting OEMs with driver assistance system technologies both for safety (avoiding life-threatening accidents/collisions) and for the adaptive features (automatic braking, cruise control etc.).

The market is at a nascent stage in India and there are no full-fledged capabilities.

It is slowly growing as more and more features like parking assistance, automatic transmission, seat belt warnings etc. are being introduced. There is huge potential for this market to grow as spending habits of the average tech-savvy Indian consumer has increased gradually over the years.

While we are talking about level-3 autonomy in cars in the West, in India, we have a lot to scale up in terms of traffic guidelines and lane discipline before companies can make strides into the autonomous space. Thus with a well-defined framework involving security,

government legislations, and active safety systems, there is a huge market potential for India which can drastically bring down the number of road accidents as well as improve the overall driving experience.

MSC Software, with over 54 years of presence in the industry, has been at the forefront of innovation and is the pioneer in CAE technology.

With the growth of autonomous car technology, the company aims to address a critical aspect of this new industry – safety.

The California-based MSC Software (now part of Hexagon AB) recently acquired Vires Gmbh, a Germanybased, leading provider of simulation software solutions that support the development, testing and validation of driver-assisted and fully autonomous driving technology.

With this acquisition, Hexagon has accelerated its Autonomous X vision to deliver a software-driven,

intelligent ecosystem that leverages our expertise in 3D mapping and other essential sensor technologies to make safe autonomous vehicles a reality.

Vires is a main contributor and partner in the new standardization projects in the automotive industry: OpenDRIVE, OpenCRG and OpenSCENARIO. Their core product, the highly modular `VIRES Virtual Test Drive’, is used for the development and testing of advanced driver assistance and active safety systems, leading to solutions for automated driving.

Together with its worldwide customer base, the company aims to shape the future of mobility by providing development tools for autonomous driving technology. Being one of the driving forces behind open standards for automotive simulator technology, Vires enables the exchange of data and comparison of results.

Pain Points As far as India is concerned, we expect policies that will push to improve the overall infrastructure to support at least semi-autonomous vehicle systems.

Implementing stronger traffic regulations in terms of speed limits, designated pedestrian crossings and following other guidelines can help the cause to implement such technologies faster. And we believe it can be done, a good example is seat belts.

A decade ago though seat belts were made standard accessory of a vehicle, very few actually used it.

However, today with strict traffic rules, heightened driver responsibility and on-going awareness campaigns, the number of seat belt users haS increased several fold.

(Sridhara Dharmarajan is Senior Director and Country Manager of MSC Software Corporation India)

COVER STORY

RSB Group Explores Technology Options For AV Foray

By APA Bureau

T

he Jamshedpur-based RSB Group is exploring technologies for a smooth transition to the components manufacture for autonomous vehicles (AV). “With increasing digitization and advancement in technology, AV will be an important driver in transport segment in future. It can reduce accidents, improve energy efficiency, reduce green-house emissions, pollution and traffic snarls. AV will become an affordable transportation, especially for non-ambulatory and disabled, thus contributing to societal values,” R K Behera, Chairman, RSB Group, told AutoParts Asia.

“As the global auto giants are expected to invest heavily on AVs, there will be a surge in demand for AV components.

Success and sustenance will depend on how quickly the component manufacturers change to digital set-up to meet the challenges. The transition will entail investments in the set-up, e-connectivity of status of movement of machine-to-machine components to track on delivery schedules on-line/ remote monitoring and innovative methods in order to align to the new requirements posed by AV. The thrust of ‘Digital India’ with favourable sops, will also facilitate the transition to digitization in manufacturing,” he said.

“The AV paradigm rests on two fundamentals, ‘Connected’ and ‘Data.’

While ‘Connected’ deals with use of efficient communication between ‘Connected Vehicles’ involving contributing agents, stakeholders including public, authorities, vehicles and infrastructure, ‘Big Data’ refers to unprecedented handling of massive bites through scores of permutations and combinations via latest software and hardware. AV technology, thus, is a cross-breed of mobility science, electrical engineering, IT, software/ hardware engineering, law, ethics, etc.,” he said.

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R K Behera

AVs in India is expected to be seen live in 2020, and it will present an array of opportunities in the auto component segment. “We, at RSB, being a Deming Prize enterprise (Auto Vertical), with ‘Continual Improvement’ deeply implanted in every sphere of our activity and use of latest state-of-the-art machines/robotics, manufacturing high precision components measured to microns, are exploring the technology for component manufacture keeping digitization in view, to be in tune with AVs. In addition, our subsidiary, I-Design Engineering Solutions, is also keeping a vigil on the latest manufacturing technology, digitization and its adoption,” Behera said.

By 2020 there will be increase in the use of AVs using video camera tracking lane markings, detect traffic signals/ surroundings and road signs, radar sensors/3-D cameras detecting objects ahead, side laser scanners, ultrasonic sensors, differential GPS, accurate digital mapping, infra-red cameras, short and long range radars, wheel encoder track movement, etc. “These obviously call for digital set-up in manufacturing,” he said.

The Group is “looking for increased momentum in infrastructure development across India for speedier movement of goods and services, easy access and single-window clearances to latest digital technology from overseas, favourable fiscal incentives for adoption to new technology, funding with low interest rates for digitization and moratorium for five years, sops for contributing to green environment and reducing pollution while transiting to AV and sustaining the same in the long run and rugged cyber-security so that data integrity is maintained.

The Jamshedpur-based group operates in two verticals, Automotive and CMI (Construction, Mining and Infrastructure) Equipment and Aggregates. It manufactures propeller shafts, steering systems and components, transmission components and assembly, other automotive components, etc, and construction equipment aggregates, operating in several countries. It has 13 manufacturing plants spread over seven locations in India, namely Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Pune (Maharashtra), Dharwad (Karnataka), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand), Cuttack (Orissa) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh); and one each in Homer (USA), Silao (Mexico) and partnered venture in Brazil.

In 2006, RSB made its first foray overseas and acquired Miller Brothers in Michigan, USA. It further expanded its global footprint by setting up a green field project in Mexico in 2011. In 2013, RSB won the Deming Prize and in 2014, signed a Technical Assistance

Agreement with Jidosha Buhin Kogyo(JBK), Japan, to manufacture and sell latest state-of-art propeller shaft for SCV/SUV/LCV segment in the domestic and export market.

In April 2015, RSB signed a pact with Andhra Pradesh Government for setting up a state-of-the-art plant at Sri City for manufacturing latest generation of propeller shafts. “Right now our propeller shaft unit is in advanced stage of completion at Sri City,” Behera said.

RSB’s Indian and overseas customers include Tata Motors, Tata Hitachi, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra, John Deere, Fiat, Ford, Allison Transmissions, American Axle, Eaton, Magna, GKN, Daimler, Renault Nissan, Kamaz, Caterpillar, Terex, JCB, Kobelco,, Komatsu and GE, Volkswagen, PSA Peugeot Citroen, etc amongst others.

The RSB Group had its beginning in 1975 when Rabindra Kumar Behera and his brother Suvendra Kumar Behera (fondly known as RK and SK, respectively) founded ‘International Auto Products’ as a sole proprietorial company. After several transformations it became a public limited company, International Auto Limited in 1994, which eventually merged with RSB Transmissions (I) Ltd. in 2009.

Physical accomplishments of RSB aside, it is the unwavering inner motives and values that propel and sustain the Behera Brothers to dream bigger and bigger and this is what makes the RSB institution different from most other companies. Their passion for excellence and ethics find expression in the vision statement that RSB group has adopted: “To become one of the most admired organizations with a significant global presence”.

They dream to build an enduring and timeless institution.

The Chairman RK Behera’s statement summarizes the Group’s value system: “Ethic is our foundation, passion is our energy, humanism is our path, excellence is our goal and immortality is our destination.”

AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 117

TESTING

FEV Develops Competencies In India For Future Mobility APA Bureau

F

EV Group, the internationally recognized powertrain and vehicle engineering company has been catering to the global transportation industry. FEV has the complete range of engineering services to support customers across the globe in the design, analysis, prototyping, powertrain and transmission development, vehicle integration, calibration and homologation for advanced internal combustion powertrains using gasoline, diesel, or alternative fuels.

FEV also designs, develops and prototypes advanced vehicle / powertrain electronic control systems and hybridelectric engine concepts that address future emission and fuel economy standards. The company has expanded its engineering capabilities to include full vehicle systems. It has broad expertise in electronics, telematics and infotainment systems engineering.

The FEV Test Systems division is a global supplier of advanced test cell, instrumentation and test equipment.

FEV India’s technical centre in Pune, has built up the technical portfolio to offer BS-VI solutions to the OEMs in India. The centre offers several key services including comprehensive endurance test programmes, engine design and CAE solutions, sales and service for its customers, skilled manpower for FEV advanced test systems commissioning and operation.

In India discussions are going on about the technology options for BS-VI, to be implemented from 2020 with the conformity factor

118 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

Sushil Berry

in 2023. The centre has done a number of simulations and technical demonstration projects internally and it is in an advantageous position to give solutions that could fit future requirements for emission standards. “In India, by 2020 OEMs will have to first meet BS-VI and by 2023 come to a conformity factor.

So you cannot build a solution that lasts for only three years; it will have to sustain after 2023. We take a modular approach to what can be done on the engine so that it is protected beyond 2023,” Sushil Berry, Managing Director, FEV India Private Limited, told AutoParts Asia.

“We entered India in 2005 to partner Indian OEMs to help them face their technology challenges. We had a step-by-step approach, starting with the base engine development process, taking into account value engineering and reliability, to make it emission compliant. Slowly we enhanced our technical portfolio and today support them in benchmarking

their products right from the vehicle level to engine thermodynamics to the component. We support them in doing the complete engineering process from the component design to the engine prototype, to vehicle integration and calibration. We developed the technical portfolio to support all these requirements locally,” he said.

Sustainable Mobility India is advancing to sustainable mobility by working on the technical measures to be taken to become BS-VI compliant economically. The FEV centre demonstrated viable technologies in a mock-up engine that was shown recently at an international symposium in Pune.

“For passenger cars we have the GLR 2 litre engine with low pressure EGR and for tractor applications there is DPF after-treatment. These are all examples of sustainable mobility. We are also showing examples of future mobility. At a

certain point in time, electrical elements will have to be added on to powertrain technology, as our conventional mobility will be challenged, to meet emission and CO2 norms,” Berry said.

In India the transition will start with hybridisation before going for complete electrification. For this FEV has showcased a 48V battery and complete battery management system as also the dual-clutch transmission structure.

“Our message is how OEMs can sustain and think of future mobility,” he said.

Europe moved from Euro-4 to Euro-6 in 11 years. India is determined to do it within four years. There is no chance for any iteration; it has to be first time right. In order to support the OEMs in this big task, the FEV centre in Pune has expanded technical facilities to include state-of-the-art engine development for vehicle applications.

“We can make vehicle prototypes and do all forms of testing including those for emission norms. For electronics and software we have built the HiL (Hardware in Loop) lab; we can do all tests on the transmission there itself without mounting it on the vehicle.

About 90 percent of testing can be done at the component level before going into the vehicle,” Berry said.

The centre has ways and means to expedite some of the processes. Its test bench for the catalyst is highly technology-oriented and can give real-time data which enables the OEMs to predict precisely how the catalyst would behave in the long-run.

Along with the BS-VI products and

technology, FEV is also developing competencies in India. Berry said experts from Europe would be stationed in India for three years continuously. Under them teams would be developed to cope with all BS-VI challenges. “Our total staff strength is 200. Of course the whole company is completely R&D, whether we work for ourselves or the client. We now want to acquire a software company totally, with 100 people as we already have a software centre here with 22 people; we plan to ramp it up in future by bringing all resources on board and expose them to the FEV technology and groom them. Our global centre wants to develop India as a global centre for specific technical topics as we have a strong reputation in software development,” he said.

The FEV Pune centre takes up research

from Germany and India. Initially everything was from Germany. Then it became 10 percent from India. Now, in some of the technologies, it is up to 90 percent Indian. With BS-VI coming in, it is expected to be 60 percent from Germany and 40 percent from India. “This year we have to get two approvals, for cost localisation to fuel this further and for the centre of excellence in software. In China we are setting up an e-mobility centre; in Pune we have a vehicle application centre for the complete chassis,” he said.

FEV had its registered office in Delhi.

But it moved to Pune to be closer to its clients. The company developed engines for Tata Nano and hybrids for Mahindra Scorpio, and many more.

“Our reference list from India includes work for BMW, JLR, Mercedes, Daimler and Tata,” Berry said.

AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 119

PREVIEW

Automotive Testing, Engine, Interiors Expo 2017 In Novi During Oct. 24-26

S

APA Bureau

howcasing cuttingedge

automotive development technologies designed to ensure the highest standards are met in terms of product quality, reliability, durability and safety, Automotive Testing Expo 2017 in Novi, Michigan, will be held during October 2426, 2017 at The Suburban Collection Showplace.

The Novi show has firmly established itself as the mustattend event for all automotive companies seeking to do business in, or with, the North American industry.

Automotive Testing Expo 2017 in Novi, Michigan, features more new technologies and services from the very best US manufacturers than ever before, with more than 300 companies taking to the booths to highlight the very latest developments in the full automotive production process, from initial prototype analysis to quality assurance, demonstrating how their products can help with the ultimate aim of eliminating recalls.

The expo includes a three-day Open Technology Forum, with subject-specific themes. This is a chance for attendees to engage in debate with leading OEMs, Tier-1 and Tier-2 manufacturers, suppliers and research institutes at the forefront of the automotive testing, evaluation and quality engineering industry.

Now in its 15th year, the event runs concurrently with Engine Expo in

120 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

Novi, Michigan featuring the latest in automotive powertrain design, production, components and technology. Engine Expo in Novi, Michigan continues to showcase innovation in automotive powertrain, design production and components.

This year’s event also continues to recognize the need for energy efficient powertrains and better fuel economy, showcasing the latest components, systems, materials and electric vehicle technologies new to the market to audiences from OEM and Tier-1 powertrain design and procurement teams from across the continent.

New for 2017 is Automotive Interiors Expo USA, designed to bring together the manufacturers of innovative vehicle interiors components and systems. The debut show will preview new concepts, colours, materials and solutions for automotive interior designers and it will run alongside the second staging of the Autonomous Vehicle Interior Design Symposium, which was first held in 2016.

Automotive Interiors Expo has grown significantly since its launch in Europe six years ago and this new 2017 show in Novi will debut a range of interesting new concepts as a prelude to a much larger show planned for 2018 when new facilities at the venue will enable a larger interiors show to be presented.

India also has its own Automotive Testing Expo event, organized by the same company (UKi Media & Events) that runs the show in Novi.

However, show founder Tony Robinson says, “I believe it is highly worthwhile for the key players in the Indian automotive industry to come over to the US show.

It is a lot bigger than the show we currently run in Chennai and I know that visitors that make the long journey to Novi will find an excellent array of technologies that are not yet being presented to the market in India. It’s a sort of leap-frog exercise and, of course, there are interesting additional exhibits to be seen in the adjoining Engine Expo and Automotive Interiors Expo.”

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SPECIAL REPORT

Freudenberg On Track To Become Innovative, Diversified Tech Group

By T Murrali

T

he German family-owned Freudenberg with a range of products including house wares and cleaning products, automotive parts, textiles, building materials, and telecommunications, is on track to become an innovative broadly diversified global technology group.

Freudenberg achieved sales growth of 13.5 percent to €8.6 billion in calendar 2016, based on the pro-rata consolidation of joint ventures, in spite of challenging conditions in multiple market segments and world regions.

Adjusted for the effects of acquisitions – especially of Japan Vilene Company in April 2016 and the Vibracoustic Group in July 2016 – amounting to €967.3 million and exchange rate effects (€216.8 million), sales grew 3.7 percent to €282.6 million compared with the previous year. Consolidated profit ran at €1,095.1 million (previous year: €522.0 million) including the special effect of acquisitions.

“We are on track to become one of the most innovative broadly diversified global technology groups,” Dr Mohsen Sohi, CEO of the Freudenberg Group, told the annual press conference held in

Filters from Freudenberg Filtration Technologies

Weinheim last month. “We continue to grow profitably and sustainably and the implementation of our strategic projects is proceeding fully in line with our plans. This success is the result of the hard work and excellent performance of our more than 48,000 employees worldwide,” he said.

On the basis of the equity consolidation of the joint ventures, the 168-year old group invested €1,629 million in 2016

including €1,222 million (previous year €138 million) in acquisitions and €407 million (previous year: €303 million) in production plants, tangible assets, buildings and intangible assets (additions to the statement of financial position). Of this amount, Freudenberg invested €148 million in Germany (previous year: €105 million) including €114 million (previous year: €75 million) in Weinheim.

Innovation The business groups’ innovative activities benefit from materials competence, which is being constantly expanded, among other things via technology platforms. The Freudenberg Group focused on the main overarching technologies of relevance to several Business Groups.

Mysore factory

122 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

With ‘innovation’ being the most important pillar of corporate success, Freudenberg invested a record amount worth €371.9 million (previous year €315.3 million) during 2016, based on the pro-rata consolidation of the joint ventures. This corresponds to a research and development ratio of 4.3 percent against 4.2 percent during the previous year. The objective of all activities is to increase the sales of new products. The share of products less than four years old reached 30.4 percent on the basis of pro-rata consolidation of the joint ventures

against 26 percent last year.

During 2016 the group addressed technology platforms such as the nonwovens, sealing technology, moulding, friction/wear & lubrication, surface technologies, polymers, and reactions and mixtures.

Investments Freudenberg has invested substantially towards acquisitions (see box). In addition, the group has invested in machinery, plant and buildings. For example, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies expanded production capacity in Oberwihl, Germany; Bursa, Turkey; and Kecskemét, Hungary.

Freudenberg Chemical Specialities commenced construction of a European logistics centre for Klüber Lubrication, Chem-Trend and OKS in Maisach, Germany. Japan Vilene Company began construction work on a new production plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico. In Weinheim, a large administration building in the Industrial Park was handed over ready for occupation by the tenants at the end of the year under review.

Cabin Air Filters being checked at Freudenberg Filtration Technologies

Current Developments

the market environment. However, the macroeconomic situation remains challenging – especially in South America and Russia. Equally challenging are developments in the oil and gas business. At the same time, new technological developments call for new solutions – from e-mobility and the demands of autonomous driving in the automotive sector to viable concepts for renewable energies and the implementation of Industry 4.0.

The Freudenberg Group started the 2017 financial year with an improved order book in line with

In total, Freudenberg plans to initiate investment projects with a total value of €320 million in 2017, based on

the pro-rata consolidation of joint ventures. Of this amount, about €90 million will be invested in tangible assets in Germany including €30 million in Weinheim.

Focus India In India too, Freudenberg continued its growth momentum. “With our plan to invest in a new production facility in the city of Chennai we underline our long-term commitment to the local market and support the ‘Make in India’ initiative,” said Sohi, at the press conference held in Bengaluru, the group’s India headquarters. In the

A view of Kluber factory warehouse AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 123

SPECIAL REPORT

first phase the plant that will come up in Vallam Vadagal industrial area, will make sealing products.

The group will start the construction of a new production facility here shortly investing 15 million Euro or Rs 111 crore. The land acquired is more than 56,000 m² – for further site development. As a global market leader for automotive seals, Freudenberg wants to serve its customers in the strong automotive hub of Chennai from this plant. It is very close to Oragadam in Chennai, the home for several OEMs including Daimler India CV, Renault Nissan, Ashok Leyland, India Yamaha and Royal Enfield.

In India, Freudenberg’s seven business groups generated sales of Rs 1,483 crore, an improvement of 20 percent compared to the previous year. Employee numbers rose 17 percent to 2,475 at around 50 locations in India – with six R&D centres and 14 production sites with state-of-the-art shop floors. This increase in sales and employees can be attributed to a large extent to the acquisition of Vibracoustic.

“In 2016, Freudenberg invested €8.6 million or Rs. 62 crore in India,” Georg Graf, Freudenberg Regional Representative India, said.

“Investments were made across the board, at all Freudenberg Business Groups, in manufacturing and research facilities and equipment.”

124 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

Over the past five years Freudenberg has invested a total of Rs 363 crore.

And Freudenberg continues to invest in India.

Changing Landscape Freudenberg Group has been gearing up to cater to the emerging mobility segments. With up to 300 different Freudenberg components found in any given car model, it is not surprising that the German technology group is already actively working with its customers to address the challenges from this mobility shift.

Components are found in batteries, engines, charging units and many other elements. Innovative solutions from the company help make cars safer thanks to state-of-the-art battery components. Filters ensure clean cabin air. A broad-ranging sealing technology portfolio increases useful lifetime and improves thermal management. Cars make less noise thanks to advanced anti-vibration technology and specialty lubricants make them more efficient.

In 2016, Freudenberg generated some 40 percent of its global sales from its activities in the automotive industry – in India about 50 percent.

The products manufactured by the group companies are being used in hybrid and electric vehicles. Battery components, including ‘Safety Separator’ help make cars safer with extended service life. A wafer-thin yet extremely durable non-woven

separator, equipped with a functional ceramic material impregnation, keeps the plus and minus poles permanently separated. This minimizes the risk of short circuits or even battery fires while allowing the ions and the current to flow freely.

With its wide product portfolio the group is positioning itself to be the right partner to drive e-mobility in India forward. At present only one percent of 200 million vehicles on Indian roads are e-vehicles, however, the country is looking at embracing a notable portion of vehicles to be battery powered by 2030. Key will be the provision of subsidies driven by a battery leasing strategy. Freudenberg is gearing up to enter into a close dialogue with its Indian customers, contributing leading-edge expertise built on a long history of supplying battery components.

Outlook On the basis of its current assessment, despite all the challenges faced, the Freudenberg Group expects global organic growth in sales of between one and three percent and profit from operations slightly above the previous year’s figure.

Almost all business groups are likely to contribute to this performance.

On the basis of this forecast, the group expects stable development in its return on sales and a profitable double-digit growth in India for 2017.

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SPECIAL REPORT

INTERACTION

Dr Mohsen Sohi, CEO, Freudenberg Group Freudenberg relies on its foresight on technology and innovation. The group reinvents itself from time to time with the common strategic planning process covering five to 10 years and special trends 15 years. Electromobility or digitalization will be the focus. “We focus on our long-term project which will go up to 2050,” Dr Mohsen Sohi told AutoParts Asia in an exclusive interview. The edited excerpts: A: We are a conglomerate and one of the most successful ones, because we did not change ourselves based on the fashion of the year. Though we cater to 40 different sub-segments, the technology underneath is five or six.

So we have selected technology platforms that we follow and those that feed the different businesses we have. We have put the top-down view of how we see the strategic business plans.

For example, we have all our divisions to think about digitalisation and how it will affect their businesses not only in terms of efficiency and re-engineering but also re-imagining the world on how the interaction with the markets will change. Once we agree, then it becomes the strategic plan. If you know what you are doing, and we know what we are doing, it works very well.

Q: What kind of megatrends do you follow?

A: In the long-term the global economy is driven by population.

Dr Mohsen Sohi Where will the future economic growth be and where will they live?

Q: Can you throw some light on the These will be one of the megatrends that we strategic plan of Freudenberg? follow. By 2050 the world population will be A: We are taking up our strategic planning around 10 billion with over two-third of people process this year. In the normal process we living in megacities. look at five to 10 years. In this we put more precise three-year plan. But then the once-ina-while special strategic topics will be looked at in five to 10 years. For example e-mobility; it doesn’t really become meaningful until 2030 in terms of volume. The same is with digitalisation. We have made special tracks to look at those businesses. For certain projects we went even farther than that because, it is our view that at some point the world wants to be less dependent on fossil fuel. The reasons could be either shortage or climate or both; beyond transportation this will affect lot of things in life. Therefore, we make the special topics very long-term.

Q: Since Freudenberg caters to over 40 industry segments, how are you able to justify long-term plans?

cars per thousand people. We are very strong in the premium cars.

Q: How fast do innovations turn commercial in Freudenberg?

A: The share of revenue that comes from sales of products that are less than four years is 30.4 percent.

This is the most important factor on how successful a company is in commercialising ideas. We invest in research very well; last year the R&D expenses related to sales was 4.3 percent (371.9 million Euro).

Freudenberg SealingTechnologies Q: Do you make your own products Integral separator obsolete to market new products?

A: We do that as well; if we don’t do, Q: You have been supporting battery then the competition and customers technology for over six decades; with emerging will do. Each industry has a product life-cycle and e-mobility what are the prospects you see for obsolescence depends on that.

Freudenberg?

Q: Would Freudenberg get into developing A: Our assumption is that by 2030 about 30 autonomous car on its own? percent of the new car production will be plug-in A: No, that is not in our plan. hybrid, pure hybrid or pure electric. We do not Q: Don’t you leverage the disruptive see fuel cells becoming a meaningful percentage technologies like digitalisation, additive until a decade or two after that. The business that manufacturing etc? we have and supporting automotive has nothing to do with the kind of propulsion. One area that A: Digitalisation has been taking place at a rapid could be negatively affected is the sealing that we pace during the last three decades. Digitalisation have in the IC engine. We have also invested in is a significant megatrend which will continue in manufacturing battery sealing for many years and the future as well. What we are very mindful of the opportunity just shifts. more specifically is the way we collaborate with the Q: Will shared mobility affect car production and customer, the way we get their information, their demands etc., and implement within the factories your business? and deliver the products and services. I think this is A: I think the assumption is that car-sharing in the very important. In this disruption, we need to make future will go up but it will not be in every segment sure that we have the leading edge. of the market; it will largely be confined to A and When we talk about all things connected, B for sure and some in C segment, where the machines connected, data, analytics, Industry 4.0, content per vehicle for Freudenberg is very less. the machines can schedule themselves based on I’m not saying that we will not be affected but it the demand. They also diagnose when there may be compensated by the growth in number of

Sales by region

SPECIAL REPORT is a potential breakdown.

Production of similar products in the different parts of the world would actually reduce the risk on account of any disaster or natural calamity at one location. It will also help additive manufacturing in making prototypes for different locations. We don’t have a dogmatic view of this technology. If it helps our customers reduce cost, improve quality and delivery, we will take it. We have to be pragmatic about that.

Seals made of fireproof silicone compounds in aircraft engines can withstand temperatures up to 1,100 degrees Celsius

Q: How well placed is Freudenberg India in leveraging opportunities emerging from the Indian automotive industry in terms of emissions and other technologies?

A: Freudenberg is present in about 60 countries. We have to understand the market here

and cater to it. For example, in terms of emissions Europe is leading, where Freudenberg has been a supplier to many customers. All we need to do is to bring in those relevant technologies to India.

Q: Any best practice from India that you could deploy globally?

A: The filtration division in Pune, India, works with lot of projects in power and fertilizer sectors. These plants require large quantities of energy; if the turbines in these plants improve the efficiency of the air flow, it can improve the efficacy of the turbine itself. The filtration division developed a solution along with a partner; as this worked very effectively we could move it around to customers of Freudenberg across all tropical belts.

Acquisitions & Disposal

I

n the 2016 financial year, Freudenberg intensively developed its portfolio.

Major acquisitions and disposals were: Japan Vilene Company became a new business group in the Nonwovens and Filtration Business Area effective April 1, 2016. The shareholders are Freudenberg SE, Weinheim (75 percent) and Toray Industries, Inc. (Toray), Tokyo, Japan (25 percent).

In early July, Freudenberg acquired 50-percent stake in Vibracoustic GmbH, Darmstadt, held by its former joint venture partner Trelleborg Holding AB, Trelleborg, Sweden.

The Vibracoustic group is the worldwide market and technology leader for antivibration components and modules for the global automotive industry. As the sole shareholder, Freudenberg has greater flexibility to further develop the Vibracoustic group strategically.

128 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

In August, Freudenberg acquired the laundry care specialist Gimi S.p.A. headquartered in Monselice, Italy. With its process know-how and its product range, Gimi ideally complements the portfolio of Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions.

In early October, the business of Freudenberg Schwab Vibration Control was sold to Trelleborg Holdings Germany GmbH, Stuttgart.

Under its new ownership, the company has long-term prospects of continued growth and global expansion.

development, Manufacturing and Testing facilities.Widely preferred in a variety of applications for agricultural, industrial, gensets, marine & pumpsets segments.

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Mechanical

Electronic

SPECIAL REPORT

Müller Brakes America Develops New Technologies, Plans To Enter India

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By Sharad Matade

he USbased Müller Brakes America, that manufactures brake pads, brake disc rotors and brake fluid, is working on ‘magnetic technology’ and ‘solid water component’ in the brakes segment and exploring new markets in India and Midele East Asia, CEO, Bob Ras, told AutoParts Asia. As vehicles are getting faster and lighter, the role Bob Ras of brakes becomes more crucial. “We do believe that we will be witnessing a major revolution in the brakes industry. With the increasing number of electric cars, the friction materials and traditional brakes will be replaced by the new magnetic technology. This proves how important R&D is for us,” he said.

“Sooner or later all cars will be stopped by magnetic and electric braking system instead of the traditional friction materials. Our production lines have a long-term plan in this regard which

I will not be able to disclose now,” Ras said.

Today’s growing, unpredictable traffic congestion and bad roads test brakes more than ever. Taking all these into account, Müller Brakes America’s focus is to design and develop new friction formulas which can be used on different roads and in diverse climates all over the world.

“We are working on some unique formulas which will have no metal component. This new formula will be made of “Solid Water” component. I am not able to say more on this,” he said.

“We have been distributing our products like brake pads, brake disc rotors and brake fluid in 65 countries. In 2018, we are planning to enter Indian and East Asian markets,” Ras said. The company has been in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for around a decade. “We have been in MENA markets since 2008 through

Brake Pads Carbon Ceramic product

Brake Pads Carbon Metallic product Brake Disc Rotors product

130 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

Brake Fluid DOT3 product

Brake Fluid DOT4 product

our other affiliated companies and family of brands, and we are very familiar with these markets. I believe Müller Brakes America will be very successful here since the focus is to bring top-quality products manufactured using the latest technology at the most competitive pricing,” he said.

The company participated in Automechanika Dubai 2017, and displayed its complete portfolio including professional brake pads, brake disc and brake fluids. “Automechanika Dubai is the first step to establish a footprint in MENA markets. Our goal is to familiarise all the visitors with the exclusive technology and quality level of Müller Brakes America,” Ras said.

Müller Brakes America’s current annual production capacity is six million sets.

“However, we can increase it to nine million in 12 months. We understand there is a huge potential in the MENA region which lacks high quality products. The market has been flooded with poor quality Chinese brands. We thought this market deserved to have better quality products at a very affordable price; therefore Müller Brakes America decided to distribute the products in MENA market through authorized distribution channels,” he said.

Though Müller Brakes America sees tremendous growth potential for its products, it intends to have only an inorganic expansion in the MENA region.

“We believe both organic and inorganic growth is equally important. However an inorganic catalyser is needed to introduce the products to the market for the first time. Automechanika Dubai does exactly that,” Ras said.

The company has created a unique programme for its authorised dealers in the Middle East by offering attractive incentives, discounts and benefits. Under the programme, the exclusive master distribution licence holders will get 15 percent discount on price list, while semi-exclusive distribution licensees and authorized reseller licensees will get 10 percent and five percent, respectively.

The company’s quality-tested products have obtained several certifications.

These include AMECA, LeafMark and E-Mark ECE R-90 by VCA. Combined with its ISO 9001 certification, Müller Brakes has become an ideal supplier for both developed and developing markets.The company’s advanced production and

Brake Fluid DOT5.1 product

new product tooling capabilities enable it to react to changes faster allowing for better catalogue management in addition to staying on top of the latest trends and technologies.

Positive Moulding Technology is an important factor as it provides more uniform density in the production of the brake pad. It also allows using less resin content in formulation of the brake pad which improves its fading characteristic.

The brake pads produced by positive moulding process have much better stopping performance, according to the company.

One of the major challenges for the brake makers is to increase the life of brakes to reduce down-time. According to Ras,

Brake Pads Premium Metallic product

the performance of any friction formula is a “fixed” combination of noise level, stopping power and lifespan. Now the challenge is to develop a formula which offers a great combination of all three.

“If we want to increase the lifespan or stopping power, we have to increase the metal ingredients while the higher level of metal ingredients may cause the risk of brake squeak. It’s absolutely a trade off. We have developed a new formula called Müller Carbon Ceramic Brake Pads which is a combination of minimum metal ingredients replaced with Carbon Fibre materials. This formula offers extensive lifespan while keeping the noise level to almost zero. This formula also was on display at Automechanika Dubai 2017.

The company is also into making brake fluids. “Müller brake fluids are designed, tested and manufactured in Belgium using the latest technology and the most premium raw materials. All our Dot 4 and Dot 5.1 have OE approvals from various car manufacturers,” Ras said.

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SPECIAL REPORT

BKT Narrows US Market Focus

By Sharad Matade

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alkrishna Industries Ltd (BKT) is becoming aggressive in the US market, focusing on branding, better product-mix and expanding distributors, Rajiv Poddar, Joint Managing Director, said.

“We are emphasising equally on products, promotion and distribution to expand our business in the US. The company is bringing more distributors and associates on board to enhance our penetration in the market. We are also investing in building our brand.

The exclusive tyre sponsorship to the Monster Jam event is a typical example.

On the products side, we are supplying a better product-mix with a wide range to cater to the market requirements,” he said.

Today, the company produces a wide range of tyres for agricultural, construction, industrial vehicles, earthmoving, port, mining, ATV and golf applications.

Currently, the US agriculture tyre market is suffering from falling crop prices and farmers’ income. Coupled with this, the increased production by some major tyre companies, and imports from China have intensified competition and may lead to oversupply in the US market.

However, Poddar believes that BKT’s strategy to offer premium options at reasonable prices will help the company excel in the US market, even in hard times.

Bhiwadi plant

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BKT specifically targets the midsegment brand category, where, in some categories, they are competing with premium brands such as Michelin and Bridgestone, on product offerings, but at lower prices. “For some of our agriculture tyres sold globally, we are narrowing our focus on most advanced technologies such as Increased Flexion (IF) and Very High Flexion (VF), which help increase farming efficiency through reducing compaction and increasing fuel economy. We are not selling a commodity, but an experience and advanced concepts and when you think of the cost of ownership, we are the best as we are giving the premium quality at lower prices and continuous support from service centres,” Poddar said. However, profit margins in the mid -segment brands vary on products and selling channels, he added.

IF-based tyres have more flexibility on the sidewalls than standard radial tyres. According to experts, due to the increased flexibility, the IF-based tyres carry 20 percent more load than the same size and inflated standard radial tyres. But VF tyres give more flexibility than IF tyres. VF tyres carry 40 percent more load than the same size and inflated standard radial tyres.

Though about 90 percent of BKT’s revenue comes from exports, it does not plan to build a manufacturing plant outside India. “We are based in India and shipping to 130 countries. We don’t

Rajiv Poddar

have any plan to have a manufacturing plant in any other country as we have just gone through a major expansion plan by setting up the Bhuj plant. As of now, we are targeting full capacity utilisation,” Poddar said.

The Bhuj plant, built up with an investment of $500 million, has a production capacity of 120,000 tonnes a year with capabilities to produce a diverse range – from 5-inch lawn tyres to 51-inch giant OTR tyres. The plant has a sophisticated R& D house and testing tracks. The Bhuj R&D department, equipped with physical and mechanical testing, has researchers, engineers, and technicians, working on from designing a new tyre, over

technologies and radialisation can be termed as green sustainability efforts in the OTR segment. “Though the drive for radialisation, IV and VF technology can’t be termed as green initiatives, it will automatically minimise energy consumption, save fuel and reduce impact on soil,” Poddar said.

Bhuj Plant

developing new compounds, to improving product performance as well as production processes.

The company claims to be the first tyre manufacturer to build an outdoor tyre testing track in India. The facility has six different tracks, the circuit stretches over 25 acres including tracks for tyre performance tests in wet and dry conditions, an asphalt track as well as an inclined concrete track.

Thanks to a large variety of tests, many relevant features such as traction, handling, comfort, noise, fuel consumption, braking, rolling resistance, soil compaction and many more can be measured by means of high-precision devices and instruments, according to the company.

Apart from the US, BKT will also focus on the Indian market, mainly on agriculture and mining sectors. Poddar said that demand for agriculture tyres are growing with the increase in the use of farm equipment. “Indian market is growing for agriculture tyres as the awareness of agriculture machinery among the farmers is better than 10 years ago. Coupled with this, easy availability of finance is fuelling demand for tractors and other farm equipment. So we are seeing the growth of agriculture tyre market in India,” he said.

The mining sector is also reviving on the efforts being taken by the new government.

“The new government is looking to take positive steps for the mining sector and we are seeing bigger vehicles in the mining sector. This will lead to use of bigger tyres.

We have less than one percent market share in mining tyre segment so there is a

Though radialisation is picking up in the OTR segment, bias tyres will always have scope for certain applications, according to Poddar.

“Radialisation will be very high in certain applications. But there will OTR Radial tyres manufacturing always be scope for bias tyres in certain applications such as port huge space for us to grow,” Poddar said. and underground mining.” The company, Poddar also thinks that OTR tyre industry during the Automechanika Dubai 2017, has gone through consolidation and no launched Portmax PT 93, the engineered major consolidation will be seen in the tyre for terminal tractors that is perfect for near future. “I think, The OTR segment has operations already gone through the consolidation at ports and phase. However, we are not particularly logistic hubs. targeting an inorganic growth. But we are However, no open to evaluating if something comes on specific efforts our way. We are keen on bringing more are being technologies and capacity utilisation, he taken by OTR said. manufacturers The biggest challenge on the OTR like the segment is after-sales service. “The OTR is passenger or a high technical segment. The requirement commercial of service, equipment and maintenance of tyre the equipment is critical and costly. And segments on to tackle this challenge, we have tied up sustainability. with service providers in the key markets,” According to BKT Agrimax RT 600 Terragator Poddar said.

Poddar, new AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 133

REGULATION

UAE Law Soon To Rate Light Vehicle Workshops

By Sharad Matade

Khalaf Khalaf

The UAE will introduce a regulation and rating system to minimize fatal road accidents due to the poor maintenance of cars and to improve the standard of workshops and repairing centres. This regulation will cover light vehicle workshops with fixed or mobile facilities. It will classify them according to specific criteria based on a star system of one to five.

“The regulation will be introduced in the Cabinet in two months and the Authority will take a year, after the approval, for its basic enforcement. By May 2019, classification and star rating system will be in place. Basic requirements and criteria for evaluation and classification of workshops are based on five components: Basic tools and equipment needed for repair, qualified technical personnel and their competence, effective documentations and follow- up, service location facilities and service level, and minimum requirement of health, safety and environment ,” Khalaf Khalaf , Director of Standards Department at Emirates Authority For Standardization and Metrology, told AutoParts Asia in an exclusive interview. The edited excerpts:134 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

Q: Why this regulation for workshops and repairing centres in the UAE? A: An alignment among various sectors needs to be put in place. There is also need for completeness to the comprehensive legislation for the vehicle sector in the UAE. We also hope that we are contributing to reduce car accidents and road fatalities on account of poor maintenance and to improve the standard of garages and service centres by having certain objective criteria and classification, with no room for subjective actions. These are some of the reasons for introducing the new regulation. It will cover both the aftermarket workshops and repair centres and the OE-authorized service centres in the UAE. It will also improve the working skill of the employees of the workshops and repair centres.

Q: What about heavy vehicles?

A: This regulation will be only for the light vehicles. No other vehicle will be in the scheme for the next three years.

Q: How many workshops and repairing centres are likely to be covered by the new law?

A: I don’t have exact figures, but the number of the workshops and repairing centres is not an issue, the question is how many workshops and repairing centres will be there once the rating system is introduced. The regulation will limit the number of workshops and repairing centres of light vehicles based on the one to five star rating criteria.

Q: The service centres and workshops will have to employ skilled workers, technicians and use advanced equipment to follow the new regulations and to get good rating. Will this not increase the cost for the end-users?

A: I don’t think so. The end-users even now pay heavily to repair their vehicles multiple times by unskilled technicians and workers. In some cases, people get their cars repaired by an unskilled technician and then again have to go to a better technician. In both cases they pay too much. But once there is the star rating system in the market, people can assess the skill competency and credibility of the workshops and repairing centres. This regulation will also help improve the working environment for workers and employees in the workshops and repairing centres and increase customer satisfaction by reducing the number of complaints.

Q: Do you think this will control spurious parts in the UAE market?

A: A regulation is coming to address duplicate and spurious parts. This issue is being tackled.

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TECHNOLOGY

Intelligent Material-Mix To Shed Weight For Audi A8 APA Bureau

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udi is writing a new chapter in its lightweight design success story. Cars are made of steel, aluminium and even carbon. But Audi’s engineers understand one thing about each of these materials: None of them really are very good as solo acts.

The lightweight design experts at Audi had long ago abandoned the fixation on using a single material in lightweight design.

With a mix of aluminium, steel, magnesium and carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) they are establishing a new stage in multi-material construction in the Audi Space Frame (ASF) for the next generation of the Audi A8 – in keeping with the principle “the right material in the right place and in the right amount.”

“We want to exploit the specific strengths of each material,” Helmut Stettner, Manager of Audi’s plant in Neckarsulm, said. Since 1994, this plant has been building the flagship A8, a model that will enter its fourth generation this summer. This vehicle will showcase Audi engineers’ exhaustive knowledge about lightweight construction.

The most important element of this work is the `intelligent material-mix’ used in the car. It is a phrase that describes the combination of materials being used. In designing the car, Audi’s engineers continued to employ the brand’s well-known space-frame construction for the body. But they also added a new twist: Every individual part is analyzed to determine whether it can be made of aluminium, steel, carbon or magnesium, depending on the part’s workload and location in the car.

For the first time, four different materials are being used in the body alone. But that’s not all: In production, 14 different methods are used to affix the parts. The luxury sedan is thus once again rightfully claiming its role as an innovation driver in automotive

136 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

makes it possible to control precisely the penetration depth of the laser by means of the heat input. In this way, process control can immediately determine the gap width between parts being joined, and this can effectively be closed using regulating controls. The laser beam’s high feed rate and low energy use reduce the CO2 emissions of this production step by about one fourth.

This new process also results in a 95 percent savings on recurring costs in series production because it eliminates the need for costly process controls required with conventional laser welding. The remote laser welding technology perfectly symbolizes the entire production of the new Audi A8. lightweight design: Its low weight and impressive rigidity offer greater performance, efficiency and safety.

Joining Technology Lightweight construction is all about joining technology. Different metals and carbon simply cannot be welded or bolted together.

They react in completely different ways to heat and stress. As a result, they warp during processing. Nothing fits together then.

To do the job, it takes cuttingedge bonding processes that go by all sorts of exotic names: Roller hemming, grippunch riveting, friction element welding. Technical gobbledygook that represents extremely complicated processes.

Sometimes, “only” a slap of adhesive will do the trick. But when this happens, an ultrasound device is used to determine whether the right amount of adhesive has been applied in each place it is needed.

This, too, is high-tech.

The production technology was devised and perfected at the Audi plant in Neckarsulm, which is also home to the brand’s Lightweight Construction Centre. Bernd Mlekusch, the head of this centre, really likes having technical development and production so close to each other: “We can immediately put our ideas into action and do not have to travel a long way to do so,” he said.

The result is an A8 with a multi-material design. “It takes more work to produce the body of the next generation of the A8 than it does for the current model,” Plant Manager Stettner said. The complicated production processes are the cause of this additional work. The principle of less is more applies only to weight in this regard. Otherwise, significantly more know-how, expertise and, thus, work have gone into the new luxury class sedan.

The story of lightweight construction at Neckarsulm began in 1982. At the time, engineers began to experiment with aluminium as an automotive material. “It took five years until we had a prototype made of aluminium,” Heinrich Timm, Director of the Lightweight Construction Centre, then, said.

The technology of aluminium die-casting was an uncharted territory back then. Today, parts made by this process are used in all luxury class cars around the world. In 1999, the company celebrated a “sensation” with the A2, a vehicle whose side frame was made completely from aluminium for the first time, Timm said.

Innovative Process In terms of its overall dimensions, an ultrahigh-strength, torsionally rigid rear panel made of CFRP is the largest component in the occupant cell of the new Audi A8, and it contributes 33 percent to the torsional rigidity of the total vehicle. To optimally absorb longitudinal and transverse loads

As for the ‘warm’ joining processes, Audi stands alone among the premium automakers by virtue of its development of remote laser welding for use with aluminium.

Exact positioning of the laser beam in relation to the welding edge considerably reduces the risk of hot cracking during the production process. The new process AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 137

TECHNOLOGY upcoming flagship. A total of 14,400 metric tons of steel were needed just for construction of the new, 41-meterhigh body shop, twice as much steel as was used for the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

as well as shearing force, between six and 19 fibre layers are placed one on top of the other, ensuring a loadoptimized layout.

These individual fibre layers consist of tapes 50 millimeters wide and can be placed individually in a finished layered package, with any desired fibre angle and minimal trimming of the fibres. The innovative direct-fibre layering process, specially developed for this purpose, makes it possible to dispense with the normally needed intermediary step of manufacturing entire sheets. Using another newly-developed process, the layered package is wetted with epoxide resin and sets within minutes.

A high-strength combination of hotformed steel components makes up the occupant cell, which comprises the lower section of the front bulkhead, the side sills, the B-pillars and the front section of the roof line. Some of these sheet metal blanks are produced in varying thicknesses using tailoring technologies – meaning they are customized – and others also undergo partial heat treatment. That reduces weight and increases the strength, especially in areas of the vehicle that are particularly critical for safety.

The aluminium components make up 58 percent of the new Audi A8 body, the largest share in the mix of materials. Cast nodes, extruded profiles and sheets are the elements characteristic of the ASF design.

And here too the competition of materials has been driving progress.

New heat-treated, ultra-high-strength cast alloys attain a tensile strength of over 230 MPa (megapascals). The corresponding yield strength in the tensile test is over 180 MPa, and for the profile alloys it is higher than 280,

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i.e. 320 MPa – significantly higher values than seen previously.

Rounding out the intelligent mix of materials is the magnesium strut brace. A comparison with the predecessor model shows that it contributes 28-percent weight savings.

Aluminium bolts secure the connection to the strut tower domes, making them a guarantor of the body’s high torsional rigidity. In the event of a frontal collision, the forces generated are distributed to three impact buffers in the front end.

Benefits For Customers In addition to the complete redevelopment of the Audi Space Frame for the next generation A8, the production halls at the Neckarsulm location were specially built for the

The highly complex yet energyefficient production operation uses 14 different joining processes, including roller hemming at the front and rear door cut-outs. This mechanical, “cold” technology is used to join the aluminum side wall frame to the hot-formed, ultra-strong steel sheets at the B-pillar, roof line and sills. The engineers thus realized improvements of up to 36 millimeters (1.4 in) at the door cut-outs compared to the predecessor model. That in turn makes getting in and out of the car even more comfortable and widens the driver’s field of vision around the A-pillar, an area that is key to safe driving.

When engineers select the materials they plan to use, they have something more than customer comfort in mind. They also have to think about providing protection during an accident and meeting legal requirements. This is why a strut made of magnesium has been added under the hood. This light metal adds rigidity to a particularly sensitive area: Directly in front of the driver and front-seat passenger.

“Safety standards are constantly rising,” the Audi expert Mlekusch said.

“For this vehicle, we took all of them into consideration – around the world.”

The engineers have also designed the A8 to use an electric battery someday.

Electric mobility makes it necessary to use lightweight construction for big cars. After all, batteries are heavy.

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Filters, Oils & Lubes Special With the automotive industry attempting to clean itself and clean the environment, the vehicle makers are finding options to make their products comply with the emerging emission norms. And the easiest option is lubes and oils coupled with filters. Hence the special on Filters, Oils & Lubes. The special edition will have features on the initiatives taken by key players in this segment with some research findings.

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Issue Release:

Advertising Deadline :

August 2017

20th July 2017

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To advertise contact:

Devakumar

+91 99401 72323 deva@abm.net.in

www.autopartsasia.in

FOCUS

BorgWarner Remains Close To Customer, Market BorgWarner Inc., a world-wide supplier of automotive industry components and parts, is known for its powertrain products, which include manual and automatic transmissions and transmission components. The company has 60 manufacturing facilities across 18 countries.

Borgwarner Emission System India Pvt. Ltd. manufactures clutch system parts, coolant pumps and EGR systems. “We are considered to be an Indian MNC. We localise to remain competitive. This is part of the BorgWarner strategy to be close to the customer and the market.

We have all the technologies in-house. It is the differentiating factor between us and the competition. By 2023 we will be on the same level as our American and European partners with respect to R&D,” Sudhir Kumar Chawla, Managing Director, BorgWarner Emission Systems India, told T Murrali of AutoParts Asia, in an exclusive interview. The excerpts:-

Sudhir Kumar Chawla

Q: Can you update us about your products and the prospects to expand the portfolio.

A: We are into EGR modules, throttle bodies, thermostats, glow plugs -this is the portfolio from emissions. The emission products are all BS-VI compliant and they meet the requirements of the market. Of course, it will all depend on the strategy of the customers; we have the modules for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles (CVs) as also for diesel and gasoline.

Q: What is BorgWarner’s USP? A: What we are trying to showcase is BorgWarners’s capability to give single point solutions. We have the technology for EGR valves, tubes and coolers. There is nobody else in the market giving a package solution having all these, as one company.

We have all the technologies in-house, it is the differentiating factor between us and the competition. By 2023 we will be on the same level as our American and European partners with respect to R&D.

Emissions EGR System with Hybrid cooler

140 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

Q: Have you already roped in some customers for these BSVI compliant products?

A: Yes, two products are already there, for Mahindra and Renault. We have also another one, EGR electric valve, for Cummins which will go into production this year.

In BS-IV pneumatic valves are being used but for BS-VI you will require motorised electric valves. We already have the production lines available for this. It will depend on what the customers would want and their powertrain strategy for low or high pressure loops.

Q: Where do you see more opportunities for this?

A: Our counterparts in Europe have gone through the learning cycle for both high and low pressure loops. There they use low pressure loops also while here customers go in for high pressure. So we are just educating the customer on the utility of both these, based on our understanding and practice; we help the customers in defining their vehicle’s strategy in the light of our global experience and learning curve.

Q: Any new product in the portfolio of this division that is not available in India?

A: Two years ago we had brought in Euro-VI, mainly for export, which was a preparation for us for BS-VI; at that time we didn’t know that BS-VI would come in by 2020. It was really a blessing in disguise as OEMs want suppliers to give them a complete solution to take care of problems as and when they crop up.

Q: BS-VI should combine both EGR and SCR; but do you have a role in optimising them based on the engine capacity?

A: Yes; absolutely. It is for the customer to decide capacity of engine to go with EGR. Q: For example, a commercial vehicle may require both. . .

A: Not every time. There have been applications for LCVs only with EGR up to six cylinders.

Beyond six cylinders they would go for an EGR-SCR combination though some may want only SCR. Q: Can SCR alone satisfy?

A: Ultimately, it’s a technocommercial decision.

Technically, both will have to join beyond Euro-5. We are finding more customers for the lower capacity engines, up to 6 cylinders, with EGR technology.

Beyond that they will have to consider a combination of EGR-SCR but the cost factor will come into play.

Q: Is SCR in BorgWarner’s portfolio?

A: No, it is not in our portfolio but we are ready for either of the solutions that the customer wants. At this point we don’t have plans to manufacture SCR. So far we have been working with companies dealing with internal combustion engines. Now we are also working with hybrids and electric vehicles. We took over Remi and we also work with Tesla. We do have a product portfolio for this but this may not be the right time for India. Globally, there is a large focus on it.

Emissions Dual Poppet EGR Valve

Emissions Conventional wax Thermostat

Emissions Combination Valve Emissions High Pressure EGR System AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 141

FOCUS

Emissions Pressure Sensing Glow Plug Emissions Low Pressure EGR System

Emissions Glow Plug Control Unit

Emissions Heated wax Thermostat

Emissions Exhaust Throttle Valve

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Q: Another challenge is about the fuel availability for testing, as BS-VI is not exactly Euro-6. For exports, it is fine with Euro-VI. But how are you going to have trials for BS-VI? A: Regarding fuel availability we have come to an understanding with our customers on how to meet it. Our engagement with customers is at an advanced stage of discussion for all BS-VI programmes. Everybody – Government, OEMs, and auto component manufacturers - is working with clear guidelines, so it will happen.

Q: Can you update us on your manufacturing operations?

A: For emissions we have two plants, one at Manesar and the other at Talegaon in Pune. At Manesar we are primarily making all the EGR solutions, the complete module with testing and validation, total engineering, application and manufacturing. In the Talegaon plant we use cold start technology to manufacture glow plugs, their control modules and, shortly, thermostats.

Q: Have you created an assembly line here, for thermostats?

A: We have been producing EGR systems from 2008; thermostats will be put up now as a separate product line. In 2012 we were primarily an EGR cooler supplier; from then every year we have been adding a product line – bypass, EGR tubes, electric valves and now the complete module with testing and validation facility with a high level of localisation. Currently the parts supplied to customers are highly localised, more than 90 percent; some products are even 97 percent.

That is why we are considered to be an Indian MNC. We have to localise to remain competitive. This is part of the BorgWarner strategy to be close to the customer and the market.

Q: Are you sourcing some critical components where India has a cost advantage?

A: Cost advantage – people used to talk only about labour. But today all the giants have R&D labs here and engineering centres have opened

up, right from the Japanese to Europeans.

Q: What about sourcing of child parts?

A: Sourcing of child parts does become an issue sometimes but we do sit with the OEMs to come up with solutions.

Q: Do BorgWarner plants outside India, source components from here?

A: Sometimes, yes. Of course it has to be techno-commercially beneficial. Duties come into play, so we evaluate case to case. This is for deemed exports.

Q: Will the capacity of the Manesar plant be sufficient, going forward?

A: Oh yes. Our role is to be ahead of time. For 2020, all the lines in our plant are ready today to meet customer requirements.

Q: Globally, BorgWarner wants to cross USD 15 billion by 2022. To what extent do you think India can contribute to that vision?

A: India is playing a good role especially with BS-IV and BS-VI coming into play. Our coolers for vehicles will keep on improving.

Q: How much has the content per vehicle improved since 2008, the time you started the division in India?

A: For two years the automotive industry as a whole was stagnant.

2012 was good when BS-IV moved to more cities. Again, 2016 was a good year for us and 2017 will continue the growth with BS-IV becoming pan India.

A lot of applications have come in with BS-IV like EGR for passenger cars, CVs and off-road vehicles.

The waiting time is over, now it is all execution for us.

Q: At what percentage is your CAGR? A: It is reflected in our global statement at the corporate level.

We have one financial result which is in the US; we don’t talk of local numbers. Of course, ours is definitely better than the market rate.

MANUFACTURING

Design Freedom Makes Additive Manufacturing Acceptable EOS GmbH is the global technology and quality leader for high-end solutions in the field of additive manufacturing (AM). EOS offers e-Manufacturing solutions for the design and manufacture of industrial components. It offers additive manufacturing solutions for engineering, business, design, and innovation applications. The company provides systems and modular solutions for additive manufacturing from polymer materials, systems and solutions for metal manufacturing, and software solutions to prepare CAD data for additive manufacturing. In an exclusive interaction with T Murrali of AutoParts Asia, Prakasam Anand, Country Manager, SAARC, EOS Gmbh (Electro Optical Systems), said: “Automotive OEMs apply additive manufacturing more in R&D mainly for product development. It is also used in the manufacture of high-end cars where volumes are low and cost is not a priority. This is a good technology to use in the areas of fuel injection and suspensions. One of the biggest selling points of additive manufacturing is the design freedom it offers for manufacturing.” The excerpts:-

SeatBelt buckles

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Prakasam Anand

Q: What is additive manufacturing?

A: First of all I would like to define 3-D printing and tell you how additive manufacturing comes into the picture. There are three levels in 3-D printing: The first level is the personal printer where it is only defined to polymers that are mainly for visualisation, the second level is the office printer placed, for example, in every catch station of an R&D unit.

This may be a little more accurate but is again predominantly used for visualisation, form fitment, assembly tests, etc. The third level is the industrial printer used for production of parts or tools – these type of 3-D industrial printers are called additive manufacturing. Unlike the other two this level has standards to be followed like ASTM, DIN or ISO. Q: Can it produce components based on different materials, is there any limitation?

A: Industrial 3-D printers typically have two categories of machinery – the polymer category that can print parts from different types of plastic like nylon, abs and the metal category that can print specifically on different types of metals like stainless steel, titanium, aluminium; we even have a machine that can print on gold.

Q: Surprised to know you can print on titanium.

A: In titanium there is CP (pure titanium) and an alloy (TI64) with 4% aluminium and 6% vanadium or vice versa. Titanium can be processed in this alloy and printed because the raw material is in the form of a

Swirler

powder. It has the same structural strength, maybe a bit better than a cast part.

Q: Is this part made by tool bits using powder technology and compression?

A: No. Imagine there is a cylinder that’s in the software as a CAD. If I Helicopter housing have to print it on a 3-D industrial printer I would have to do it layer by friendly is additive manufacturing for layer. So I take it in the software and slice this? the cylinder into 50,000 circles. Then I A: Additive manufacturing can give you spread one layer of powder, which is the a die, and using that die you can make raw material, and use a laser beam to the insert module; directly you cannot melt the powder; this gives me the first print the part using the technology we cylinder. Similarly, the second cylinder are talking about. But there are some comes on top of this, then the third and technologies using a nozzle where you so on. So you have 50,000 circles put can keep the inserts inside the bed and together to give you a seamless part. In put the plastic around it. This is only CNC, you have a block and you remove for a prototype scale; on a production material to come to the centre; here it is scale you have to make a die using 3-D just the reverse – you grow material and printing. go outside.

Q: Coming to sheet metal, tools and Q: When people talk of a 3-D printed dies take a lot of time to manufacture. car, does it mean that separate For an OEM, the tool makers take 6 components are printed and made to 9 months or even a year. How will through additive manufacturing, and additive manufacturing help them then assembled? reduce this time?

A: Yes. A: When we talk of tooling, additive Q: How about dual materials? For manufacturing is only focused on example, for door modules there are injection moulding and die-casting. It some parts that need dual materials does not give any value addition to a like metal and plastic that are fused sheet metal part. The reason is when I together, the insert module. How print a die for injection moulding there

EOS_System_M_100

AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 145

MANUFACTURING

Tool insert module

is a liquid, plastic or metal that comes inside. It cools down, the die opens and the part falls out. So what we can do very effectively in additive manufacturing is that we can run specific cooling channels inside the die. This means that if a production lot takes 20 seconds, by cooling more effectively, from 20 we can go to 10 seconds. This is how companies get a huge commercial benefit from this.

Q: For example, the skin panel of a car where it is a profile or the front fender that has to accommodate the bonnet, head lamp, and the wheel arc. To make a die or tool for this would take six months to one year as it is a complicated process. What kind of a solution can additive manufacturing give to make the tool? Is it possible to make it in a shorter time-frame?

A: If you look at it from a production timeline for dies, usually the saving on the lead time is about 75 percent.

However, not all parts or tools are for the additive process because you have to look at it from the commercial viability perspective.

When you add material, you are also adding a lot of machine time, which means incurring more cost.

So it is more practical to identify the hot spots in a part, like the fender for example, and make those segments with additive manufacturing while using conventional methods for the rest. This is precisely for component manufacturing.

Q: What is the penetration level of this technology in the automotive industry?

A: In automotive there are two areas. If you go to the OEMs, the penetration is more in R&D as it is not able to meet production volumes in the industry; so presently, it is used only for product

146 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

development. What companies are trying to see is whether this technology can be used for weight reduction. It can be used in the manufacture of high-end cars where volumes are low and cost is not a priority. This is a good technology to use in the areas of fuel injection and suspensions.

Q: In passenger car applications sometimes you have aluminium and steel coming together. Is there a way for companies to use additive manufacturing when multiple materials are used?

A: In metals there are two types of technologies, powder bed and spray. In powder bed the powder is spread layer by layer in a defined chamber with a laser penetrating the layers. In non-powder bed there is a platform with two nozzles injecting the powder and a laser beam melting the injected powder. But this is meant for R&D or prototype work, not for full-fledged production levels.

Q: For automotives is it still limited to prototypes?

A: Yes, for direct parts but at the component level suppliers are implementing it for tooling and earning good benefit therein.

It increases production rates and tool life, and reduces scrappage due to precise cooling.

Tool life would increase by 15-20 percent and cycle time would improve by 30-60 percent.

Q: Overall what is the ROI? How soon can the investor amortise?

Rotor

MANUFACTURING

Industrial Gear

HeatExchanger

Knuckle

Aerospace Seat belt buckles

148 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

A: To give an example – for any typical 100mm size plastic part, the average saving in the production of about one lakh pieces is about Rs.15 lakh. Since cooling is faster and productivity higher one could even save the cost of making an additional die. This is an added benefit that additive manufacturing can give.

Q: To what extent can this technology give flexibility to the designer in coming out with new generation parts?

A: One of the biggest

selling points of additive manufacturing is the design freedom it offers for manufacturing. If you slightly tweet it, it can become design for function.

The designer has only to follow the rules for designing, to use it for both function and manufacturing. Also, the process helps in weight reduction and integrating components to come up with something better. For example, fuel nozzles earlier were made up of 20 different parts; now with the new design it is just one part which is more durable at less production cost.

Q: To what extent can this help reduce the product development cycle?

A: From a design capability the big advantage is that it helps you iterate many times within the product development cycle period. More iterations and testing will give you a better component.

Q: How do you see the Indian market for this kind of technology?

A: The Indian market right now is in the beginning stage for metals. Polymer printing has been there for many years and 2-wheeler components like air filter boxes, fenders and other plastic parts have been manufactured using it. You

don’t need to make a die, these parts can be directly printed. TVS and Bajaj make the prototypes in-house using 3-D printing – for development, not production. The same concept holds true for cars also - you can print all the interiors, doors, trims, etc.

Q: Are there opportunities to make thinwalled castings, where heat dissipation is faster and weight is lower?

A: Yes, especially for heat exchangers, radiators and other areas that can develop more.

Q: When do you see it taking off in a big way globally and in India?

A: Today the market is pretty active in aerospace, defence, dental and medical. In automotive it is taken up in tooling. Direct parts will take-off provided productivity of the machines increase.

However, adaption has already started; in the last 15-18 months we have seen a renewed interest in the automotive sector, may be because of the emission norms in vogue now. People want to try something new.

Q: Please name some of the components in production for aerospace.

A: The biggest application in the aerospace segment is the aero engine. All static parts like fuel injectors, compressor vanes, and flame tubes are the first that go into qualification; these parts are made from inconel (a nickel alloy) and titanium.

Over the next few years after these parts get qualified, people will go in for rotating parts like blades etc.

Q: Do you think additive manufacturing can completely do away with the brick and mortar machine tool industry?

A: I don’t believe so. The simple reason is additive manufacturing can give you a part that is near net shaped.

Sometimes you may need to machine it further. It’s not that you start and end with a CNC machine. The starting point of a production cycle could be additive manufacturing but after that the part may have to go through milling, drilling and other operations. Today it’s the other way around – we do milling, drilling etc, and then do EDM to get the final part.

So additive manufacturing will not do away with the use of machine tools, it will complement it. It will help you to realise designs and products that you would never dream of otherwise.

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INSIGHTS

Venezuela Takes Over GM Plant, Similar Fate Awaits More MNCs

By Louis Rumao

A

t the end of a long standing legal dispute, the Venezuelan government has taken over the car factory owned by General Motors (GM), a company that has been doing business in the country since 1948. The carmaker quickly condemned the action, saying it would cause GM “irreparable harm.” After the seizure, GM’s Venezuelan subsidiary has sent a message to the almost 2,700 staff informing them that they are no longer employed by the company and some employees reported that they had received severance pay in their bank accounts.

The details are yet to be known well.

Many employees at the plant said that they believe that the auto dealers, not government officials, were responsible for the takeover, as a result of the longstanding legal dispute.

The event was initiated when a Venezuelan court in the western state of Zulia ordered the US company’s assets frozen and its property seized, siding against GM in a lawsuit filed by a former GM dealer in 2000, according to Venezuelan news accounts. Why the court issued the ruling

more than 16 years later, at the peak of anti-government protests, was unclear.

The automaker said the judicial order was “arbitrary” and “in total disregard of GM’s right to due process, causing irreparable damage to the company.”

Venezuela sits on one of the largest oil reserves in the world. Along with the oil price fall, its oil-dependent economy also fell. Inflation in the country escalated more than 800 percent in 2016 and is expected to surge 720 percent this year, according to IMF. In 2016 the country’s GDP shrank more than 18 percent. Venezuela is roiling in economic troubles and facing severe food shortages and triple-digit inflation.

Automotive production has come to a near standstill as the cash-strapped government has choked off car companies’ access to dollars needed to import parts and repatriate profits. Last year, not even 3,000 vehicles were produced in Venezuela, down from some 170,000 in 2007, according to the Associated Press.

“All foreign companies, and especially the US firms, should be concerned with the increasingly extreme and aggressive behaviour of the Venezuelan regime,” Ian Vasquez, director of the Cato Institute’s Centre for Global Liberty and Prosperity, told FOX Business News. Many US-based companies have ceased operations in “one of the least free economies in the world” and that trend will likely continue, Vasquez said. “It would be surprising if the few US companies that still have a presence in Venezuela would choose to remain there much longer,” he said.

The current unrest is Venezuela’s worst since 2014, with anti-government protests entering fourth week on April 24.

Protesters blame Maduro - heir of the leftist Bolivarian Revolution launched by the late Hugo Chavez in 1999 - for an economic crisis marked by severe shortages of food, medicine, and basic goods. Maduro says the protests against him are part of a USbacked coup plot. Therefore, it is likely that the anti-American actions are governmentled, and not caused by the citizenry.

It’s not the first time the Venezuelan government has seized a foreign corporation’s facilities. Last July, the government said it would take over a

150 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

factory belonging to Kimberly-Clark Corp. after the American personal care giant said it was halting manufacturing because raw materials were not available in Venezuela.

Companies have been cutting operations in Venezuela as a result of runaway inflation and strict currency controls. Last May, tyre-maker Bridgestone sold its business there after six decades of operating in the country.

Ford Motor Co. in early 2015 said it would take a one-time $800 million pretax charge for Venezuela after regulations in the country stopped the automaker from exchanging US dollars for bolivars.

Ford has an assembly plant in Valencia employing about 2,500, but it has not produced vehicles since December 2016 as it balances production with demand, a Ford spokeswoman said. It opened in 1962 and produces the Ford Explorer and Fiesta.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Toyota Motor Corp. also have factories in Venezuela. Toyota has about 1,200 employees at a plant in Cumana that builds vehicles including the Corolla. A Toyota spokesman said the company’s operations have not been affected, though it is “monitoring the situation closely.” Fiat Chrysler has an assembly plant in Valencia that employs about 880; they build the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Forza. The company said Thursday it is maintaining its production plans there.

But the move against GM, the United States’ biggest automaker, was a much more powerful statement, and could lead

to a further erosion of relations between the two countries. But in the end, the takeover might prove to be a blessing in disguise for GM! Business for GM and other foreign carmakers in the Caribbean nation was already suffering before the seizure.

Competition in the shrinking market has also increased as the Venezuelan government partnered with Chinese companies to import cars and manufacture them locally.

For years, OEM’s have struggled to import car parts and other raw materials due to government currency controls. Car buyers are also scarce; this is not surprising given that many Venezuelans cannot even afford enough food. Last year, only 3,000 cars were sold—in a country of roughly 30 million people, as per statistics from Venezuela’s Chamber for the Automotive Industry, CAVENEZ. By seizing its installations, the government has essentially given GM a chance to cut its losses. GM, which was once the country’s leading car manufacturer, is getting the perfect out. Others might not be so lucky.

Indeed, despite the turmoil, car companies have so far appeared to be committed to Venezuela for the long haul and played nice with the government. The General Motors seizure will force them to rethink that strategy.

GM’s future in Venezuela will depend on the outcome of the legal action being perused, economy and government policies, potentially through a new election.

NB: Photos are representational AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 151

INSIGHTS

She Ain’t Your Momma!

H

By Stefan Pertz females work in the industry: Clerks, accountants, PR managers, marketing directors and even managing directors.

Yes, these are all office jobs, but nonetheless they break through the stigma of our industry being a ‘male’ one.

ave you been asked: “What’s your mother doing?” Maybe she is a stay-home mum or she is working in a profession or she may even be a self-employed. Mine worked as a bookkeeper in a publishing company. And that was fine. No one bats an eye over that.

Supporting Needs

Don’t Mess With Her I am sure many others will have similar experiences when they tell people that their moms work as teachers, nurses, flight attendants or in a building management office. Kim Walker is a friend of mine and his daughter is a professional Muay Thai fighter.

Now, here it gets a bit itchy for me to discuss this topic of female drivers as I can, obviously, only speak from a male point of view. I hope that this may get some lady-drivers to speak out, too.

What if someone were to say that his or her mother was earning a living driving a truck? I am sure that would raise some eyebrows and get a bunch of follow-up questions. What could be wrong with such a job? Overnight trips which require staying outside home? Nothing that flight attendants haven’t been doing for decades. Getting up early for work? My mom had to get moving at 5:00 am Monday to Friday.

Is the job dirty? I dare say it is not.

Modern trucks and equipment are built with ergonomics and protection of the worker in mind.

Certainly, the profession as a truck driver is not illegal.

Job Satisfaction In the very few interviews I have had with female drivers, they all told me they enjoy the work. For various reasons. Just like males, some enjoy it for the travel, others

152 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

like the fact that they are working independently. For some, the job as a truck driver is also a stepping stone to another career within transportation and logistics. I would argue that it makes sense to have been a driver for a while before managing a fleet of trucks.

That way, one knows what is happening on the road.

I have no proof that one of the fundamental problems here is the image of the truck driver.

Yes, maybe not happy about the working hours or the unwelcoming attitude others may give them, but no group-grudge.

Better Drivers However, say that you are working for a global PR firm and people at a cocktail party want to know more about your job. Transporters actually like hiring women. I have been told that they are the better, more careful drivers. Yes, we guys have a bit of a macho-thing going when we are behind the steering wheel of a huge machine.

I am surprised at how many

Perhaps the supporting infrastructure isn’t ready yet?

There are driver lounges in many places, but do they cater to the needs of two genders?

Perhaps it is not so much of an issue of the ladies not wanting to carry out this job, but that of not finding the required support to do so. We already know that in many cases there isn’t even enough space at rest stops to accommodate all the vehicles. Now add to that the need to accommodate the needs of female drivers and maybe we see why we aren’t ready yet.

Maybe the trucks themselves also need a bit of a make-over?

Could it be that the needs of female drivers differ from males?

And jokes aside, I am not talking just about a pink paintjob. I have interviewed truck manufacturers, whereby some don’t include any drivers at all in the development process. Not once have I heard that there would be a group of lady drivers invited to comment on the design and functionality of the next generation truck.

Could this be the next big thing in workforce development and truck design? Perhaps. For now, I am hoping that we can work on the image of the truckers so that soon people will be able to proudly answer when asked who is driving a big rig “That’s my momma!.”

(Stefan Pertz is the Editor of Asian Trucker Malaysia & Asian Business.

Views expressed are personal)

ANALYSIS

Passenger Vehicle Sales Spurt in April; CV Market Falls APA Bureau

A

pril, beginning of the new financial year, marked strong growth for passenger vehicles segment, while commercial vehicle sales declined sharply. India’s passenger vehicle sales in April, 2017 grew 14.68 percent to 319,503 compared to 301,734 units sold in the same month last year. Within the passenger vehicles, passenger cars and utility vehicle sales grew 17.36 percent and 13.71 percent, respectively, while vans declined 6.93 percent.

Most of the passenger vehicle manufacturers reported double digit growth supported by new product launches. Maruti Suzuki, recording a growth of 23.4 percent in April 2017, registered one of its best performances with monthly dispatches of 144,492 units in the domestic market, over 117,045 units in the same month last year. Hyundai Motor grew 5.7 percent in domestic sales during April 2017, and delivered 44,758 units to its customers as against 42,351 units in the same month a year ago.

On the back of the compact hatchback Tiago and compact sedan Tigor, Tata Motors continued its growth momentum by selling 12,827 units in the domestic market in April recording a growth of 23 percent over April 2016. Nissan Motor India reported an uptick of 39 percent in domestic sales in April 2017 to 4,217 vehicles from 3,028 in April 2016. Honda Cars India’s domestic sales grew 38.1 percent in April 2017 to 14480 compared to 10486 units sold in the same month last year. The newly-launched Honda WR-V and Honda City brought new customers to the fold. Toyota Kirloskar Motor registered 52 percent sales growth in the domestic market and sold 12,948 units in April 2017.

The PV segment is forecast to grow seven to nine percent during 2017-18 according to industry body SIAM, on

the back of better Pay Commission payouts and better agricultural sowing.

Two-wheelers Two-wheeler sales registered a growth of 7.34 percent in April 2017 over April 2016.

Scooters and motorcycles grew 25.30 percent and 0.50 percent, respectively, while mopeds declined 13.58 percent in April 2017 over April 2016. The pressure on twowheeler sales is because of pre-buying before implementation of BS-lV.

Commercial Vehicles Overall commercial vehicle sales declined 22.93 percent in April 2017 compared to the same month last year. Medium and heavy commercial vehicles declined 54.91 percent, while light commercial vehicles grew marginally by 1.87 percent in April 2017 over the same month last year.

The commercial vehicle sector was in the red owing to pre-buying, preceding the rollout of BS-IV emission norms from April 1, 2017, and the eight to 10 percent price increase of BS-IV vehicles, especially in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle segment and buses.

Tata Motors’ commercial vehicle domestic sales in April stood at 16,017 units, 36 percent lower to April 2016.

The company says this is an unusual decline, in exceptional circumstances.

VE Commercial Vehicles, Volvo Group and Eicher Motors joint venture, sold 3089 units in April 2017 compared

to 5365 units in April 2016 recording an overall decline of 42.4 percent.

This includes 3077 units of the Eicher brand and 12 units of the Volvo brand, according to a company statement.

Ashok Leyland posted a decline of

30 percent with sales of 7083 units in April 2017 against 10,182 units in April 2016.

Medium and heavy commercial vehicles declined 43 percent from 7873 units in April 2016 to 4525 units in April 2017. In the LCV category, sales grew 11 percent with sales of 2558 units in April 2017 against 2309 units in the same month last year.

Three-wheelers Three-wheeler sales declined 18.05 percent in April 2017 over the same month last year. Passenger carrier sales fell 22.53 percent, while goods carrier grew 3.79 percent in April 2017 compared to April 2016.

Exports In April 2017, overall automobile exports grew 30.44 percent. While Passenger Vehicles, three-wheelers and two-wheelers registered a growth of 13.15 percent, 22.71 percent and 40.01 percent, respectively, the commercial vehicle exports declined 40.97 percent in April 2017 over the same period last year.

AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 153

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Asia's biggest tyre industry event – Asian Tyre & Rubber Conference (ATRC) – is all set to return to Chennai, the hub of Indian automobile industry. It's time to join the league of the best in the industry for the most high profile global gathering. Share ideas and engage in networking. { REGISTER BEFORE 31ST MARCH TO AVAIL EARLY BIRD RATE } Contact: Antony Powath | Email: asp@abm.net.in | Mobile: +91 9833 901586 | www.atrc.in

June 16-17, 2017 | Hyatt Regency, Chennai, India

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ATRC 2017- Programme Schedule 8.30 - 9.30

Registration

2017 2017 2017

INAUGURAL SESSION 16-JUN 2017 9.30 – 9.35 9.35 – 9.40 9.40 – 9.45 9.45 – 9.55 9.55 – 10.15 10.15 –10.30 10.30 – 10.50 10.50 –11.00 11.00 –11.30

Invocation Remembering John Powath Welcome Address Opening Address Special Invitee Address Special Address Keynote/Inaugural Address Lighting of the Lamp Tea/ Coffee Break

TECHNICAL SESSIONS DAY 1

TECHNICAL SESSIONS DAY 2

SESSION I ADAPTATION OF SMART TECHNOLOGY FOR AUTOMATION Session Chairman: P.K. Mohamed, Chief Advisor, Apollo Tyres, India

11.30 – 12.00

12.00 – 12.30

12.30 – 13.00

13.00 – 13.30

13:30 - 14:30

Machine Development for Sustainability Mike Norman Sales Director Asia, VMI, Holland Latest Trends in Automation Veli-Matti Hakala Sales Manager, CIMCORP, Finland Standardization for Tire Production Machine Automation Peter Haan Head Global VMM Tyre, Siemens, Germany Gaining Productivity through Smart Technology Jan-Marc Kop Sales Director, inmess, Germany

15.00 – 15.30

15.30 – 16.00

16.00 – 16.30

“Alpha” Application by Strip Winding For All Non-reinforced Components With Special Earthmover Tires Edoardo Salaorni Commercial Director, Marangoni, Italy A Rheologically Optimized Extrusion Line for Tire Components Dr.Ir. Gerard Nijman Head of Extrusion Process Engineering HF Group, Germany Smart Solutions for Upgrading Rubber Mixing Plant Dr. Mohamed Hassan R&T Executive Director, Mesnac, China Tea/Coffee Break

SESSION III FACILITATING CONSISTENCY, ACCURACY AND QUALITY Session Chairman: Ravin Kurian, Senior Manager R&D, MRF Ltd., India

16.30 – 17.00

17.00 – 17.30

17.30 – 18.00

SESSION IV CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUSTAINABILITY Session Chairman: MP Kanjolia, Senior Vice President Technical, JK Tyre, India

09.30 – 10.00

10.00 – 10.30

10.30 – 11.00

11.00 – 11.30.

Tyre Technology – Fast Forward to Sustainability Pradeep Kumar Head of Design and Development Apollo Tyres, India Getting More from Natural Rubber for Demanding Road Conditions Colin Clarke Director Technical Sales Schill & Seilacher - Struktol, Germany A Broader Outlook on Recycling vis-à-vis Circular Economy Ashoke Karmokar Central Research, Bridgestone, Japan Tea/Coffee break

Lunch Break

SESSION II SMART PROCESSING INNOVATIONS Session Chairman: Vijay K. Misra, Technical Director, JK Tyre, India

14.30 – 15.00

Antony Powath, President, ABM, India Harm Voortman, CEO, VMI, Holland Erich Nesselhauf, MD & CEO, Daimler India CV Ajith Kumar, Exec. Director, Rubber Board, India Satish Sharma, President, Apollo Tyres, APMEA, India

Technological Innovations in Rubber Compounding Processing Machines Devdas Suvarna MD, Bainite, India Innovative Measurement and Inspection Systems for Calendar Lines Hauke Paul Sales Director, Electronic Systems Spa, Italy Anti Reversion Chemicals & Specialities for Rubber Applications Jayant Wad Rhein Chemie, Lanxess India

SESSION V TYRE MANUFACTURING AND EVALUATION Session Chairman: PJ Xavier, Executive Vice President R&D, MRF Ltd, India

11.30 – 12.00An

12.00 – 12.30

12.30 - 13.00

An Overview of the Automotive and Tyre Sectors in India: Challenges & Opportunities Rajiv Budhraja Director General, ATMA, India Reducing Total Cost of Ownership with Smart Maintenance Riaan Diener Vice President Global Services ,VMI, Holland Advanced Tyre Testing and Model Support Using GCAPS Ultra High Speed Dynamic Test Machine Jonathan Darab Director, GCAPS, Sova Motion, USA

13.00 – 14.00

Lunch Break

SESSION VI SMART TESTING AND ENERGY SAVING Session Chairman: Juban Thomas Vice President Vehicle Dynamics & Testing, CEAT, India

14.00 – 14.30

14.30 – 15.00

15.00 –15.20 15.20 – 15.30

High Speed Linear Friction Testing Dr. Dieter Barz COO, Altracon, Germany Cost Effectiveness in Tyre Industry Through Sustainability Ananda Caldera Global Rubber Industries, Sri Lanka Summing Up Zachariah George Chairman, ATRC Vote of Thanks Vijay Kurian Abraham Vice President Marketing, ABM, India

07.30 GALA ENTERTAINMENT & DINNER

[Programme may be subject to change]

VENUE: BALLROOM HYATT REGENCY HOTEL

www.atrc.in

EVENT

Telematics To Play Bigger Role In CV Industry Development

By Sharad Matade vehicles that are not for export markets.

The demand from the export markets is based on technology, not what we produce in India.”

Digitalisation Talking on digitalisation in the commercial vehicle space, Kausalya Nandakumar, CEO of SmartShift, said that we have seen digitalisation in B2C space but now it is being seen in B2B. “The aggregator business model will improve efficiency, operations and mobility in transportation sector.”

T

he second edition of the Commercial Vehicle Forum (CV Forum) in Pune, India, focused on various subjects from new regulations and policies to telematics, digitalisation and supply

chain.

The event on May 18, 2017, was held in the background of the struggle by many CV manufacturers to dispose of their non-BSIV-complaint vehicles left with them after April 1, 2017.

According to Erich Nesselhauf, Managing Director and CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd, exports will not be an effective option to reduce old stocks. “It will be difficult to export every vehicle from the Indian market as most of the export markets demand modern technologies or close to modern technologies.

I think, it will be challenging to offload all old stocks of trucks,” he said.

Nesselhauf added that everybody had a chance to plan for BS-IV. “We had planned our BS-IV strategy one year ago. Indian automotive industry aims at the minimum standard requirements. There is always a need of plans for future regulations and improvements of standards to bring advanced technology to the market,” he said.

According to experts, making BS-IV compliant vehicles is not the only challenge, but pricing them in a price- conscious market like India, is also a major challenge. The commercial vehicles segment is also lacking regulatory safety measures unlike the passenger cars segment, they said.

Keshab Chandra Sen, CEO and President of MLR Auto Ltd, said , “Most of the Indian commercial vehicle companies produce

156 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

Telematics is expected to deal with the growing concerns about safety, ecosystem and fuel efficiency aspects of commercial vehicles. But there are a few concerns to be tackled. Siddharth Kirtane, Head, Sales and Marketing, Value Trucks, Mining Business, VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd, said, “Telematics is taking its own time to be a part of commercial vehicle industry, but the progress is there.

However, I think it will take a lot of time to be absorbed by the larger audience.”

According to Kirtane, as the government is focusing on digitisation and the usage of smart phones is increasing, telematics will grow at least 10- fold in the next seven to eight years, depending on the service providers.

“The challenges will be how we will keep ourselves cost- competitive and how will the customers utilise the technology to improve the efficiency and operational benefits of the vehicles,” added Kirtane.

Landholding in the agriculture sector is getting

maintaining them. “Coupled with this, getting spare parts at right time and place is a major issue for fleet operators. The fleet operators also lack skilled manpower,” Patwardhan said.

smaller, but farm equipment are becoming faster and supplicated, and telematics will be a crucial element in the country’s agriculture sector, Vishwanath V Patil, Technical Specialist (Embedded Systems), John Deere Technology Centre, India, said. “Agriculture is a seasonal business, where downtime is crucial. With the help of telematics, farmers can take preventive steps to avoid downtime and maintain their tractors throughout the year,” Patil said.

However, talking on the challenge of bringing telematics to commercial vehicles, Sirish Batchu, Head, Infotronics Technology and Advance Electronics, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “Data should be prescriptive and predictive. The main challenge will be the adoption and acceptance from the customers. We will also have to look at how we can pull demand from the customers since the market is scattered and there is also a need for standardisation.”

Pointing out another issue, Chandan Sawhney, Head Electronics, ERC CVBU, Tata Motors, said, “Cost of devices and data are the major reason for the slow adoption of IT in the commercial vehicle industry, though we are seeing shifting of the attitude of OEs and end- customers for telematics.”

Farhana Haque, Head,Internet of Things (IoT) India, Vodafone, emphasised the need for regulatory changes to boost telematics in the auto industry and keep synchronising among OE, dealers, customers and service providers.

The Daimler India Commercial Vehicle head also pointed out the industry’s ignorance to have trained drivers. “In India, we have rarely seen efforts to get trained drivers.

The cleaners, after working for a few years cleaning the trucks, become drivers. This has to be changed,” added Nesselhauf. Patwardhan also said we need to change the attitude towards drivers. “Truck drivers have to work in poor conditions. OEs have to provide cost effective technology to make the driving profession easy, and other basic infrastructure such as enough parking space, proper toilet facilities and place to rest,” he said.

GST is set to be implemented soon. Though many changes are expected with the uniform tax system, costs of goods are unlikely to come down.

Varghese Abraham, Vice President, Business Development, Total Shipping & Logistics (India) Pvt Ltd. Said, “GST will not bring down goods prices drastically but the delivery times. Though there are many key questions yet to be answered on the implementation side, some key issues such as the definition of the agent are yet to be cleared.

GST is expected to bring down the cash flow, and consolidations are expected to happen in logistics and warehouses”.

On supply chain, Badrish Sinha, Head (Strategic Sourcing), VE Commercial Vehicles, said that OE suppliers are not being entertained on costs. OEs want partners rather than suppliers.

“There is a collaborative approach in the supply management,” said Sinha. He also said that there are 36 months to implement BS-VI. “Suppliers can’t rely on conventional strategies”.

Experts also pointed out that the new regulations are distrusting the supply chain. Though many new players such as Google and Apple are entering into making vehicles, the Indian supply chain industry is not seeking new players in the market.

Though the commercial vehicle industry is planning to bring in more models citing regulations and new trends, fleet operators are finding difficulty on several fronts. According to Prasanna Patwardhan, Chairperson and Managing Director, The Prasanna Group, the main challenge for fleet operators is to get their manpower accustomed to new models coming frequently and AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 157

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Malaysia CV Show Presents Leading Products, Innovations APA Bureau

T

he third edition of the Malaysia Commercial Vehicle Expo (MCVE), held during May 18-20, 2017, at the Malaysia International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC), Kuala Lumpur, attracted strong participation from both local and international exhibitors who showcased leading products and services and latest innovations in the commercial vehicles industry.

One of the various communications channels for the commercial vehicle industry provided by Asian Trucker Media, the exhibition presented the latest in commercial vehicles to the Malaysian and South-East Asian markets with ‘Connected Mobility’ as the principal theme. True to the promise of being the biggest exhibition dedicated to the commercial vehicle industries, the event delivered with exciting exhibits, outdoor activities and a comprehensive fringe programme.

“Big Data is increasingly becoming a key instrument to manage businesses, whether it’s industrial or providing services to commuters and travellers. It is essential to mobility and connectivity, which are two important areas in the commercial vehicle field, benefiting both fleet operators and commuters,” Stefan Pertz, Editor of Asian Trucker Magazine and organiser of MCVE 2017, said.

“This includes technology such as Machine to Machine connectivity or M2M, which, when combined with other gadgets such as GPS, allow for self-driving vehicles, which are currently being developed and tested in numerous countries. We will see some exciting activities in this expo, with our participants showcasing their latest innovations and technological advances,” he said.

Highlights With some 8,000 sqm space in the hall and outdoor displays and activities, the event was truly the biggest of its kind in the region. The event also saw an increase in visitor numbers. Organisers trace this

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back to the fact that Asian Trucker has worked hard on the database in order to ensure that the industry is well informed about the event. Officiating the event, the Guest of Honour, YB Datuk Ab Aziz Bin Kaprawi, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Transport of Malaysia, was driven to the venue in a brand new bus, whereby the tour was broadcast live into the hall. On the second day, the seventh Asian Trucker Networking Night took centre-stage. Here, the organisers wowed the crowd with a stunning performance of drumming, a comedy show and local delicacies at the buffet line. Saturday was dedicated to the drivers and many of the Asian Trucker Drivers Club members who came to catch up with their friends, bringing their families along for the gathering.

Road Safety Organised by the Trucker & Snapper group, visitors could learn a very important lesson from the road safety activity they hosted. Here, visitors could climb into a heavy goods vehicle, complete with trailer and experience the blind spots of a truck.

A car would drive up to the cab, simulating an everyday situation, where the car suddenly ‘disappears.’ Next to this event, Scania hosted their Driver Competition – MCVE Edition. Scania argues that a skilled driver is a more fuel-efficient driver as well as a more careful one. Participants were asked to complete a challenging parkours in order to win prizes worth a total of RM 50,000. Some 440 drivers took the challenge and only time constraints limited this number as many were queuing up.

Product Launches “We are delighted to learn that MCVE has emerged as the best platform for companies in our industry to launch their products,” Pertz said. The Sendok Group presented their new model, the Sinotruk T5G, which they hope will find good response among those seeking reliable trucks at an affordable price.

Meanwhile, Volvo Buses showcased their BR8 and Scania their long bus with a total length of 15 meters. Both companies are confident that BRT and long distance transportation by bus are continuing to see growth. Fresh off a launch for customers only, Volvo

Trucks was having three FH trucks on their stand, for everyone to experience.

Scania demonstrated how they envision sustainable transportation by featuring their NextGeneration, complete with a Euro-6 engine.

“MCVE 2017 had been impressive for Scania. There were more quality visitors this time round. Our shift towards sustainable transport solutions were witnessed by more prospects and customers this time round. Scania Driver Competition – MCVE Edition - continued to attract participants through just word-of-mouth. Hope to see everyone and more in 2019,” Ian Tan, Marketing and Communications Manager, Scania Southeast Asia, said.

Winners Everywhere Besides the best drivers at the Scania Driver Competition, MAN Truck & Bus,

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and Lik Thong Resources emerged as winners for the Best Booth Design Award with RM 15,000 (MAN) for the bare space category and RM 5000 (Lik Thong Resources) for Shell Scheme. One voter for these booths has just been notified, having won an I-Pad mini in a lucky draw in connection with the award poll.

Meanwhile, Hino was showcasing the Team Sugawara truck used at the Rally Dakar. Visitors could win exclusive merchandise in a photo contest.

Seminars & Presentations Several companies took the opportunity to host seminars or to utilise the stage for their presentations.

With a very hands-on approach to tyre safety and maintenance, Giti Tire demonstrated how easy it can be to extend the life of a tyre by taking simple maintenance measures. Other presentations were given by Guardian South East Asia, SPAD (Malaysia’s Land Transport Commission) and Caltex. In an exclusive seminar, Volvo discussed the future of the ASEAN Economic Community. The panel comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Transport, The Economist, Association of Malaysian Hauliers, a consulting firm responsible for vehicle plans, and Volvo Trucks. The lively session was moderated by Stefan Pertz, and it addressed crucial issues arising from the AEC, opportunities as well as threats for the local transport industry.

Growth Predicted Many operators, bus as well as trucks, are concerned about the near future. Some argue that the two railway projects in Malaysia will have a negative impact on their businesses. However, Ministry of Transport of Malaysia, Asian Trucker and several manufacturers of trucks and buses saw this differently. A high-speed railway surely will attract people, but with a price for a ticket in the range of an airline ticket, people opting for the train are not the ones that would typically take a bus. Meanwhile, the construction of the railways would, in the short term, require commercial vehicles to transport goods and personnel. Once completed, there are stops along the routes where one can

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expect increased urbanisation and growth. People will move to the cities along the rail-routes as they now have connectivity to other cities, making commuting easer. Again, for these cities, increased construction of infrastructure, commercial and residential property can be expected. For which commercial vehicles are needed. Eventually, travellers need to get to and from the train stations, whereby buses will provide the last mile transportation. In essence, good times for the commercial vehicle industry are highly likely ahead.

Celebrating The Industry As an acknowledgement of the importance of the industry, MCVE featured two food trucks in the meeting area, which was styled like a highway rest stop. Small and medium-size companies are the backbone of any economy and many young entrepreneurs are using food trucks as a vehicle for their first steps into business. A whole culture around the colourful light commercial vehicles has erupted and there is certainly no stopping it. One truck was specifically repainted

by Nippon Paint in order to show how good a truck can look. MCVE’s organisers used this area to entice communication among exhibitors and visitors by giving out free food and free coffee.

Asian Trucker Media is the only international provider of communication channels for the commercial vehicle industry in South-East Asia. This premier business and product magazine features issues concerning drivers through to logistics and infrastructure executives as well as bus captains, tour operators and operators of bus terminals. There are four editions: For trucks, Asian Trucker is available in Malaysia (Eng), Singapore (Eng), Thailand (Thai) while Asian Buses covers Malaysia and Singapore (Eng). Asian Trucker Media also manages a number of websites, smaller events and E-Newsletters to provide suitable platforms for industry players to communicate with their customers.

Asian Trucker Media is the organizer of the Malaysia Commercial Vehicle Expo (MCVE) 2017, previously known as the Malaysia International Bus, Truck and Components Expo that was held in 2013 and 2015.

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Automechanika Dubai Opens Doors To New Markets

By Sharad Matade

G

rowing expectations of the revival in the automotive industry in the Middle East has infused new energy in global aftermarket players and that was clearly seen in the 15th Automechanika Dubai, which was held between May 7 and 9, 2017 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Last year, the region’s auto industry was hurt due to macroeconomic factors, but this year renewed growth is likely to be experienced. According to Frost & Sullivan, new car sales in the Middle East is likely to witness nine percent growth annually, reaching 4.4 million by 2020, which will bring the total number of vehicles on the roads to 44.5 million in the region.

On other hand, aging vehicles will fuel the demand for automotive aftermarket products and services in the Middle East. Revenue from engine and car components, systems, tyres, and auto accessories, is expected to reach US$17.27 billion by 2020, growing 5.9 percent a year. And all the future growth anticipations reflected in the show as it hosted 1955 exhibitors from 57 countries and 28,839 visitors from 130 countries.

The 15th edition of the show, inaugurated by Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority, was spread over 69,089sqm, hosting 1,954 exhibitors from 57 countries. The show was distributed in six segments: Parts & Components (1,125 exhibitors); Tyres & Batteries (230); Accessories & Customising (205). Repair & Maintenance (200); Electronics & Systems (140); and Car Wash, Care & Reconditioning (55).

“It is estimated that the 44.5 million passenger vehicles that will ply Middle East roads by 2020, along with 1.8 million commercial vehicles in the GCC, will pave the way for some impressive opportunities for the automotive services industry.

Automechanika Dubai presents the key to this dynamic market, offering a unique platform for global and local players alike to look for new regional distributors, open up new markets, or expand on existing customer bases where there’s still plenty of room for growth,” Ahmed Pauwels, CEO of Automechanika Dubai’s organiser Messe Frankfurt Middle East, said.

Strategically situated, Dubai has always been a trade hub, connecting Gulf, Asia, and Africa regions, rather than a manufacturing hub. Total trade, in 2016, reached AED 1.25 trillion. Of this auto parts trade was worth AED 39 billion, about three percent of the total trade. In 2015, the total trade was AED 1.28 trillion and auto parts trade stood at AED 40.5 billion.

In the country-wise auto parts trade last year, Japan topped the table with AED 5.8 billion, followed by USA ( AED 3 billion). South Korea secured the third position with AED 2.93 billion and Germany stood at the fourth position with a trade of AED 2.8 billion. China’s trade in Dubai in 2016 stood at AED 2.4 billion.

“For the first quarter of 2017, total trade for auto parts was AED 9.22 billion, out of which imports were AED 5.15 billion and exports AED 4.7 billion,” Nassim Al Mehairi, Senior Manager-Statics and Studies Section, Dubai Customs, UAE, said.

An upcoming regulation in the UAE to enhance the standard of workshops and repairing centres will also curb spurious parts and fuel the demand for genuine spare parts and equipment for workshops and repairing centres. According to Khalaf Khalaf , Director of Standards Department at Emirates Authority for Standardization & Metrology, “there is a regulation coming to address the duplicate and spurious parts and the issue is already being tackled”.

Participants’ Perspective Philippe Colpron, Vice President of the WABCO Aftermarket, said that the GCC has become a very attractive market for transport and logistics since last year. As the oil price is declining, the region is looking for new ways to grow, for example with a stronger focus on tourism.

“In the next years, there will be a significant number of big events, including the Expo Dubai 2020 and the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. These events are connected to giant infrastructural projects which result in a higher demand for

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transport and logistics. Our role is to support the transport and logistics companies in the region to reduce the downtimes of fleet and to maximise their efficiency,” he said.

World’s largest independent manufacturer of axles for the heavyduty industry Meritor attended the show for the third time in a row to study the Middle East market. “We are reading the Middle East market and building our operations. Though we started a few years ago, we have not consolidated yet. We see there are big opportunities in the Middle East region, but the opportunities depend on country to country,” Daniel Saas of Meritor said. The company showcased its competencies in bus, truck, trailers and heavy duty applications.

Turkey, another strategically located country connecting Asia and Europe, has been going through a political crisis. However, the Turkish auto industry has done well in 2016 as overall auto sales hit a new record of close to a million, according to the Automotive Distributors Association (ODD). The overall auto sales market rose 1.6 % to 983,720 units over auto sales in 2015. Now taking a clue from the future demand growth, the Turkish auto parts companies are exploring their business chances in aftermarkets in the Middle East and Africa.

For the first time, Kale OTO Radyator, participated in the Automechanika Dubai show as the company finds the Middle East market interesting for their aftermarket products. “We are strong in the Turkish and European markets and we think this show will open the gates for the Middle East and African markets, particularly Saudi Arabia and some countries from Africa. This is our first time here and we have found what we had sought from the show,” Mesut YILDIRIM from the export department of Kale OTO Radyator said.

As 75 percent of its production goes to the OE segment, and the remaining 25

percent to the aftermarket, Kale OTOT Radyator believes the Middle East and African markets will help to strengthen its aftermarket business. The Turkish company displayed heat exchangers like radiators, intercoolers, condensers and cooling fans.

The Japanese advanced technology, system and components maker Denso’s prime reason to attend the show was to promote its new brand slogan, `Crafting the Core’, which has been adopted since the start of this year.

However, Yasutake Hirai, Executive General Manager, Sales and Marketing at Denso Sales Middle East and North Africa Zone said that the falling oil prices slowed down business in the region.

“Now, it is tough to expand the business in the ME and African region. However, we think that we bottomed out in 2016 and now the business is picking up.

We are carefully watching the market and will expand our business chances,” Hirai said. He also said that the main challenge is to keep pace with the revival in the market.

Denso exhibited AC products, maintenance products and new bus ACs, alternators and starter for aftermarkets. “We are finding that the response to the show is decreasing,” the Denso executive added.

started seeking business from the European companies, and the Automechanika Dubai show was found to be an ideal platform for them to meet leading auto parts makers around the world under one roof.

“We as an association, representing 17 auto part importers in Iran, are participating in the show because our companies don’t have much budget to participate in a big show like Automechanika Dubai individually,” Aria Nik, Technical Expert at Iranian Automobile and Spare Parts Importers Association, said .

According to Nik, the Iranian auto parts market is flooded with cheap Chinese products. “However, we also have the Japanese and Korean companies supplying parts to Iran. But our main goal from this show is to get genuine spare parts suppliers from Germany,” he said.

Lucas Diesel aimed at appointing distributors in the Middle East and Africa regions through this show.

“We need distributors for the Middle East and Africa regions, and once we have distributors, we will have our commercial office in Dubai,” Javier Lorea, Sales Director of Lucas Diesel,

The three decade-long economic sanctions had crippled the Iranian auto industry, which is the largest in the Middle East.

As the sanctions have been lifted, though not fully, auto component companies in Iran have AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017 | 163

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said. The company also launched a diesel pump and injector at the show.

However, there were a few exhibitors who were not much happy with the response. Mann+Hummel Group, German liquid and air filter systems, intake systems and cabin filters maker plans to increase its market share in the Middle East from the current level of 10 percent to 15 percent to 20 percent and 25 percent in future. Participation in the Automechanika Dubai show was one of the strategies to meet the targets. “We participate in this show every year and this is an integral part of our business. This gives us a chance to meet our distributors and prospective customers,” Azhar Jaleel of Mann+Hummel said.

According to Jaleel, the biggest challenge in the Middle East market is to convince the price sensitive customers to opt for quality products.

“Due to price sensitive customers, the filter system segment in the region is crowded with Chinese filters,” added Jaleel. The response to their booth, this year, was not as good as that in 2015, he said.

Commercial Vehicles Efforts to explore new growth sources, rather than traditional dependency on oil and gas export, and growing the thrust on infrastructure will lead to further growth for commercial vehicles in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

According to a recent report by TechSci, around 240,000 commercial vehicles were sold in GCC last year, quite low from the peak of 380,000 units in 2014.

The TechSci report estimates three percent and nine percent annual growth of trucks and buses, respectively, on the region’s roads during 2017-2022.

Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE dominated GCC truck sales last year, comprising more than 80 percent of the market, while over the last few years the region has emerged as one of the world’s prominent bus importers on account of labour and staff transportation and luxury buses used during Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Frost & Sullivan estimates the region will be home to 1.8 million CVs by 2020, which in turn will fuel demand for CV parts and accessories, the value of which will reach US$5.6 billion.

According to the organiser Messe Frankfurt Middle East, 1,212 of the three-day event’s 1,942 exhibitors were part of the Truck Competence initiative, covering the entire CV value chain, of parts and accessories, workshop equipment, body repair and care.

Ahmed Pauwels said, “Truck Competence has become a high profile initiative at Automechanika Dubai, and this year saw an increase of 20 percent compared to 2016. GCC countries, which are traditionally major exporters of oil and natural gas, are making a concerted effort of economic diversification, and verticals such as logistics, construction, tourism and public transport, accompanied by large-scale expansion of civic infrastructure projects, will fuel demand for commercial vehicles and aftermarket services.”

Many of the Truck Competence exhibitors fall under the Parts & Components and Electronics & Systems sections at Automechanika Dubai. With more than 1,100 exhibitors combined, the two sections form the largest of the six dedicated product

sections of the annual trade fair. ZF Group from Germany is a global leader in driveline and chassis technology for cars and commercial vehicles, and a prominent Truck Competence exhibitor at Automechanika Dubai 2017.

The Friedrichshafen-headquartered company displayed its complete portfolio of PC and CV applications under the well-established product brands SACHS, LEMFÖRDER, TRW and Openmatics. “A significant portion of the Middle East passenger car and commercial vehicle population is equipped with ZF components,” Khalid Alexander Sabbah, Managing Director of ZF Services Middle East, said.

“Automechanika Dubai provides an important platform for ZF Middle East to network with its vast customer base, meet potential customers as well as to introduce and showcase the latest innovations. For example, Openmatics, ZF’s telematics solution was displayed at the booth this year, and also showcased parts from the SACHS Performance for race car applications, which is a part of ZF Race Engineering.”

Commenting on the show’s success, Mahmut Gazi Bilikozen, Show Director, Automechanika Dubai, said, “Actually we have achieved what we had planned but there is always room for overall improvement, section-wise improvement and to bring more countries. After the Frankfurt show, we have the most diversified portfolio here.

But there is still space for more diversity like Russia, the land of manufacturing and yet we had only two Russian manufacturers and I am sure we can get lot more from Russia and so too from Pakistan. We are happy for what we have achieved but we always look out for new opportunities.”

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30/09/2016 15:08

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INTERACTION Future Focus To Be On Fine-Tuning - Mahmut Gazi Bilikozen, Show Director, Automechanika Dubai

Mahmut Gazi Bilikozen

Q: How this edition was bigger, better and different from the previous ones?

A: Well, Automechanika Dubai has been getting bigger and better since the first edition. Now it is a matter of fine-tuning the show and taking it to the next level.

Automechanika Dubai is among the top seven shows globally in terms of size and diversity. Now it is not about growing the show further, but fine-tuning and improving each and every detail of the show.

We started sectionalizing the whole show since 2008, and then after five years of growing the show exponentially, we started sectionalizing the show according to the product groups. And since last two to three years, we have emphasised on how we will sectionalise the show further, for instance how we will put the battery companies together or how we will put all the bearing companies together. We promise our visitors when they visit our shows they will find the best companies from around the world, so they can make immediate comparisons and make decisions on the spot.

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Q: How do you see CV market in the Middle East?

A: Within the Middle East and Africa regions, Railway logistics system does not exist. It has started very recently with Etihad Rail.

The most of logistics in the region depends on wheel, so road logistics is very strong in the regions. So if you look at our exhibitors, the truck competence initiative we have and we have so many truck and bus auto parts and equipment makers, which had occupied more than half of the total show space.

Q: What will be the growth drivers in these regions?

A: I think for most of the visitors who come to our show, Africa is the primary objective.

Both the exhibitors and visitors know about Europe and even some parts of the Middle East. When participants come to our shows to meet companies from untapped countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and a few others, our reach within the region increases.

We are bringing the right buyers to meet them in the show. In this edition, most of the exhibitors were from North and South Africa, while in the visitors segment, around 8-10 percent were from entire Africa. The largest number of African buyers were from the West and North.

Q: Economic sanctions have been lifted on Iran, the largest automotive market in the Middle East. How will you tap the country in future?

A: When all the sanctions were lifted, the result was quite positive. We had a networking event when the lift was announced and there was a great response for it. However, financial transactions did not come through smoothly as planned.

Unfortunately, political sanction is still there.

But that does not mean that Iran is not doing business. However, it is a bit challenging at the movement. We can only facilitate Iran and other countries to come together.

Q: New technologies and electronic systems are being launched in the industry. As an exhibition company how do you want to leverage on this?

A: Middle East is known as a follower of innovations. However, the local government is now pushing forward to be a leader in technology and a leading user as well.

The government has a vision for electric, hybrid and autonomous vehicles for the next decade. In that case, Dubai is coming up with certain regulations from the Road

and Transport Authority. So it is a push from the government. It is for the end-users and commercial fleet owners to follow these rules and regulations. The aftermarket will follow.

Q: Dubai is a trade hub rather than a manufacturing centre; so what did you provide to the distributors in the expo?

A: We had a two-day conference on `Smart Traffic in the Middle East’, which is one of the initiatives we have done for the regional technological changes and innovations. Our focus is to showcase the innovations for the Middle East aftermarket. Of course, the Middle East is all about trade and volume-driven trade.

When we talk about the volume-driven trade innovation is not the priority. However, the governmental regulations have to be changed which will lead to more. We will be focusing more on innovative products in future.

Q: E-commerce is picking up and it may reduce the number of exhibitors. Do you agree with this?

A: Actually, it has been a hypothesis from last one decade or two that once the Internet was introduced, the volume of the expos will go

down. However, in many countries it is going the other way round. People still do see value in meeting face to face before they do business later on. I believe e-commerce will help the need of the end consumers but for B2B, expos are still a necessity. End-user purchasing might start switching, but we deal in B2B. Q: What were the new opportunities in this edition?

A: Other than the introduction of the destinations such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Africa, we had a new section for product launch and another for career launch to help our exhibitors look for right people for their companies, and people can look within the industry. We are trying to bring the whole Middle East automotive aftermarket to Dubai Q: Anything you couldn’t achieve that you had planned for this edition?

A: Actually we have achieved what we had planned but there is always room for overall improvement, section-wise improvement and for bringing more countries. After the Frankfurt show, we have the most diversified portfolio in Dubai. But there is still space for more diversity like Russia, the land of manufacturing and yet we had only two Russian manufacturers and I am sure we can get lot more from Russia and so too from Pakistan. We are happy for what we have achieved but we always look out for new opportunities.

Q: How is preparations for the next edition?

A: We have already started bookings for the next edition. I am not able to predict the number of exhibitors for the next edition but the response is good so far. So far we have been receiving booking from the existing exhibitors and we will have new clients ready to book for the next edition.

We will focus more on Iran, Egypt and Pakistan and more on oil and lubricant section. This year, we had the oil and lubricant section under the car wash and repair section but oil and lubricant section is growing so rapidly like tyre section, which was started with one exhibitor and now we have 200 tyre exhibitors.

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GLEANINGS - India

Isuzu Launches mu-X In India APA Bureau future hub of our global manufacturing operations. We will continue to invest in the Indian operations and also bring in the best technology and engineering that Isuzu has to offer globally. Isuzu is globally renowned for making tough, reliable and fuel efficient vehicles that are known to be engineered for life.”

The SUV comes with advanced active safety systems like ESC (Electronic Stability Control), TCS (Traction Control System) and ABS (Anti-lock Brake System) with EBA (Emergency Brake Assist) and EBD (Electronic Brake force Distribution) along with a host of passive safety systems to provide enhanced safety under unfavourable driving conditions.

I

suzu Motors has launched its new sports utility vehicle (SUV) `mu-X’ in India. The 7-seater SUV is powered by a 3.0 litre ISUZU engine and provides a maximum power output of 130 kW (177 PS). The SUV is priced at Rs.23.99 lakh for 4X2 variant and Rs 25.99 lakh for 4X4 variant (exshowroom, New Delhi). To be built at ISUZU’s new manufacturing plant at Sri City in Andhra Pradesh, it will

take on vehicles like Toyota Fortuner, Ford Endeavour etc. mu-X provides a maximum torque of 380 Nm that is designed with a significant flat torque curve. It will be offered in both 4x2 and 4x4 variants with a sequential shift Automatic Transmission.

Hiroshi Nakagawa, Director of the Board and Managing Executive Officer, Isuzu Motors Ltd, said, “India is a key market for Isuzu globally and is also a

Isuzu is also looking at making India a production and sourcing hub. The company has claimed to have reached out to over 100 local component makers to meet the global requirement. The company currently exports its pickup truck D-MAX to Nepal and plan to expand its exports to about 15-20 other countries from here.

The Japanese auto maker is also talking to its Thailand counterpart to distribute the markets to be covered for exports.

Axalta Opens New India Headquarters APA Bureau

A

xalta Coating Systems, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, has opened its new headquarters office for India in Gurugram within the National Capital Region (NCR). The new location will also house an Axalta Global Business Resource Centre which will provide a variety of services to the company’s operations in the region and around the world.

“We are very excited to see another significant investment to support our future growth in India,” Robert Bryant,

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Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Axalta Coating Systems, who officially opened the facility, said. “The new face of Axalta in India has been designed with Axalta’s global standards in mind and enables our company to showcase its commitment to both long-term growth and customer support in the market.”

Axalta’s business in India serves customers in the transportation OEM, refinish and industrial sectors of the economy. “As a key emerging market, India continues to be a focal point in Axalta’s growth plans in the Asia-Pacific

region. With our new headquarters, Axalta has taken the next step in establishing itself as a leading coatings supplier in India to better meet the future requirements of its customers,” Sobers Sethi, Axalta Vice President and President, Emerging Markets, said.

Axalta established its India business in 1996, and has a manufacturing plant in Vadodara in Gujarat along with offices and regional training centers in Gurugram, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Vadodara, and supports an extensive product distribution network across the country.

GLEANINGS - India

Maruti Suzuki Launches All-New Dzire Sedan APA Bureau

M

aruti Suzuki has launched the New Dzire sedan, expected to shake up the Indian passenger vehicle market. Its smooth sedan styling, more plush and roomy interiors, superior overall comfort and advanced safety features make the new Dzire even more desirable.

Designed especially for India when it was first launched in 2008, Dzire has been India’s best-selling sedan through most of the last decade, and has clocked sales of over 1.38 million cars so far. This third generation new Dzire takes the brand to

(AGS) technology is now available on many more variants of the Dzire, starting from the V trim up to Z and Z+. In all, six variants of the new car (in diesel and petrol) now offer the acclaimed AGS technology and the customers will also appreciate the superior fuel efficiency of the vehicle. a whole new level – an authentic sedan designed for the young, aspirational and “indulgence seeking” Indian customer.

The hugely popular Auto Gear Shift

According to the company the new Dzire Diesel is India’s most fuel efficient car giving 28.4 kmpl.

The petrol version has a fuel efficiency of 22.0 kmpl. Presenting the car, Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki, said: “The New Dzire is bound to create plenty of excitement in the Indian automobile market. Dzire was specially created for India, and has been one of the most popular brands ever in the Indian automobile industry.

Now we have designed a whole New Dzire for sedan customers, to fulfil the growing aspirations of a young and prosperous India.”

GM India To Focus On Exports APA Bureau

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eneral Motors India will focus on its growing vehicle export manufacturing operations and cease sales in the domestic market by the end of 2017.

The decision, which follows a comprehensive review of future product plans for GM India, is part of a series of actions taken by General Motors to address the performance of its operations worldwide.

Through the review, which began in June 2016, the company has determined that its greatest opportunity in India to drive shareholder return rests on focusing on exports from India.

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Stefan Jacoby, GM Executive Vice President and President of GM International, said, “We explored many options, but determined the increased investment originally planned for India would not deliver the returns of other significant global opportunities.

It would also not help us achieve a leadership position or compelling, long-term profitability in the domestic market. Difficult as it has been to reach this decision, it is the right outcome to support our global strategy and deliver appropriate returns for our shareholders.”

“Our decision in India is an important milestone in strengthening the

performance of our GM International operations and establishing GM as a more focused and disciplined company,” he said.

As GM moved to consolidate Indian manufacturing at its Talegaon Plant, the company ceased manufacturing at its Halol Plant on April 28, 2017.

Negotiations continue on the asset sale at Halol. Kaher Kazem, GM India President & MD, said the focus for the GM India at Talegaon will be export markets, upcoming export vehicle launches and exploring longer-term strategic options.“GM India’s export business has tripled over the past year,” he said.

GLEANINGS - India

Volvo To Roll Out Cars Made In India APA Bureau

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olvo Cars, the premium carmaker, will start vehicle assembly operations in India in 2017. This positions the company for further growth in the fastexpanding premium car segment in India.

The assembly operations will be located near Bengaluru and will focus on models based on Volvo’s SPA modular vehicle architecture. The first Volvo model to be assembled there is the XC90 premium SUV. Additional models slated for local assembly will be announced later.

In establishing its assembly operations,

Volvo Cars is working together with Volvo Group India - the truck, bus, construction equipment and Penta engines manufacturer-, and will make use of Volvo Group India’s existing infrastructure and production licences.

“I am pleased that as of this year we will be able to start selling Volvos that

are Made in India,” Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars. “Starting vehicle assembly in India is an important step for Volvo Cars as we aim to grow our sales in this fastgrowing market and double our market share in the luxury segment in the coming years.”

“We are delighted to announce the commencement of the local assembly unit. It is a sign of the company’s strong commitment in India,” Tom von Bonsdorff, Managing Director, Volvo Auto India, said.

While the Indian luxury market is still relatively small, it is forecast to grow rapidly in coming years. Volvo currently has a premium segment share of close to five per cent and aims to double this by 2020. Volvo Cars in India have had a robust 32 percent growth in sales volumes in the past two years and the 2017 trend is as per its plan to achieve 2000 cars, a growth of 25 percent yearon-year.

IRMRA Gets BMO Accreditation

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he Indian Rubber Manufacturers Research Association (IRMRA) has secured Business Membership Organisation (BMO) accreditation from the Quality Council of India (QCI) and awarded as Diamond category organization based on grading obtained on various criteria like Governance, Operations, Services and Performance Measurement and Reviews.

Business Membership Organisation (BMO) i.e. Industry Association and chambers, serves as a critical link between entrepreneurs, government

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APA Bureau and other stakeholders and service providers. Quality Council of India (QCI) a non- profit autonomous body, set up jointly by the Government of India and the Indian Industry plays a pivotal role at the national level in propagating, adoption and adherence to quality standards in all important spheres of activities.

This accreditation has been designed to increase the confidence among the stakeholders (government, donors, community) about the functioning and effectiveness of IRMRA. This

accreditation will help BMO to partner with Government and engage in public policy dialogue and many more benefits for the growth.

This accreditation was sought by IRMRA with all the relevant documents. The application was submitted to QCINABET which conducted desktop assessment and site visit. The report of the site visit was submitted to NABET accreditation committee for decision. Based on the report, IRMRA was successful in achieving the BMO accreditation in the Diamond category.

GLEANINGS - India

Ford Endeavour Drive Event In Chennai APA Bureau

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ord Endeavour has earned the admiration of enthusiasts at a power-packed off-roading event in Chennai. The experiential event, `Great Ford Endeavour Drive’ was organized by Ford India for select customers and media in Chennai to give a first-hand experience of its premium true-blue SUV’s best-in-class off-roading capabilities. Participants experienced the Ford Endeavour on a track simulating challenging off-road conditions including hill climbs and descents, slush, and water wading among others Customers experienced the exceptional ride quality and dynamic handling of this capable premium SUV. “The Ford Endeavour has been setting new benchmarks with its versatile on-road and off-road performance

since its launch. Thanks to the unmatched versatility, the Ford Endeavour is loved by customers and driving enthusiasts alike and has become the most awarded vehicle in its category,” Rahul Gautam, vice president, Marketing, Ford India, said.

The premium SUV offers two powerful and fuel efficient engines – Ford Duratorq TDCi 2.2L , and 3.2L diesel engines – mated to robust six-speed automatic or manual transmissions for exceptional capability.

The Endeavour has several first-in-class and best in segment features, including: An advanced Terrain Management System with four preset modes to conquer any terrain with great ease;

Impressive water-wading capacity of 800 mm; Globally renowned incar connectivity system SYNC 3 with multifunction touch-screen; Premium Dual tone interiors with Sun-roof; and Semi- Auto Parallel Park Assist that helps locate the right sized parking spot and steers the SUV effortlessly to reduce anxiety. With outstanding power, unmatched quality and value, the all-new Endeavour gains from Ford’s five-decade long global expertise in designing and delivering SUVs that have been loved by customers across the world.

Sandhar Tech, Daewha Fuel Pump Sign JV APA Bureau

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andhar Technologies Ltd. and Daewha Fuel Pump Ind., Ltd have signed a 50-50 joint venture to supply fuel pumps, filters, and wiper blades to the Indian automotive OEMs, in the presence of Cho Hyun, the Korean Ambassador to India.

Jayant Davar, Co-Chairman and Managing Director of Sandhar Technologies said, “with this Joint venture we have taken one more step towards realizing our objective of becoming a more diverse supplier to the Indian automotive OEMs.”Dong Ok You, CEO and Chairman of Daewha

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Fuel Pump, said, “we are honoured to join the Indian market through a joint venture with Sandhar.

I expect sustainable development and growth, through the combination of the strengths of both the companies.”

Sandhar Group is a fast growing auto component major with over 6500 employees, 34 manufacturing plants and subsidiaries in Spain, Mexico and Poland. Sandhar has a diverse product range that comprises lock kits, mirrors, handles, latches, hinges, stamped and tubular components, plastic injected components, zinc and aluminium pressure die castings, relays, fuel level senders, operator cabins, canopies, housings, panels, switchboards,

control cabinets, moulds, dies and structural parts for off-highway vehicles.

It also supplies steel wheel rims and assemblies, handle bars, clutch and brake panels to the two-wheeler manufacturers.

Daewha Fuel Pump Ind., Ltd., since its inception in 1982, is manufacturing and supplying fuel pumps and filters for automotive and Industrial usages to over 70 countries.

Some of its customers are GM Korea, Bosch, Delphi, Hyundai, Doosan, Federal- Mogul, Mitsubishi Electric, Tata Telco etc. Globally, it has an enterprise ranking of first in the field of mechanical fuel pump. The main R & BD centre is located in Korea, while the manufacturing facilities are spread over Korea and Vietnam. The diverse product range includes Mechanical Fuel Pumps, Electric Fuel Pumps, Electric Fuel Modules, Oil filters and strainers, Air filters, Wiper blades etc.

GLEANINGS - International

GM Recasts Global Business

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APA Bureau

eneral Motors has

restructured its international operations to drive stronger financial performance and to direct its capital and resources to business opportunities expected to deliver higher returns.

The company will focus its GM India manufacturing operations on producing vehicles for export only and will transition GM South Africa manufacturing to Isuzu Motors. GM’s Chevrolet brand will be phased out of both the markets by the end of 2017.

“As the industry continues to change, we are transforming our business, establishing GM as a more focused and disciplined company. We are committed to deploying capital to higher return initiatives that will enable us to lead in our core business and in the future of personal mobility. Globally, we are now in the right markets to drive profitability, strengthen our business performance and capitalize on growth opportunities for the long term. We will continue to optimize our operations market by market to further improve our competitiveness and cost base,” GM Chairman and CEO, Mary Barra, said.

These decisions were made following an extensive review of operations in GM International markets and reflect a series of actions taken to improve global business performance that began in late 2013.

“These actions will further allow us to focus our resources on winning in the markets where we have

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Mary Barra

strong franchises and see greater opportunity. We have compelling plans for growth in both the top line and the bottom line as we invest for the future,” GM President, Dan Ammann, said.

GM Executive Vice President and President, GM International, Stefan Jacoby, said the company is running its GM International markets with an enterprise approach and making decisions that are best for the global business.

“In India, our exports have tripled over the past year, and this will remain our focus going forward,” he said. “We determined that the increased investment required for an extensive and flexible product portfolio would not deliver a leadership position or long-term profitability in the domestic market.”

In South Africa, Isuzu will acquire GM’s light commercial vehicle manufacturing and GM will cease manufacturing and sales of Chevrolet in the domestic market, subject to local regulatory requirements.

Actions Under Way South Africa: Isuzu will purchase GM’s Struandale plant and GM’s remaining 30

percent shareholding in the Isuzu Truck South Africa joint venture, with sales through a national dealer network. Isuzu will also purchase GM’s Vehicle Conversion and Distribution Centre and assume control of the Parts Distribution Centre. The company will phase out the Chevrolet brand in South Africa by the end of 2017. GM continues to work with PSA Group to evaluate future opportunity for the Opel brand in South Africa.

Importantly, existing Chevrolet and Opel customers will continue to be supported in the market.

East Africa: As announced on February 28, Isuzu has agreed to purchase GM’s 57.7 percent shareholding in GM East Africa, assuming management control. GM will withdraw sales of the Chevrolet brand from the market.

Singapore: GM International will streamline its regional headquarters office in Singapore, which will retain responsibility for strategic oversight of the remaining regional business and markets, including Australia and New Zealand, India, Korea and Southeast Asia.

Across the affected markets, GM is working with employees, their union representatives and local authorities to provide transition support. As a result of these actions, GM expects to realize annual savings of approximately $100 million and plans to take a charge of approximately $500 million in the second quarter of 2017.

The charge will be treated as special and excluded from the company’s EBIT-adjusted results. About $200 million of the special charge will be cash expenses.

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GLEANINGS - International

Toyota Celebrates 40 Years Of R&D In America APA Bureau

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oyota Motor North America (TMNA) recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of its North American research and development operations alongside the opening of its expanded Toyota Motor North America Research & Development (TMNA R&D) Purchasing and Prototype Development Centres in York Township, Michigan.

Three years ago, Toyota had announced its `One Toyota’ plan to create more unified operations in North America with a $154 million expansion of the TMNA R&D centres in Michigan. The investment moved direct procurement and supplier engineering development talent from Erlanger, Kentucky, and vehicle development and powertrain from California. These moves reaffirmed

Toyota’s commitment to drive more local decision making and ultimately faster, more precise response to the needs of the marketplace.

“We are thrilled to celebrate our continued investment in Michigan, which contributes to our overall longstanding commitment to invest in America,” Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota in North America, said. “Expanding the Research and Development Campus in York Township is an incredible next step in Toyota’s journey in the United States.”

The celebration also served as an opportunity to welcome the newest

executive leader to the TMNA R&D team, Shinichi Yasui. “We now have a fully developed Research and Development operation in the heart of the auto industry in southeast Michigan, which will allow for deep collaboration between all departments, reinforcing our commitment to One Toyota,” said Yasui. “I am excited to join the TMNA R&D team as we commemorate 40 years of engineering excellence here in Michigan.”

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Faurecia, ZF Partnership For Innovation APA Bureau

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F and Faurecia, the leading global systems suppliers for cars and trucks, will cooperate in a strategic partnership for the development of disruptive and differentiating interior and safety technologies for autonomous driving. Within this special advanced engineering partnership the two companies will identify and develop innovative safety and interior solutions

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linked to different potential occupant positions.

“This partnership will mark another important step for Faurecia in the development of an innovation ecosystem for technology solutions for the Cockpit of the Future. Our strong combined customer intimacy and our common vision will enable us to provide a unique technology offer ensuring the safety of the vehicle occupants in various autonomous driving use cases,” Patrick Koller, CEO of Faurecia, said.

Stefan Sommer, CEO of ZF, said: “Together we will be stronger. Vehicle electrification and autonomous driving need innovative active and passive safety technologies to become a

success. As one of the global leaders in safety, ZF is committed to delivering integrated safety concepts together with our partner Faurecia.”

The collaboration will be based on shared expertise and competencies and will involve no capital exchange.

“Networked ecosystems are not only at home in Silicon Valley. ZF and Faurecia believe that the ecosystem philosophy also works between Paris and Friedrichshafen to provide a unique offer to our customers everywhere in the world,” Sommer said.

Koller added that “our customers will benefit greatly from this partnership.

Together, we can offer complete interior safety features to meet the future challenges which will allow the interior of the future to be safe, connected, versatile and predictive.”

Depending on customer preferences both companies will also continue to work independently on current and upcoming projects.

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Adhesives, Sealings & Gaskets Special Adhesives, Sealing & Gaskets play a key role in containing NVH – noise, vibration and harshness. Reducing NVH helps in enhancing cabin comfort besides, improving the drive and maneuverability of the vehicle. NVH is not only confined to passenger vehicles but also becoming important for commercial vehicles as well. The special edition of AutoParts Asia on Adhesives, Sealing & Gaskets will cover the key players in this segment of component makers and dwell up on the latest technologies that are not only cost effective but also environment friendly.

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GLEANINGS - International

Magna, Schaeffler Receive PwC’s Automotive Innovations Award APA Bureau

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lobal suppliers Magna and Schaeffler are among this year’s winners of the Automotive Innovations Awards presented by the Centre of Automotive Management (CAM) and the auditing and consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Magna was recognized as the `Most Innovative Automotive Supplier’ in the chassis, car body and exterior category for its new process of welding steel and aluminium together.

With Magna’s new welding process, aluminium components can be joined to steel to make a multi-material vehicle structure with less mass and weight than an all-steel version. Magna’s innovation makes use of traditional spot-welding techniques, which means no additional assembly line machinery or steps are necessary.

“This innovation includes crossgroup collaboration within Magna, where Magna Steyr and Cosma are working together to industrialize this new process into our Graz contract manufacturing facility. In the future our customers will be able to benefit from this cost-effective lightweighting technique we can offer as part of our full-vehicle expertise,” Gunther Apfalter, President of Magna Steyr, said. “ “Innovation comes in many forms and for Magna that means both in product and process,” Swamy Kotagiri, Magna Chief Technology Officer, saisd. “As global automakers continue to look for ways to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions by making their cars and trucks lighter, the ability to join different materials becomes a market advantage.”

In 2015, Magna received the Most Innovative Automotive Supplier award in the driveline technologies category for its FLEX4 technology. This is the first all-wheel drive (AWD) disconnect system that automatically shifts between true two- and four-wheel drive and reduces fuel consumption by up to 10 percent compared to other AWD systems.

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Schaeffler’s CVT In the drives category, the jury honoured the innovative combination of Schaeffler’s continuously variable transmissions (CVT) with a hybrid function like an integrated electric motor. This transmission is characterized by particularly low energy losses as well as an extremely compact design, which offers a decisive advantage in terms of its design envelope and weight savings.

Schaeffler’s CEO (Automotive) Matthias Zink said: “As a supplier, we are challenged to develop innovative solutions for the mobility of tomorrow and, as a technology partner, implement them in accordance with our customers’ requirements. The combination of an electric drive with a CVT automatic transmission is a promising and attractive technical solution for the increasing trend towards plug-in hybrids. Our plug-in hybrid concept based on a CVT is a compact design which can achieve a particularly long electric driving range thanks to low energy losses and offers a high level of driving comfort, which is typical of CTVs.” These features are important criteria for automobile manufacturers and drivers alike and the concept is also aligned with future trends, such as autonomous

driving, as the continuously variable design of the electric motor works in perfect harmony with the CVT transmission, offering high levels of comfort.

For more than 10 years CAM and PwC have been conducting an annual study of the most innovative companies in the automotive industry. Based on the results, they honour the industry’s most outstanding achievements. In the category for suppliers at the Automotive Innovations Awards, a high-ranking jury judged 281 individual innovations from suppliers based on feedback from automobile manufacturers. The suppliers’ innovations were assessed with regard to their future technical relevance.

Felix Kuhnert, Head of Automotive at PwC, said: “Without the high level of suppliers’ innovative strength in the fields of automotive engineering and materials and processes, the rapid progress in the automobile industry would not be possible. And especially since automobile manufacturers have been focusing on developing new business and distribution models, suppliers are assuming an increasingly important role in the development and production of vehicles. Today, creative suppliers who market their ideas proactively have higher chances for success than ever before.”

GLEANINGS - International

VW Group To Make Multi-Billion Investments In e-Mobility APA Bureau

Matthias Müller

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he Volkswagen Group is pressing ahead with the transformation of mobility. “The future is electric. We intend to be the number one in e-mobility by 2025,” Matthias Müller, CEO of Volkswagen AG, announced at the Group’s Annual General Meeting in Hanover. Throughout the Group, intensive efforts are under way to help achieve the breakthrough of

this technology. At the same time, the Volkswagen Group is continuing to develop diesel and petrol engines, making them even more efficient and eco-friendly.

Müller said that “conventional engines will remain indispensable for the foreseeable future.” The CEO also updated the shareholders on the status of efforts to deal with the diesel crisis and showed how the Volkswagen Group was successfully realigning for the future of mobility with “TOGETHER – Strategy 2025”. Volkswagen became the first automaker to give a concrete insight into a fully autonomous vehicle when it unveiled Sedric (Self-DrivingCar) at the Geneva Motor Show.

“In order to provide affordable,

sustainable mobility on a largescale we will continue to deploy the complete spectrum of drive types: From conventional to fully electric”, Müller said, outlining the Group’s drivetrain strategy. He explained that the 12-brand Group is sending clear signals for the expansion of e-mobility. The Group has invested some three billion euros in alternative drive technologies over the past five years and will be tripling this amount in the course of the next five years.

“This is how the Group will be rolling out more than 10 new electrified models by the end of 2018. By 2025, we will be adding over 30 more BEVs.” The newly-established Centre of Excellence in Salzgitter will bundle Group-wide competence in battery cells and modules. “At the same time, we are conducting intensive negotiations to establish partnerships in the field of battery cells in Europe and China. You will soon be hearing more about this”, the CEO added.

OMRON To Launch New AI-Equipped Controllers, IoT Technologies APA Bureau

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eadquartered in Kyoto, Japan, OMRON Corporation has announced its plan to successively incorporate artificial intelligence (AI)/ internet of things (IoT) technologies into its factory automation (FA) equipment up to 2020 in a bid to offer solutions to the social issues facing many manufacturing businesses, such as the shortage of skilled engineers and rising labour costs.

By equipping FA equipment with optimal AI algorithms to replace the knowledge and intuition of skilled engineers with AI, OMRON aims to realize the “manufacturing floors of the future” in which “machines bring out human capabilities and creativity,”

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President and CEO, Yoshihito Yamada, said. It is the only FA equipment manufacturer in the world that has all of the necessary equipment for automating manufacturing sites under one umbrella, including sensors and other input devices, motors and other output devices, safety devices, and robots.

Such initiatives include renovation of programmable logic controller architecture into one that is softwarebased and suitable for informatization, and proactive use of EtherCAT, IOLink, and other open networks. The company believes that it is important to implement optimal AI algorithms that are carefully selected for each piece of equipment in order to replace the

skills of experienced workers with AI on manufacturing floors.

At present, the company is conducting demonstrations at its own and customers’ factories in the Netherlands, China, and Japan to determine how different types of FA equipment can be equipped with AI algorithms and how such equipment can be made IoTcapable.

Going forward, in order to make IoT and AI technologies into handy tools on manufacturing floors, OMRON plans to equip sensors, as well as machine automation controllers, with optimal AI algorithms in order to complete its plan to make all of its FA equipment AI-/IoTcapable by 2020.

GLEANINGS - International

Millionth Porsche 911 Rolls Off Production Line APA Bureau

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t is the quintessential sports car for everyday driving, and a style icon that is unmistakable as both the face and heart of the Porsche brand: the 911. In Zuffenhausen , the onemillionth model rolled off the production line – a Carrera S in the special colour “Irish Green,” with numerous exclusive

features following the original 911 from 1963. The two-door car remains the most important model in the product range and is key to helping Porsche maintain its position as one of the most prestigious car manufacturers in the world.

Wolfgang Porsche, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG, has been a part of the development of the 911 since day one. He said that “54 years ago, I was able to take my first trips over the Grossglockner High

Alpine Road with my father. The feeling of being in a 911 is just as enjoyable now as it was then”. That’s because the 911 has ensured that the core values of our brand are as visionary today as they were in the first Porsche 356/1 from 1948.”

The Porsche 911 established a new category and remains at the pinnacle of the premium sports car segment.

In 2016 alone, 32,365 vehicles were delivered worldwide. Nevertheless, it has maintained its exclusivity over the decades and has become a coveted collector’s item. The one-millionth 911 will not be sold. Before it moves on to enrich the collection at the Porsche Museum, it will embark on a world tour and will take road trips in the Scottish Highlands, around the Nürburgring, and in the US, China, and beyond.

Honeywell Plant To Make New Auto Refrigerant APA Bureau

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oneywell has announced that it has started commercial operations at its new manufacturing plant in Geismar, the centre of Louisiana’s chemical corridor, to meet the growing global demand for its next-generation mobile air conditioning refrigerant. With this start-up, the plant has become the world’s largest site for producing HFO1234yf, sold commercially as Solstice yf.

Solstice yf is an award-winning product that was developed by the company’s team of scientists to meet the needs of the automotive industry to replace R-134a, the most widely used auto refrigerant. It has a global-warmingpotential (GWP) of less than 1, which is lower than carbon dioxide and 99.9 percent lower than R-134a, which has a GWP of 1300. R-134a is a hydro fluorocarbon (HFC), which many governments and industries have been looking at phasing out since the early

2000s. “Solstice yf is a breakthrough innovation that is helping the auto industry transition to more environmentally preferable technologies without sacrificing performance,” Ken Gayer, Vice President and General Manager of Honeywell Fluorine Products, said. “Honeywell invested significantly in research and development for more than a decade to enable our award-winning scientists to create new, near drop-in alternatives to meet the rising demand to replace HFCs. Solstice yf is one of the best solutions available to meet global requirements because it is safe

for intended use and is capable of addressing both fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions.”

With this investment, Geismar has become one of Honeywell’s most advanced production sites. It will serve as the showcase for some of the company’s own process and automation technologies, including Honeywell Connected plant.

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GLEANINGS - International

Volvo Trucks Safety Report Focuses On Vulnerable Road Users APA Bureau

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he number of serious road accidents involving trucks is dropping, but the safety of vulnerable road users must be improved. And there are still far too many truck drivers who do not use their seat belts. These are among the findings of a new traffic safety report from Volvo Trucks.

“In the 2017 Volvo Trucks Safety Report we analyse and describe why accidents involving trucks occur, how

they happen, and what should be done to reduce the risk of accidents and their consequences. These are facts that are not only important to our own product development but also to everyone who works for a safer traffic environment,” Peter Wells, head of the Volvo Trucks Accident Research Team, said.

The 2017 Volvo Trucks Safety Report is based on Volvo’s own accident investigations and on data from various national and European authorities. One of the report’s conclusions is that there is a greater need to focus on reducing risks for vulnerable road users such as

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pedestrians, cyclists, moped riders and motorcyclists.

“In the past decade the number of serious road accidents involving heavy trucks has been almost halved in Europe. However, truck accidents involving vulnerable road users have not been reduced to the same extent,” Carl Johan Almqvist, Traffic and Product Safety Director at Volvo Trucks, said.

About 35 per cent of people suffering serious injuries or fatalities in accidents involving heavy trucks are vulnerable road users. With the increasing pace of urbanisation and with more people and vehicles on the roads, there is a risk that injuries will increase unless serious action is taken.

“In order to cut accident rates it is necessary to continue the development of a number of technical solutions that can help the truck driver avoid potentially hazardous situations. Moreover, all road users need to become more aware of the risks that exist in the traffic environment and how we can best reduce them,” Almqvist said.

Giving the driver a clear overview of the truck’s immediate vicinity is crucial to accident prevention.

As one of many complements to rear-view mirrors, closequarter mirrors and reversing cameras, Volvo has a solution whereby the driver can see what is happening in the front corner

of the passenger side with the help of a camera. “It is also important for pedestrians and cyclists to be aware of the importance to see and be seen and to assist in smooth, safe interaction in traffic. That’s why we are directing our educational material to both youngsters and adults, for instance our Stop, Look, Wave and See and Be Seen campaigns, which spotlight precisely these issues,” he said.

In order to reduce the risk of accidents with other vehicles, Volvo’s trucks are equipped with various active safety systems. But if an accident does occur, it is a tried and trusted part of the safety equipment that is the most important life-saver, the seat belt.

“The report reveals that far too many truck drivers don´t use their seat belts even though we know that half of the unbelted truck drivers who have died in road accidents would have survived, had they been wearing their seat belts,” Almqvist said.

GLEANINGS - Internaional

FCA US Honours 16 Automotive Suppliers APA Bureau

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exciting vehicles in the market - from the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, the industry’s first electrified minivan, to the world’s most powerful factoryproduction V-8 in the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon,” he said.

CA US LLC has honoured 16 North American supplier partners at the Company’s annual Supplier Conference held in Detroit. The Supplier of the Year awards recognize companies that have shown an extraordinary commitment to innovation, quality, warranty, cost, delivery and the FCA Foundational Principles.

“We honour those who continue to fuel our momentum by providing us not only the best ideas and cuttingedge technologies, but also the suppliers who consistently exceed our expectations,” Scott Thiele, Chief Purchasing Officer, FCA – Global, said.

“We know that you are the backbone of this industry and the partnerships we have formed over the years have brought forth some of the most

The 2016 FCA US Suppliers of the Year are: Body Supplier– Flex-N-Gate; Capital Equipment – Komatsu America Industries LLC; Chassis– Mubea Inc.; Diversity – Tenneco; Electrical – Autoliv; Engine Systems – ABC Group Inc.; Foundational Principles – Omega Tool Corp.; Innovation – Dana Incorporated; Interior – Mitchell Plastics; Mopar – Kay Automotive Graphics; Powertrain – Linamar Corporation; Raw Material – AK Steel Corporation; Services – IHS Markit; Supply Chain Management– Arbomex, S.A. de C.V.; Sustainability – BASF

Corporation; and Value Optimization – Yanfeng Automotive Interiors. Award recipients were determined based on an evaluation of each company’s supplier scorecard performance in 2016 – a rating system that evaluates supplier performance in areas such as quality, delivery, cost, warranty and partnership – and input from FCA senior leadership. Suppliers nominated themselves for the innovation, sustainability and diversity award categories.

FCA US also awarded 117 global production suppliers for their outstanding quality. To qualify, the supplier had to have 100 percent warranty and incoming material quality scores. FCA holds similar supplier recognition ceremonies in three other locations across the globe.

Modular Telematics To Connect CVs APA Bureau

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Peter Laier

norr-Bremse, the world’s leading manufacturer of braking systems and supplier of other sub-systems for commercial vehicles, is adding TruckServices ProFleet Connect to its range of Lifetime-Efficiency-Services for the aftermarket. This brand-independent retrofit telematics system is made up of seven separate functional modules that help vehicle operators increase the safety and efficiency of their trucks, trailers or buses.

“Our aim is to offer the best possible service solution for every commercial vehicle, regardless of type, make or age,” Peter Laier, Member of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG, responsible for the Commercial Vehicle Systems division, said. “Together with our partner Microlise, with TruckServices ProFleet Connect we are offering our

186 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

customers smart fleet management services for retrofit. Customers stand to benefit from flexible support with their scheduling, operational safety, quality assurance and driver training, regardless of the brand of vehicles they operate.”

At the core of the system is the Tracking Unit that is connected up to the vehicle’s data interface and transmits the required vehicle data. Then there is the ProFleet Connect software, which is called up via a web browser and provides access to the required functionalities.

Customers who also want a new platform for data exchange with their drivers can opt for the DriveTab. This robust tablet PC with its user-friendly mobile app not only handles all communications between driver and dispatcher, it also provides the basis for driver coaching. Here, ProFleet Connect continuously analyzes the dynamic handling of the vehicle and provides the driver with visual or audio hints on

how to boost safety and save fuel. The functionalities provided by ProFleet Connect telematics system are split up into seven modules.

The vehicle operators can choose from a range of options like the basic package that ensures that the vehicle operators can tell at any given moment where their trucks are and what route they have taken. It also enables driving characteristics to be evaluated, providing sound, practical foundations for driver training.

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GLEANINGS - International

Bosch Automates Automated Mobility APA Bureau to the vehicle places particular demands on safety-critical systems such as the brakes. To retain maximum control over these systems in the event of a failure, redundancy must be built into the system as a safeguard. Bosch offers ESP as a modular concept that offers the right system for all circumstances and requirements.

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utomated driving impacts the entire car: Its powertrain, brakes, steering, display instruments, navigation, and sensors, as well as connectivity inside and outside the vehicle. The key to success is an in-depth understanding of all vehicle systems. Few automotive suppliers worldwide have as much knowledge in this area as Bosch as it manufactures most of the components needed for automated driving. They include:Connected Horizon: Automated vehicles rely on environmental information – information that goes beyond what sensors can gather. For instance, they need real-time traffic data on congestion and accidents. This can be achieved only by connecting the vehicle to a server, for which Bosch developed its Connected Horizon solution. This system enables a dynamic preview of the upcoming route and corresponding adjustments to driving strategy.

Electric Steering: Fail-safe, electric

power steering is a key technology for automated driving. Even in fallback mode, fail-operational capability allows drivers and automated cars to continue using essential steering functions while maintaining about 50 percent electric steering support in the rare case of a malfunction.

ESP: The electronic stability

programme also plays a key role when it comes to automated driving.

Delegating responsibility for driving

188 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

HMI: Automated

driving will change the human-machine interface, and calls for modern concepts for communication between car and driver. The driver must be able to intuitively understand and use the system. With its innovative display instruments, Bosch is already offering promising solutions in this area as well.

test vehicles. The various sensor principles complement each other very well and combine data to ensure reliable environment recognition.

Automated vehicles use this data to derive their driving strategy.

Radar Sensor: As one of several

sensor principles, radar sensors provide important 360-degree information about their surroundings within a distance of up to 250 meters for automated vehicles. A radar sensor’s main task is to detect objects and to measure their speed and position relative to the movement of the vehicle.

Ultrasonic Sensor: Ultrasonic sensors are needed in automated driving, primarily for close-range environment recognition of up to 6 meters and at low speeds, such as during parking.

The sensors employ the sonar technique, which bats, for example, also use in navigation. They emit short ultrasound signals that are reflected by

iBooster: With the iBooster,

Bosch has developed a vacuumindependent, electromechanical brake booster that meets the requirements for modern braking systems. It can be used in all powertrain concepts and is especially well suited for hybrid and electric vehicles. In the iBooster, the actuation of the brake pedal is recorded by the built-in pedal-travel sensor and transmitted to the control unit.

Maps: Without high-resolution,

up-to-date maps, there can be no automated driving. The maps provide vehicles with information about changing traffic situations, such as traffic jams or construction, that fall outside the area on-board sensors can monitor. Bosch’s radar and video sensors capture and transmit important real-time traffic data for the creation of high-resolution maps for automated driving.

Lidar Sensor: In addition to radar,

video, and ultrasonic sensors, Bosch also uses Lidar sensors in its automated

obstacles. The echoes are registered by the sensors and analyzed by a central control unit.

With a 3D measurement range of over 50 meters, the Bosch stereo video camera provides important optical information about the vehicle’s surroundings. Each of the two highly sensitive image sensors, equipped with colour recognition and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, has a resolution of 1280 by 960 megapixels and is capable of processing extreme contrasts.

GLEANINGS - International

GAC Builds Industrial Park For EV Business APA Bureau innovative technologies and the development of an environmentallyfriendly town, the industrial park’s aim is to Rendering of GAC Motor’s become a collaborative, planned industrial park for electric intelligent, open, and intelligent vehicles innovative, and green centre of manufacturing hinese automobile manufacturer for electric and intelligent Guangzhou Automobile Group vehicles. It also plays a significant role (GAC Group), the parent in pushing forward GAC Motor’s global company of GAC Motor, has branding strategy. begun construction of a large industrial “The planning and construction of this park for electric and intelligent vehicles as part of its efforts to boost its electric vehicle business.

Located in Guangzhou’s Panyu district in China’s southern Guangdong province, the industrial park has a planned area of 5 sq.km. Investments will be made by the GAC Group and other enterprises that will locate there.

The new electric vehicle plant, part of the industrial park, is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. It will provide GAC Motor with a production capacity of 200,000 units a year With GAC Motor’s self-driving car a focus on smart manufacturing,

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industrial park is a concrete step to implement the Chinese government’s green development goals for Guangdong and the national ‘Made in China 2025’ strategy,” Yu Jun, General Manager of GAC Motor, said. “The move will help promote the development of the automobile industry and drive economic growth.”

A leader in the development of electric vehicles, GAC Motor unveiled its first pure electric vehicle, the GE3, at the 2017 North America International Auto Show this January, and released the new plug-in hybrid sedan GA3S PHEV and plug-in hybrid SUV GS4 PHEV at Auto Shanghai 2017 in April.

“In the coming five years, we will push out at least seven new electric vehicle models and cover three product series including pure electric, rangeextending and hybrid. Our goal for GAC Motor is to take the lead in the EV business and achieve sales of 20,000 electric vehicles by 2020,” Yu Jun said.

Lear Sets Up New Asia Hq. In Shanghai APA Bureau

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ear Corporation, a leading global supplier of automotive seating and electrical systems, recently hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its future Asia headquarters and technical centre in the Yangpu District of Shanghai, China. Construction of the building started in February 2017. The expansion of Lear’s Asia-Pacific administrative infrastructure, engineering capability and product innovation resources in a central Shanghai location will allow the Company to continue to develop new products and grow its sales in China and throughout Asia.

“Asia-Pacific continues to be the largest

190 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

and fastest growing region of the world. We are very pleased to be building a new regional administrative and technical centre in Shanghai, as China is Lear’s fastest growing market, and our business in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to continue to grow rapidly,” Matt Simoncini, Lear’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said. Over the past three years, Lear’s total sales in China have grown at an average annual rate of eight percent.

The new Asia headquarters will support over 39,000 Lear employees in 11 countries in Asia, including more than

Lear Asia Headquarters Groundbreaking Ceremony in Shanghai

27,000 in China. Lear manufactures products in Asia at 67 locations and has engineering teams in 16 places throughout the region. In 2016, Lear’s consolidated sales in Asia grew to $3.4 billion. Lear also supports Asia through nine unconsolidated joint ventures in the region. Sales in these unconsolidated joint ventures were $2.0 billion last year, bringing Lear’s total sales in Asia last year to $5.4 billion.

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GLEANINGS - International

Jacobs, Diamler Trucks Sign New Deal APA Bureau

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acobs Vehicle Systems, the world’s leading manufacturer of diesel and natural gas engine retarding systems and valve actuation mechanisms, has signed a new long term agreement with Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) to ensure this long standing partnership continues well into the future.

With this new long-term agreement, Jacobs and Daimler will continue their long-standing relationship which began in 1962 when engine brakes were first installed on a Detroit Diesel Series 71 engine in an aftermarket application.

Since the early 1980s, Jacobs Engine Brakes have been standard equipment starting with the joint development of the Detroit Diesel S60 engine platform in 1984 and more recently the Daimler global engine platform that launched in 2007, where the Detroit DD13, DD15 and DD16 engines are available in

Daimler Trucks North America vehicles.

“This type of longevity would not exist without the strong collaboration between our engineering and commercial teams,” Steve Ernest, Vice President, Engineering and Business Development at Jacobs Vehicle Systems, said. “When you combine Daimler’s world-class engineering team and global market presence with

the world’s leading engine braking technologies, the end result can only drive success.” The engine braking system represents the most advanced engine braking technology available in the market, and it is designed for high performance, rapid response, and extreme durability. In addition, the design is modular which allows for technology to be seamlessly adapted as market demands change.

BASF To Showcase Ultramid Endure

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y 2020, predictions indicate that 70 percent of light vehicles worldwide will use turbocharged engine technology1. As a result, BASF is introducing the use of its Ultramid Endure polyamide with high heat aging resistance up to 220° C in these engines. There are two new powertrain applications utilizing the company’s high heat resistant Endure thermoplastics; the air intake manifold with integrated charge air cooler, and hot-side turbo duct. Both debut on the 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia with the new 2.0L GME engine.

Turbochargers provide high pressure air to the engine that makes fuel burn efficiently – delivering greater engine power while consuming less

192 | AutoPartsAsia | JUNE 2017

APA Bureau energy. However, most standard thermoplastics cannot maintain desired performance under the high heat and pressure developed in a turbocharged engine, which is why BASF developed the Ultramid Endure portfolio of engineered resins. The Endure grades offer high heat aging resistance, good processability, excellent weld line strength and are available for production in North America, Europe, and Asia to support global Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) programs.

The Ultramid Endure portfolio can be used in many air induction applications of the turbocharged system including the air intake manifold, charge-air ducts, resonators, intercooler end caps and throttle bodies. It can also achieve

long-term service temperatures of 220° C, and withstand peak temperatures of 240° C. Its notable heat aging behavior results from an innovative stabilization system, which greatly reduces oxygen attack on the polymer surface.

“We predict that about 20 percent of all turbocharger applications will require a high heat resistant plastic as engine temperatures increase due to downsizing. BASF is able to deliver not only the innovative materials necessary for these applications, but also the design and welding expertise and know-how to ensure that suppliers and automakers can incorporate them successfully into their turbocharger system parts,” Mike Chiandussi, Powertrain Market Segment Specialist at BASF, said.

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21wx 29.7h cm + 3mm Bleed on all sides

4940 EURO 6 INDIA’S FIRST EURO 6

Our relentless pursuit of vehicle technology that is environment-friendly helped us pioneer CNG vehicles in India.

With the same commitment towards the environment, and enthusiasm to leverage India’s innovation, we are proud to dedicate these two pioneering products to the Nation.

CIN: L34101TN1948PLC000105

4940 EURO 6 � An 8-litre, Neptune CRS engine delivers 400 HP and 1600 Nm torque � Electronic Braking System (EBS) and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) for enhanced safety and stability � Sleeper cab with suspended seats and wider sleeper berths optimise on-road comfort

� Non-plugin ultracapacitor technology that lasts 5 times longer compared to Lithium-ion � Eliminates charging time and infrastructure requirements � Features like Auto Stop-Start, E-Launch and Efficient Energy Regeneration (EER) while braking help reduce fuel costs by up to 25%

Get set to welcome the future. A future now proudly MADE IN INDIA! Registered address : Ashok Leyland Ltd., No. 1, Sardar Patel Rd., Guindy, Chennai - 600032.

Ph. no.: 044 2220 6000 | Website: www.ashokleyland.com | Email: reachus@ashokleyland.com