AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA MAY 2022 by Next Gen Publishing Pvt Ltd

www.autocomponentsindia.com Vol 8 Issue 03

` 100

May 2022

Dethrone Manufacturing COMPONENTS Powerhouses INDIA

VOICE OF THE AUTOMOTIVE SUPPLIERS

UPFRONT With ACMA Leadership @autocomponentsindiaofficial

@ACImagazine t.me/acimagazine

Fires Force A Rethink Zinc Becomes Dearer

@autocomponentsindia

/acimagazine

www.autocomponentsindia.com /@acimagazine

ACI Mag

155 155 155 155

acres of SP Infocity, IT and SEZ parks acres of SPacross Infocity, IT and SEZ parks developed India developed across India acres of SP Infocity, IT and SEZ parks acres of SP Infocity, IT and SEZ parks developed across India developed across India

Jammu Udhampur Highway, Jammu, India Jammu Udhampur Highway, Jammu, India

Airoli Bridge, Mumbai, India Airoli Bridge, Mumbai, India

Jammu Udhampur Highway, Jammu, India Jammu Udhampur Highway, Jammu, India

SP Infocity, Pune, India Airoli Bridge, India India SP Mumbai, Infocity, Pune, Airoli Bridge, Mumbai, India

Engineering & Construction | Infrastructure | Real Estate | Energy | Water | Financial Services Engineering & Construction | Infrastructure | Real Estate | Energy | Water | Financial Services SP Infocity, Pune, India Shapoorji Pallonji And Company Private Limited Corporate Office : SP Centre, 41/44 Minoo Desai Marg, Shapoorji Pallonji And Company Private Limited Colaba, Mumbai 400 005, India. Corporate : SP Centre, 41/44 Minoo Desai Marg, Tel +91 22 Office 6749 0000 Colaba, Mumbai 400 005, India. Tel +91 22 6749 0000

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Content

Cover Story

may 2022

COMPONENTS

INDIA

VOICE OF THE AUTOMOTIVE SUPPLIERS

Dethrone Manufacturing Powerhouses

With a push from trade volatility, interventions and private investment, India is poised to dethrone manufacturing powerhouses.

Fires Force A Rethink

EV fires have forced a rethink on battery pack safety.

Zinc Becomes Dearer

Amidst the commodity price inflation, a check on the bearing of zinc in its various forms for the components industry.

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

content

08 Newscast

l MSSL acquires CIM Tools

l New investment by Continental

may 2022

COMPONENTS

INDIA

VOICE OF THE AUTOMOTIVE SUPPLIERS

14 Mobilised

MicronAir® For Fuel Cell Stacks

l Bosch India achieves a new milestone

Business Filing Bridging Capability Gaps Electrification: Our Approach to Market

l Bridgestone India sets up new facility

Vehicle Segment

Power Rating

350-600kw

BEV High Performance

l Apollo Tyres digital innovation hub

100-350kw

BEV Performance

l ABB India Gujarat plant expansion

50-100kw

Driveline Business Core Strength: High Torque High Power Density

l New acquisition by BorgWarner

Products

U.S., Asia, Europe, India

BEV

30-50kw

Differential assemblies

Differential gears

PHEV India, China, Europe

MHEV

15-30kw

5-15kw

Final Drive assembly

EDL

PHEV

Motor Business (next phase; 2020-23)

Motor Business Core Strength: Low Voltage High Power Density

Geography

BSG (Gen-3)

BSG

PMSM motors

Motor controllers

E-3 Wheeler India

<5kw

SRM motors

E-2 Wheeler

Upfront

Trending

#Trendsmap

Introduction to Sona Comstar

BLDC drive Wheel hub motors BLDC motor

PMSM motors

Motor controllers

Feb-22

e-Axle

Page 11

With ACMA Leadership

l Chargeup and Microgrid collaborate l Altair Startup Challenge 2022 l LANXESS price hike l Matter Energy 1.0 battery pack l Hyva appoints Pankaj Kapoor l Toyoda Gosei CNF-plastic l Saietta Group takes over plant

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

Bracing The Future Of Auto

WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

hotspot

Original Design And Equipment Manufacture

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA

608, Trade World, 6th floor, C wing, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai - 400013, India. Tel +91 9321546598, Email us at a.bhatia@nextgenpublishing.net

Executive Editor Ashish Bhatia Editorial Advisory Board H. S. Billimoria, Aspi Bhathena Head - Design & Production Ravi Parmar Correspondent: Deepti Thore, Prateek Pardeshi Sumesh Soman Asst Art Director Ajit Manjrekar Production Supervisor Dinesh Bhajnik Publisher Marzban Jasoomani Associate Publisher & General Manager (North & East) Ellora Dasgupta General Manager – South Girish Shet Deputy General Manager – North & East Chanchal Arora (Delhi) Regional Marketing Manager Salma Jabbar (Chennai) Regional Manager Rajesh Gogate (Mumbai) Manager Circulation - North and East Kapil Kaushik (Delhi) Subscription Supervisor Sachin Kelkar Tel +91 9321546598 Apple Newsstand & Magzter Queries: help@magzter.com Territory Sales Incharge (Circulation) Srinivas Gangula (Hyderabad) Cell +91 09000555756 Territory Sales Incharge (Circulation) Vidyasagar Gupta (Kolkata) Mob: 09804085683

Unless capability up gradation and capacity expansions, planned by the industry, go live and meet global demand in terms of quality prerequisites, the voids in original design and equipment manufacture will persist.

ndia is laying the groundwork to encourage original design and equipment manufacture. Moving beyond technology transfer and licensing, the industry is thinking ground up with renewed vigour. It has earmarked capex for gaining ground on the front. Interestingly, our interactions with MSMEs that made a beeline at an ongoing expo in the financial capital were testimony to local players coming good on stringent global benchmarks. Unlike tier1 suppliers, these suppliers, equally vital to the upstream of the supply chain, shy away from the public eye and remain focused on the business with mass volumes by their side. Imagine stumbling upon body panels and components fitted on global flagship vehicles being produced in our backyard. The companies continue to bridge capability gaps to localise the original design and manufacture of components, especially the growing electronic content. Unless capability up gradation and capacity expansions, planned by the industry, go live and meet global demand in terms of quality prerequisites, the voids in original design and equipment manufacture will persist. There is a ray of hope though with industry and academia collaborations serving India’s focus on mobility, computing and digitalisation. Ashish Bhatia Executive Editor | a.bhatia@nextgenpublishing.net /autocomponentsindiaofficial /autocomponentsindia ACI Mag /acimagazine

@ACImagazine

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Views and opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of Next Gen Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Next Gen Publishing Pvt. Ltd. does not take responsibility for returning unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or other material. All material published in Auto Components India is copyright and no part of the magazine may be reproduced in part or full without the express prior written permission of the publisher Printed by Marzban Jasoomani Next Gen Publishing Pvt. Ltd., 608, Trade World, 6th floor, C wing, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai - 400013, India.. Published by Marzban Jasoomani on behalf of Next Gen Publishing Pvt. Ltd., 608, Trade World, 6th floor, C wing, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai - 400013, India. Printed at Uchitha Graphic Printers Pvt. Ltd., 65, Ideal Industrial Estate, Mathuradas Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400013, India., India. Published at Next Gen Publishing Pvt. Ltd., 608, Trade World, 6th floor, C wing, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai - 400013, India.

All readers are recommended to make their own independent enquiries before sending money, incurring expenses or entering into commitments in relation to any advertisement appearing in the publication. Auto Components India does not vouch for any claims made by advertisers for their products and services. The editor, publisher, printer and employees of the publication shall not be held liable for any consequence in the events of such claims not being honoured by the advertisers. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Mumbai only. Editor Ashish Bhatia

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

Newscast

MSSL acquires CIM Tools Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. (MSSL) has successfully completed the acquisition of a majority stake in CIM Tools Pvt. Ltd. (CIM). As per an earlier announcement, MSSL has acquired a 56 per cent stake in CIM Tools. The latter in turn holds a 83 per cent in Aero Treatment Pvt. Ltd. (ATPL) and 49.99 per cent in Lauak CIM Aerospace (JV with Lauak International, LCA). CIM, ATPL and LCA are hereafter referred to as CIM Group”. The three founders, Srikanth GS, Umesh AS and

Vishwanath Deshpande, retain the remaining 45 per cent stake in CIM. Since the initial announcement in October, 21, CIM’s order book is claimed to have grown by 26 per cent to USD 252 million. CIM Group’s

New investment by Continental Continental, as a part of new investment, has inaugurated a Rs.200 crore greenfield surface solutions plant in Pune. Designed for car interiors including electric vehicles and two-wheeler seats, the premium surface materials which the company plans to manufacture will largely cater to the domestic market and exports. The new surface solution plant will focus on reducing environmental impact and lowering the carbon footprint. Commenting on the new investment, Philip Nelles, Member of the Continental Executive Board and Head of Group Sector ContiTech said, “Growing our business in the Asia-Pacific region is one of our main strategic pillars. Amongst others, India will play a major role to strive for our goal. That’s why we continue to invest into our Indian locations. Thus, we will remain close to our customers maximising value creation.” The new location is Continental’s sixteenth surface solutions plant globally, producing well-known surface materials like ‘Acella Eco’ used by worldwide top car manufacturers and automotive brands.

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

provisional revenue in Q4 FY22 was Rs.548 million, implying a strong recovery to pre-Covid19 levels (Revenues of Rs.2,031 mn in FY20 and Rs.1,296 mn in FY21). CIM Tools is engaged in specialised machining and

sub-assembly of components for the aerospace industry. ATPL is a vertically integrated unit engaged in the surface treatment of machined parts. This acquisition marked MSSL’s entry into the aerospace industry and provides it with access to an existing and wellestablished customer base. The specialised capabilities to serve the aerospace industry through its four dedicated facilities is another step forward in the diversification strategy of MSSL.

Bosch India achieves a new milestone Bosch India has reached a significant milestone by producing 10-million Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and Electronic Stability Program (ESP) units for passenger vehicles at its Chakan plant near Pune. “Bosch has had a remarkable run in India over the last 100 years, and the milestone of producing 10 million ABS and ESP units locally at our plant in Chakan serves as a testament to our commitment to building an Atmanirbhar Bharat,” Avinash Chintawar, Managing Director of Bosch Chassis Systems India Pvt. Ltd. said. ABS can reduce relevant car accidents by 20 per cent, according to studies conducted by Bosch’s accident research team in India, while ESP units can prevent up to 80 per cent of car skidding incidents. Bosch first introduced ABS in India in 2005 and ESP in 2009 followed by the inauguration of its Chakan plant in 2010, initiating the localisation of ABS and ESP systems. WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

Newscast

Bridgestone India’s sets up facility Bridgestone India has inaugurated a first-of-its-kind Mobility Solutions Institute in India. Through this facility, the company aims to enable various stakeholders, employees, dealers and partners to enhance their knowledge on tyre technology and related mobility solutions. This institute will assist stakeholders in staying updated on mobility solutions and tyre technology advancements respectively. This Corporate University will also focus on educating employees and external stakeholders about mobility solutions trends and new

product features. The centre would showcase an AR/VR experience offering real-time solutions that can be provided for damaged tyres or any assistance for technicians at remote locations. It would also include a tyre shop in a virtual world where products, its application and advantages can be viewed.

“As one of the global leaders in the mobility space, we want to bring in worldwide best practices for upskilling relevant stakeholders in the business. This will help us further integrate with them through learning and knowledge sharing in tyres, related services and solutions in mobility,” commented Parag

Satpute, Managing Director, Bridgestone India. This oneof-its-kind concept is the company’s attempt towards developing a comprehensive skill set in India’s growing mobility market, he mentioned further. The faculty for the institute currently comprises leaders and domain experts from within the organisation. The institute comprises a Tyre Experience Zone, a tyre lab showcasing the life cycle of a tyre from the raw material stage to the final product stage. It also showcases the tyre explosion stage from the technical understanding viewpoint.

BorgWarner’s Apollo Tyres Opens new acquisition Digital Innovation Hub

BorgWarner Inc. has completed its acquisition of Santroll Automotive Components, a carve-out of Santroll’s eMotor business. The acquisition is expected to strengthen BorgWarner’s vertical integration, scale, and portfolio breadth in light vehicle e-motors while allowing for increased speed to market. Based in Tianjin, China, Santroll designs and manufactures hairpin and concentrated-winding technology eMotors for use in light vehicles. Santroll supplies its patented technology to the Chinese OEM market. With nearly 400 full-time employees, Santroll brings manufacturing equipment design capabilities and proven automation expertise that have allowed it to secure business relationships with many leading customers in China. WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

Apollo Tyres has announced the launch of its Digital Innovation Hub in London. Aiming at implementing Industry 4.0, the hub is a part of its digital strategy which uses Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies to solve complex manufacturing problems to further improve the efficiency, quality and sustainability of its manufacturing practices. The company has partnered with Glasgow University and is also implementing an ongoing internship programme for STEM students (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) as part of the UK Government strategy. According to Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Apollo Tyres Ltd., the company has invested around five million pounds in the Digital Innovation Hub. A result of Apollo Tyres’ five-year growth plan which involves significant investment in technology and cloud infrastructure, the hub is being engineered and architected in the UK, and specialist companies in London are being consulted to help with complex application development. The company made the announcement on the eve of Boris Johnson’s visit to India, during which the two countries will be discussing UKIndia trade and economic partnership. AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

Newscast

ABB India Gujarat plant expansion ABB India announced the inauguration of its expanded Digital Substation Products and Digital Systems factory at Vadodara, in Gujarat. This new factory, located within ABB India’s largest manufacturing campus, will meet the growing demand for a diverse range of digital substation products and digital solutions in India and more than 50 other countries. The product portfolio includes relays, and the solutions include

centralised protection and control systems. This facility manufactures four variants or series of relays, constituting a significant portion of ABB’s portfolio of this product. The manufacturing of relays follows a complex testing sequence comprising of high voltage test, functional test and heat run test. Commenting on the expansion, Sanjeev Sharma, Country Head and Managing Director, ABB India, said, “We have been

Chargeup and Microgrid collaborate

Chargeup has signed an Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Microgrid Labs to formalise a business engagement with BECIL to be their technology partners. BECIL is a Mini Ratna Public Sector Enterprise of the Government of India, offering advisory and consulting services to the Indian and Overseas (Limited to Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, countries in Africa where BECIL is active) customers to support the transition from fossil fuel-powered fleet to electric fleet. The objective of this MoU is to prepare a framework by Chargeup, Microgrid Labs, and BECIL. The scope of the consultancy would cover transition planning and design for the Indian and overseas fleet electrification and EV charging infrastructure market using battery swapping technology. Talking about his company’s role, Narayanan Sankar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder, Microgrid Labs, said, “Microgrid Labs has been dedicated to working towards providing transition planning support for fleet electrification for our clients. Our expertise includes designing and deployment of world-class charging infrastructure and mathematical modelling services.” He informed, “We use EVOPT Planning and Controlling software that has been developed internally and is patented by Microgrid Labs.”

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

consistently investing in Gujarat, making it one of our largest manufacturing campuses. The inauguration

of this facility demonstrates our commitment to partner India’s grid expansion and clean energy targets.”

Altair Startup Challenge 2022 Altair announced the launch of Altair Startup Challenge 2022, continuing its collaboration with Startup India, a Government of India initiative. Aimed at building a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship India, the Startup Challenge gives organisations access to high-end technology, mentorship, and expert support and guidance in their quest for innovative products. The company seeks to identify, support, mentor, and reward budding startups with its simulation, optimisation, and machine learning technologies combined with its dedicated team of mentors with extensive experience and knowledge. The award categories were simulation-driven product design and development, digital twin, and embedded systems. The Altair Startup Challenge required startups to identify Altair technologies that would drive the design and engineering of their companies’ products which would improve product performance, reduce product development time, and minimise cost. Eight companies were short listed from a pool of more than 156 applications; as a reward, Altair provided these startups with mentorship and free access to Altair technologies for four months. Winners were judged based on how they applied Altair technologies and how well they enhanced their product designs and their potential business impact. WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

Make it possible Block Your Dates

16 - 21 June 2022, Bengaluru

Organiser

Venue

Newscast

LANXESS hikes prices for inorganic pigments Speciality chemicals company, LANXESS is imposing global price surcharges for its inorganic pigments with immediate effect. Prices will rise by EUR 400 per metric ton for iron oxide pigments from its production site in Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany, and EUR 200 from the Porto Feliz site in Brazil – or the equivalent amount in national currency. In addition, the Inorganic Pigments business unit is also adjusting the quotations for chromium oxides. The reasons for the adjustments are, in particular, unprecedented challenges with a significant impact

on production and logistics. Compared with the previous year, energy prices are at a significantly higher level and

are expected to remain high and volatile for the rest of the year, not least as a result of the war in Ukraine. Enormous

shortages and cost increases for raw materials and freight capacities are additional burdening factors.

Matter Energy 1.0 Hyva appoints battery pack Pankaj Kapoor Matter has unveiled a new product called the Matter Energy 1.0 battery pack with Integrated Intelligent Thermal Management System and a Smart Battery Management System. The company claims that this is India’s first active liquid-cooled battery pack for electric two-wheelers, which will improve safety. High power density, battery packs with IP67 ratings, and sensor systems are some of the features of battery packs that are used to ensure optimal battery performance. Mohal Lalbhai, Founder and CEO, Matter said, “As the safety and performance of battery-powered electric vehicles are integral to their viability and acceptability, Matter has developed a highly purpose-built battery pack that will meet the needs of the EV 2W industry. For electric vehicles to become mainstream it is pivotal that we focus on the product development cycle that is simulation intensive, thoroughly tested, and validated for reliability and safety.” “Matter Energy 1.0, a breakthrough futuristic battery pack is fully charged and ready to power the EV 2W landscape in India,” he added. When compared to other materials, the battery casing is made of lightweight metal that is also thermally conductive.

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

Hyva has appointed Pankaj Kapoor as Vice President and Managing Director for its Indian operations. Being one of the leading providers of innovative and highly efficient transport solutions for the commercial vehicle and environmental service industries, the company is banking on Kapoor’s vast business experience to lead their operations in India while it looks forward to expansion. In the past, Kapoor has held senior leadership positions at Tenneco Automotive India, Omax Autos, Motherson Sumi Systems, Federal Mogul Powertrain, Uno Minda and more recently at AMR as CEO and Group Head Strategy. He has strong General Management credentials, both commercially (B2B & B2C) and in Operations, and a strong track record of business growth. Speaking about his appointment, Kapoor expressed, “I look forward to taking the company to the next level both in terms of growth and success.” WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

Newscast / international

Toyoda Gosei CNF-plastic

Saietta Group takes over plant

Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. has developed a cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-reinforced plastic for automotive parts. Aiming at reducing CO2 over the lifecycle of automotive components, from raw material procurement and production to recycling and disposal, the company is developing materials that raise the environmental performance of its products by leveraging the features of CNF. The newly developed CNF-reinforced plastic comprises 20 per cent CNF in a general purpose plastic (polypropylene) and is used in automobile interior and exterior components. To overcome the challenge of reduced impact resistance from the inclusion of CNF, the company used its material mix design and kneading expertise to raise impact resistance to a level suitable for automotive components. The company further aims at lowering the costs in cooperation with CNF material manufacturers.

SAIETTA Group plc (Saietta) has taken over the ZF Automotive UK Ltd. (ZF) facility in Sunderland to set up its own manufacturing facility. The facility has been re purposed to produce a range of Saietta products with an initial capacity of 100,000 motors per annum. Through this facility, Saietta aims at cleaning up the air in large cities around the globe by quickly deploying its innovative electric drive technology from scooters to buses. With this agreement Saietta is progressing towards its goal of establishing a UK pilot production facility well before 2024. Spread across 86,000 square feet area, the plant has a distinguished history of manufacturing over 20 million electric motors for a range of automotive applications since 1999. Purchasing a total of four motor production lines and an electronic circuit board production line and a considerable amount of this equipment, the company intends to use its new facility to scale up the production of its proprietary Axial-Flux Technology (AFT) motors for multiple applications.

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AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

Mobilised

MicronAir For Fuel Cell Stacks

Fuel cell vehicles are just as dependent on air filters to function efficiently. Prateek Pardeshi looks at the Freudenberg MicronAir ® filter in a Hydrogen fuel cell stack deployed on a bus.

@Prateek2101

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

attery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are getting stiff competition from Fuel Cell Hydrogen and Electric Vehicles. The technology is making remarkable progress, riding on efficiency and reliability. For an automotive component that converts hydrogen gas into electricity, there is a lot that goes on beneath the surface. Hydrogen molecules are broken down into protons and electrons. Protons pass through a membrane, while electrons are diverted to generate direct current, which powers the motor. On the other side of the membrane, they combine with oxygen. As a by product, H20 is emitted. Here the efficiencies are credited to the clean air fed to the Fuel cell which in turn allows it to function efficiently. In an ICE, we change the air filters after predefined service intervals, which result in clean engine intake and efficient performance. Similarly, fuel cells demand clean filtered air,

which Freudenberg Filtration Technologies has made possible with its MicronAir filter series. Commenting on the Fuel cell technology, Felix Herberg, Sales Manager Automotive Filters at Freudenberg Filtration Technologies said, “Fuel cell vehicles are particularly wellsuited for long distances thanks to their great range. Because electric cars are most attractive for shorter distances, this alternative drive technology perfectly complements the sustainable mobility mix of tomorrow.” Filters here play a crucial role, he informs.

q Fuel Cell Filters

For efficient running of fuel cells, air quality plays an important role in helping to get rid of contaminants like sulphur, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides. These pollutants can affect the cell to varying degrees. Some might decrease performance temporarily. Others, such as fine dust, WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

Mobilised

Felix Herberg, Sales Manager Automotive Filters at Freudenberg Filtration Technologies

damage the cell permanently, rendering it less effective or decreasing its lifetime. Commenting on the harmful substances, Ashok Pandey, Director Automotive, Pharma, Consumer Filter, at Freudenberg in India, explained, “Especially in rural regions, outside air tends to contain high levels of ammonia in addition to other substances. The MicronAir® fuel cell filter that is now in use is specifically designed to protect cells from ammonia.” A testimony to it being commercially viable is Sentient labs recently rolling out a new Hydrogen powered fuel cell stack equipped with a Freudenberg MicronAir® filter. While the bus was a prototype , Sentient tapped Freudenberg, for the requirement of a MicronAir ® filter. After fulfilling requirements on Sentients Labs, Freudenberg equipped every bus with “FC F-513-N” fuel cell filters. They ensure that the buses keep running and reduce maintenance downtimes. Freudenberg has broadly classified MicronAir fuel cell filters into Q and N type. There are four major variants of filters namely, cartridge filters, half open, closed and panel filter with seal. The fuel cell filters are part of Freudenberg’s comprehensive portfolio of standardised products and customised solutions for hydrogen WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

Dr Mohsen Sohi, CEO of the Weinheim-based Freudenberg Group

fuel cells. The N filters in particular have been recognised as an outstanding innovation by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for Environment, Climate and Energy and received the f-cell award for innovative fuel cell technology. The Filter used has a dimension of 314 mm x 256 mm x 244 mm, having two filter elements. The nominal volume flow rate is ranging from 0-100 m3/h. The filter has the capacity of sustaining housing burst pressure of about 120 mbar an adsorption performance at 70 m3/h. On the performance front, the filter shows a linear progress, as the total pressure drop [Pa] increases, flow rate [l/min], increases too.

Ashok Pandey, Director Automotive, Pharma, Consumer Filter, at Freudenberg

q Fuel cell evolution

At Freudenberg’s Fuel Cell Technology Centre in Munich, Germany, one hundred experts are already at work. Applications for buses, trucks, and shipping are being developed in collaboration with partners. This includes the creation of a high-performance fuel cell system for long-distance buses that can be combined with a battery to form a hybrid system. “The battery and fuel cell business is being grouped together in a separate Freudenberg Battery & Fuel Cell Business Group. The change takes effect from April 01, 2022,” states Dr Mohsen Sohi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Weinheim-based Freudenberg Group. With such developments, sales in Asia are increasing. Asia alone accounts for 23 per cent of global sales. Automotive OEMs account for 39 per cent of the total. In contrast, sales in India increased by EURO 71.3 mn between FY2020 and FY2021. Profits increased by about EURO 15 mn when compared to the previous fiscal’s profit as sales owing to product innovations like the MicronAir® filter. ACI AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

Business Filing

Bridging Capability Gaps

Sona Comstar continues to sign on strategic partners and bridge capability gaps. Ashish Bhatia with Deepti Thore looks at the equation to offer sustainable and costeffective emobility solutions.

@atashishbhatia

@DeeptiT9

ona Comstar, supplier of vital automotive systems and components to automotive OEMs is also a big supplier of the burgeoning emobility segment. The company, naturally, has been on the hunt for strategic collaborators wherever deemed fit to acquire technical capabilities. In line with the strategy to become a one-stop automotive technology solution provider to manufacturers both in the domestic as well as global markets, the company recently signed on with Enedym Inc. (Enedym) based out of Hamilton, Ontario in Canada with an aim to licence the latter’s technology for application in three-wheelers,

high-performance electric motorcycles and four-wheeler cargo delivery EVs basis the power range. Previously it is known to have signed on with partners like Israel based IRP Systems for joint development and localised manufacturing of magnet less e-motors and controllers aimed at the electric two-wheeler and three-wheeler market in India. It is with the focus on offering sustainable and cost-effective emobility solutions to its customers. Drawing attention to the tier1 segment of the industry as a whole, Sunjay Kapur, Chairman, Sona Comstar and President, ACMA India, on the sidelines of an ACMA summit expressed, “We started

Electrification: Our Approach to Market Vehicle Segment

Power Rating

Driveline Business Core Strength: High Torque High Power Density

U.S., Asia, Europe, India

50-100kw

BEV Performance

BEV

30-50kw

Differential assemblies

Differential gears

PHEV

MHEV

15-30kw

5-15kw

Final Drive assembly

EDL

PHEV

Motor Business (next phase; 2020-23)

Products

BEV High Performance

350-600kw

100-350kw

Motor Business Core Strength: Low Voltage High Power Density

Geography

India, China, Europe

BSG (Gen-3)

BSG

PMSM motors

Motor controllers

E-3 Wheeler India

<5kw

E-2 Wheeler

Introduction to Sona Comstar AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

SRM motors

BLDC drive Wheel hub motors BLDC motor

PMSM motors

Motor controllers

e-Axle

Feb-22 Page 11 WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

Business Filing

Sunjay Kapur, Chairman, Sona Comstar and President, ACMA India

our lives with joint ventures and with licence agreements and very quickly we were able to adapt or adopt that technology. Some of us have exhibited joint ventures and continue to build on the technology that we learned from our partnerships.” According to Kapur, the tier2 and tier3s in the supply chain will have to invest in technology, whether it be through a joint venture or licence agreements, or other methods of bringing technology to our country. Having said that, the company is particular about owning technology in a bid to continue experimenting until it gets it right, asserted Vivek Vikram Singh, Managing Director (MD) & Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Sona Comstar in the company’s earnings call.

and three-wheeler EV market in order to stay ahead of the curve, as an early mover is evident from the recent strategic partnerships. This strategy has fructified with EVs contributing to 23 per cent of the revenue in the first nine months of FY22, a 168 per cent YoY growth. With 24 EV programs across 14 customers globally, the company has been able to tap markets like North America, Europe and Asia. In the net order book, EVs contributed 66.4 per cent of the net revenue at Rs.116 bn as in the third quarter of FY22 (Q3 FY22). Take for instance, the partnership with Enedym, to produce magnetless EV motors. Referring to it, Kiran M Deshmukh, Group CTO at Sona Comstar stated in a company release, “This partnership opens doors for us to the inventions developed by Dr Ali Emadi and his research group at the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre, McMaster University.” Dr Ali Emadi, Founder, President, and CEO of Enedym is known to have stated, “This collaboration will effectively bridge the gap in supplying next generation SRM motor technologies by Enedym, which require no rare earth metals, reduce cost significantly through advanced digitisation, and achieve class leading performance, with a

q Push for e-mobility

Having a diversified presence across geographies, Sona Comstar has spent an aggregate of Rs.1,563 million (including Comstar) on Research & Development over the past three years, including an investment of Rs.915 mn in FY202021, at an estimated 5.8 per cent of its total revenue. The focus on driving the electrification of vehicles by supplying a range of components and solutions for the Indian two-wheeler WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

Vivek Vikram Singh, MD & Group CEO at Sona Comstar

Kiran M Deshmukh, Group CTO at Sona Comstar

trusted and highly capable partner, Sona Comstar, to supply highly engineered automotive systems and components to OEMs.” He also pointed at electric three-wheelers being at the forefront of the vehicle electrification transition in India and, therefore, expectations being fair of the combined efforts having a significant impact both in terms of sustainability, efficiency, cost reduction, and performance improvements. As per the agreement, both the companies will develop Switched Reluctance Motors (SRM), electric propulsion and electrified drivetrains suited to Indian duty cycles of the partnerships’ target segments. This entails systems for a peak power range of 10-30kW for three-wheelers, 10-20kW for twowheelers and 10-40kW in case of the four-wheeler cargo SRM drive systems. Given that Enedym will licence its SRM technologies to Sona Comstar for manufacturing the drive motors, controllers, and drivetrains for the target applications exclusively in India, one can expect the serial production of these systems to commence in 2023. Notably, the elimination of permanent magnets promises to help Sona significantly lower the AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

Business Filing cost of propulsion motors. Add to it, the simplified structure is expected to deliver higher efficiency at high speeds, fault-resistant operations that are deemed suitable for operating in harsh environments, especially at extreme hightemperatures. In another strategic partnership that took shape in July 2021, Sona Comstar with Israel’s IRP Nexus Group Ltd. signed on to develop, manufacture and supply magnetless e-motors and controllers for the electric two- and three-wheeler platforms. Under the agreement, IRP will licence its technology to Sona Comstar for manufacturing of the system exclusively in India. The company expects mass production to commence under the partnership, in 2023. The collaboration of IRP’s control technology and Sona Comstar’s state-of-the-art

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

Enedym digitises its electric motors.

manufacturing capabilities, and global reach is expected to further promote mass electric mobility. IRP has implemented its ‘TrueDrive’ technology in the magnet-less e-motors. “The system developed through this partnership will be an environmentally compatible and cost-effective solution that would ensure the security of natural resources by avoiding the use of rare earth elements,” reiterates Deshmukh

Sona Comstar recently launched its ‘Motor T’ family of motors and controllers said to have been developed inhouse. As per company claims, ‘Motor T with an optimised controller’, with next generation technology, has the highest efficiency (96 per cent), power and torque density in the 48V category in the world. With Motor T (HS), the company will cater to the high-speed two-wheelers and with the Motor T-72, it will cater to high-speed and long-range two-wheelers. Notably, in Motor T-REF (RareEarth Free), the company is known to have used ferrite magnets eliminating the use of Neodymium magnets. Being at a nascent stage, the projections on the market and revenue of the Motor T family are still some time away. It’s moves like these that are enabling Sona Comstar to bridge capability gaps and own its technology offerings to the market. ACI

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Upfront

With ACMA Leadership

In an upfront interaction with ACMA leadership, Sunjay Kapur and Vinnie Mehta discuss the current state of the supplier ecosystem with Sumesh Soman. Q. Has the components industry recovered from the pandemic induced slump? Sunjay. It has been almost two years since we had a physical event. So, this is a great opportunity for us to meet people physically again. The components industry has had a good run in the first half of the year. We have grown by 65 per cent in the domestic market; 76 per cent on the exports front and 25 per cent in the aftermarket segment.

Albeit, if this conflict continues, and I don’t think any of us know what the geopolitical outcome of a conflict like this will be, it will definitely cause further delays threatening to reverse the progress made in semiconductor supply chains. Logistics costs are also a reason for container shortages. However, you know, the industry is extremely resilient. Demand is strong, which is definitely a positive for all of us because we see it coming in from across the board.

Q. How are you faring in terms of the exposure to the commercial vehicle segment? Sunjay. We have seen the commercial vehicle segment come back after a lot of pain and one must credit the structural changes in that industry, specifically with excellent norms, Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation, capacity utilisation and so on. We still have several headwinds, as we are all aware the chip shortage, which continues globally has created a immense headwinds for the industry as a whole.

Q. Have the effects of PLI scheme approvals started to trickle in? Sunjay. 75 companies have been

Q. Coupled with supply-chain bottlenecks like the chip shortage, how have fuel price hikes and disruptions like Russia-Ukraine crisis, impacted business sentiment? Sunjay. We have seen fuel price hikes owing to the nature of disruptions making it increasingly difficult to sustain a positive sentiment. Currently, Neon gas comes from Ukraine. However, chip manufacturers have a sufficient quantity of it at this point in time to my knowledge. WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

approved in the PLI scheme for auto components, of which 47 are ACMA members, and quite a few of them are joint venture partners outside that number. We are looking at a great opportunity for us to invest. The industry is positioned very well to invest in what we call the future technology. This does not necessarily mean only Electric Vehicles, though, we are seeing a big push towards electric vehicles globally. This also will encourage us to invest in technology so that we can look at deep localisation, something that is the need of the hour, given the geopolitical situation and the pain we saw during

Sunjay J Kapur, President, ACMA and Chairman, Sona Comstar Ltd. AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

upfront the pandemic. I feel that it’s a great opportunity for us to manufacture in India, given the government’s push with ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, ‘Make in India’ and all these other schemes that are encouraging the industry to continue to manufacture in India, and create a global hub for manufacturing. This is again, very encouraging from the government. There is also the FAME II and the PLI scheme outlay for batteries. All these schemes, coming together, evidently shows the government’s want to put money into benefits, to create what we call export champions and again, champions in engineering, research and development. The entire ‘Make in India’ scheme, for example, has also been positioned such that we can design it, in depth. Q. What does the immediate foreseeable future look like then? Sunjay. We are looking at very strong growth prospects for the future, given the fact that we will

Vinnie Mehta, Director General, ACMA

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

invest heavily in technology and the industry is extremely disruptive for drivers. When you look at what the industry disruption looks like, it is on fronts like Connectivity, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric, which we call CASE. We are moving more towards connectivity, towards telematics fields, which are opening up brand new fronts for component manufacturers to play in. Noncomponent players also, in fact, applied for the PLI scheme. Because again, there is a lot of opportunity to grow in the industry. Keeping up with global trends, we are seeing more electrification of vehicles. The low hanging fruit is, of course the twowheeler industry, which will rapidly move towards electrification followed by passenger moving vehicles and buses too. We continuously feel that whilst the government is investing heavily in infrastructure, its is boosting the prospects of private sector investment in technology. And that’s really what is going to happen.

Sunjay. Are future business models dependent on collaborations? A. If you look at the tier1 segment of our industry, we started our lives with joint ventures with licence agreements, and very quickly, we were able to adapt or adopt that technology. Some of us have exhibited joint ventures and continue to build on the technology that we learned from our partnerships. And the tier2s and tier3s in the supply chain are now going to have to invest in technology, whether it be through a joint venture or licence agreements, or other methods of bringing technology to our country. Do you expect PLI to extend beyond the tier1s with an exposure to AAT? Sunjay. When you look at the PLI scheme, whilst big companies have applied for it, the effect will trickle down even to the tier2s and tier3s in the supply chain. So it’s definitely going to be a benefit, especially with the government encouragement. If we are able to meet the targets that we have been given, the government is willing to put more money. The minimum investment is Rs.250 crore for a company. So if you look at this, the minimum investment multiplied by 75 companies, you are looking at close to Rs.18,000-19,000 crore of investment coming into the auto components industry. Of course, that will bring a lot of jobs and opportunities with it. Q.How are suppliers dealing with the hike in essential commodity prices and availability? Sunjay. There have been some structural changes, and therefore steel has gone up. Coke coal prices have gone up and steel continues to remain a challenge. We look to help customers as several customers have steel as a pass-through, so it has definitely helped. However, if the price keeps increasing, it is definitely going to put stress on the tier2s and tier3s in the supply chains. So WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

Upfront we really need to address that issue, along with the OEMs. Fortunately, we have OEMs, that are very supportive, because the supply chain is extremely complex. So, we are working together. I think one of the things that came out of the pandemic was bringing the industry together and bringing, the industry in terms of ACMA and SIAM together as well. We are looking at local sourcing through a partnership with our clients. And just to add to the sourcing there are also a lot of International Purchase Offices (IPOs) working with ACMA to see how they can source from India. Again, the China one plus strategy and how we can really leverage it is the opportunity that came to us in the middle of an unprecedented crisis. Q. What has been the key initiative towards localisation? Sunjay. We worked on a new study. And what we find is that the overall ecosystem, the import of auto components is around USD 25 bn. And as an industry in the next five odd years, we should be able to localise at least 15-20 per cent of this report. So there’s a very significant opportunity there. And we believe now that the PLI is coming, you know, the localisation will be still faster. So what we are looking at achieving in five years probably could come forward by a year or two. But again, it is a tall order and we will definitely make the best of it. Electronics is a big opportunity as well. As a country we import almost USD 250 mn dollars worth of electronics every year and bring industries together, automotive with electronics. These are opportunities that we can explore and leverage. Q. What is the take on digital platforms increasingly accessible by component manufacturers in India? Vinnie. The industry always knew that digitisation was the way forward and when the pandemic WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

We are moving from an automotive to a mobility industry, where fewer people may apply for driver’s licences, more people want to be mobile. So we’re going to have this opportunity to keep improving on mobility and how people move from point A to B, and therefore the opportunities are going to exist.

struck, those who were sitting on the fence came on board too. There is a huge initiative across the industry happening in terms of digitisation, I would say that there are so many companies that we engage with and we conduct free webinars for these companies, and then pick up a solution that suits them best. That apart, there is Centre of Excellence (CoE) at IIT Delhi, in Sonipat. We have set up a lab there. So, understand the texture of the industry, we have very Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and they cannot all afford industry 4.0 solutions. So the solution that you will have to look at is a mix of mechanical electronics and pneumatic solutions. So what we do is, we have workstations or benches. There is a pneumatic station, there is an electromechanical station, there’s a mechanical station and an industry 4.0 station. We train personnel from the industry to come and learn how they can make their own custom solution to implement a solution for their plants. Because as a SME, you

don’t have enough resources to hire a consultant to come and give them the advice. I think that’s a great service that we are offering. Q. How is the industry aligning with pulls of emobility and reduction of mechanical components? Sunjay. There is a drivetrain and a battery, that’s really the defining difference between an electric vehicle versus an ICE engine. So, a lot of components still exist. And then with the electrification comes a lot of new opportunities, whether it be the powertrain, or its battery space, or the connectivity space, or the infrastructure space, the entire ecosystem will bring about a lot of opportunities. We are moving from an automotive to a mobility industry, where fewer people may apply for driver’s licences, more people want to be mobile. So we’re going to have this opportunity to keep improving on mobility and how people move from place A to B, and therefore the opportunities are going to exist. So whilst an engine may not exist in an electric vehicle, there will be other components that new players could get into. Having said this, engines are not going to go away. So it’ll take a long time before we don’t see engines anymore. But then you have got alternative fuels, you have got flex-fuel. And depending on the technology, ICE engines will still exist in some shape or form. In terms of electric threewheelers, I think when you want to do last-mile connectivity, when you want to move goods, etc, it’s apt to think electric. The flip side to that is we have got to go renewable in energy to go green at the source. And that’s where we see, with all that has been discussed at the COP26, the Prime Minister’s focus on the five-prong strategy to move towards renewable energy, and companies moving towards creating or generating renewable energy with green technology comes into play. ACI AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

cover story

Dethrone Manufacturing Powerhouses With a push from trade volatility, interventions and private investment, India is poised to become one of the global manufacturing powerhouses. Ashish Bhatia with Deepti Thore looks at recent efforts that need to be multiplied manifold to realise this aspiration.

@atashishbhatia

ndia is at a crossroads! With its attractive propositions including land and cheap labour, the country has always received a healthy inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) barring exceptional years. Global manufacturers preferring to set up their export hubs and technical CoEs with huge sums ploughed into the country are a testimony to the favourable cost-benefit analysis. To become a hub for global manufacturing, however, the task is cut out - India must up its quality benchmarks and technological advancements before turning a net exporter. The think tanks expect the country to play a significant role in reshaping supply chains despite some eyebrow-raising big-ticket exits recorded from the country in recent times. It is estimated that the country could contribute more than USD 500 billion as an annual economic impact to the global

economy by 2030. PM Narendra Modi, in 2019, shared the vision of India turning into a five trillion economy by 2023-24. Notably, the automotive components industry contributes 7.1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in FY21 and 49 per cent of the manufacturing GDP besides generating employment for 50 lakh people. By 2026, the industry alone could grow to a USD 200 bn valuation.

q Pronounced opportunity The opportunity seems more pronounced with supply chain bottlenecks coming under acute pressure in recent times. The whole of the past two years has been about dealing with supplychain bottlenecks forcing a global realignment. Exporting nations were forced under lock downs, to

@DeeptiT9

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

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AprilAprilAprilGrowth visMarch March March à-vis April2021-22 2020-21 2019-20 March (USD (USD (USD 2020-21 Billion) Billion) (%) 47.80 per cent over the same period last year and a positive growthBillion) of 25.49 per cent over AprilExports 419.65 291.81 313.36 43.81 handise March 2019-20. Imports 611.89 394.44 474.71 55.13 Table 2: Trade during April-March 2021-22* Trade AprilAprilAprilGrowth vis- Growth vis-192.24 -102.63 -87.32 March March March-161.35 à-vis April- à-vis AprilBalance 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20 March March Exports 250.00 206.09 21.31 ces* (USD (USD (USD 213.19 2020-21 2019-20 Billion) Billion) (%) Imports 144.79 117.52 Billion)128.27(%) 23.20 Exports 419.65 291.81 313.36 43.81 33.92 Merchandise Net of Imports 611.89 394.44 474.71 28.90 105.21 88.57 84.9255.13 18.80 Services Trade -192.24 -102.63 -161.35 -87.32 -19.15 Balance Exports Exports 669.65 497.90 213.19 526.5521.31 34.50 all TradeServices* 250.00 206.09 17.27 144.79 117.52 12.88 chandise+ Imports Imports 756.68 511.96 128.27 602.9823.20 47.80 Net of ces)* 105.21 88.57 84.92 18.80 23.89 Trade Services -87.03 -14.06 -76.43 -518.87 Balance 669.65 497.90 526.55 34.50 27.18 Overall Trade Exports

Growth visà-vis AprilMarch 2019-20 (%) 33.92 28.90

cover story

USD Billion

-19.15 In case of emobility, efforts are underway to localise battery packs with 17.27 many domestic players looking to set up their12.88 battery plants and semiconductor manufacturing facilities as suppliers 23.89 look to attain economies of scale. The 27.18being to bring supply-side objective costs25.49 down before passing on the same to consumers to in turn lower the -13.87 initial acquisition costs. The latter is (Merchandise+ Imports 756.68 511.96 602.98 47.80 25.49 the biggest in case EVs do not The latest data for services sector released by RBI is for February 2022. The data for March 2022 is an estimation, which willdeterrent be Services)* Trade turn out to be a mass mobility option. -87.03 -14.06 -76.43 -13.87 on pro-rata basis using based on RBI’s subsequent release. (ii) Data for 2019, 2020 and April to December-518.87 2021 are revised Balance Relaying the Government’s vision, * Note: The latest data for services sector released by RBI is for February 2022. The data for March 2022 is an estimation, which will be y balance of payments data. revised based on RBI’s subsequent release. (ii) Data for 2019, 2020 and April to December 2021 are revised on pro-rata basis using Union Minister of Road, Transport and quarterly balance of payments data. Highways, Nitin Gadkari has asserted Fig 2: Overall Trade during April-March 2022* Fig 2: Overall Trade during April-March 2022* on many occasions that India has the 756.68 800.00 800.00 756.68 potential backed by the opportunity 669.65 669.65 602.98 602.98 to become a global manufacturing hub 511.96 600.00 600.00 497.90 511.96 526.55526.55 497.90 for automobiles within the next five 400.00 years. Pandemic induced supply chain 400.00 200.00 bottlenecks have made countries realise 76.43 87.03 14.06 their over dependence on select nations 0.00 200.00 April-March 2019-20 April-March 2020-21 April-March 2021-22 and a limited vendor base as severe 76.43 87.03 14.06 threats to sustenance of the business. It Exports Imports Trade Deficit 0.00 has led to the emergence of alternative April-March 2019-20 April-March 2020-21 April-March 2021-22 procurement strategies beyond ‘China+1’ MERCHANDISE TRADE Exports Imports Trade Deficit to now ‘Russia+1’ for that matter with the  Merchandise exports in March 2022 were USD 42.22 Billion, as compared to USD 35.26 Billion in turn of unforeseen events beyond the March 2021, exhibiting a positive growth of 19.76 per cent. As compared to March 2020, exports in industry’s control. India must become March 2022 exhibited a positive growth of 96.48 per cent. CHANDISE TRADE a net exporter and make its way to the the skewed allocation of semiconductor  Merchandise imports in March 2022 were USD 60.74 Billion, which is an increase of 24.21 per cent list of businesses looking at a plus one wafers to non-automotive segments over imports of USD 48.90 Billion in March 2021. Imports in March 2022 have registered a positive erchandise exports in March 2022 were USD 42.22 Billion, as compared to USD 35.26 Billionanywhere in alternative across the globe! that in turn led to an acute crunch growth of 93.00 per cent in comparison to March 2020. on the supply side of the automotive The merchandise trade balance for March wasper estimated USDcompared (-) 18.51 Billion as against2020, exports in arch 2021, exhibiting a positive growth of 2022 19.76 cent.atAs to March USD (-) 13.64 Billion in March 2021, which is a decline of (-) 35.72 per cent. Asvigour compared to March industry. The renewed of India arch 2022 exhibited growth of 96.48 perancent. 2020 (USDa(-)positive 9.98 Billion), trade balance in March exhibited a negative growth of to (-) the 85.51 as 2022 export hub is also credited If one were to overlook the disruptions per cent. in March 2022 were USD 60.74 erchandise imports Billion, which is an per cent importing nations looking at increase ‘China+1’ of 24.21 as a short term phenomenon, with strategy or for that matter alternative buoyant sentiments and a hawk-eye er imports of USD 48.90 Billion in March 2021. Imports in March 2022 have registered a positive procurement strategy as a whole to deview on the export growth prospects, owth of 93.00 per cent in comparison to March risk 2020. their supply chains. The disruptions the country has an outside chance 2 e merchandise trade balance for March 2022 was estimated at USD ports (-) 18.51 Billion as against at some of the high-traffic like the to establish itself as a hub for global Suez Canal coupled with the recent turn manufacturing D (-) 13.64 Billion in March 2021, which is a decline of (-) 35.72 per cent. As compared to March and dethroning of unforeseen events like the Russiamanufacturing powerhouses. In July 20 (USD (-) 9.98 Billion), trade balance in March 2022 a negative of (-) Ukraine warexhibited crisis continue to battergrowth2021, said85.51 to have kick-started the cent. the supply chain. In the case of the recovery trajectory of exports, Indian latter, the Western sanctions on Russia, exports are estimated to have breached for example, have forced businesses to the USD 54.95 billion mark, a jump of terminate bilateral trade agreements. 23.24 per cent over the same period in This has brought the focus on 2019. Speaking at the Annual Assocham alternative manufacturing powerhouses conclave, Minister of Commerce and 2 Goyal, the country globally including aspiring countries Industry, Piyush like India be it in the capital goods or could well breach the USD 410 bn the IT services industry. mark in exports this fiscal. The Union

q Exports performance

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AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

cover story

Minister had opined, that to become a USD five trillion economy, goods and services, need to contribute 20-25 per cent at an estimated USD one trillion each. Notably, the target is to grow exports to a point that it financially supports the country’s imports bill with crude oil imports being the costliest component. Here, the role of tier2s and tier3 districts is deemed crucial.

q The push factor

Government interventions like the ‘Make In India’ vision programme, and more recently the Production-LinkedIncentive (PLI) scheme announced for Champion OEMs and component suppliers are expected to further enable the industry to tap the presented opportunities in Advanced Automotive

Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.

Technology (AAT) as a direct or indirect beneficiary. The Government’s ‘Make in India’ program is another key program which can put India on the world map as a manufacturing hub. According to the World Economic Forum study, India has three primary assets to capitalise on the unique opportunity to become a manufacturing hub: the potential for significant domestic demand, the Indian Government’s drive to encourage domestic manufacturing, and a distinct demographic edge backed by a capable, considerable proportion of the young workforce. Low corporate tax rates to 15 per cent for new manufacturing is another key enabler in this direction. Recently the government also approved the ‘National Manufacturing Policy. The main objective of this policy is to increase the sectoral share of manufacturing in GDP to at least 25 per cent by 2022; to increase the rate of job creation to create 100 million additional jobs by 2022; and to enhance

Courtesy Reuters

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road, Transport and Highways, Government of India

global competitiveness, domestic value addition, technological depth and environmental sustainability of growth. PM Gati Shakti - National Master Plan (NMP) enabling integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infra structural connectivity, is also expected to lower logistics costs significantly thereby boosting the prospects of domestic manufacturers. The development commissioners of various SEZs during March 2022 are also known to have approved the proposals of investments pegged at Rs.1719.45 crore which is expected to generate employment for up to 7,962 persons. Initiatives like the plug and play infrastructure being established in SIPCOT Industrial Growth Centre, Perundurai, Erode District project by State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) supported with the financial assistance of Rs.3.43 Crore under Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) are also being hailed as steps in the direction. Other resolutions of bottlenecks in bilateral trade, like that in the case of Indonesia, where a letter written to the Indonesian Trade Minister is known to have paved the way for the auto manufacturers held back due to market access issues. In other scenarios, negotiations continue on the Free Trade Agreements (FTA). “The significant gap between demand and supply has created room for a variety of products and services for instance changing consumer preferences,” stated Anil Valsan, Director Knowledge Leader - Advanced Manufacturing and Mobility Industry Market, Ernst & Young LLP, and Global Automotive & Transportation Lead Analyst. ACI

Anil Valsan, Director Knowledge Leader - Advanced Manufacturing and Mobility Industry Market, Ernst & Young LLP

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

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Advertising in traditional media continues to enjoy high trust amongst consumers, with 86%* expressing confidence in print – making it the most trusted medium.

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Fires Force A Rethink Battery safety has turned a big question mark. Ashish Bhatia with Prateek Pardeshi checks on the push for building cost-effective and safe battery packs.

@atashishbhatia

@Prateek2101

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

he reliability of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) has taken a beating in the recent past with ad hoc fire incidents being reported across the countries. This has especially hit the prospects of two-wheeler EV startups that gained an initial traction by riding on the clean and green mobility wave. With the government intervening and compelling manufacturers to recall suspect product batches, including standardising EV battery packs, the focus has gone beyond building cost-effective battery packs to building safe and stable battery packs. As per Pratik Kamdar, Co-Founder, Neuron Energy, “A lot of players are entering the industry without comprehensive knowledge of the batteries with regards to quality. The industry is still a fledgling one and the majority of dealers and customers are not educated or aware of the technology.” He advocated the

need for a regulatory framework so that the EV manufacturers and battery makers are held accountable for use of cells, Battery Management Systems (BMS), and compliance with regulations. “Even low-speed bikes need to be regulated by the government. EV manufacturers and battery makers should use fire-resistant grade battery materials along with superior BMS and best quality cells so these kind of fire accidents can be avoided in the future,” he asserted.

q Forcing a rethink There has been a spurt in vehicles catching fire across the board. Two-wheelers here are under greater scrutiny with some of the promising high-performance EVs failing to impress. Allegedly due to issues like “short circuit’ there have been instances where the battery packs have led to the vehicle catching fire causing fatalities of both the rider and the onlookers. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh, it was alleged that the portable battery pack on charge within the owner’s house premises exploded in the wee hours of the morning. It is said to have killed one and injured three. In another incident, in Nizamabad, Telangana, the battery pack explosion is known to have killed an eight-year-old. Naturally, the EV industry has faced a lot of heat and literally so! Kamdar blamed the substandard quality cells WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

cover story q Draft EV Policy 1. This Policy highlights the possible ways in which various national and sub-national government agencies and Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) may provide direct and indirect financial support to Battery Providers (for the cost of batteries) and EV users (for the up front cost of purchasing EVs), with an aim of driving EV adoption by lowering the costs of EVs for users, relatively to ICE vehicles. 2. This Policy emphasises enabling innovation in the adoption of possible business models and de-risking the investment in required infrastructure to encourage private sector participation and attract affordable financing. Pratik Kamdar, Co-Founder, Neuron Energy

that are used by a majority of battery companies to manufacture battery packs with poorly installed BMS. This causes high energy density cells to lead to thermal runaway and increase the risk of fire. A thermal runaway is said to occur when a lithium-ion battery overheats triggered by acts of overcharge, a short circuit or other cell-related stress in the absence of an adequate cooling system. A chain reaction in the cell that generates gas is triggered by excess heat. To overcome these, testing and certifying battery swapping components are of utmost importance. In line, the recent EV draft policy states that the standards approved or defined by BIS shall be implemented for the electric vehicle, battery safety requirements, degrees of protection (IP-code) of electrical

Battery packs with poorly installed BMS increase risk of fire.

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q Battery Swapping Policy 1. Promote swapping of batteries with Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) batteries 2. Establish principles behind technical standards to enable components inter operability 3. Leverage policy and regulatory levers to de-risk the battery swapping ecosystem 4. Encourage partnerships among stakeholders 5. Promote better life cycle management equipment against foreign objects, technical specification of cables and connectors, and traction battery safety requirements. Kamdar also urged EV manufacturers to provide better spacing for batteries and to avoid the obsession with extreme compact sizes of batteries. “This can also be a cause of thermal runaway eventually leading

to fire incidents. These instances can be avoided by reducing the under-seat storage by 30 per cent. Vibration pads need to be used to further ensure the stability of the battery pack. Thermal pads are required to be installed to ensure there is sufficient cooling mechanism,” he asserted. Besides measures on the supply-side, Kamdar also urged ensuring checks in places while transporting an EV from the manufacturer to the dealer. “The standard operating procedure should be followed while transporting an EV from the manufacturer to the dealer. Batteries should not be connected to vehicles during transportation. Batteries should be kept at a 30 per cent state of charge to avoid any risk of fire during transportation,” he added. Besides the above mentioned good practices, it is also imperative to store batteries in a cool and dry environment and avoid direct sunlight and water. Owners must take special care to AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

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Credit: Battery assembly at Merecedes-Benz, Hedelfingen plant, Germany

quarterly service these batteries as fire instances do not occur in a day. “It takes 10-15 days before catching fire. If the batteries are being checked or serviced regularly such incidents can be avoided, stressed Kamdar.

q Compliance checks in place It is learnt that the battery packs shall be tested and certified as per AIS 156 (2020) and AIS 038 Rev 2 (2020) standards for the safety of traction battery packs, as well as additional tests that may be prescribed for swappable batteries which are subject to multiple coupling/de coupling processes at the connectors. To ensure a high level of protection at the electrical interface, a

Vishnu Rajeev Head of Micelio Fund

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

robust infrastructure will be built that includes a rigorous testing protocol being adopted to avoid any dielectric breakdown, arc phenomenon, or any unwanted temperature rise at the electrical interface. BMS of the battery must be self-certified and open for testing to check its compatibility with various systems. This capability must meet safety requirements. Here, the compatible electric vehicles shall be tested as per relevant regulatory standards. For EVs with swappable battery functionality, vehicle OEMs shall be required to get ARAI approval for their vehicles to accept interoperable swappable batteries.

q Localisation of battery packs EVs are known to have a high acquisition cost. On the supply-side, OEMs have justified this high initial acquisition cost with a low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over the vehicle life cycle. The per kilometre charge consumption is said to outdo the running cost of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) counterparts. The battery pack in an EV is the highest contributor to the customer acquisition cost. However, it is also true that globally, battery pack costs are coming down. Cited Vishnu Rajeev mentioned, “Lithium ion battery value has come

down drastically due to the course of massive investment which has gone into developing new technologies. Also with lithium-ion having few shortcomings we are currently developing alternatives such as sodiumion and other technologies.” In the short term though costs of battery cells have seen a 20 per cent spike blamed on the global surge in raw material prices that includes lithium. The prices are expected to remain higher for another year, it is believed. The Russia Ukraine war crisis has had a bearing here. The industry is also looking at means like recycling to enhance the raw material availability and offset price hikes. In India, several supporting initiatives are promoting affordable EVs by way of localising battery packs for OEMs to realise economies of scale. From the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles in India (FAME), I and II outlay, to the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage (NPACC) to boost indigenous battery manufacturing capacity. State governments are also developing complementary policies to promote EV adoption according to Vishnu Rajeev Head of Micelio Fund. He cited, “Battery of EV accounts for almost 40 per cent of the total cost of the EV.” He also drew attention to the traditional purchase pattern of EVs wherein “fixed” batteries are capable of only being charged using the external charging station while housed within the EV undergoing a transition with the advent of portable charging and swapping alternatives available to the customer.

q Building economies of scale There are no two ways of bringing the battery costs down. Localisation apart from the use of alternative and rear earth free metals is the most effective one that the industry has WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

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resorted to. India does not possess critical raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, which are used to make lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells. For example, Lithium-ion reserves are majorly found in two countries: China and Chile and recent trade volatilities have created a supply bottleneck, de stabilising the supply and demand equation. Indian manufacturers continue to rely heavily on imports of battery cells from China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan for assembly here. Most Indian bidders after the PLI scheme, are expected to commence localised manufacturing only by 2025. So, India’s import-driven strategy, for the domestic assembly of critical battery packs, will continue for a few more years giving a ray of hope for a turnaround sooner than later. Among promising initiatives, Reliance New Energy Ltd. acquired assets of Lithium Werks. The net transaction value of USD 61 million includes funding for the future growth strategy. Commenting on the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

Reliance Industries Ltd. is known to have said “LFP is fast gaining as one of the leading cell chemistries due to its cobalt and nickel free batteries, low cost and longer life compared to Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) and other chemistries. Lithium Werks happens to be one of the leading LFP cell manufacturing companies globally and has a vast patent portfolio and a management team said to introduce an immense value-add, especially in innovation across the LFP value chain. In another example, Log9 Materials inaugurated a cell manufacturing plant in Bengaluru. It is expected to attain a 50MWh capacity in a span of one year. It is positioned as one of the largest cell producing units in the whole of SouthEast Asia. The RapidX battery packs powered by InstaCharge technology are claimed to offer a 9X enhanced charging capability and better life. Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM) is known to have committed USD 250 bn for an electric three-wheeler manufacturing plant that also entails a battery pack supply chain. Suzuki Motor has committed to an investment

of Yen 150 bn for EV projects including a battery plant in Gujarat. Tata Motors could benefit from subsidiary Tata Chemical’s interest in a battery manufacturing unit in Gujarat too. Stressing the need to simulate fuel stations for ICE vehicles, deemed adequate, affordable, accessible, and reliable, he added that charging networks are required to attain a similar scale as a prerequisite for mass EV adoption. Efforts are underway in India to boost the availability of charging infrastructure with the recent tie-ups at public and private infrastructure and the emergence of special mobility zones in the country. Charging still takes a significantly longer time than refuelling an ICE but the customer has come to terms with overnight charging. Technology on the other hand has caught up to several claims of fast charge among capabilities like brake energy regeneration. Battery swapping is an alternative which involves exchanging discharged batteries for charged ones and provides flexibility to charge them separately. This de-links charging and battery usage and keeps the vehicle in operational mode with negligible downtime. Battery swapping is generally used for smaller vehicles such as 2Ws and 3Ws and even buses using systems from companies like Sun Mobility. The smaller batteries are easier to swap, compared to fourwheelers. Battery swapping falls under the broader umbrella of Battery as a Service (BaaS) which involves users purchasing an EV without the battery. This is found to have been an effective, safe alternative aimed at significantly lowering up front costs, by paying a regular subscription fee on a daily, weekly, and or monthly basis as deemed fit by the customer. BaaS is applicable for both fixed and removable batteries and is the channel for implementing the swapping solutions. ACI AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

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Zinc Becomes Dearer

f you start dismantling a modern automobile, be it under the hood, tearing apart the chassis, or inspecting the fuel system, you are likely to find many parts plated with Zinc. The element plays a crucial role in the making of automotive parts,

the reason being its anti-corrosive properties. Many OEMs give out warranties on their component because zinc-coated parts can withstand up to 1,000 hours of salt spray testing. It is well known how the use of a galvanise sheet for

Amidst the commodity price inflation, Ashish Bhatia with Sumesh Soman checks the bearing on zinc in its various forms for the components industry.

@atashishbhatia

@SumeshSoman_

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

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cover story automotive body panels allows OEMs to offer an up to the 12-year warranty on corrosion resistance at a fraction of the cost. Consumers stand to benefit from durability, aesthetics, long term surface stability of surface appearance and low maintenance. The chemical element is also the 24th most abundant element found in the earth’s crust and is the fourth most commonly used metal, topped by iron, copper and aluminium.

The primary industry use of Zinc is galvanisation; a process of adding a zinc coating to steel or iron to protect against premature rusting. Zinc is chosen over other elements with similar properties because it provides a twopronged corrosion defence, it initially serves as a barrier coating and also a sacrificial coating that experiences a higher level of oxidation than the underlying metal surface. Automotive

manufacturing applications for zinc and zinc-nickel plating include engine and other under-the-hood components, power steering systems, brake parts and systems, air-conditioning components and systems, chassis hardware, climate control components and fuel systems. In the case of Electric Vehicles (EVs), zinc-ion batteries could be a potential replacement for lithium-ion packs. Manufacturers can use the same manufacturing process before massproducing zinc-ion packs. Nickel-Zinc batteries are also known to be used for automotive applications. Until recently, it was available in abundance, and the low cost of the element appealed to the automotive industry. If the industry were to ape the west and resort to 10-11 kg of zinc per car, the consumption levels could hover around 150,00 tonnes per year as per an International Zinc Association (IZA) India study. Notably, it can be recycled 100 per cent without loss of properties and qualities making it reusable.

q The surge in Zinc prices The disruption of zinc concentrate WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

cover story q Metals and Minerals Aluminium

USD/mt

1,794

1,704

2,473

2,091

2,400

2,645

2,755

3,250

3,006

3,246

Copper

USD/mt

6,010

6,174

9,317

8,477

9,706

9,382

9,703

9,985

9,782

9,943 10,231

Iron ore

USD/mt

93.8

108.9

161.7

167.2

200.7

166.9

112.0

142.5

132.5

142.8

152.1

Lead

USD/mt

1,997

1,825

2,200

2,014

2,128

2,333

2,326

2,325

2,332

2,297

2,345

Nickel

USD/mt

13,914

13,787

18,465

17,618

17,359

19,112

19,770

26,765

22,355 24,016 33,924

Tin

USD/mt

18,661

17,125

32,384

25,099

31,026

34,644 38,768

43,242

41,792 43,983 43,950

Zinc

USD/mt

2,550

2,266

3,003

2,747

2,916

2,990

3,727

3,599

supplies is among the reason for the availability of zinc being impacted. The suspension of large mines, at first during the start of the pandemic and then China’s persistent restrictions followed by global disruptions are amongst the reasons for the surge as per experts. As per a Fitch Solutions report, the metal has averaged USD 3,688 on a Year-To-Date (YTD) basis. “At these levels, zinc is close to reaching its all-time high of USD 4,442 per tonne reached in 2006. Our 2022 price forecasts imply that we expect prices to stabilise and weaken from hereon in the coming months, despite remaining elevated compared to historical standards,” it states. Last year, in October, the commodity price forecast by the World Bank projected that the average price of Zinc will reach USD 2,400 in 2022 against USD 2,700 per tonne at the end of 2021. But the Russia-Ukraine conflict has disturbed the market fundamentals. In the ‘Pink Sheet’, the World Bank Commodities Data reflected the monthly, quarterly and annual averages of several commodities. Here zinc, on a monthly average (Jan-March 2022)

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

surged from USD 3599 per metric tonne to USD 3962 per metric tonne. When looking at every quarter, it surged from USD 2747 in Jan-March 2021 to USD 3727 in Jan-March 2022. On an annual basis, prices surged from USD 2550 in 2019 to USD 3003 in 2021. Back home, integrated mining and resource company Hindustan Zinc attained the production milestone of more than a million tonnes of mined metal in a year during FY22. In good news for procurement divisions at suppliers, the company is now looking to acquire mining assets overseas in its attempt to boost total annual production up to 2.5 million tonnes. The company is already exploring locations in Africa, according to Chief Executive Officer, Arun Misra’s statement. The company is scouting to acquire between 0.5-and one million tonnes per annum of mining assets overseas. Speaking about the soaring prices of zinc metal in the global markets, Misra is known to have said that he doesn’t expect the prices to soften anytime soon. The prices of zinc had started inching upwards even before the Russian

3,357

3,498

3,620 3,962

invasion of Ukraine due to higher energy prices and China reducing its manufacturing capacity to meet its climate goals, he had stated. The metal’s price also breached the USD 4,500 mark for a tonne on the London Metal Exchange, compared to subUSD 2,000 prices two years ago adding to the industry woes.

q Alternative commodities While Zinc prices along with other commodities soar away, the market is also trying to extract more zinc through other alternatives. In the short term, there is fear of the industry resorting to lower utilisation of galvanised steel used especially for the export markets. Then it could resort to using thinner zinc alloy coats. There is also the alternative to use alloys of zinc and aluminium or zinc with magnesium. Zinc-Aluminium alloy Galvanlume, for example, is known to be widely used for higher temperature applications like vehicle powertrain. Zinc-iron alloy (Zinc at 55 per cent), Galvanneal is known to offer improved paint ability, weld ability and draw ability. In effect, zinc coatings could be lowered by half. To understand the severity, back in 2017, the die casting, in which molten zinc is moulded into components accounted for 10-15 per cent of the zinc consumption. Galfan (zinc at five per cent) with aluminium is used for severely formed parts like components and hailed for its superior coating adhesion. ACI WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

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Bracing The Future Of Auto The components industry is bracing for the future of auto. Team ACI looks at the synergies needed to tap the new wave.

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Multiple industry conclaves have time and again laid emphasis on the future of auto-opening up a new stream of opportunities. The need to collaborate and synergise is implied. Discussions on the future of auto have drawn attention to the proliferation of alternative propulsion systems led by hydrogen fuel cells, LNG, biofuels and flexfuel. The addition to the mix that already involves Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) has the industry attention span diverted to value-adds like connected vehicles and degrees of autonomy through different levels of Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). With the demand for such Advanced Automotive Technology (AAT), the supply-side, it is evident, is bracing the future. It is laying the groundwork to cater to this

newfound pull. Big data in the future is expected to flow seamlessly through the layers put in place, making vehicles connected to each other and to their surroundings in order to help drivers reduce the severity of accidents or prevent them from occurrence entirely. The data fed to the sensors entails information crucial to the driver like signal status at a junction wherein the vehicle must connect to the central hubs like Regional Transport Office (RTO) and traffic grid over cloud-based systems. Over The Air ( OTA ) updates are a given here. Onboard and offboard connectivity is expected to be the key building blocks. The flow of such huge quantum of data needs to be ensured in real-time with minimum lag to ensure

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

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Srinivas Aravapalli, CEO, Blue Binaries

timely responses, actively. A 5G ecosystem must be developed with a cohesive approach throughout the touchpoints. The vehicle aspect of that will include vehicle architecture, software architecture, RF design packaging, technology and MNO partnership, functional landscape, and data security through means like partitioning and robust firewalls. The multi-access edge computing will include mobile edge computing partner, service orchestration and management, functions deployed to address latency and hyper localisation with a cellular base station. The OEM cloud must consist of scalability to manage data, functional orchestration and deployment and management of the software over the life cycle.

q Teething issues

The key challenges hindering the progress have been identified. The task is cut out. The industry stakeholders need to focus their resources on tackling integration, validation, orchestration and operation. The approach that will overcome these challenges is expected to be solution-centric, and one applicable to the existing ecosystem with an end-to-end know-how. Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commercial Officer, MG Motor India speaking on the sidelines of the CII Summit cited the example of MG Motors entering the Indian market with the disruptive badging of “Internet Inside” on their products. It was their way of welcoming the future and connected, voice-command capabilities in their products. So much so, it is believed to have roped in purists who

otherwise focused on the drivetrain to make their choices. It in a way set the benchmark for competition. Lalit Arora, India Head of Automotive Business Unit at Tata Communication expressed how the future of connectivity is not as far as it seems. Asserting that the company is taking long strides in keeping pace with the demands of the future, and preparing to deliver them at the earliest in a bug-free manner, he drew attention to the pull factors from the demand-side like the need for always being connected in a mobile driven economy coupled with continuous rollout of features, firmware upgrades, large chunks of data transfer, lower latencies and hacking threats to a perceived secure system. Arora also brought forth the concern of how mobile networks are not structured for the requirement

q The various barriers impeding widespread EV adoption Key Concerns

United states of America

Germany

Japan

South Korea

China

India

Driving range

28%

22%

11%

25%

13%

Lack of charging infrastructure

25%

22%

29%

32%

20%

26%

Cost/Price premium

20%

16%

23%

17%

16%

Time required to charge

13%

23%

18%

13%

14%

Safety concern

12%

10%

19%

29%

25%

Lack of choice

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

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S.N. Sridhara, Vice Chancellor at Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science

of automotive operations on a global basis. Key problems stand at fragmented telecom industry, varying regional regulations, non-transparent pricing schemes, variations in local network quality, ubiquitous network coverage, inconsistent operational interface and control, network lock-in and upgrading existing fleet seamlessly. Speaking about challenges in autonomous driving, Srinivas Aravapalli, CEO, Blue Binaries opined that the shift from current ADAS simulation environment to real life Indian traffic scenario would pose a challenge. It includes poor lane discipline, no signaling before turning, overloaded vehicles, signal violation and no road discipline in general. Some of the challenges which the industry could face while deploying ADAS and autonomous technology include data acquisition and data processing for vision-based systems which requires high bandwidth and are computationally intensive. The industry also lacks standards for embedded vision-processing algorithms, he pointed. Systems must comply with multiple industry guidelines or specifications, testing and validation is an enormous undertaking. ADAS development costs must also be brought down significantly, he said. WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commercial Officer, MG Motor India

q Mitigating teething issues While presenting how to tackle the ADAS challenges, Srinivas pointed at four main pillars that include architecture, tools and simulation techniques, validation and systems, and frugal engineering and innovation. In terms of architecture, he stressed on the need to move to a centralised architecture, front loading of testing and innovation and competency development at BCC. In terms of validation methods and applications most common known trends include

Ravi Bhatkal, MD, MacDermid Alpha

formal verification, virtual validation, hardware-in-loop testing and finally vehicle testing. It is important to test the model in realworld scenarios, test software in simulation driving, integrate ECU into the network and access functionality safety. He urged all safety critical tests be undertaken in real world scenarios for reliable performance across terrains.

q Mass scaling EVs and electronics There are multifold barriers impeding the widespread adoption of EVs on the

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

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Lalit Arora, India Head of Automotive Business Unit at Tata Communication

other end of the spectrum. Leaving the safety concerns out of the recent blazes aside, 13 per cent of it is the range anxiety related to EVs and 26 per cent is attributed to lack of charging infrastructure. The misconceptions and rumors regarding the susceptible risk of thermal runaway and explosions of battery packs cited above is pegged at 25 per cent. These along with minor concerns like lack of choice, overnight charge durations, cost per kilometre with the background of high acquisition costs are major deterrents to EVs becoming a mass mobility choice. To tackle the safety concerns, the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways and apex bodies like the Niti Aayog have forced OEMs in case

of two-wheelers to halt production until the accidents brough to notice are thoroughly investigated. It has forced manufacturers to recall suspect batches to avoid embarassments in the future. Ravi Bhatkal, Managing Director, MacDermid Alpha, took the case study of EV powertrains. Power electronics which is considered to be the heart of the EV after the battery includes the converter, lead frames, heat sinks, connectors, busbars, boosters, and housing to name a few. He drew attention to sintering as a new and emerging technology based on solid state diffusion. “The main attribute of advanced bonding technology based on silver sintering is high thermal and electrical conductivity, and high temperature stability,” he explained. By

moving to sintered silver, and adopting the changes needed in the manufacturing process, the opportunity exists to realise significant performance and reliability gains with current silicon die technology and establish a production platform for optimising silicon carbide in the very near future, according to Bhatkal. Reliability is increased by upto 30 times, he claimed. He also mentioned the need to refine the use of preforms, a solution wherein certain applications need more solder for a proper SMT joint formation. For assemblies of EVs, heatsinks are crucial. “For assembly, the surface needs to be prepared. Here the surface of heatsink should be clean and it needs to be chemically treated with coolants. Few requirements of a heatsink’s corrosion

R Velusamy, Senior Vice President , Head -Automotive Product Development ,Mahindra Research Valley, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

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Srini Adiraju, Senior Director Autonomous Driving, at Visteon Corporation

protection are coating the inner areas, solderability and brasing for a high level of productivity.

q Market ready solutions Companies are working on commercialising their technologies deemed fit for the future of auto. Arora highlighted how Tata’s journey reflects evolving automotive demands through a slew of acquisitions and investments the company has made. Claimed to be at par with the ever changing demands along with integrating connected services to its products, the company boasts of multiple data entry and exit points through its connected tech for

Ashim Sharma, Partner & Group Head at NRI Consulting & Solutions, ADAS WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

Amit Agarwal, Director Technical in ANSYS Software Pvt Ltd

Aditya Nagarajan, VP- Investment Promotion, Guidance

vehicles. On camera provision to enable local analytics, it is ready with smart HD cameras capable of functioning w/o WAN, and edge video platform in store to run analytics for real time use cases like predictive maintenance, a 5G cloud RAN, intelligently positioned near edge that supports multiple stores and enables multi latency. Last but not the least, the company also ensures access and preaggregation POPs, central office, metro POPs, central cloud for big data and object storage. All the above mentioned intervention will help in reduced app latency, backhaul cost savings, keeping data local and security close to origin. Shivalik Prasad, Vice PresidentStrategic Alliance and sales at Sibros in recent times showcased the company’s

approach at solving the automotive software and data problem. It was brought down to three main pillars: scalability, reliability and efficiency. The company presented Software as a Service (SaaS) capable of efficiently managing terabytes of data with high levels of security.. The company tackles the connected platform with in-vehicle products and cloud portal. The cloud portal in turn comprises of a deployment manager, inventory manager, datascope and command centre, whereas the invehicle products include deep updater, deep logger, command manager and bootloaders to name a few. S.N. Sridhara, Vice Chancellor at Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science drew attention to fundamental

Prabaharan Palanivelu, Senior Principal Engineer, Mahindra & Mahindra Research Valley

Gajanan V Gandhe, Vice-President and Country Head, DANA India. AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

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AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

along with integrated infotainment, safety and security features. It also offers full support of artificial intelligencebased speech recognition and cameradomain integration.

q Emerging Technologies Drawing attention to the current ADAS and autonomous driving landscape, Aravapalli highlighted some of the key trending technologies including Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Advanced Emergency Braking and traffic sign recognition in terms of forward driving, blind spot monitoring, lane assist and cross traffic alert in terms of side and rear approach, apart from surround view with object detection for in control parking. In India, features like automatic parking assist, automatic emergency braking, blind spot warning system, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning system, high beam assist, driver drowsiness system, forward collision warning, intelligent headlamp control are some of the prominent ones which have been deployed. According to the Roland Berger forecast, to analyse market penetration and deployment of ADAS, by 2025, L3 and above do not comprise more

than ~10-15 per cent penetration and L2 or higher levels will be over 30 per cent penetration across all regions. Some of the key Indian players having adopted such technologies include Tata Motors, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo to name a few. Some of the global automotive players having adopted such technologies include Honda, Toyota, Tesla, and Jaguar. Tata Safari, Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos are some of the vehicles on the passenger vehicle side known to be equipped with such technology. According to Ashim Sharma, Partner & Group Head at NRI Consulting & Solutions, ADAS helps make vehicles safer and it is crucial given that India accounts for 10 per cent of global road accidents, highest globally! It has immense potential in CVs especially city buses and it acts as a key differentiators across vehicle classes. Amit Agarwal-Director Technical in ANSYS Software Pvt. Ltd. spoke about software integration for ADAS systems. While indicating that simulation plays a crucial role in electrified, connected and autonomous vehicles, he drew attention to the importance of developing high performance vehicles. He especially focused on the importance of 5G in-vehicle capability, design of high performance semiconductor chips and electronics,

Photo credit: Ansys Software Pvt. Ltd.

blocks. He said, “Future of mobility boils down to basic elements such as communications, security, object detection, intersection navigation and collision avoidance.” He brought forth concepts like intra-vehicle connectivity, intervehcile connectivity, vehicle to internet connectivity and vehicle to vehicle connectivity. “All this will work in tandem to make a cohesive network much like the internet itself that will ensure safe and fast mobility in the future,” he explained. “In the future, a vehicle on an average may house around 200 sensors. These sensors will relay information on the cloud to the passengers in real time and vice versa while helping in ADAS functions as well,” he added. Palanivelu further mentioned that market acceptance of new technology is crucial to generate new opportunities for the industry. Srini Adiraju - Senior Director Autonomous Driving at Visteon Corporation drew attention to safety features for new energy vehicles. Active safety applications adapted to Indian conditions provide many opportunities and also bring along their own set of challenges. The need is for System on Chip (SoC) advancements to enable domain convergence. He drew attention to autonomous safety features for Indian conditions and introduced the Visteon DriveCore Platform offering a cost optimised ADAS solution. It is built upon an open scalable platform architecture enabling state-of-the-art vision processing. He also announced that Visteon partnered with American Center for Mobility (ACM) to develop Autonomous Driving test facility aimed at helping drive development of autonomous vehicles. Speaking about SmartCore Cockpit Domain Controller Technology, Srini mentioned that it will be a more pragmatic solution for the Indian market. This technology offers intelligent cockpit experience across conventional and electric vehicle applications by seamlessly supporting multiple displays

WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

cover story development and integration of sensors capable of performing in varied conditions. He called for the need to put in place a high quality model based embedded software to comply with functional safety and advancing battery technology, capacity and management systems. It is also important to use new material platforms, make stronger, lighter and quieter vehicles, developing EVs with lower coefficient of drags to extend range and create stronger and lighter structural assemblies with additive manufacturing to seize the opportunity, he opined. Moving on to challenges in electric and connected vehicles, he took the opportunity to cite the market potential. According to Sharma, battery packs will present a USD 33.2 bn opportunity by 2030. Electric powertrain components will be another USD 2.5-3 bn. India is at 4.4 chargers per 100 EVs compared to the global average of 12.3. The large pool of two-wheelers is expected to provide the necessary scale. The adoption of electric and connected vehicles also brings in a few challenges. Prices of battery active material are expected to surge 30-40 per cent across lithium, nickel and cobalt over the next five to seven years. Add to it, there is a broad scale absence of cell level manufacturing in India. Other major challenges include raw material supplies which have not been secured. The TCO is unfavourable in some segments and there is range anxiety and limitation in terms of fast charging of NMC, he informed. The biggest limiting factor for connected vehicles according to Sharma is the poor network connectivity, unavailability of bandwidth and frequency, lack of data security and privacy in absence of cybersecurity. Mounting issues include high system costs due to low localisation levels of electronics. Addressing the issue of cyber attacks in terms of connected vehicles, Prabaharan Palanivelu Senior Principal Engineer - Mahindra & Mahindra Research Valley expressed WWW.AUTOCOMPONENTSINDIA.COM

hope as he gave an example of chip today enabled with cybersecurity features. The connected vehicles market is expected to grow at a projected CAGR of 25 per cent (USD 1822 bn) by 2030. It will also help generate new revenue streams for OEMs. The Commercial Vehicle (CV) segment offers immense potential with the advent of telematics and data analysis, he emphasised. EVs with battery swapping need a cloud interconnected network as a backbone, he shared.

q Catching up with technology Aditya Nagarajan, Vice PresidentInvestment Promotion, Guidance spoke about electric mobility and the investments involved. 26000 charging stations is what the country requires in terms of infrastructure requirements, he advocated. Sadaf Arif Siddiqui Marketing Initiative Manager - Keysight Technologies drew attention to the need for customisation of technologies to suit Indian conditions as a crucial factor. The Indian electrification journey can be traced to its roots back in 1996 when electric scooters were first introduced in the country and even sold 100 units. This was followed by launches like that of the M&M Reva which was launched in 2001. In the span of a decade many players across segments from e-bicycles to two-wheelers to three-wheeler cargo vehicles upto heavy commercial vehicles can take pride in introducing EVs. For off-highway and four-wheelers, electrification will be slow drawn process, as per a supporting data shared by Gajanan V Gandhe, Vice-President and Country Head, DANA India. He explained, “The two-wheeler market will approach two million vehicles by 2025. Followed by three-wheelers at 175,000 and SCVs at 25,000. PVs come in at 215,000 units.” He urged the stakeholders to look at increasing renewable energy sources to boost the EV prospects of the nation.

Further TCO of EVs will fast approach ICE vehicles with help of Government and localisation of major components. India will become a major offshore provider of electrification design and engineering services similar to the IT boom, he opined. As India is in transitional phase from ICE to EV, various other markets can be looked at for references. For example, Europe was in a similar transitionary phase three- to four-years ago. Notably, diesel share was above 40 per cent in contrast to above 18 per cent today. Petrol accounts for 40 per cent and BEVs account for almost 10 per cent in this transition driven by customers demanding for superior products. R Velusamy, Senior Vice President , Head -Automotive Product Development ,Mahindra Research Valley, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., opined, “Battery cell technology is the key driver for EVs. It is utmost important that cell manufacturing be localised in India.” Commenting on the software driven vehicle, he forecasted that development on driver assists system such as ADAS L2 will come to Indian shores sooner than later. “Fully autonomous has still a long way, but developing level 2 ADAS is easy on EV as compared to ICE,” he stated. Hubs like Tamil Nadu make a perfect brewing ground for EVs, opined Ambrin, Vice President, Economic Analysis & Policy at Guidance Tamil Nadu. The established automotive hub has a capacity of rolling out one car every 20 seconds, and one CV every 90 seconds. The state accounts for ~ 35 per cent of India’s auto components production, he informed. The state also accounts for nearly 10 per cent of EVs in India, and by 2030, the number is expected to only go up further, he added. Setting a benchmark for other states, looking to increase the EV adoption, State Government of Tamil Nadu is known to have launched its EV policy among other stateslike Maharashtra. As an emerging hub, Tamil Nadu has investment committments and expression of interests worth Rs.20,000 crore with a potential of offering jobs for over 50,000 people across the value chain. ACI AUTO COMPONENTS INDIA // MAY 2022

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