COMMERCIAL VEHICLE INDIA MAY 2022 by Next Gen Publishing Pvt Ltd

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Game Changer

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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 cv@nextgenpublishing.net Editor

Ashish Bhatia

Test Editor

Aspi Bhathena

Correspondents

Deepti Thore, Prateek Pardeshi, Sumesh Soman

Head-Design & Production Ravi Parmar

Newfound Approach

OEMs are closely working with the tier suppliers beyond just the tier1s. The newfound approach extends to both upstream and downstream of the value chain.

he headwinds for the CV industry are not convinced to give way as yet. While the overall vehicle retail for the month of April 2022 rose by 37 per cent and growth in the CV segment shows a positive uptick, volumes are yet to reach the 2019 levels. On a YoY basis, CVs not inclusive of three-wheelers and tractors were up by 25 per cent. Reeling under the negative impact of Covid-19, the CV segment retails are down by a margin of (-)0.5 per cent. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) move to hike interest rates by 40 basis points (bps) is expected to dampen sentiments further. The industry is also weighed down by the 13th straight month of double-digit WPI, at a record nine-year high of 15.8 per cent. Deemed as “stagflation” with no near term signs of a cool down, it is believed to have hit customer sentiment. But the good part is that the industry today is far more resilient. Led by product innovations, it is offering custom-made transport solutions from offering just a vehicle earlier. The ecosystem is aligned to this holistic approach. One that looks at assured services, higher operator profitability, and offers innovative finance solutions to name a few. A leading global player made a revelation when it cited a newfound approach by the CV industry. Speaking for self, at least that’s the approach the OEM has resorted to. From looking at just tier1 supplier contracts, OEMs are today more inclusive than ever before. OEMs are closely working with the tier suppliers beyond just the tier1s. The newfound approach extends to both upstream and downstream of the value chain. Ashish Bhatia ashish@atashishbhatia.com a.bhatia@nextgenpublishing.net

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This Month In CV

MAY 2022

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THE BOTTOMLINE Ashish Bhatia

24 08

ACEing Commercial EVs Tata Motors Ltd has commercialised the first electric, four-wheeled cargo small commercial vehicle.

NEWS  DAP 2020 ammended  Common Mobility card for public transport  RBI repo rate hike  Triton EV acquires AMW facility  Olectra to develop heavy-duty electric trucks  OSM to build mega 3W manufacturing plant  Tata Motors’ MoU with Lithium Urban Technologies  Ashok Leyland to foray in used CV market  M&M delivers 500+ Pik-ups  Top organisational changes at Isuzu  Hyva appoints Pankaj Kapoor  Michelin gets BEE accreditation

Write to us at cvonline@nextgenpublishing.net with your feedback and suggestions or visit us at www.commercialvehicle.in to access the digital first content.

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This Month In CV           

Log9 Materials Partners Indeanta Solar power plants at bus stations COGOS appoints Goutham Kumar India’s First Semiconductor Fab NuPort Robotics to begin operations EVET to expand electric fleet Apollo Tyres opens Innovation hub IOCL rolls out M15 India’s first waste steel highway Truck production at MAN restarts Saietta Group takes over ZF plant

With ACMA Leadership: Upfront interactIon with President Sunjay Kapur and Director General Vinnie Mehta

Niche EVs: Mahindra Electric is driving sustainablity with it’s new 3W e-tipper range

32 40 45 47 53

Fires Force A Rethink: The recent spurt in fire accidents has brought the spotlight back on operator, occupant and pedestrian safety. Building Resilient Supply Chains Part 1: To survive and grow the CV supply chains have turned resilient. 7th ACMA Tech Summit: The 7th ACMA Technology Summit and Atmanirbhar excellence Awards concluded on a high note. Excon 2K21 - A Preview: The mother of all construction equipment trade fairs is all set to get underway.

56 Plugged-In: Social media Highlights.

Scan QR code to get started

Riding The Commercial EV Wave: MSIL doesn’t want to rush with its EV commercialisation.

Advanced Trailer Aggregates: BPW Trailer Systems is offering advanced trailer aggregates.

37 Opening Up Revenue Streams: MM forgings is confident of growth with higher asset utilisation. Step 1 : Open the Camera app or a QR Code scanning app Step 2 : Hold your device steady for 2-3 seconds pointing towards the adjoining QR Code Step 3 : A notification with a url will appear Step 4 : Click to visit the content as shown on the right hand side. Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

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DAP 2020 amended The Government of India (GoI) has amended the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020. It has done so based on the approvals accorded by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) to further promote ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ in defence and enable Ease of Doing Business. According to the ministry, irrespective of the nature of the procurement, all modernisation requirements of the defence services and the Indian Coast Guard are to be sourced locally.

The requirement of an Integrity Pact Bank Guarantee (IPBG) has been agreed to waive, as advised by the Ministry of Finance, in order to reduce the financial burden on the Indian Defense Industry while maintaining financial safeguards. Instead, for all acquisition cases with an Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) costing more than Rs.100 crore, an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) will be used as bid security. The EMD will be valid for the selected vendor until the contracts are

Common Mobility Card for public transport

Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray launched Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Chalo National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) for instant contact less payment in BEST buses, and other modes of transport across India, such as metros, buses among others. By doing so, Mumbai has become the first city to have common card for bus transport and metro lines across India, claimed Aaditya Thackeray, Cabinet Minister of Maharashtra. He also hinted that

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

the government is also trying to integrate railway and cab services with the NCMC to facilitate a single cashless payment solution. The NCMC can also be used as a Rupay Debit card for grocery and retail showroom purchases pan India. Available at a introductory price of Rs. 100, the card can be recharged online or by the conductor in one of the BEST buses. The tap-in tapout feature of the card is an effort from the government to make the services fully digital. Mumbai has also become the first city with 100 per cent digital buses.

signed, after which they will be returned to the remaining vendors. Integrity Pact will be covered by the Performance Cum Warranty Bank Guarantee after the contract is completed (PWBG). Furthermore, EMD is not required from Micro and Small Enterprises under the current Government of India policy (MSEs). Post simplification, the time lines in the Make-II procedure will be reduced to 101109 weeks from an existing total time period of 122-180 weeks.

RBI Repo rate hike After the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised India’s repo rate by 40 basis points, major banks and even the small finance banks raised the lending and deposit rates. Making savings more attractive and borrowing more costlier, the hike led to increase in cost of funds for banks which further resulted in increase of interest rates for automotive loan, home loan or personal loan. This could impact the auto sales market drastically, commented FADA. This will be an additional blow along with the rising vehicle and fuel prices. The increase in interest rates on deposits and savings have however become attractive as customers can deposit their money and earn extra on them. Major banks including ICICI has increased ICICI Bank External Benchmark Lending Rate to 8.10 per cent p.a.p.m. effective May 04, 2022. Other major banks joining this move include HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Indian Bank among others. Small finance banks like the Jana Small Finance Bank has revised and increased their Fixed deposit (FD) rates.

Bulletin

Triton EV acquires AMW facility Triton EV, the US-based electric vehicle maker, has collaborated with the Government of Gujarat to set up their first manufacturing plant in India. For the set up it has acquired AMW’s manufacturing plant in Bhuj. Spread across 3.7 million sq. ft, the state-of-theart plant is built upon 600 acre land and will be used to manufacture EV trucks. The company plans to start the

production of the trucks and roll out its first EV truck in the current year itself. Coming as a relief for the workers who lost their jobs due to closing of the AMW plant during lock down, the new plant will provide direct and indirect jobs to over 10,000 people in the state. The new development is a part of Triton EV’s MoU signed with the Gujarat Government to invest Rs. 10,000 crore in

EV truck manufacturing in the state over a span of five years. Facilitating complete end-to-end production of EV trucks including production of components ranging from chassis to battery, the new hub will be reinforced by other auto components manufacturers as part of the ecosystem. This includes the likes of Bharat Electronics Ltd.(BEL) who will provide EV batteries.

Olectra to develop heavy-duty OSM to build largest 3W electric trucks

manufacturing plant

Olectra Greentech Ltd. has entered into electric truck manufacturing for the Indian market. The prototype of this vehicle is built upon a heavy-duty electric tipper platform. The electric bus major, has already started trials of the 6x4 heavy-duty electric tipper at its plant in Telangana. The new development is a part of its plan to expand its product portfolio into the EV truck segment. As reported, the company would be further scaling up the manufacturing of these trucks in the upcoming state-of-the-art facility in the outskirts of Hyderabad. According to KV Pradeep, Chairman and Managing Director, “As the fossil fuel costs are skyrocketing, the electric trucks will be a game-changer in the segment.”

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM) plans to build the world’s largest threewheeler plant in India with an investment of USD 250 million. The plant will have an installed capacity of one million EV three-wheelers, tweeted the company. To be built in the state of Karnataka, the megafactory will start production by FY24. The construction of this factory will be completed in three phases. The plant will manufacture the full-fledged range of Omega Seiki Mobility electric three-wheelers, including Rage+, Rage+ RapidEV, Rage+ Frost, Rage+ Swap, and Rage+ Tipper. It is also likely to manufacture an electric threewheeler passenger carrier, OSM Stream, which will be introduced soon. The company, has also recently announced that it plans to foray into the trucks, tractors and drones market.

Bulletin

Tata Motors’ MoU with Lithium Urban Technologies Tata Motors has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lithium Urban Technologies for the deployment of one of the biggest EV fleets in India. Founded by Sanjay Krishnan, the EV-based urban transportation service provider company will deploy Tata’s 5000 XPRES T Electric Sedans across the country for employee transportation. It aims at creating a clean and green environment and accelerating the transition to sustainable transportation. Tata Motors plans to supply the vehicles in a phased manner and expects to complete the deployment by next year. Commenting on the partnership, Shailesh Chandra, Managing

Ashok Leyland foray in used CVs

To foray into the used commercial vehicle market, Ashok Leyland Ltd. (ALL) has signed an MOU with Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd. (MFCWL). Both the companies, together, plan to launch an exclusive hybrid ecosystem for ALL’s used commercial vehicle business. The ‘hygital platform’, as described, will facilitate exchange as well as sell and purchase of old commercial vehicles (CVs). To streamline the used vehicle market, Ashok Leyland will leverage its digital ecosystem and existing and potential channel partners for physical interactions in over 700 plus parking yards spread across the country, and other advanced technologies. Through effective and efficient processes, the company will bring in more transparency into this space thereby increasing options to reduce the number of old vehicles plying across the roadways of India. The customers will be able to avail services like iALERT telematics solution, Driver SAATHi skilling solution, valuation, breakdown services, fuel solutions, etc. through various digital solutions offered by Ashok Leyland. According to the company, this foray will create an opportunity for Ashok Leyland to reach as many fleet and single truck owners as possible.

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. said, “This MoU is a big leap towards faster adoption of EVs in the shared mobility space and we are delighted to take forward our long-term partnership with Lithium Urban Technologies, who are on the path to provide mobility solutions with a focus on sustainability and supporting India’s e-mobility mission.” The XPRES-T EV offers an optimal battery size, a captive fast charging solution, which will ensure outstandingly low cost of ownership in addition to safety and passenger comfort, making it a comprehensive and attractive proposition for fleet owners and operators, he confirmed.

M&M delivers 500+ Pik-ups To support the ‘Project Mumkin,’ Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) has delivered over 500 Bolero Pik-up vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir. The J&K government’s ‘Project Mumkin’ is a customised livelihood generation programme. The Mission Youth J&K and the Vehicle Manufacturers are assisting young people in the region in purchasing new small commercial vehicles (SCVs) in order to provide them with opportunities for a sustainable livelihood. By participating in ‘Project Mumkin’, M&M supports the J&K youth with entrepreneurial opportunities to earn a livelihood, promote business ownership and strengthen their trade practices.

Bulletin

Top management changes at Isuzu Isuzu Motors India (IMI), a subsidiary of Isuzu Motors Limited, Japan, has announced key changes in the top management. Wataru Nakano, General Manager, LCV Business Dept., at Isuzu Motors, Japan takes over from Tsuguo Fukumura, as the President and Managing Director of Isuzu Motors India (IMI). Wataru Nakano, who was responsible for the LCV Business Department at Isuzu Motors, Japan brings his rich global experience of over 30 years in the areas of international sales operations and business strategy to India. His vast experience will add to accelerating Isuzu’s growth in the domestic and export markets. Toru Kishimoto, General Manager, Isuzu Oceania, Europe & Americas

(L to R) Rajesh Mittal, President, Isuzu Engineering Business Centre India (IEBCI) and Deputy President, Isuzu Motors India (IMI), Mr. Toru Kishimoto, Deputy Managing Director, Isuzu Motors India Pvt. Lt., Mr. Wataru Nakano, President and Managing Director, Isuzu Motors India Pvt.Ltd.

Dept., Mitsubishi Corporation, Japan, succeeds Ken Takashima as Deputy Managing Director of Isuzu Motors India (IMI). Toru Kishimoto has an experience of over three decades across global markets. Rajesh Mittal, Sr. Vice President, from UD Trucks Corp., Japan joins the top management team as President of Isuzu Engineering Business Centre India (IEBCI) and as Deputy President at Isuzu Motors India (IMI). Rajesh Mittal

brings 37 years of technical, business and operations experience predominantly in the commercial vehicles industry, across global markets. He was heading Logistics at UD Trucks Corp., Japan prior to this assignment. He has played vital roles in the automotive technology domain and supply chain logistics also. The changes in the management are as per the business plan of the company.

Hyva appoints Pankaj Kapoor

Michelin gets BEE accreditation

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 the 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 and 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.”

Michelin has become the first tyre brand in India to be accredited with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a recently introduced star labelling programme aimed at improving sustainability and newly introduced performance standards for tyres. Michelin X Multi Energy Z tyre has been awarded the industry’s first fuel savings label with a four-star rating by BEE, the company said in a statement. Manufactured and designed by Michelin in India, the tubeless truck and bus tyre, as per the company claims, offers robust fuel savings, longevity with multiple re-

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

treads and safety on Indian terrain. The four-star rated tyre promises up to eight per cent more fuel saving. “The introduction and standardisation of tyres performance and fuel efficiency parameters is a historic milestone for the Indian automotive industry, and we want to congratulate Government of India for this initiative,” Michelin India Executive Director (Chennai Plant), Ranganathan Bhuvarahamurthy said. Michelin is delighted to receive the first-star labelling for its Made in India tyre, reinforcing leadership in both innovation and manufacturing, he added.

Bulletin

Solar power plants at bus stations?

Log9 Materials Partners with Indeanta Ventures Log9 Materials has partnered with electric-mobility-as-a-service solutions provider, Indeanta Ventures Pvt. Ltd. to provide Log9’s rapid-charging battery solution (RapidX batteries) to the latter’s two- and three-wheeler EV platforms. As a part of this strategic collaboration, Log9 and Indeanta will be working together in synergy for the next three years to jointly deploy over 15,000 RapidEVs (including both two-wheelers and three-wheeler EVs) powered by Log9’s InstaCharge battery-technology across various parts of India, including but not limited to cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Pune, Chennai, and Kolkata. Out of these RapidEVs, a large majority will include cargo EV fleets used for logistics and last-mile delivery operations. The three-wheeler RapidEVs powered by Log9’s futurefacing InstaCharge battery technology shall be deployed by Indeanta in the near future for their existing contracts

with Porter, Flipkart, Amazon, among other similar companies that are aggregating or operating large-sized delivery fleets. And hence, this brings Indeanta Ventures under the aegis of Log9’s Responsible Delivery Movement – a first-of-its-kind initiative where they are attempting to accelerate e-mobility adoption for last-mile deliveries and thereby bring down transportation and logistics-related emissions’ intensity in India to 33 per cent by 2030.

COGOS appoints Goutham Kumar The Bangalore based tech-logistics company, COGOS announced the appointment of Goutham Kumar as Vice-President of Technology. Kumar will help the company to create a one-stop ERP solution for all logistical needs and also support the company’s vision of creating a best-in-class AI/ML logistics platform. With a background of 20 years experience in Software Product Development, Kumar has previously been associated with companies like BMC Software and Boston Technology Corporation. Goutham will look after two critical wings at COGOS. One that evolves their proprietary Logistics ERP platform with an aim to increase the efficiency of Cogos Trucks business and another aimed at building strategies in order to build Intellectual Property, adding to the company’s offering. Prasad Sreeram, Co founder & CEO, COGOS commented, “We are glad to have Goutham on board with us who’ll help us build an even more efficient platform for city-logistics as we aim at penetrating deeper into tier two and three markets with our services.”

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) is in discussion to set up solar power plants at bus stations. It is looking at tapping non-conventional sources of energy in a big way. In a meeting with the New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation (NREDCAP) of AP Ltd., Managing Director of APSRTC, Dwaraka Tirumala Rao discussed the possibility of setting up the solar plant and electricvehicle charging stations at the RTC bus stations. Rao, claim sources, have also entrusted responsibilities in this regard to depot managers.

India’s First Semiconductor Fab In Karnataka International semiconductor consortium, ISMC is all geared up to set up India’s first semiconductor fab plant in Karnataka. Involving an investment of around Rs. 22,900 crores (USD 3 billion), the new plant, it is said, will provide 1500 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs. As per the reports, the Government of Karnataka has suggested Electronics and Systems Design cluster in Mysuru as the location for setting up the fabrication unit. Although Dholera SIR in Gujarat was considered as an option, Karnataka was opted due to the water availability and additional incentives offered by the state. ISMC will be availing benefits offered by the Union Government. The Government of India(GoI) introduced a new incentive scheme worth Rs.76,000 crore (nearly USD 10.2 billion) in a bid to boost the semiconductor ecosystem in the country. Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

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NuPort Robotics to begin operations in India NuPort Robotics, the Canadian autonomous trucking company, have announced plans of expanding their operations in India. The company plans to introduce level two autonomy for heavy duty vehicles on Indian roads with the aim of improving road safety and efficiency. The level two autonomy includes features like advanced driver assistance systems, data analysis and driver suggestions to ensure vehicle safety. The company has also entered into partnership with World Trade Center Pune (WTC Pune), to introduce NuPort technology to the Indian and global markets. The company plans to further expand its reach by partnering with major Indian manufacturers of electric trucks and buses to support its safety and sustainability objectives and lead the country towards deploying advanced technologies for transportation.

NuPort signs MoU with EKA NuPort Robotics, has signed an MoU with EKA, an electric vehicles and technology company, to introduce smart e-buses. NuPort Robotics will introduce level two autonomy in the form of advanced driver assistance systems in these electric bus models. This is another feather in the cap for NuPort as it looks at utilisation and incorporation of progressive level two autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for electric buses on Indian roads. EKA will test the new and advanced technology provided by NuPort before deploying it in over 5000 buses. It involves a minimum investment of nearly Rs. 150 crores in innovation and contributing to the future of transportation and sustainability. The autonomous features introduced by NuPort will help improve safety, reduce environmental footprint, and increase operational efficiency of the vehicles on Indian roads. When deployed in CVs, such technology reduce crash rates by nearly 50 per cent.

EVET to expand electric fleet EVET has entered into partnership with major companies in the food industry including Elior India, SPRINK Kinematic FoodTech, Kadambass hospitality, and Foodieverse to expand EVET electric fleet for food delivery. This expansion marks EVET’s entry into midmile deliveries. By doing so, it is furthering electrification of mobility in the food delivery business. Starting these partnerships in Bengaluru, the company will further expand its reach in other cities in India in months to come. The integrated electric mobility, charging and technology vertical of Magenta has deployed 100 EVET vehicles for food delivery along with the prerequisite charging network and are seeking to enhance this to 600 EVET vehicles in upcoming months only in the food delivery segment, confirmed Darryl Dias, cofounder of Magenta. “Deliveries on EVs will reduce the cost of running delivery trucks by up to 20-40 per cent benefiting our various partners with larger pay-outs,” he added.

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

Bulletin

Apollo Tyres opens digital Innovation hub in UK Apollo Tyres has announced the launch of its Digital Innovation Hub in London. A part of the company’s digital strategy to implement Industry 4.0, the Innovation Hub will adopt artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to solve complex manufacturing problems, focused on improving the efficiency, quality and sustainability of its manufacturing practices. The hub is partnering with Glasgow University and is also implementing an ongoing internship programme for STEM students (Science, Technology,

IOCL rolls out M15 Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) has rolled out petrol M15. A 15 per cent blend of methanol and 85 per cent gasoline was launched by Rameswar Teli, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas in the presence of Niti Aayog member, VK Saraswat and IOCL chairman, SM Vaidya. It was introduced on pilot basis in Assam’s Tinsukia district. According to Teli, this fuel will help lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by about 5 to 10 percent and improve air quality in the country, thereby enhancing the overall health and well-being of the citizens. It will also help offer relief from the rising fuel prices, he stressed. The use of M15 fuel is expected to have a positive impact on import substitution and save billions of dollars in fuel import bills, the company tweeted.

IOCL, L&T and ReNew form JV The Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and ReNew Power (ReNew) have signed a binding term sheet to form a Joint Venture (JV). The JV company will focus on developing green hydrogen projects in India in a time-bound manner to supply Green Hydrogen at an industrial scale, stated SN Subrahmanyan, Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Managing Director, L&T. These projects will be carried out at the IOCL’s Mathura and Panipat refineries in the initial phase. The three-way partnership will leverage L&T’s strong credentials in designing, executing, and delivering EPC projects, IndianOil’s established expertise in petroleum refining and its presence across the energy spectrum, and ReNew’s expertise in offering and developing utility-scale renewable energy solutions. On the other hand, IndianOil and L&T have also signed a binding term sheet to form a joint venture (JV) with equity participation to manufacture and sell electrolyzers used in the production of green hydrogen.

Engineering and Maths) as part of the UK Government strategy. The announcement comes on the eve of Boris Johnson’s visit to India, during which the two countries discussed UK-India trade and economic partnership. UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson commented, “Trade and investment between the UK and India is creating good jobs and sustaining livelihoods in both of our countries. I’m very pleased that Apollo Tyres has decided to join the legions of Indian companies investing in the UK, boosting our technology sector and driving economic growth.”

India’s first waste steel highway The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), NITI Aayog, and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have collaborated to make Surat in Gujarat, the first city in the country to get a steel slag road (industrial waste). The 1.2-kilometer steel slag road built at Surat’s Hazira port road by replacing natural aggregates with 100 per cent processed steel slag, is now open to traffic. The road, which is made completely of steel, is thought to be more cost-effective and durable than traditional roads in the country, and it can withstand the damage that the monsoon season brings with it. With steel road durability a top priority, it’s estimated that at least 20 loaded trucks pass through this stretch every day. It could also be a game changer in up-cycling steel slag that would otherwise end up in landfills. Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Bulletin | international

Truck production at MAN restarts MAN restarted truck production in April 2022 after it had been halted for six weeks due to supply shortages caused by the Ukraine war at MAN’s truck plants in Munich and Krakow. MAN’s component plants in Nuremberg and Salzgitter are gradually ramping up capacity as well. “The restart in our truck production is a very good signal for our workforce and our customers. However, there is no reason for euphoria yet. We will approach our usual production levels only step by step. Production remains subject to major uncertainties. If the war shifts more strongly to western Ukraine again, we may be faced with a renewed standstill. Flexibility is and remains the order of the day, as is strict cost discipline”, said MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp. The wiring harness suppliers in Ukraine that produce wiring harnesses for MAN are currently

able to manufacture and deliver again, albeit at a low level. In addition, MAN is on schedule with the duplication of wiring harness production in other countries. Initially, however, MAN will have significantly fewer variants in its range and with a high degree of uncertainty will ramp up step by step.

Saietta Group takes over ZF plant 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.

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

ZF’s Collision Mitigation System

The industry’s first Independent Collision Mitigation System (CMS) solution designed specifically for city buses operating in complex urban environments meets the public transportation sector’s increasing safety demands. The system can actively respond to vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians in or entering the vehicle path, assisting in the avoidance or mitigation of impending collisions and protecting unsecured bus passengers. If an impending collision is detected, the system can issue a Forward Collision Warning and automatically apply the brakes. Built on OnGuardMAX system, the solution delivers performance tailored to city bus applications. Data integration of cameras and radar enables advanced object classification and sophisticated situational analysis. It is equipped with an integrated event data recorder enabling critical event analysis. Moreover, it offers additional optional functionality such as High Beam Assist, Lane Data, and Traffic Sign Interface. This system is applicable to electric and internal combustion engine city buses.

Industry Talk With CV

Industry Talk With ACMA Leadership

@SumeshSoman

In an upfront interaction with the ACMA leadership, President Sunjay Kapur and DG 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.

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 and has created a immense headwinds for the industry as a whole.

Q. How are you faring in terms of the exposure to the commercial

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. 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 Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Industry Talk With CV

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

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

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 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. non-component 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. Q. Are future business models dependent on collaborations? Sunjay: 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. Q. 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

Industry Talk With CV 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. to put stress on the tier2s and tier3s in the supply chains. So 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 in 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 being increasingly accessible by component manufacturers in India? Vinnie: The industry always knew that digitisation was the way forward and when the pandemic 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 three-wheelers, 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. Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Product Launch

Niche EVs

Mahindra ELectric is driving sustainable mobility through it’s new electric 3W tipper Range built on a MODULAR platform. Deepti Thore DRAWS ATTENTION TO THE NICHE EVs in its mix.

@DeeptiT9

t the recently held Pune Alternate Fuel Conclave 2022, Mahindra Electric Mobility Limited (MEML), part of the Mahindra Group, ensured that it drew in crowds. The crowd puller in this case was the Treo Tipper variant and the e-Alfa Mini Tipper variant making its public debut. Both the vehicles are built on a highly customisable platform and MEML does so with the help of its authorised customisation partners. MEML’s inhouse value-added product development team develops such applications based on the customer requirements. These electric vehicles are

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

not only highly economical to run, pollution-free and reliable but their performance is also unmatched as per company claims. As per the FY22 SIAM data for electric three-wheelers, the company ranks one in the electric three-wheeler category with a 73.4 per cent market share as a testimony. e-Alfa Mini Tipper The Mahindra e-Alfa Mini Tipper, showcased to the public for the first time, is based on the successful and rugged e-Alfa mini platform. The vehicle is unique in the way that it has a partition split for the wet as well as the dry garbage. It offers a GPS tracking system and a

grade ability of seven degrees. The tipping angle is 40 degrees. The e-Alfa Mini Tipper also comes with a peak power of 1.5 kW and has a driving range of 80 km on a single charge. It offers a loading capacity of 310. Equipped with 1000W motor, 48 V(120 Ah) battery, the vehicle looks attractive with dual halogen lamp, stylish dashboard and digital cluster. Treo Tipper Built on a tested electric threewheeler platform, Treo, the Mahindra Treo Tipper also made its public debut. This lithium-ion three-wheeler has a payload of 578 kgs without the waste bin. The Treo Tipper also boasts

Product Launch Mahindra e-Alfa Mini Tipper Parameters Volume requirement Capacity Automatic hydraulic tipper mechanism Partition required for dry & wet garbage Partition split Partition required along length or width Top cover type Tipping angle GPS tracking system Wheelbase Peak power Off-Board charger Typical driving range Battery type Top speed Brakes type Grade ability Tyres Ground clearance Charging time Warranty

Specification 0.7 Cu.m 310 kg Yes Yes 60:40 Width Metal 40° Yes 2168 mm 1.5 kW 15A/48V 80 kms Lead Acid 25 kmph Drum 7° F - 4.5 - 10 8PR R - 90/90 - 12 64B 138 mm 8 to 9 Hour One year

of the best-in-industry power and torque of 8 kW and 42 Nm, respectively. The charging time is just three hours and 50 minutes for a full charge. A bonus is a threeyear, 80,000 km warranty. The vehicle generates higher savings in terms of fuel costs of Rs. 2.10/ km when compared with diesel cargo three-wheeler and lowest maintenance cost of just 40 paisa as compare to 65 paisa on its diesel variant. Generating higher

speeds and quicker turn around times, the treo is equipped with advanced IP67-rated motor which offers enhanced protection against dust and water entry. Some of its other features include a telematics unit and GPS, Windscreen and wiper system, spare wheel provision, Driving modes -FNR (Forward, Neutral, Reverse), an economy and boost mode, lockable glove box, 12 V Socket, 15-amp offboard charger, hazard indicator, reverse buzzer.

Mahindra Treo Tipper Parameters

Specification Volume Requirement 1.2 Cu.m Capacity 350 kg (with waste bin) 578 kg (without waste bin) Automatic hydraulic tipper mechanism Yes Partition required for dry & wet Yes garbage Partition split 60:40 Top Cover type Metal Tipping angle 45° GPS tracking system Yes Wheelbase 2216 mm Battery capacity 7.37 kWh Peak power 8 kW Off-Board charger 15A/48V Typical driving range 80 km Battery type 48V, Li-ion Top speed 50 kmph Brakes type Hydraulic Grade ability 7° Peak torque 42 Nm Charging time 3 hours 50 minutes Ground clearance 123 mm Warranty Three years/80,000 km

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

COVER STORY

ACEing Commercial EVs Tata Motors Ltd. has commercialised the first electric, four-wheeled cargo small commercial vehicle. Ashish Bhatia looks at the broader strategy behind the electrification of a legacy model.

I @atashishbhatia

t was a busy span of one week in particular at the Tata Group of Companies. Known to have synergised for the Group’s electrification drive, on the passenger vehicle front, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM) globally unveiled a futuristic concept, a pure electric vehicle on its third generation (Gen 3) architecture. This was followed by the Commercial Vehicle Business Unit (CVBU) at Tata

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

Motors Ltd. succeeding at creating nostalgia when it opted to electrify its mass selling, legacy model, the Tata Ace Small Commercial Vehicle (SCV). With the “Chota Hathi”, it has embarked on the electrification journey of four-wheeler goods carriers. It is geared to offer its fleet customers a complete transport solution. The Tata Ace EV launch sans a price declaration, due for an

announcement at the time of its customer deliveries had the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) draw in leading e-commerce giants among Tata Motors Dealers. The former (e-commerce giants) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on stage to seal the deal of making the Ace EV a part of their fleets. Most, customers of the erstwhile Ace. To fulfil their vision of net-zero emissions,

COVER STORY in turn, the sum of the all the signed MoUs populated the Ace EV order book with 39,000 bookings. Tata Motors deemed the bookings from Amazon, BigBasket, City Link, DOT, Flipkart, LetsTransport, MoEVing and Yelo EV as a stamp of market acceptance before a single unit is delivered. “We are much encouraged with the support and response received from our e-commerce customers, with whom we begin this journey of zeroemission cargo mobility,” expressed Girish Wagh, Executive Director, at Tata Motors Ltd. Exactly 17 years after the Ace was launched in 2005, Tata Motors launched the Ace EV on the same date May 05, 2022. A planned coincidence,

N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons and Tata Motors, graced the landmark occasion and was credited for inspiring the team with the “Art of the possible” much like in the past. Reflecting upon the early mover advantage, the OEM stands to benefit from this launch. Chandrasekaran expressed, “Sustainable Mobility is imminent and a global mega trend that we’ve embraced fully. We’ve made a business model that integrates sustainability as a key pillar.” Of the firm opinion that it’s a solution that adds value to the entire EV ecosystem, he committed to the OEM wanting to engage and build e-cargo platforms beyond the Ace as may be deemed fit for market requirements across the country. “At Tata Motors, we are moving with speed and scale to lead this change. I am delighted today that with the launch of the Ace EV, we are entering a new era of e-cargo mobility. It will further build on this legacy by providing a technologically advanced, clean and smart mobility solution. I am excited about the electrification of commercial vehicles,” he averred. Building on the Chairman’s vision to offer a complete transport solution that looks at meeting needs like fast charging, quick service and fleet management through the Tata ‘UniEVerse’, Wagh, called it an opportunity to reset the future agenda at the company. Admitting to the Group leveraging the Common Architecture and Shared Technology (CAST) and synergising with the various Group companies, Wagh drew attention to the company’s

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

COVER STORY

Group’s electric buses clocking 34 bn kms, cumulatively, across nine countries as a testimony of acing commercial EVs. The Convergence Energy Services Ltd. (CESL) tender had the OEM emerge as the lowest bidder for an order book of 5,450 buses. “Building on our experience and success with electric buses, we have designed use-case specific EV solutions for intra-city distribution. These solutions effectively cater to the application needs and deliver a superior value proposition to all stakeholders,” he claimed.

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

The next wave of transformation Intending to tap the booming e-commerce and last-mile segment, Tata Motors, opined Wagh, was ready to trigger the next wave of transformation. “We collaborated with operators to understand their operating model with a complete EV ecosystem. With the Ace EV, we are offering a 50 per cent higher drive range compared to the competition with both slow and fast charging capabilities thereby bringing extensive value addition to various duty cycles,” he stated. Asserting on the group moving beyond offering a vehicle to offering customers a complete ecosystem, Wagh cited ‘Fleet Edge’ as a key pillar. Through the holistic ecosystem, the company will offer a suite of services, from charging solutions to financial add-ons. Setting it apart The Ace EV is known to be the first product featuring the Tata

Motors’ Evogen power train. With it, the EV offers a certified range of 154 kilometres and a real-world range of 121 kms powered by a 21.3 kWh lithiumion phosphate battery pack, which shared Wagh, was much over the requirement of operators clocking 60 kms at the top end on an average. The EV features an advanced battery cooling system and regenerative braking system to boost the drive range. Powered by a 27kW (36 hp) motor the EV is claimed to offer a peak rated torque of 130 Nm. It comes with a single-speed reduction transmission unit and a rear-wheel drive. Leaf springs are carry forwarded from the erstwhile Ace and make up the rigid front and rear suspension. It plys on 155 R13 LT 8PR tyres. All drive parts are IP67 rated. The EV comes with a home plug solution with a 15A socket beside the Onboard charging gun. The EV comes with bestin-class, highest cargo volume of 208 cu. ft and offers a grade

COVER STORY

ability of 22 per cent keeping in mind ascend requirements on gradients when fully laden. The cargo container is said to have been made of lightweight, durable materials in keeping with the requirements of e-commerce logistics operators. The OEM is assuring TCO benefits that include an over five-year battery life, a robust energy management system, and an all-weather protection. It claims the highest uptime in the segment backed by dedicated service support and value-added services. The choice to electrify the Tata Ace over a next-generation product like Intra in the mix was driven by the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) considerations and the use of a large proportion

of carry-over parts, mentioned Rajendra Petkar, Chief Technology Officer at Tata Motors Ltd. “The consideration relied on the least cost and the assurance of delivering with a large number of the carry-over parts to keep the vehicle cost under check,” he explained. Highlighting its technical advancements and differentiators claimed to set it apart from the competition, Petkar cited the Ace EV as the first credible EV option in comparison to what’s available in the market today. “I’m talking here about the three-wheelers because the Ace EV is in a different league altogether. It offers the highest range, about 50 per cent higher than the current three-wheeler platforms out there. It offers the highest cargo area in cubic foot

capacity,” he shared. He also drew attention to an estimated 21 connected vehicle features and the largest infotainment screen on board bringing the vehicle to par with the passenger vehicles. At the launch, Tata Motors showcased the full-loaded variant with voice-recognition capability (In English and Hindi), and a rotary gear-shift dial to name a few. The base variant uses a stick instead. The Ace EV was also showcased in a tipper guise for waste collection duty cycles making it relevant for municipal corporations. The Ace EV features a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and comes with two charging options for both a slow and a fast charge (DC). Claimed Petkar, that the lithiumion phosphate battery pack was very stable, reliable, and thermally suited for the Indian duty cycle, especially for the Indian tropical conditions as he allayed fears around the recent safety anxiety stemming from unstable electric two-wheelers. “We are quite certain that the Ace EV is going to perform very well,” he concluded. on a high note.

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Exclusive | Industry Talk

Industry Talk Driven By TCO

In an exclusive Industry Talk with CV session, Rajendra Petkar, Chief Technology Officer at Tata Motors Ltd. spoke to Ashish Bhatia on the Total Cost of Ownership driving the choice of vehicle transformation.

Q. The Tata Ace continues to evolve since its launch in 2005. What led to its electrification? A. This launch is as path-breaking for a Small Commercial Vehicle (SCV) as was the case in 2005 when the Ace was first launched in its respective segment. Since its first launch, there has been no looking back. The product has gone through multiple iterations of transformation, in terms of technology, in terms of the capability and in terms of capabilities to serve an array of diverse applications. It has given birth to multiple variants and met the needs of a higher payload, and a

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

higher Gross Vehicular Weight (GVW) including springing out the passenger carrier version Tata Magic. In over 15 years of its existence, we sprung out the diesel variant and then came the CNG Ace in 2008-09. Today we have it in the EV guise. So it’s quite versatile. Through the Ace, not only have we proved the platform’s versatility with multiple options to choose from, but we have also complied with multiple regulations of the Bharat Stage emission norms including meeting the evolving safety requirements of the segment. It has stood the test of time and is very relevant even today.

Therefore, it was natural and logical for us to take the product to its next stage of evolution in an electric guise. Q. How are you leveraging group synergies and the common architecture and sharing technology at your disposal? A. There are two sides to it. An ecosystem is made up of both an internal ecosystem, and an external ecosystem. Quite often, people when they talk about the ecosystem, they refer to an external one. This could refer to the collaboration with charging infra companies

Exclusive | Industry Talk

or the finance and insurance companies who in turn support the manufacturing company. The internal ecosystem is one which allows leveraging the architecture, the platform and its modularity, and the scalability that could follow. When we design a product like Ace, we look at what’s the right platform, and what’s the end application and the defined duty cycle which then allows us to define the technology and meet certain key vehicle product attributes for the end customer. Q. Being a market share leader in the segment, what technical feedback from your fleet customers has gone into the making of the Ace EV? A. We, in the course of last more than 15 years have gathered very valuable feedback. Ace is known as a highly versatile vehicle suited to several applications. It operates from the nooks and crannies of the city to the highways and therefore, keeping in mind all the diverse applications and the market practices we were sure from the word go, that we would cater to targeted applications with the Ace EV rather than build a product with a one shoe fits all approach. With the Ace EV, we always knew that the growth and development of the infrastructure had to be attended to. We zeroed on e-commerce, which is a closed-loop operating condition and one where the logistics players have sustainability high on their agenda.

Q. What are the technical synergies within the Group that you have drawn from and are there any external technology transfers or licensing for the ACE EV? A. Many technologies are running in the background sourced from the various Group companies at the part of Tata ‘UniEVerse’. For instance, we have a synergy with Tata Technology, and one with Tata Elxsi for the connected vehicle. For IoT technology, we work with Electra, a company which is involved in the electric power train and has worked very closely with us. The Ace EV is a culmination of many such associations. Q. What are some of the technical differentiators like the liquid cooling system provided on the Ace EV? A. If we look at the Ace EV as the first credible EV option and compare it to what’s available in the market today, there’s no comparison. I’m talking here about the three-wheelers because the Ace EV is in a different league altogether. It offers the highest range, about 50 per cent higher than the current three-wheeler platforms out there. It offers the

highest cargo area in cubic foot capacity and it offers the highest credibility. We offer 21 connected vehicle features and provide the largest infotainment screen that brings the Ace at par with passenger vehicles. There is voice recognition both in the English and Hindi language that takes the use ability a notch higher. There is a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and the Ace comes with two charging options for both a slow and a fast charge. The Ace is powered by a lithium-ion phosphate battery pack which is very stable, reliable, and thermally suited for the Indian duty cycle, for the Indian tropical conditions. We are quite certain that the Ace EV is going to perform very well. Q. Are the key components rated for the claimed performances? A. Under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), several tests are supposed to be performed on a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV). Tests are earmarked for component levels like the battery or the Battery Management System. There are other tests which test the vehicle in totality. This includes tests like the nail penetration test, a type of safety Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Exclusive | Industry Talk

testing for secondary batteries done to simulate internal shortcircuiting to check on any thermal vulnerabilities due to overcharging or the battery-discharge test. So, there are several such tests, which are designed to ensure that the EV as a whole is not prone to any kind of failure. Especially because the battery failure can be very fatal. There is great attention to going beyond regulation. And therefore, the approach toward having the liquid-cooled battery, the choice of the battery chemistry, and the approach towards packaging the product is a forward-looking one. Due consideration has been given to the placement of the battery pack for example to reduce the impact from a frontal- and rear collision. These considerations are part of our approach strategy for designing BEVs. Q. In the product development stage, was any thought spared for using rare earth metal-free battery packs, and alternative battery chemistry? A. Currently, the lithium-ion packs are the most popular and that is what is commercially available. There are many evolving technologies, which are in consideration like aluminium, and or sodium. Many of these are in the development stage. We are also keeping a very close watch, and looking at what’s the right time to integrate. Q. Which is the closest alternative contender to lithium-ion? A. No, I don’t see a close

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alternative toppling lithium-ion. Every technology has its pluses and the minuses right. So, either, there is a compromise on the cost, durability, use of renewable energy to recharge, recyclability and so forth. There are several aspects. So, you’re good on one front and you’re not good on the other two fronts. We are looking at the maturity status of these technologies, and we will take a call when the time is right. Q. How did you arrive at the desired energy density and overall configuration of the battery pack to ensure operator acceptance? A. In such cases, we normally work backwards. So, we look at what is the end application that we are building for? What is going to be the adequacy of a range? In this case, the requirement is about 100 kms and we decided to offer 121 kms. The certification is typically for one to one or two to four for instance. So certified ranges for a specific duty cycle in lab conditions. In the real world, it is known, that when the vehicle is subjected to acceleration, deceleration and idling, the range comes down. Once you choose the customer-facing parameter, then it’s easier to zero in on the configuration. We look at the battery technologies, the density, and also vehicle modes. What are those energy-saving mechanisms that we can use, for instance, regenerative brakes, reduction in the parasitic losses, and calibrating the powertrain to fulfil the given

duty cycle requirement? Such decisions bring down the load on the battery pack. It is easy to say that a 120 kms range will be fulfilled by a 30 kWh battery. It doesn’t help thinking that way. Because then you incur the weight and you add to the cost. We also focused on how we can improvise the range by improving the overall efficiency of the system. Q. Is the swapping technology at a very nascent stage contrary to it being deemed as a stable technology? Would you consider it for the future iterations of the Ace EV to give operators an added flexibility? A. We are watching this space very closely. Right now, the focus is on two- and three-wheelers from the government side. And a lot of standardisation needs to happen. Standardisation of the battery size, connectors, and BMS strategies. Then you’ll need to accept the standardised form of the battery because you can’t say no, I will make a battery, you know, looking at a case but someone might not be interested in that size of the battery. However, the standardisation is going to be a very rewarding, long term exercise. And therefore, there are certain categories of vehicles that lent themselves. For the serpent technology, two- and threewheelers are a great example. Once we do that, we all understand the nuances. And at the same time, there has to be the growth and the development of the battery swapping stations to bring about

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customer acceptance. That’s the time, people would start looking at a successful model, and consider replication on other vehicles. This won’t happen overnight in the case of battery swapping. Q. There is a market for retrofitting ICE vehicles with EV kits. A lot of Aces have been retrofitted as a testimony. With a factory-fitted Ace EV, is that market destined to not exist? A. An OEM designs a vehicle, looking at the whole, and aspects like performance, durability, reliability, handling, safety, and longevity. Whereas, if you take any vehicle on the road, and then decide to convert, of course, it comes with age-related wear and tear. If those issues are not fixed before retrofitting, it can backfire on being transformed into an EV. We are aware of such market practices. To simply put it, I would simply say that, in the good interests of the consumer, a new EV comes with all the required safety, sophistication, and warranty support. It’s not about, saving a few 1000’s here it’s better to go for new vehicles on all fronts. Q. What are the commonalities between the Ace EV and the erstwhile Ace? A. The Ace is the blend of the best of the two worlds. It draws the basic platform from the iconic Ace that we have. And therefore, it’s the latest platform on which the current Ace ICE vehicles are manufactured. Of course, it has been modified and re-engineered

to suit the requirements of an electric vehicle. Coming to the electric powertrain technology comprising the battery, motors, BMS, AC-DC converter chargers etc, this is state-of-the-art. Besides, the performance metrics discussed previously, the dual-charging capability, and connected features make it a contemporary product.

there are continuous technological developments that can’t be ruled out across vehicle systems. We will always persevere on attaining higher localisation of import components to get the value-engineering right. The product doesn’t remain static. Just like in the case of the ICE Ace, we can’t discount the evolution of the Ace EV.

Q. Can we expect both vehicles to be manufactured on the same assembly line? A. That’s the way because the ICE Ace is manufactured in Panthnagarand the EV would also be manufactured there.

Q. You have the latest generation of ICE products. Were you at any point and time tempted to look at electrification of the latest products like the Intra ahead of legacy products like the Tata Ace? A. We look at a very important parameter called the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). And so, among the various options that we had, we looked at which is the best one to go ahead with. The consideration relied on the least cost and the assurance of delivering with a large number of the carry-over parts to keep the vehicle costs under check. The Ace was able to take on all the boxes which doesn’t necessarily imply that the Intra was not a good fit. The Intra could qualify for another duty cycle.

Q. Will you gauge the market feedback and then come up with an updated variant of the Ace EV? A. It’s a little too early to think down that road. Let the product go in the market while we think that we have taken care of all the aspects and all the requirements looking at the e-commerce and the logistics space. There is always a possibility because that sector also keeps evolving. We will be open to taking those inputs from logistic companies and offering tailor-made solutions as per their requirements. Secondly,

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Game Changer

Riding The Commercial EV Wave With a common goal of net-zero emissions as the industry, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. doesn’t want to rush with its commercialisation. Sumesh Soman finds out how the major is laying a solid foundation to ride the commercial EV wave.

@SumeshSoman

he industry as a whole is working on a common goal of attaining net-zero emissions. Not just cutting down on tailpipe emissions but by reducing the carbon footprint in the entire value chain. Credit India’s commitment at COP26 or growing customer awareness, vehicles are cleaner today with clean Bharat Stage VI compliant diesel and CNG vehicles on one end of the spectrum and Battery Commercial Electric Vehicles (BCEVs) on the other end. In the case of latter, Commercial Vehicles (CVs) are witnessing a transformation. After buses that were first to ride the electrification wave nearly a decade back, and threewheelers thereafter, today Small

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

Commercial Electric Vehicles (SCEVs) up to the four-wheeler goods carrier segment are being electrified and near roll out. Tippers and other categories are gradually following suit. With this backdrop, its quintessential the PV major set a solid foundation. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) has committed to making its EV available in India for sale by 2025. Notably, the decision comes after the Original Equipment

Manufacturer (OEM) made its intent to stop diesel vehicle production and focus on cleaner options like CNG. The Super Carry LCV sales for the company grew by 235.4 per cent in April 2022 compared to the same period a year ago as a testimony. It also iterated that the government’s target of 30 per cent EV sales by 2030 may be difficult to achieve as the company expects EV penetration

Game Changer

Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and CEO, MSIL

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki

level between 8-10 per cent by 2030, that looks realistically more possible, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytic company. Well aware of trailing behind competition when it comes to the EV mix in its portfolio, the company is confident of recovering lost ground. EVs are a tough market to crack in India as per the company’s new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Hisashi Takeuchi. He admitted, “We are a little behind our competitors in introducing the EV models to the Indian market, but we see that, still the market demand for those EVs is niche. Sales of EVs in the Indian market are still very limited.” “That does not mean we are doing nothing about EVs. We have done a very extensive test of our EV utilising our existing models and putting those batteries and motors among other aggregate components into these existing models,” he informed on the sidelines of a presser. Claiming to have carried extensive testing on the front, for over a year with multiple cars in the Indian harsh climatic conditions, shared Takeuchi, its a means to ensure that our EVs are state-of-the-art and up to the demanding environment which is a big challenge. The Total Industry Volume (TIV) for

passenger electric vehicles is 17,802 units. Many are used in the aggregate business model and for last-mile deliveries. Tata Motors led the electric passenger vehicle segment in 2021-22 with total sales of 15,198 units in total, that’s a market share of 85.37 per cent, as per the FDA data. Total electric passenger vehicle retail sales last fiscal (FY2021-22) were 17,802, marking a rise of 4,984 units over FY2020-21. Eyeing growth MSIL is eyeing the top spot even in the EV space regardless of its late arrival to the party. Asserted Takeuchi, “We have been testing and developing models developed for Indian specifications. By 2025, we will introduce an EV but there are plans (for others) to follow. I’m sure that we can be very strong in the EV space when we decide to enter.” The company is in pursuit of a suitable product to be launched in the market and fully aware of the needs in a price-sensitive market that India is. Takeuchi admitted to EVs being an expensive technology and given the nascency and the lack of infrastructure, it will be an uphill task to put out an affordable EV. The company did test an EV in 2019 based on the WagonR platform with the intention of launching it in 2020 but called it off due to lack of

requisite resources and backing from the government. Things have changed since then. Suzuki Corporation had earlier announced an investment of YEN 150 billion or Rs.10,445 crore by 2026 for local manufacturing of battery packs at Sanand, in Gujarat. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on March 19, 2022 on the sidelines of the IndiaJapan economic forum held in New Delhi in the presence of Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida and Prime Minister, Narendra Modi along with Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director and President, Suzuki Motor Corporation. Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and CEO, MSIL. Speaking at the forum, Toshihiro Suzuki mentioned that Suzuki’s priority was to achieve carbon neutrality with small cars first. He committed to active investment in India in a bid to contribute to the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision of the country. To shape this vision, the company will focus on building the battery manufacturing plant in close proximity to its Gujarat plant. At the same site, under a JV, Maruti Suzuki Toyotsu India (MSTI) will construct a vehicle recycling facility. A similar recycling facility was recently inaugurated by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at Noida, in Delhi NCR. Under the MoU, the company’s whollyowned arm Suzuki Motor Gujarat Pvt. Ltd (SMG) will invest Rs.,300 crore for another battery plant closer to an existing facility by 2026. The company will invest additional Rs.3100 crore for expanding the BEV manufacturing capabilities by 2025 as it treads cautiously.

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Cover|Logistics and Smart Transportation

Advanced Trailer Aggregates BPW Trailer Systems is offering advanced trailer aggregates. Ashish Bhatia with Prateek Pardeshi looks into the efforts to both satisfy customers and ensure compliance.

@atashishbhatia

@Prateek2101

nternational trailer norms set the benchmark for the largely unorganised domestic trailer industry. With compliance codes like AIS-113 in place, the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways (MoRTH) found it easy to model domestic norms on the lines of international markets. This led to the transport vehicle dimensions being standardised. And so, trailer aggregates have come of age too. The more organised players like BPW Trailer Systems India Pvt. Ltd., specialists in the

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trailer running gear systems as a one-stop-shop, has spared no effort in meeting customer requirements like low Total Cost of Operations (TCO) and technologically advanced aggregates like axles, suspension systems among other accessories and landing gear that includes lighting and cable system, brake cylinders, and air bags and axle lift systems to name a few. Commenting on the growing compliances forcing a technological advancement, Nagaraj Ubale, Director at BPW

Trailer Systems India Pvt. Ltd, said, “On the trailer side, we can see the new pneumatic suspension technology, which justifies a 55-tonne capacity with a 4x2 tractor.” He explained that on the tractor side, the customer expectations are higher today. “In order to deliver on the performance benchmarks like better fuel and operating economy, the company claimed that it took a careful understanding of the axle load norms on the company’s part.” “It changes the geometry of the vehicle

Cover|Logistics and Smart Transportation

Nagaraj Ubale, Director at BPW Trailer Systems India Pvt. Ltd. completely. And because there is a lack of understanding, we are working with different agencies to cope with it.” Driving the change Back in 2018, axle load norms underwent a change to overnight increase the loadcarrying capacity. The law came in after a gap of 35 years

since the previous notification in 1983. The ripple effect was old aggregates were subjected to legitimate concerns of safety in the eye of the law. The axle up-gradation was inevitable and at the core of this dictate. It was to address lower axle weights resulting in higher logistics costs. The bearing on Gross Vehicular Weight (GVW) led to standardisation with combinations of axles in trailers being permissible subject to the capping on the GVW limits. In the case of modular hydraulic trailers, it necessitated the inclusion of appropriate axle row modules. With the notified changes, it was also decided that GVW must not exceed the safe axle weights as notified above and must not exceed the 49-tonne rigid vehicles and 55-tonne semi-articulated trailers, with the exception of modular hydraulic trailers. The MoRTH through GSR No. 414 (E) dated June 26, 2020, published a notification to amend Rule-93 relating to dimensions of motor vehicles under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) 1989. Expected to have a significant bearing on the logistics efficiency, the enhanced dimensions translated to extra carrying capacity and result in transporters requiring trailers with robust aggregates. For example, the pneumatic trailer under the notified changes was upgraded to be a part of the modular hydraulic trailer. It is expendable to 50 MTR without raising load to facilitate the transport of goods with exceptional length. Road trains with lengths at par with EU as 25.25 metres were proposed to be included on select routes.

The heights of the N category of vehicles were encouraged to transition to containerised transport. The trailer length was amended to 18.75 metres from 18.0 metres in order to accommodate ISO standard containers of 45 ft. With certain exceptions, trailer heights are increased from 3.8 metres to 4.0 metres. Semi-trailers with ISO containers and freight containers and or fabricated/ refrigerated containers have been capped at 4.52 metres. Truck trailers engaged by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) were capped at 4.75 metres. On the trailer aggregate companys’ part, the struggle is to overcome regulatory conflicts witnessed in inter-state travel. “The registration aspect of it is because a lot of changes have come into the axle norms that need to be sorted immediately otherwise the industry is doing fairly good,” quipped Ubale. BPW is catering to the global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) like Volvo Trucks in India who are placing these trucks on the road in segments like haulage and mining. It is also working closely with logistic firms like Express Logistics, to in turn help them meet their global requirements. Despite sales showing signs of a pickup hinting at growing customer acceptance, the company continues to iron out creases in order to fulfil the requirements of customers from the distiller industry. Earning customer acceptance Admitting to wide acceptance in the domestic market turning a challenge, BPW is

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Cover|Logistics and Smart Transportation leaving no stone unturned. It is extending its lead in the axle and suspension systems by expanding state-of-the-art assembly and manufacturing capabilities at its Pune facility. Claimed to have localised its mechanical suspension with its tier suppliers, the company is meeting regulatory requirements with offerings in the 13-13.5-tonne confined capacity. It is also localising suspensions to cater to the different customer application requirements. A testimony to the company growing beyond the domestic pool of customers, on the export front, the company is exporting to quality conscious markets like Germany to name a few. Ubale credited this feat to its synchronisation with global quality systems and global supply chain management. This has helped the company offer localised products validated and tested to global standards.

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

Pushing technology limitations Previously, for a higher Gross Combination Weight (GCW) realisations, trailers with Over Dimensional Cargo (ODC) were pulled by a 6x2 or 6x4 axle combinations on a tractor. With the new regulations, 4x2 tractors explained Ubale, can now have the same GVW on the trailer side. Citing it as a significant change, Ubale admitted to taking time for settling down and working out the perfect market fits backed by compliance. “People are realising that there is a monetary benefit from these changes. Because, without any modifications, the vehicle is a 4x2 tractor with a six-wheeler trailer. So it is given the same GVW with the same three axles on the trailer, and it is a transition from an erstwhile preferred 10-wheeler.

After sales offerings At BPW, the goal is to monitor all trailers with an AMC contract. When technological changes occur on the ground, periodic maintenance is critical, asserted Ubale. “With the BPW service portal, we can track all these trailers and their behaviours technically, like the brake system, the suspensions, the driver pattern which until now was the OEM’s responsibility,” he mentioned. With technologies like tyre inflation and monitoring system said to be under work, the company is pushing the boundaries in the after sales segment as well. “I’m very happy to tell you that the BPW axle feature trailers are the first independently registered trailers. So this is a new requirement for the future, I think the tier2 and tier3 customers will realise the benefit in the near term, he concluded.

Game Changer

Tapping Revenue Streams With Higher Utilisation

showing signs of recovery from the pandemic induced slowdown, MM Forgings. is confident of growth with higher asset utilisation. Prateek Pardeshi links the recent performances with the vision to open up new revenue streams.

@Prateek2101

he aftermath of the pandemic, closed die forging provider, MM Forgings Ltd. is regaining traction. Confident of opening up new revenue streams with streamlined and well-oiled procedures and practices, it will leverage an in-sync human capital to realise its full potential. A testimony to efforts fructifying is the recent acknowledgement by Ashok Leyland who awarded the company with the ‘Silver Award’ in the Cost Category, in 2021. Its expansion spree is also evident from recent acquisitions like that of Cafoma Autoparts for an estimated valuation of Rs.33 crore known to include a

Vidyashankar Krishnan, Managing Director, MM Forgings rupees five crore subordinated debt. Averred Vidyashankar Krishnan, Managing Director, MM Forgings, “This second half should be much stronger than the first half and also with the likely pickup in the CV market. We should be doing close to around 65,000-tonne in

volumes this year.” With cautious optimism, the company as per recent reports could realise a revenue stream of ~ Rs.1,100 crore for FY2021-22 with an incremental hike in projections in the years thereafter. As per the company’s investor conference call, the company hopes to increase volumes from 60-tonne to 80-85,000-tonne before scaling up to 1-1.2 lakh tonnes in FY2023-24. It is banking on sweating the new press lines in comparison to the old press lines. The company also hopes to benefit from the growing EV exposure and expectations of the domestic business contributing a higher degree than the exports business compared to the contrasting equation as of current. As per the company’s Profit and Loss (P&L) statements, in a YTD comparison for FY2021-22, the total income grew by 179 per cent over the same period the year ago (FY2020-21). The latter being an exceptional year and as a result a low base case. Operational revenue stood at Rs.777.76 crore with an operational EBITDA of 147.22 crores. PAT at Rs.82.58 crore had the company turn net positive T with total revenue of Rs.789.79 crore in a

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Game Changer Particulars

Total income (Net sales/Income from operations) Revenue from Operations Operational EBITDA Profit Before Tax (PBT) Profit After Tax (PAT)

April-Dec AprilFY2021- Dec 22 FY202021 789.79 439.86

FY2019- Per centage growth in 20 FY2020-21 (FY2019 as a base case) 727.3

789.79/727.3*100=108.58 per cent

Per centage growth FY2019-20 (FY2019 as a base case) 439.86/727.3*100 =60.47 per cent

777.76

426.52

710.9

109.40 per cent

60 per cent

147.22

64.83

125.19

117.59 per cent

51.78 per cent

94.33

28.5

57.42

164.280 per cent

49.634 per cent

82.58

16.47

46.24

178.58 per cent

35.61 per cent

significant jump over April-Dec FY2020-21 at Rs.439.86 crore. In comparison to FY2019-20, operational revenue grew by a margin of 109.40 per cent with growth in EBITDA and PAT at 117.59 per cent and 178.58 per cent respectively. The growth despite a raging pandemic can be attributed to the company’s exposure to the export markets, majorly North America where it supplies Class 8 trucks expected to hold the company in good stead for FY2022-23 and FY2023-24. Split focus Traditionally, at MM Forgings, the core revenue is known to account for passenger

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

cars, commercial vehicles, off-highway equipment, and agricultural and engineering component segments. Here the company caters to a diverse clientele including Original Equipment Manufacturers like Ashok Leyland, BEML BHEL Audco Valves and Tractor Engineers as a tier1 supplier. It is able to do so courtesy of a 100,000+ metric tonne capacity installed across nine manufacturing facilities spread across the country from having

in place two press, CNC FM hammer, matching plants in Singampunari and Viralimalai; a press, hydraulic press, matching plant in Padappai; Industrial automation division in Chennai; Crankshaft Machining at Rudrapur and an axle beams and stub axles machining plant in Lucknow. The latter is a greenfield facility in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The company also commissioned a 7000-tonne press in the year 2019, which was dedicated to heavy forging. The company has been able to develop important, highvalue-added goods primarily for the innovative application of new technology as per the Annual reports made public by the listed company. Front Axle Beams are created utilising an 8000-tonne forging press with the help of the latest technology and a reduced roll design compared to competitors said to use a 12000-tonne forging press. The company boasts of a wide variety of equipment, consisting of mechanical forging presses (1600- to 8000-tonne), CNC forging machines and hydraulic presses going by the spread of facilities at dedicated plants. With the acquisition of Cafoma Autoparts, the company will look to leverage the latter’s technical prowess in manufacturing, machined crankshafts for the tractor and industrial markets. To give a perspective, Cafoma has a monthly production capacity of 15,000 crankshafts. It currently produces 5,000 crankshafts, per month, on a job-to-job basis. By delivering forged crankshafts to Cafoma, in turn, the company is hopeful

Game Changer

of unlocking synergies. The company aspires to grow into a full-fledged provider of machined crankshafts to a wide range of industries with a major focus on automotive including the commercial vehicles segment and farm mechanisation in keeping with the needs of the agriculture sector in the country. Risk neutral To hedge against the cyclical nature of performing automotive segments back home, the focus on exports has paid rich dividends to the company given its focus in the North American and European markets. The company continues to be a net earner of foreign currency in an indication of the risk-neutral strategy paying off. The current year’s net foreign exchange earnings were estimated at Rs.338.66 crore. To succeed in the stringent quality-focused export markets, there is great emphasis on Total Quality Management, at MM Forgings. The company has attained the ISO 9001 and TS 16949 certifications to win customer confidence. Export sales at Rs.354.89 crore and

domestic sales at Rs.356.58 crore is proof to the company’s risks well-distributed holding it in good stead. Commercial Vehicles (CVs) are an important sector of the company as per Krishnan. With the CV market expected to see good traction in the United States among other export markets for the company, the risk-neutral exposure might see through the company realising its vision in the foreseeable future. Notably, CV sales account for a majority at 75 per cent of net sales followed by passenger vehicles at 18 per cent with the rest constituting the remaining seven per cent of sales for the company. Scaling up operations to be able to manufacture 60,000 crankshafts per month, the company is hopeful of breaking onto the top league of integrated crankshaft suppliers in India with its in-house forging and machining facilities. The company, as per its annual report, is looking to sweat its assets optimally and utilise the excess un-utilised production capacity to attain its projected outputs over FY22-23 and FY2023-24. The aspirations are

backed by cost and material consumption reduction efforts at the Research and Development (R&D) level to reconfigure input costs like that of steel, fuel, and the front of power utilisation at the plant level. Axle beams, steering knuckles, crankshaft, axle spindles, gear blanks, sockets, front hubs, ball studs, cross, and differential spiders are among the closed die forgings manufactured by the company. Of these the front axle beams, knuckles, and crankshafts will continue to be a major focus area. The business is now working on a complex front axle beam in an 8000-tonne forging press. Using advanced FEA software, the team was able to reduce the load in a mechanical forging press by around 9.5 per cent while maintaining the front axle beam’s performance characteristics. The stress and deflection levels of both designs have been checked, and the optimised design’s stress and deflection levels are within acceptable limits. The focus on technology absorption, adaptation and innovation will continue to drive its growth going forward.

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Game Changer

Fires Force A Rethink

The recent spurt in fire accidents has brought the spotlight back on operator, occupant and pedestrian safety. Ashish Bhatia with Prateek Pardeshi checks on the push for manufacturing cost-effective EVs that are safe.

@atashishbhatia

@Prateek2101

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. The hit was initially taken by two-wheeler EV startups serving the aggregate business model. They got the desired push early on as they rode the clean and green mobility wave. However, with the government forced to intervene with multiple such instances putting a question mark on safety, it compelled manufacturers to recall suspect product batches The draft EV policy emphasises on standardising EV battery

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

Pratik Kamdar, Co-Founder, Neuron Energy packs. The focus has gone beyond manufacturing costeffective EVs to building safe EVs. Pratik Kamdar, Co-Founder, Neuron Energy mentioned, “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 that ensures 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

Game Changer

quality cells so these kinds of fire accidents can be avoided in the future,” he opined. Forcing a rethink There has been a spurt in vehicles catching fire across the board. Not just two-wheelers that are under greater scrutiny with some of the promising high-performance EVs failing to impress. In a noteworthy move, the government has instructed to halt the launch of new EVs in the segment until the incidents are probed to ascertain the cause of the fire. Fires have spread like wildfire to the more mature segments with relatively higher safety claims like the bus segment. With a history of select fire instances, it won’t be a bad idea either to revisit the safety checkpoints, especially for the operator, occupant and pedestrian safety that has a higher quantum of risk with these high capacity people movers. The situation demands attention, especially with the industry, thinking of alternative fuels and the government pushing for a gas-based economy. Alternatives include Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Liquified Nitrogen Gas (LNG) and more recently the push

for Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Electric Vehicles (FCEVs). An instance in 2019, comes to mind here. The BEST electric bus was reported to have left the Mulund bus depot one fine morning. A few minutes into the journey, the driver was alert enough to spot smoke fumes gushing out from the rear of this AC electric bus. Later on, a clarification was issued that the fire was owing to a case of overheating of the brake liners and not as a result of a spark or fire from the electric drivetrain. The bus, in this case, was from Olectra Greentech Ltd. and the company in its official statement confirmed that the smoke was due to the overheating of the brake shoe as a result of air leakage on the right-side booster and identified it as a common occurrence. Luckily, the bus is known to have been equipped with foam-based fire extinguishers with the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) assuring all safety precautions and features on board the bus. A Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) CNG bus recently caught fire with 20 passengers on board in the South Delhi region of Mahipalpur. While it may have shifted the focus from commercial EVs, it

must be credited with drawing attention to the safety aspect of alternative propulsion systems which is equally important. Notably, CNG penetration in the CV system is at an all-time high. In the aftermath of the unfortunate incident, OEM Tata Motors assured to fully cooperate with the investigation of the cause of the fire. In an official statement, the CV major reiterated its commitment to offering safe and high-quality vehicles for public transport. In another standalone incident, a luxury bus on the way to Kerala with 39 passengers on board is known to have caught fire. The firemen reportedly took over two hours to douse the fire made worse by plastic upholstery in the interiors. The extent of the fire was such that even the chassis of the vehicle is known to have been destroyed. In another instance, a TSRTC e-bus caught fire while charging. A short circuit was suspected to be the cause of the fire in the heavily damaged bus. The fires are not limited to India. These are global phenomena. Paris recently suspended 149 e-buses from Bollore Groups’ Bluebus brand after two instances of fires. A Bluebus 5SE electric bus emitted thick smoke from battery packs located on the roof. Onlookers noticed a strong odour of plastic used in the bus. In South Korea, a Hyundai Motor Co. bus reportedly caught fire at the company headquarters with initial probes pointing at the battery pack. Naturally, the EV industry has faced a lot of heat! Kamdar blamed the substandard quality cells that are used by a majority of battery companies to manufacture battery packs

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Game Changer

Webasto battery manufacturing

with poorly installed BMS. Reacting to Niti Aayog member Shri V K Saraswat saying that “imported cells may not be suitable for Indian conditions”, Pankaj Sharma Co-Founder, Log9 Materials stated, “We welcome Shri V K Saraswat’s stance on indigenising Li-ion cells in all earnest and firmly believe this to be a pivotal point in the future discussions around India’s self-reliance in EV mobility. Developing cells in-house is critical for India’s self-reliance on Li-Ion cell technology. The majority of Li-Ion batteries brought into India are designed for different

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temperature and climatic conditions.” “Furthermore, India’s imports of Li-ion cells are low in comparison to worldwide demand; thus, leaving no incentive for the global Li-ion cell manufacturers to develop cell chemistries that are more suitable for Indian climatic conditions and application cases. Therefore, the only approach to producing cells for India is to develop chemistries suitable for Indian circumstances and manufacture them in India,” he opined. . Inline, 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 equipment against foreign objects, and 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 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.

Game Changer

Vishnu Rajeev - Head of Micelio Fund Compliance checks 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 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-

DRAFT EV POLICY

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 upfront cost of purchasing EVs), to drive EV adoption by lowering the costs of EVs for users, relative to ICE vehicles. 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.

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

Scania charging connector 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. Localisation of battery 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 lifecycle. 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 - Head of Micelio Fund, “Lithium-ion battery value has come down drastically due to the course of massive investment which has gone under developing new technologies. Also with lithium-ion having a few shortcomings we are currently developing alternatives

such as sodium-ion 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 including lithium. The prices are expected to remain higher for another year, it is believed. The Russia Ukraine war crisis has had a bearing too. The industry is also looking at means like recycling to enhance raw material availability. 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 Rajeev. He said, “Battery of EV accounts for almost 40 per cent of the total cost of the EV.” He 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

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Game Changer

SUN Mobility battery swapping station

undergoing a transition with the advent of portable charging and swapping alternatives available to the customer. 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 resorted to. India does not possess critical raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel, which are used to make lithium-ion (Liion) 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, destabilising 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

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battery packs, will continue for a few more years giving a ray of hope for a quick turnaround. 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 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 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 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 alternative aimed at significantly lowering up front costs, and 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.

Game Changer

Building Resilient Supply Chains - Part 1 To survive and grow, the CV supply chains have turned resilient. Deepti Thore looks at continued efforts to modernise and withstand disruptions in the first part.

@DeeptiT9

V supply chains continue to add layers of resilience. Coming out of one disruption after the other, the rising commodity prices continue to put margins under pressure. The supply-chain bottlenecks like semiconductor shortages, container shortages, growing port traffic, western sanctions as a fallout of the RussiaUkraine war crisis are known to have had a direct bearing on the CV supply chains. To deal with these, the CV industry has identified technological advances to realign the supply chains as a means to remain competitive and sustain business. According to a Deloitte study on the supply-chain disruptions with the backdrop of recent turn of

events, to deal with crisis, there is a need to ensure that the risk management frameworks and systems are in place. Through technology, companies must understand risks in the tier2 market and beyond. They must activate alternate sources of supply, consider onshoring wherein they could relocate business to lower cost locations within national borders or consider friendshoring wherein they could partner countries with a strong adherence to norms and values for operating in a global economy. Sreedevi R, Assistant Professor, Operations and Supply Chain Management, wrote a paper titled ‘Multi-dimensional supply chain flexibility and supply chain resilience: the role of supply chain risks exposure’.

According to the paper, natural disasters and unexpected disruptive events have forced practitioners and researchers to build resilience capability into their systems to survive and grow in tempestuous and turbulent times. This study empirically examined the effect of Multi-Dimensional Supply Chain Flexibility (MDSCF) in improving Supply Chain Resilience (SCRES) in a high risk environment. It is suggested that companies must consider updating inventory policy and planning parameters for critical materials, understand the impact of commodity inflation in supplier and customer contracts, and monitor logistics constraints and increase focus on cyber security risk

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Game Changer monitoring internally with key suppliers and prepare for disruption in operations in the conflict region besides planning on a global scale for multiple scenarios. Lauding the resilience of organisations Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto & Farm Div., Mahindra Group spoke of creating success for an organisation by giving back. The need is to play a game for a long term, he exclaimed. “Building resilience is to have purpose and the ability to bounce back,” he opined. While drawing attention to the potential disruptions at multiple levels in the supply chain, he stressed on the need to put in place processes to pick up warning signals. Citing organisations with a streamlined process as better placed with inventory management to face a crisis, he urged organisations to pick-up signals that a changing tide could test the company’s mettle. According to a study presented by Kearney, the larger the company, the larger

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Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director, Auto & Farm Div., Mahindra Group

Debmallya Chatterjee, Professor and Head Operations & Supply Chain Area, SPJIMR

the network of suppliers. This in turn implies that a fluctuation would have a larger impact from a complex and interconnected supply chain. At the same time, digitalisation is having a disruptive impact on the automotive industry, changing the requirements for speed, agility, flexibility, and complexity.

barriers of supply chain transparency in the postCOVID-19 scenario’. According to him, transparent supply chains have slowly gained prominence because of their utility in resolving sustainability concerns and improving operational efficiency and decision making. It requires companies to know more about their upstream chain and communicate it to their internal and external stakeholders. This in turn helps build resilience into the supply chains, making it possible for companies to respond quicker in the face of disruptive events like the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite both the necessity and obligation, companies are struggling with implementing a transparent supply chain because of non-definite reasons. In his paper, he identifies and models the barriers. Results suggest that customer privacy forces other barriers in the system and requires they be given an adequate importance while forming the data pipeline for transparent supply chains. Vague short-term ROI, low technology adoption, and underdeveloped infrastructure also emerged as critical barriers that managers should carefully mitigate while striving for transparent supply chains.

Introducing transparency Debmallya Chatterjee, PhD, MTech, MSc, MIT | Professor and Head - Operations & Supply Chain Area, S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, in one of his papers wrote about ‘Modelling the

Game Changer

Dr. Sajeev Abraham George, Professor, Operations & Supply Chain, Chairperson, PGDM Programme, SPJIMR

Cluster Management at V-Trans Ltd.

Mitigating risks As per a recent Mckinsey report, organisations should take action to mitigate risk and build towards a more resilient future. The need is to transform the supply chain and for that the companies need to re-skill and redeploy their workforce to achieve the required levels of efficiency in their operations. Dr. Sajeev Abraham George, Professor, Operations & Supply Chain, Chairperson, PGDM Programme, S P Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) explained, “Matching capacity with demand is crucial. If there is no match then there is inventory involved.” The need is to navigate through the disruption to emerge stronger. It is also crucial to identify the gaps in the supply chain and modernising supply-chain IT too. In addition to this, creating end-to-end transparency, investing in digitisation, improving communication and collaboration, embracing e-commerce and building talent are some of the other measures which the companies can adopt. He drew attention

to the introduction of flexibility into the supply chains to cope with different demand and supply scenarios and seizing new opportunities caused by shifts in consumer behaviour are crucial focus areas for companies. As part of its efforts to address the global supply chain crisis, India has also collaborated with the U.S. As per the US Trade Representative (USTR) promoting a transparent, rules-based trading system for market economies and democracies is crucial. SCRI initiative India and Australia have become strategic partners under Supply Chain Resilience initiative (SCRI).The two nations recently signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), an interim trade agreement. Both the countries will work towards contributing to

the resilience of the supply chain and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The agreement will provide zero duty exports to 100 per cent tariff lines from India to the Australian market, besides benefiting labour-intensive sectors. A similar bilateral agreement is in place with Japan. The Trade Ministers of India,Japan and Australia formally launched the SCRI in 2021. Acknowledging the fact that the pandemic had an unprecedented impact due to various factors, the ministers from these countries noted the importance of risk management and continuity plans in order to avoid supply chain disruptions and affirmed their commitment to strengthen resilient supply chains. Some of the possible policy measures included supporting the enhanced utilisation of digital technology and supporting trade and investment diversification. Some of the initial projects of the initiative included sharing of best practices on supply chain resilience and holding investment promotion events and buyer-seller matching events to provide opportunities for stakeholders to explore the possibility of diversification of their supply chains.

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Conference

7th ACMA Technology Summit The 7th ACMA Technology Summit and Atmanirbhar Excellence Awards took place in the physical format after two years. Sumesh Soman brings forth the focus areas.

T @SumeshSoman

he Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) hosted the seventh edition of the ACMA Technology Summit and Atmanirbhar Excellence Awards returning to the physical format for the first time post the pandemic. The day-long event had the automotive industry in full strength rubbing shoulders with decision-makers from the industry and the government. Deepak Jain, past-President

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of ACMA and Chairman and Managing Director at Lumax Industries Ltd. exclaimed, “It is a matter of celebration for all of us. As we return to the new normal, I am sure we’re focused on progress. Today, we’re not just felicitating the deserving, but also making sure we’re well aligned with our customer needs.” This alignment to customer needs was well reflected with the summit’s theme of ‘Driving Mobility Through Technology, Digitisation and Sustainability’.

Through the day-long summit, participating speakers took to the podium as they unanimously brought forth the vision for the future with regards to the impending crossover from Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) to Electric Vehicles (EV) to attain the objective of netzero carbon emissions. Kenichi Ayukawa, President of SIAM and the Technology Awards Summit cited the target of becoming a carbon-free country in line with Prime

Conference

Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment at the COP26 concluded in London. He also reiterated the contribution of the industry to the nation’s GDP accounting for 2.3 per cent as a significant employment generator. He stressed on the industry fast moving towards 100 per cent localisation and lauded the government for timely interventions to in turn strengthen the business case of the highly invested industry. The summit concluded with the awards where companies were awarded across key categories including ‘Excellence in Digitisation’, ‘Excellence in Human Resources’, ‘Excellence in Exports’, ‘Excellence in Health, Safety and Sustainability’, ‘Excellence in Localisation’, ‘Excellence

Sunjay Kapur, President, ACMA and Chairman, Sona Comstar Ltd. in New Product Design and Development’ and ‘Excellence in Manufacturing’. Contours of Technology At the summit, it was agreed that most of the OEMs have incorporated new technological improvements in their products. Here Advanced Drives Assistance Systems (ADAS), connected tech and Over The

Air (OTA) updates were the focal points. Known to progress towards making mobility easier and much more convenient in relation to the present scenario, there were concrete mentions of Advanced Rider Assistance Systems (ARAS), especially for two-wheelers that are known to be nearing commercialisation for when the market demands casein-point 300 cc and higher displacement heavy bikes as per a leading manufacturer in the domain (Refer the eighth Anniversary Special issue of ACI for an in-depth report). Commenting on the industry transformation, Sunjay Kapur, President, ACMA and Chairman, Sona Comstar Ltd. asserted, “Indian automotive component industry is at the cusp of change. Companies have already started adopting new-age technologies such as telematics, ADAS and automation fast transforming the industry.” Hailing the government interventions, he added, whilst the industry faced several headwinds, the support of government policies like PLI, FAME-II had enabled the industry to stay strong and remain globally competitive.” Ram Kuppuswamy, Chief Procurement Officer at Hero MotoCorp seconded Kapur when he cited factors such as sustainability, safety, comfort and adaptation due to geopolitical scenarios constantly driving change in product technologies the industry has succeeded at. Contours of Digitisation Ever since the pandemic, the industry has come to terms with digitisation as the new

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Conference Sr. No. Applicant Company

Application Name

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49

Excellence in Export Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Localization Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in Export C. Narasimhan Corporate Level Award for

Abilities India Pistons & Rings Ltd. Abilities India Pistons & Rings Ltd. ADM Joinflex India Pvt. Ltd. Advik Hi-Tech Pvt. Ltd. ALP Overseas Pvt. Ltd. Asahi India Glass Ltd. Excellence in New Product Design & Development Bosch Ltd. Dana Anand India Pvt. Ltd. Dana Anand India Pvt. Ltd. Dana Anand India Pvt. Ltd. Dana Anand India Pvt. Ltd. Ecocat (India) Pvt. Ltd. Elofic Industries Ltd. Elofic Industries Ltd. EMCEE Pressings P Ltd Enco Engineers Combine Pvt. Ltd. ESTEEM POLYMER PRODUCTS PRIVATE LIMITED ESTEEM POLYMER PRODUCTS PRIVATE LIMITED ESTEEM POLYMER PRODUCTS PRIVATE LIMITED Gabriel India Ltd. Global Autotech Ltd. Helvoet Rubber & Plastic Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd. Highway Industries Ltd. Indo-MIM Pvt. Ltd. Itriangle Infotech Pvt. Ltd. J. K. Fenner (India) Ltd. Jaihind Autotech Industries Jaihind Autotech Industries JBM Auto Ltd. JBM Auto Ltd. Krishna Maruti Ltd. Lumax Ancillary Limited Lumax Auto Technologies Ltd Lumax Auto Technologies Ltd. Lumax Industries Ltd. Lumax Industries Ltd. Lumax Industries Ltd. Excellence in New Product Design & Development Magal Engg. Tech Pvt. Ltd. Magal Engg. Tech Pvt. Ltd. Magal Engg. Tech Pvt. Ltd. Magal Engg. Tech Pvt. Ltd. Magal Engg. Tech Pvt. Ltd. Marelli Motherson Automotive Lighting India PVT Ltd. Marelli Talbros Chassis Systems Pvt. Ltd. Marelli Talbros Chassis Systems Pvt. Ltd. Marelli Talbros Chassis Systems Pvt. Ltd. Marelli Talbros Chassis Systems Pvt. Ltd. Marelli Talbros Chassis Systems Pvt. Ltd. Metalman Micro Turners

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

Excellence in HSS Excellence in Digitalization Excellence in HSS Excellence in Localization Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in Export Excellence in HSS Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Digitalization Excellence in HSS Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Human Resources C. Narasimhan Corporate Level Award for Excellence in Export Excellence in Localization C. Narasimhan Corporate Level Award for Excellence in Export Excellence in Human Resources Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in Digitalization Excellence in Human Resources Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Export Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in HSS Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in HSS Excellence in Human Resources Excellence in Manufacturing C. Narasimhan Corporate Level Award for Excellence in Human Resources Excellence in Export Excellence in HSS Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Localization Excellence in Digitalization Excellence in Human Resources Excellence in Export Excellence in HSS Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Digitalization

Conference Sr. No. Applicant Company 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

Metalman Micro Turners Microsign Products Minda Industries Ltd. Minda Industries Ltd. Minda Stoneridge Instruments Ltd. Mindarika Pvt. Ltd. Pranav Vikas (India) Pvt. Ltd. Rane Brake Lining Ltd. Rane Brake Lining Ltd. Rane NSK Steering Systems Pvt. Ltd. Roop Automotives Ltd. Roop Automotives Ltd. Roop Automotives Ltd. Roop Koepp Foam Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Roop Polymers Ltd. Roop Polymers Ltd. SEG Automotive India Pvt. Ltd. SEG Automotive India Pvt. Ltd. SEG Automotive India Pvt. Ltd. SEG Automotive India Pvt. Ltd. Sellowrap Industries Pvt. Ltd. Sellowrap Industries Pvt. Ltd. SEP India Pvt. Ltd. SEP India Pvt. Ltd. Shore Auto Rubber Exports Pvt. Ltd. Shriram Pistons & Rings Ltd. SKH Marelli Exhaust Systems Pvt Ltd. SKH Marelli Exhaust Systems Pvt Ltd. Skyway forge Skyway forge SOGEFI ADM Suspensions Pvt. Ltd. SOGEFI ADM Suspensions Pvt. Ltd. SOGEFI ADM Suspensions Pvt. Ltd. SOGEFI ADM Suspensions Pvt. Ltd. SOGEFI ADM Suspensions Pvt. Ltd. SOGEFI ADM Suspensions Pvt. Ltd. Sterling Tools Ltd. Sterling Tools Ltd. Sterling Tools Ltd. Sterling Tools Ltd. Subros Ltd. Subros Ltd. Subros Ltd. Subros Ltd. Subros Ltd. Subros Ltd. USUI Susira International Pvt. Ltd. Valeo India Pvt. Ltd. Varroc Engineering Ltd. Zentron Labs Pvt Ltd

Application Name Excellence in HSS Excellence in Human Resources Excellence in Export Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in Digitalization Excellence in Digitalization Excellence in Localization Excellence in Human Resources Excellence in HSS Excellence in New Product Design & Development in Human Resources Excellence in Export Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Localization Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Export Excellence in HSS Excellence in Localization Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in Human Resources Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in Digitalization Excellence in Export Excellence in Export C. Narasimhan Corporate Level Award for Excellence in Export Excellence in HSS Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Human Resources Excellence in Export Excellence in Digitalization Excellence in Human Resources Excellence in Export Excellence in HSS Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Digitalization Excellence in Human Resources Excellence in HSS Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Digitalization Excellence in Human Resources Excellence in HSS Excellence in Localization Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in Manufacturing Excellence in Localization Excellence in Export Excellence in New Product Design & Development Excellence in New Product Design & Development

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Conference

norm. Key manufacturers launched their digital platforms and apps. for their respective trade and for seamlessly functioning. They also coupled them with lucrative offers to help boost the new stream of sales through e-commerce. Be it the integration of components, ancillaries, the aftermarket or the vehicle as a finished good. While some OEMs had to launch new digital platforms, others had to rehash their existing portal to give it a new interface and pool in customers. While these changes were more evident for the front office, the shopfloor also gets some action when it comes to the digitisation trend. A look around is enough to unearth stories of remote installations and troubleshooting between engineers of the parent and their subsidiaries for example, the Panasonic Miraie Profactory solutions and a look at their new Toughbook can be perceived as a two-pronged approach to amplify the wave of digitisation across the value chain, from upstream to downstream was a testimony. French multinational Dassault

Commercial Vehicle May 2022 | www.commercialvehicle.in

Systems is no stranger to digitisation with its offerings in the DW Suite of tools as an enabler for shopfloor functioning a cinch. This has not only helped relieve the blue-collar workforce of mundane and repetitive tasks but brought in the desired level of precision and efficiencies with floor managers in a position to reallocate resources for better yielding processes. Sunil Kakkar, Sr. Executive Director, Supply Chain at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. said, “If you want to incorporate a big change in the industry, digital adapter is an extremely important step during the transition.” Here Kapur spoke of ACMA being able to align itself with institutes like IITs for a crucial cross-exchange between industry and academia. Vinnie Mehta, Director General at ACMA drew attention to the ACMA Centre of Excellence at IIT Delhi, Sonipat, equipped with a lab and workstations, wherein the centre trains people from the industry to be self sufficient. The objective being to enable them with the know-how of building digital suites from scratch to meet their custom needs. Contours of Sustainability Since normalcy has surfaced gradually into our lives, sustainability has found its way into the segment as the building block of the industry’s existence. Both OEMs and the government realise how it is imperative to work in tandem to attain the common goal. With 75 of 92 companies gaining an approval under PLI scheme for Advanced

Automotive Technology, it is apt to conclude that the industry is also actively working on building a robust ecosystem with circular economy as a topmost priority. This will in turn cut down imports, and increase exports and gradually aid in growth of the nation’s economy in line with the five trillion dollar vision. The industry’s focus on clean energy solutions including gas-based drivetrains with CNG and LNG in the mix not to leave out hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles that has witnessed a heightened interest with protos nearing commercialisation. Raju Kekale, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor cited the company’s business approach as an example. Over the last two decades, Toyota has worked hard to develop its electric technology that has helped us become the global leaders in electric vehicles and sustainable business excellence, he mentioned. Piyush Goyal, Honourable Minister for Textiles, Commerce and Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India lauded the auto industry for its serious measures to incorporate the adaptation of sustainability. He reiterated the crucial role it plays in building value, creation of wealth and employment generation as a direct bearer of the uplifting of a billion Indians. The 7th ACMA Tech Summit showcased how the OEMs and the government is working in tandem for a better future with less fatalities driven by better mobility solutions for an industry that thrives on technology, digitisation and sustainability.

Trade Fair

Excon 2K21 - A Preview

The mother of construction equipment trade fairs is all set to go underway. Ashish Bhatia draws attention to focus areas and future-oriented technology from CE majors this year.

@atashishbhatia

outed as the largest construction equipment trade fair in South East Asia, Excon 2K21 will take place in Bengaluru between May 17-21, 2022. The trade fair, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) commands support from the host state Bengaluru, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Builders Association of India, IGBC, NSIC, Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (iCEMA) and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). This year, the trade fair has Construction Equipment (CE) majors focusing on sustainability, growth, competitiveness and technology as broad

organisation-wide goals to attend. The task is cut out, to be the CE hub for the world. Internet of Things (IoT) is set to be a major focus area. No wonder then, the Business to Business (B2B) trade fair expects a footfall of 40,000+ business visitors and participation from 750+ exhibitors. This year, apart from the usual booths and experience centres, visitors can expect to come across dedicated pavilions like the Artificial Intelligence (AI) pavilion, the Finance pavilion, and an alternative fuels pavilion hinting at the direction in which the CE industry is headed. Expect women to take the wheel of these intimidating machines this year as the focus is also on

highlighting the role of women in infrastructure. Indian CE majors will be accompanied by global companies, from across Germany, Italy, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Turkey, UAE, the USA and the UK making it a UFI approved, global trade fair. This year, the calendar of events will commence with an inaugural session attended by key personnel like the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai among other dignitaries from both, within and outside the state. Atma Nirbhar Bharat, Infrastructure requirements for the armed forces to assess emerging opportunities and smart technology, a session with the Border Roads Organisation and green buildings will be discussed over the course of the trade fair. The displays The display this year will treat visitors with an array of choices between earth moving

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

Trade Fair equipment like backhoe loaders, excavators, front end loaders, graders and dozers. Visitors can also hope to come across vibratory soil compactors for earthwork, vibratory tandem rollers and pneumatic tyre rollers for asphalt work in the realm of road construction. There will be paving equipment on the show for rigid and flexible pavements. Besides the material handling equipment, watch out for prime movers including engines and power transmission equipment. Those interested to dive deep into the nuts and bolts will find participants from the components sphere. Spare parts and accessories like pneumatic valves, hydraulic pumps and motors, and pneumatic, hydraulic, and electric tools are required for maintenance and to support CEs for optimum performance. IT solutions will be showcased as a mainstay of integrated project management this year. Besides, there will a stronger presence from ancillaries that include attachments like additives, tyres, fuels and lubes, sealing products, Research and Development (R&D) organisations and technical institutes. Leading exhibitors at

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the Excon 2K21 include Tata Motors Ltd. for instance. In a select media preview, the OEM emphasised, that IoT and services will be a major focus area this year where the CV major is looking to sustain its leadership. Committed to higher profit through enhanced productivity, improved TAT, enhanced drive ability and higher revenue generation through a suite

of features, Tata Motors’ leadership also emphasised safety as a key focus area. Delving into the details, the senior spokes head from the company, gave a glimpse of the product lineup promised to be enriched variants of the legacy models rolled out in the market. Constituting the Signa and Prima range of trucks, the products will span across surface tippers, RMCs, and a zone dedicated to mining and quarry. The product enhancements include quieter cabins, heavy-duty drivetrain, gear shift advisor, BSVI compliance, and reliable engines among value additions like a higher power-weight ratio. The company hopes to attract customers with an advanced telematics suite in ‘Fleet Edge’ and ‘Sampoorna Seva’ positioned as the best-inindustry service. Moving over the days of Power Take-Off (PTO) as a slave engine, the company will draw attention to its next-gen

Trade Fair

RMCs with Rear-engine Power Take-Off (Re-PTO). Among other noteworthy launches, expect Ashok Leyland to draw customers with its CNG engine H Series engine, specially designed in keeping with the requirements of its CEV, mining and offhighway customers. A senior spokes head from the company committed to a strong pipeline of technologies being worked on, leading up to the trade fair. The focus at Ashok Leyland is on helping customers to attain higher fuel efficiency and meet their alternative fuel requirements. CE manufacturers like CASE Construction Equipment array of machines that are expected to include loader backhoe, soil vibratory compactor, apart from excavators and graders. The company is also expected to focus on engine technologies and after sales solutions. Volvo CE India is expected to showcase a compact wheel-loader platform beside a product for tunnelling applications. Volvo trucks India

is also expected to bring in its state-of-the-art CEs including the next generation tip trucks that include the FMX range Scania India with its partner Larsen & Toubro will bring in its top mining, and heavy-tipper and also showcase its ready industrial and service exchange engines this year. The focus

will be on offering customers optimal and customer-oriented solutions. Mahindra Truck and Bus Division (MTBD) is expected to showcase a host of solutions led by the BlazoX tip trucks and the Furio7 platform. With the speculations around the group division growing louder, expect a focus on the CE industry. Cummins India Ltd is expected to showcase its state-of-the-art engines for CE. Notably, the focus will be on showcasing the engine’s capabilities in terms of scalability and meeting future emission norms, be it CEV BS V or CEMM BS IV/V. Joint Venture partners Valvoline Cummins Pvt. Ltd. and Fleetguard Filtrum Pvt. Ltd. are also expected to display their products under the spirit of ‘OneCummins’. JK Tyres is expected to showcase its premium OTR tyre range aimed at delivering enhanced mileage and superior traction. It is expected to showcase a heavy-duty tyre for wheel loaders, motor graders and telehandlers besides a specially designed product for mining tip trucks. All in all, expect the CE ecosystem to up the ante this year as well. The Bengaluru weather is expected to give visitors a respite from the heat!

Commercial Vehicle www.commercialvehicle.in | May 2022

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