Auto Monitor - 10 December 2012 by Infomedia18

I N D I A ’ S N O . 1 M A G A Z I N E F O R A U T O M O T I V E N E W S , V I E W S & A N A LY S I S

Auto Monitor

Vol. 12 No. 42

w w w. a m on l in e . in

10 December 2012

FOCUS

32 Pages

` 50

INTERVIEW

MACHINING Pg 18

“We want to supply to all major manufacturers.” Dr Ralf Cramer, Executive Board, Continental AG

Pg 10

Scan this code on your smart phone to visit www.amonline.in

Nine More For India From Fiat Our Bureau Mumbai

NEWS IN BRIEF 2013 Honda Civic Packed With Features At LA Auto Show

he new 2013 Honda Civic showcased at the LA Auto Show boasts of a reﬁned exterior, interiors, enhanced dynamics and a whole new set of standard features. 2013 Honda Civic has been revamped and it can be seen with as changes made to its front and rear portions help to stand out amongst its competitors.

DATA MONITOR Top 5 CV Makers Company

Oct-11

Oct-12

Change

TML

35,263

38,193

8.31%

M&M

10,792

13,411

24.27%

ALL

5,892

7,466

26.71%

VECV Eicher

4,135

3,830

-7.38%

FML

2,008

1,667

-16.98%

Top 5 CV Exporters Company

Oct-11

Oct-12

TML

3,441

3,355

Change -2.50%

M&M

1,600

1,523

-4.81%

ALL

570

531

-6.84%

VECV Eicher

115

64.29%

FML

* Source: SIAM/ ** Excluding exports/ *** all sub segments considered/ ^ excluding MRPL

iat-Chrysler combine is looking to target ‘automobi le ent husiasts’ below 35 years of age in a proactive manner. With this it hopes to grab around five percent market share over the next four years. The Italian car major’s current market share in the passenger vehicle segment in India is around 0.7 percent. Company officials point out that new launches in B and C segment, revamped distribution and rejuvenated marketing efforts for the Fiat and the Jeep brand could be instrumental in helping the group grab a higher market share. “We are looking at regular launches and a refreshed model line-up comprising nine models under the Fiat and the Jeep brand over the next four years to achieve our objective. This would also include some platform sharing and derivatives keeping in mind the market realities and other dynamics,” said Mike Manley, Chief Operating OfficerAsia and President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeep Brand. The Fiat-Chrysler combine is evaluating to tap opportunities in the growing utility vehicle space where it does not have a presence. It is looking to launch a compact SUV and an SUV in the higher C segment under the Fiat and Jeep brand around 2014.

The Group is looking to tap its Ranjangaon facility (a manufacturing JV between Fiat and Tata Motors) for assembling Jeep brand in India. “We are looking to have separate Fiat and Jeep dealerships though we will evaluate combined dealerships from both brands at certain locations, if required,” said Manley. Fiat is likely to have around 112 dealerships by the end of this year while it is looking to have around 32 dealers covering around 25 key cities for the Jeep brand. Chrysler is looking to launch its first SUV by the third quarter of next year and this SUV would be assembled at the Fiat’s Ranjangaon facility. Fiat-Chrysler combine is also looking to launch Fiat Financial Services by April and will offer inventory financing to its dealers in addition to vehicle financing. Fiat is currently in the process of building up its distribution network in India and is bracing up to offer the new Grande Punto and the new Linea next year. This would be followed by one launch under the Fiat brand and one under the Jeep brand in 2014 and additional three launches in 2016. The group will offer refreshed models in 2015 and 2016 so as to retain customer interest in the brands. “We have to be very cautious in our positioning and value proposition for the Fiat and the Jeep brands in order to avoid any con-

Mike Manley, CEO, Jeep.

fusion in the minds of potential customers,” pointed out Manley. “We are optimistic about our prospect for growth in the Indian car market, which grew 12 percent in 2011 and is rapidly becoming one of the major markets in the world. With the launch of the Jeep brand, new Fiat products, an expanding dealer network and upcoming marketing initiatives, we will be in a strong position to capitalise on this growth,” said Enrico Atanasio, Managing Director of Fiat Group Automobiles India. Fiat Group Automobiles India Private Limited (FGAIPL) is a fully owned subsidiary of Fiat Group Automobiles SpA, Italy. It will distribute Fiat and Jeep vehicles in the country through an independent dealer network. The company is currently selling the Linea and Punto models,

which are manufactured by the Tata-Fiat joint venture. Fiat Group also operates in the components sector, through Magneti Marelli and Teksid, and in the production systems and robotics sector, through Comau. Some of the brands include the Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Abarth brands, and LCVs under the Fiat Professional brand. In Europe, it also distributes Jeep brand vehicles. From January 2012, the activities of Fiat Powertrain – which researches, develops and produces engines (power output from 65 to 235 hp) and transmissions for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (torque up to 400 Nm) – were transferred to Fiat Group Automobiles. Chrysler Group LLC, formed in 2009 to establish a global strategic alliance with Fiat SpA, produces Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Mopar, SRT and Fiat vehicles and products. The Jeep vehicle line-up outside North America includes Cherokee, Compass, Grand Cherokee, Patriot, Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited. For 2011, Jeep brand’s worldwide sales increased by 41 percent versus 2010. Jeep was the Chrysler Group’s top-selling brand outside North America, rising by 46 percent versus the prior year and comprising 63 percent of Chrysler Group’s total international sales.

Better Diesel Power For Jeep Abhishek Parekh Mumbai

ven as Fiat-Chrysler combine braces up for a dual brand presence in the country, Fiat and Jeep brands may have different diesel engines powering its model lineups with Fiat’s compact offerings powered by 1.3 litre multijet diesel engine and Jeep offered with a 1.6 litre diesel engine. Both brands are likely to share a 1.4 litre gasoline engine for vehicles in the B and C segment. A company ofﬁcial pointed out that Fiat and Chrysler are looking to have distinct brand identities in the market and

Jeep will be powered by a higher capacity diesel engine from Fiat. Fiat’s S compact SUV is likely to be offered in the B or upper B segment while the SUV under the Jeep brand is likely to be in the more premium C segment. Company ofﬁcials did not rule out platform sharing between the two brands at a later stage that could lead to Jeep offered with the 1.3 litre multijet engine. Both brand’s offerings in the B and C segment would likely have the same 1.4 litre petrol engine. Chrysler’s Grand Cherokee would be powered by a three litre diesel and a 3.2 litre gasoline engine and would be offered in the E segment competing with

Seeking distinct identities?

the likes of Range Rover in the Indian market. Fiat-Chrysler combine is also looking to launch ‘MOPAR’ its spare parts brand in India to have a better

control on the spares and service distribution network. It would also launch its performance brand ‘Abarth’ brand in India over the next couple of years.

EDITORIAL Sands Of Time ndia is one of the few so called ‘emerging’ markets globally where Fiat is a marginal player despite having the right products in the right segment. But somehow, Italian manufacturer have never quite found their feet here. But we would like to believe that things will look up for them considering some of their recent initiatives.

ture with Tata Motors. The JV has extracted its own cost for the Italian manufacturer. It has also established itself as a competent and reliable engine manufacturer and has adopted a streamlined manufacturing system bolstered by a cutting age automation system and closely monitored quality control system at its Pune facility.

But a recent interaction with a top company ofﬁcial belied any hint of the tough task ahead of the company in order to remain in the reckoning in the passenger car sweepstakes in India. Fiat-Chrysler combine has stated its objective of grabbing ﬁve percent market share in India. This target appears bewildering when one considers the plight of players like Toyota and Ford who are still struggling to achieve high single digit share in India despite successful launches and much better brand perceptions. In 2011-12, the company sold 16,095 units only, a decline of 24 percent. With just a 0.5-0.6 percent share, Fiat has slipped to the bottom half-dozen of the 19 passenger vehicle makers in India for 2011-12. Things do not look very bright for the car maker. Surely a growing market does not provide a free ride to all and sundry.

Few good launches could potentially change the company’s fortunes for the better. But negative customer perception continues to be a concern. There has been no major effort from the company to change that perception.

Comments can be sent to am.editorial@network18publishing.com

What does go in the company’s favour is its relative success at localisation (around 80 percent) compared to other foreign car makers thanks to the manufacturing joint ven-

QUOTES Mike Manley, COO, Fiat and Chrysler in The Economic Times

Relationship with Tata Motors goes much higher and much deeper.

FOUNDER & EDITOR, NETWORK 18 Raghav Bahl PRESIDENT & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, TV 18 Senthil Chengalvarayan EXECUTIVE EDITOR Jayashree Kini-Mendes EDITORIAL TEAM Abhishek Parekh, Features Editor SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS Nabeel A Khan Anand Mohan CORRESPONDENT Jagdev Kalsi ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Varuna Naik SENIOR DESIGNER Mahesh Talkar CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Mexy Xavier PHOTOGRAPHERS Neha Mithbawkar, Senior Photographer Joshua Navalkar BUSINESS CONTROLLERS Akshata Rane, Lovey Fernandes, Surekha Karmarkar, Deepak Bhatia, Ashish Kukreti, Shwetha ME, Jayashree N, Shefali Mahant

PRINTING EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Ananth R. Iyer ASSISTANT GEN MANAGER-PPC Shekhar Khot

GROUP CEO, NETWORK 18 B. Sai Kumar CEO-NETWORK 18 PUBLISHING Sandeep Khosla EVP-HUMAN RESOURCES Sanjeev Kumar Singh ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT Sudhanva Jategaonkar ADVERTISING SALES Shashin Bhagat (Ahmedabad) shashin.bhagat@network18publishing.com Mahadev B (Bengaluru) mahadev.b@network18publishing.com Hari Hara Subramaniam (Chennai) hari.s@network18publishing.com Balakrishnan.s (Coimbatore) balakrishnan.s@network18publishing.com Surendra Kumar Agrawal (Delhi) surendra.a@network18publishing.com Dominic Dsouza (Hyderabad) dominic.dsouza@network18publishing.com Ameya Gokhale (Indore) ameya.gokhale@network18publishing.com Sandeep Arora (Jaipur) sandeep.arora@network18publishing.com Abhik Ghosal (Kolkata) abhik.ghosal@network18publishing.com Inder Dhingra (Ludhiana) inder.dhingra@network18publishing.com Surajit Bhattacharjee (Ludhiana) surajit.b@network18publishing.com Olwin Dsouza (Mumbai) olwin.dsouza@network18publishing.com Rohit Dass (Pune) rohit.dass@network18publishing.com Vipul Modha (Rajkot) vipul.modha@network18publishing.com Chirag Pathak (Vadodara) chirag.pathak@network18publishing.com

PRODUCTION TEAM Surekha Karmarkar Sanjay Shelar, Ravikumar Potdar, Ravi Salian

MARKETING TEAM Ganesh Mahale, Prachi Mutha, Akshaya Jadhav

Takanobu Ito, President and CEO, Honda

Quality for the world, made in America, has been an important Honda commitment for the past 25 years.

Auto Monitor OVERSEAS CONTACT CHINA 1001 Tower 3, Donghai Plaza, 1486 Nanjing Road, West, Shanghai 200040, China Tel: +86-21 6289 – 5533 Ext. 368, Fax: +86-21 6247 – 4855 (Craig Shibinsky) Email: craig@ringier.com.hk Ringier Trade Media Ltd

Ringier Trade Media Ltd HONG KONG 9/F, Cheong Sun Tower, 118 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2369 – 8788 Ext. 21, Fax: +852 2869 – 5919 (Maggie) Email: maggie@ringier.com.hk

Ringier Trade Media Ltd TAIWAN Room 3, Fl. 12, No. 303, Chung Ming S. Rd., Taichung, Taiwan Tel: +886-4 2329 – 7318 Ext. 16, Fax: +886-4 2310 – 7167 (Sydney La) Email: sydneylai@ringier.com.hk

USA Tel: (513) 527-8800 Fax: (513) 527-8801 Email: dhight@gardnerweb.com USA Alfredo Domador, 6505 Blue Lagoon Drive, Suite 430 Miami, FL. 33126, USA Tel: (305)448-6875 Fax: (305)448-9942

NEWS STAND AND SUBSCRIPTIONS DISTRIBUTION HEAD Sunil Nair SR. MANAGER-SUBSCRIPTIONS Sheetal Kotawdekar CO-ORDINATORS Rahul Mankar, Anant Shirke, Sarita Quartos’, Chaitali Parker, Kamlesh Madkar, Vaibhav Ghavwale

SERVICES CIRCULATION SERVICES Write to automonitor@infomedia18.in SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES For subscription queries, write to customercare@infomedia18.in or call +91 22 30034631-34 or toll free 1800 200 1021 PERMISSIONS For subscription to copy or reuse material from AUTO MONITOR, Write to automonitor@infomedia18.in

Weekly Issue Price: `50 $QQXDO 6XEVFULSWLRQ `799

Views and opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Network18 Media & Investments Ltd (Network18)*, its publisher and/or editors. We at Network18 do our best to verify the information published but do not take any responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the information. Network18 does not accept the responsibility for any investment or other decision taken by readers on the basis of information provided herein. Network18 does not take responsibility for returning unsolicited material sent without due postal stamps for return postage. No part of this magazine can be reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher. Network18 reserves the right to use the information published herein in any manner whatsoever. Printed by Mohan Gajria and published & edited by Lakshmi Narasimhan on behalf of Network18 Printed at Infomedia 18 Ltd, Plot no.3, Sector 7, off Sion-Panvel Road, Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400 706, and published at Network18, ‘A’ Wing, Ruby House, J. K. Sawant Marg, Dadar (W), Mumbai - 400 028. AUTO MONITOR is registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India under No. 67827/98. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Network18. Network18 reserves the right to use the information published herein in any manner whatsoever. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy of the information published in this edition, neither Network18 nor any of its employees accept any responsibility for any errors or omission. Further, Network18 does not take any responsibility for loss or damage incurred or suffered by any subscriber of this magazine as a result of his/her accepting any invitation/offer published in this edition. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. *Ownership of this magazine stands transferred from Infomedia18 Ltd (Infomedia18) to Network18 Media & Investments Ltd (Network18) in pursuance of the scheme of arrangement between Network18 and Infomedia18 and their respective shareholders and creditors, as approved by the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi and the necessary approval of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is being obtained.

CONTENTS MACHINING Composites for large-scale manufacturing

A new injection moulding based approach can help remove complications in manufacturing continuous fibre-reinforced composites with thermoplastic matrix resins

GLOBAL WATCH SKF signs SEK one billion contracts with Audi

SKF has signed contracts with Audi for the delivery of SKF components for use on a range of vehicle models

CORPORATE URB To Serve Global OEMs In India

URB Bearings is keen to extend operations for its global clients to India by setting up operations in Siroh district in Rajasthan to serve customers like Renault, Ford, Fiat, Hyundai and MAN in India

China Car Makers, Suppliers Form Lightweight Alliance

A group of global resin suppliers and Chinese automobile companies have formed a technology alliance to increase the amount of plastic used in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cars

Innova, Corolla On New Platforms By 2015

Toyota Kirloskar Motor is developing the new Innova and Corolla in Japan for the Indian market and both the vehicles are expected to be launched in mid-2015

Continental India To Export One Channel ABS

Continental India is developing a low cost one channel ABS for the Indian market and also plans to export once the product is available in the Indian market in 2014

Technico Jacks New Products To Lift Revenue Technico Industries is diversifying into wiper system, jack and two-wheeler sheet metal components to utilise the idle capacities and consolidate the investments made in expansion

THE OTHER SIDE

Philipp von Sahr, President, BMW India

Phillip von Sahr began his career with BMW AG in Munich in 1987. Prior to joining BMW Group BelgiumLuxemburg, von Sahr was the Head of Sales for BMW Group Germany.

Auto Monitor

10 DECEMBER 2012

NEWS

URB To Serve Global OEMs In India Jagdev Kalsi New Delhi

omanian bearing-maker, URB Bearings, is keen to extend operations for its global clients to India as well. In this bid, the company expects to start plant operations in Siroh district in Rajasthan and serve global customers Renault, Ford, Fiat, Hyundai and MAN in India. For the purpose, URB is

investing $65 million to set up its plant and hopes to begin operations by end-2013. Harun Adigüzel, President, URB India, explained to this correspondent, “For several years, we have been manufacturing bearings for Renault-Dacia in Romania, Ford in Turkey, Fiat, Hyundai, truck manufacturer MAN and even agricultural machinery maker New Holland. The idea is to extend services to them in India and work with

them here too.” URB Bearings plans to invest $5 million initially in Rajasthan and over the next ﬁve years bring in the rest. But the company’s growth projections from the Indian arm do not commensurate with the slow pace of investment. Harun expects the Indian company to reach a turnover of $200 million in the next ﬁve years, with the automotive sector contributing about 20 percent alone.

Data Trace DNA To Curb Counterfeiting To ensure that it is not victim to spurious bearings, URB has launched ‘Data Trace DNA’ technology that is a nano-particle system that will act like an invisible bar-code. The company believes the technology cannot be duplicated and will also be irremovable. URB Bearings gathers that the Indian market consumes 3.5 billion bearings every year and is growing at 10 percent per annum. However, the organized sector constitutes `17 billion only. The company is taking pre-emptive measures to curb the possibility of counterfeit activities in India. Harun said, “Half the bearings in the Indian market are fake. So we are keen that we are not the victims to such loss in business. This will be the ﬁrst thing we do in India.”

URB Bearings plans to invest $5 million initially in Rajasthan and over the next five years bring in the rest. Its growth projections from the Indian arm are however very high. While URB has had an Indian presence since 1982 through its distributors, it is looking forward to exporting about 30 percent of its production in the ﬁrst phase to Europe and USA and slowly increase it to 50 percent. URB’s 1,00,000 sq ft Indian plant will have an initial capacity of 1,000 tonnes per annum that will further be expanded to 20,000 tonnes per annum in ﬁve years time. With a turnover of $168mn in 2011, URB is estimating a 19 percent CAGR to reach $200mn mark in 2012. The company is looking forward to a global presence by setting up six more factories in

the next 10 years. On being asked its next destination in terms of global expansion, Harun said, “We plan to look at America as we see a strong development especially in South and Latin America and Argentina.” URB’s plan to begin Indian operations has been stalled unwittingly as the company faced hurdles in arranging land authorization. Harun says, “We have been working at beginning Indian operations for last two years, but unfortunately various authorizations take quite long in India. If we acquire authorization of land in January 2013, we will be in a position to build our facility in six months.” URB believes its presence in Rajasthan will create about 800-1,000 jobs once the project has reached optimum capacity. Justifying the decision to opt for a manufacturing plant in Rajasthan, Harun said, “It is one of the faster growing states in India and has skilled and educated labour.” He also cited vicinity of harbour and affordable land costs as other reasons.

10 DECEMBER 2012

Auto Monitor

NEWS

Innova, Corolla On New Platforms By 2015 Nabeel A Khan New Delhi

oyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) is developing an all new utility vehicle Innova and luxury sedan Corolla in Japan for the Indian market. Both the vehicles are expected to be launched in mid-2015. The new vehicles will have higher level localisation. “The new Innova and Corolla will have a new platform and a completely new design,” a source told Auto Monitor. The carmaker has also shortlisted Indian suppliers for the new project. “We have won the contract for TKM’s new 2015 project. But we are not sure of speciﬁcations as we have yet to be intimated,” said a leading supplier. Since the launch of Innova in 2005, the carmaker has introduced some upgrades and special editions and variants — the latest being in September. In November, Innova registered a nine percent growth with 4,682 units being sold as compared to 4,308 units in November last year. Besides this, the company

The new Innova and Corolla are expected to be launched in mid-2015 and will have higher level localisation. The company has already identified suppliers.

Toyota To Hike Prices Further TKM will increase prices of all models of cars by January 2013 by up to two percent. The depreciating rupee and increasing inflation is compelling the company to hike prices for the third time in this financial year. “Though we are trying to offset the disturbance caused by the depreciating rupee, we are unable the match the deficit and hence the price hike,” said Singh. TKM currently imports diesel engine for Toyota and Liva models of vehicles, and makes the gasoline engines locally. The increasing demand for diesel vehicles and correspondingly a fall in petrol variants is compelling the carmaker in several ways. Toyota first increased prices in May and then again in September. In terms of sales, TKM sold 10,352 units in November as compared to 13,956 units in the corresponding month last year. Sales seem to have dipped by 26 percent. Innova registered a 9 percent growth with 4,682 units being sold as compared to 4,308 units sold in November last year. Fortuner registered a 19 percent growth with 1,025 units sold as compared to 860 units in the corresponding month last year. The Etios series sold 4,231 units as compared to 8,271 units in Novemebr last year. Corolla Altis and Camry sold 362 and 46 units respectively in November. Commenting on the sales performance, Singh said, “Sales have dipped this month due to a plant shut down, which was done to ramp up annual production capacity from 210,000 units to 310,00 units. The first plant manufacturing Innova and Fortuner was shut down for a week and the second plant manufacturing Etios, Etios Liva and Camry was shut down for a period of 15 days. The market is yet to pick up pace. We hope to see growth next month due to the year ending sales. We expect the market to grow in Q1 2013.” has announced that it will make available about 1,200 exclusive units of its Innova Aero (limited edition) till December, 2012. The Innova Aero is based on the existing GX Grade and is available in options of a seven- or an eight-seater. Recently, in an interaction with the media, Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director, TKM, said the company has no plans to launch new models for the next two years. However, it will launch variants within the existing models. He mentioned that there have been clear suggestions from cus-

tomers to launch new variants of Etios and Liva. Speaking to Auto Monitor, Singh said, “We are working on the new Innova and Corolla. But it is too early to reveal details or speciﬁcation or the timing of the launch.” The car maker has recently announced its capacity expansion at both the plants spread over 430 acres. Plant 1, which manufactures the Innova and the Fortuner, will be expanding capacity from 90,000 to 100,000 units per year, while Plant 2, which manufactures Etios and

Corolla Altis and the hatchback Etios Liva, will ramp up to 210,000 cars from the current 120,000. This capacity expansion drive, which will commence from January will take TKM’s total car production to 310,000. The company is also increas-

ing dealership network to more than 200 by the end of December, from the current 195. It will have new dealerships in smaller cities and towns to increase volume and expects to take the total dealerships to 230 by end of this ﬁscal.

Auto Monitor

10 DECEMBER 2012

NEWS

Maruti Suzuki To Launch Ertiga CNG Ofﬁcial launch likely in early 2013 Jagdev Kalsi New Delhi

aruti Suzuki is looking forward to launch Ertiga’s CNG variant in 2013, revealed an insider on condition of anonymity. “The company is in the process of incorporating necessary changes to the Ertiga’s engine to equip it with a CNG kit,” he said. Ertiga has been intensely instrumental in driving Maruti Suzuki’s Utility Vehicle sales over 5,000 units per month since its launch. Maruti is following the model

of a factory-fitted CNG kit just like it does with its other hatchbacks. This is unlike Honda City wherein dealers fit the kit. In order to comply with strict emissions norms which are in effect since last year in India, it is understood that Maruti Suzuki will equip the car with VVT petrol engines with CNG. Though Maruti Suzuki and its dealers are tight-lipped about the launch, the Ertiga CNG is expected to hit the market in early 2013. There is also the possibility that it will launch the CNG version of Ertiga in the low-end LXi variant so as to lure the taxi fleet and commer-

cial vehicle buyers. In terms of pricing, the CNG Ertiga is expected to cost Rs 50,000 - 70,000 more than the petrol variant. Currently Ertiga’s base LXi variant costs Rs 5.92 lakh exshowroom (Delhi), while the CNG variant is expected to cost within Rs 6.50-7.00 lakh ex-Delhi. Maruti Suzuki has sold 6,60,102 vehicles in this ﬁscal till November 2012, thus registering an 8.7 percent growth over the same period last year. It, however, has sold 55,205 utility vehicles till November 2012, a 1,185 percent growth over the same period last year.

Why the sealed lips?

Continental India To Export One Channel ABS The First For India Anand Mohan Mumbai

ontinental India is developing a low cost one channel ABS for the Indian market. It also plans to export once the product is available in the Indian market in 2014. The components maker is conﬁdent of being the ﬁrst to manufacture it for the domestic and export market. Bosch is also developing a low cost ABS for India that could make it to production by next year. And so the race is on to capture market share. One channel ABS isn’t as high-tech as two-channel ABS. It basically loses certain functions to keep itself cost effective. In a two-channel ABS, the ABS functions at the front wheel with lock prevention for the rear, while in

One channel ABS isn’t as high-tech as two-channel ABS. It basically loses certain functions to keep itself cost effective. In a two-channel ABS, the ABS functions at the front wheel with lock prevention for the rear, while in one-channel ABS, only one wheel gets ABS.

one-channel ABS, only one wheel gets ABS. Also, valves are reduced as a result to two from four on a two-channel unit. The German component manufacturer is testing the

Dr Ralf Cramer, Member of the executive board of Continental AG, reveals the smaller secrets of a few plans. With TVS in the bag, what are Continental’s plans for other two-wheeler OEMs in India? We want to supply to all major manufacturers. We already have a order from Hero. Which motorcycle is it for? It is in the development stage. We cannot reveal that right now. How is the response from other Indian two-wheeler manufacturers? Bike manufacturers in India see a big potential for safety features like ABS in motorcycles. By the way in Europe, ABS will become standard by law in 2017. The challenges you face in India are different in terms of tackling price conscious customers. Bosch is also developing an affordable ABS unit for India. What are Continental’s plans? We will be the ﬁrst company to manufacture one-channel ABS in India. This is a product we are developing speciﬁcally

Claude d’Gama Rose, MD, Continental Automotive Components (India) with Continental Board Members Helmut Matschi, Dr Ralf Cramer, José Avila

prototype of an ABS unit for an undisclosed motorcycle for Hero MotoCorp. Member of the executive board of Continental AG, Dr Ralf Cramer conﬁrmed this to Auto Monitor. The company has already bagged the contract from Hero and other major OEMs like Bajaj and Mahindra are in talks with Continental for their own iterations. Continental sees a lot of potential for safety components

for the Indian market and we also have plans to export them to other markets. But the toughest cost reduction demands are in India.

Within the next two years. 2014 is the target.

When can we expect continental to launch the onechannel ABS in India?

Which bike segment do you target which this new unit? The 125cc bike segment and below. We have orders for prototypes and I have tested it on a Hero motorcycle myself.

in India due to the high fatality rate in India compared to developed countries. Also, being the second largest two-wheeler market in the world, growth is just waiting to happen. The German component maker is expecting Asia and speciﬁcally India to contribute signiﬁcantly to its global market share. At present, Asia contributes to 25 percent of Continental sales compared to the rest of the

world but come 2015, the company forecasts it to be about 30 percent of the pie. Both JD Power and Ernst & Young (E&Y) forecast India to be the world’s third largest automotive market by 2020. According to E&Y, 30 million two and three wheelers will be sold in India per year by 2020. Clearly, products need to be customized to such India’s needs and Continental is doing just that.

Auto Monitor

10 DECEMBER 2012

NEWS

Technico Jacks New Products To Lift Revenue Nabeel A Khan New Delhi

anesar-based sheet meta l components manufacturer, Technico Industries, is diversifying into new products like wiper system, jack and two-wheeler sheet metal components to utilise the idle capacities and consolidate the investments made in expansion. “We are working on new products which is complete wiper system including motor, linkage and wiper blade. We will be ready with the product to supply at least to one customer in the next one year,” said Arun Gupta,

Managing Director, Technico. Technico is working on signing an equal joint venture with a Korean wiper system manufacturer, Dongyong. The main target customer for the new wiper system would be MSIL and Nissan. The components maker expects wiper system will add around `60 to 70 crore to its topline annually. As the company will offer the system as an assembled unit, it will offer an advantage over its competitors. The production will be done at the available space in the existing plant of the company. However, Technico may not be able utilise the exports markets as Dongyong prevents it and will have consolidate on the

Indian market only. To speed up introduction, the company will first import the wiper motor from Korea and gradually move towards complete localization. The product will be sold under the new Joint Venture company which will formed soon after the deal is finalized with its Korean partner. However, assembly of the product will happen at Technico old plant in Manesar. Technico’s major customer is Maruti Suzuki and it supplies products like hinges, hood, window rollers and seat adjusters. “We have recently diversified into Jack to supply as an OEM to the Maruti Suzuki. Testing has

been done,” said Amit Gupta, Director. The new jack has been produced with light weighting technology and increased strength. He added that the jacks offered by most of the competitors weighs around 1.6 kg and this new jack weighs around 1.4 kg manufactured by using high tension steels. The company said the cost would remain the same as its predecessors. The company is looking at 3 lakh pieces a year to start with and the supply is expected to start by March and will be produce at the companies Bawal plant. Realising the stable growth potential in the two-wheel-

er segment in the country, the component maker is planning to produce some sheet metal components for two wheeler and is talking to some of leading manufacturers including Honda Motorcycles. Technico has clocked a turnover of around `220 crore last year as compared to Rs 85 crore two years ago. It took to expansion by selling around 25 percent stake to its Japanese partner Siroki, which held two percent share. The expansion cost `70 crore which included putting up a new facility. Gradually capacity utilization is picking up and company hopes to close this ﬁscal at `280 crore.

Lighter Components On ZF’s Agenda To focus on local R&D applications Abhishek Parekh Shanghai, China

F Friedrichshsfen AG is looking to deepen its research & development efforts at local or regional level. The plans have been arrived at in view of expansion plans in Asia Pacific and Latin America. It has already taken the first few steps in terms of establishing a customer support centre at Pune and is also looking to making Pune a self-sufficient engineering centre. Simultaneously, it is looking at introducing components for ball joints and control arms and is evaluating components for other chassis related systems. “Additional features and controls entail costs and these are more commonly found in higher end cars. We want to adapt active and passive safety systems to lower segment vehicles as well but the price equation could be tricky,” said Christoph Elbers, Director Chassis Technology, Head of Advanced Development & Vehicle Dynamics, ZF Friedrichshsfen AG. A major challenge for ZF, as pointed out by Elbers, is to understand the market needs and offer solution preferably from ZF’s global portfolio. The key consideration from customers (OEMs) perspective is light weight components at reasonable costs. “In order to be cost competitive, we have to search for components and systems in our portfolio that could be offered off-the-shelf. The vehicle segment we are looking at to be present in any market assumes importance in addition to customer preference

and expectations from us,” he elaborated. Developing local presence, building expertise, and market related research and application engineering has assumed importance for ZF as it looks to gain market share for chassis. The company conducts regular customer interaction programmes and technica l sessions for employees and customers to apprise of developments. Determined to advance in R&D, the company invested Euro 750 million in R&D last year and used to spending eight percent of turnover in R&D. The company has earmarked its facility in South Carolina for manufacturing nine speed transmissions for passenger cars. Meanwhile it is eager to have a basic, lower-end version of the same to manufacture in China.

Lightweight Efforts ZF Friedrichshsfen AG has been working on various measures to achieve weight optimisation for chassis systems. These include design-related features including structural optimisation of components and the integration of functions, but also the application of alternative materials like aluminium, magnesium, or GRP materials make pedals, dampers, suspension struts, and complete axle concepts lighter using different production methods. Saving weight in the chassis has multiple advantages. The company’s contribution to lightweight design is based on different approaches that are often pooled in the ﬁnished product. For example, control arms are already made of alu-

A new approach.

minium instead of steel. But the ZF Group also provides complete assemblies in lightweight design. The concept of a lightweight suspension strut wheel carrier module only weighs half of standard steel-aluminum modules. It is made of a mix of GRP, high-strength steel, and aluminium. To compensate for high bending stress, the compa-

ny used an upside-down design for the aluminium cylinder tube. Due to this optimal component design, material and weight can be reduced. The company also actively uses plastics for spring seat topmounts. The control arm of the Chassis Technology division requires no rivets or screw connections making it lighter than

conventional sheet metal control arms. The component integration reduces the complexity and makes its installation much easier for the OEM. In addition, fewer components mean even less weight. The engineers found the adequate ﬁbre-plastics combination for a new rear axle architecture in a careful development process.

Auto Monitor

10 DECEMBER 2012

NEWS

Bosch To Ramp Up Product Range In India Post SPX acquisition

erman auto component maker Bosch said its product offering in India will be enhanced following a global acquisition of the US-based auto diagnostics specialist SPX Service Solutions for $1.15 billion. “In India, the SPX Service Solutions acquisition will result in an enhanced product and service portfolio for the automotive aftermarket division along with a gateway to OES (Original Equipment Supplier) customers,” Bosch Ltd said. The augmented Bosch India portfolio will now include technical information and services such as repair manual generation, spare part manuals and labour time study for workshops, it added. Commenting on the development Bosch Ltd Vice President (Automotive Aftermarket) S Muralidharan said: “This acquisition opens many exciting new opportunities for Bosch India automotive aftermarket. We hope

to enhance our position as part, equipment and service providers to complete solution providers in automobile service space.” This development will open new avenues for diagnostic services in Indian market, he added. Earlier, Bosch announced to complete its acquisition of SPX Service Solutions. “The agreement to purchase the company was signed in January this year. The purchase price $1.15 billion (some 885 million euro),” Bosch said. Based in Canton, SPX Service Solutions had a sales of USD 920 million in 2011. It employs 2,800 people in 17 countries and has manufacturing sites in the US, Germany, France and China, it added. SPX Service Solutions develops, manufactures and sells service equipment, repair-shop accessories and software for the global automotive market. “In acquiring SPX Service Solutions, we will become a comprehensive supplier of solutions in the diagnostics and

A complete overhaul.

repair business,” Bosch President (Automot ive A f ter ma rket Division) Robert Hanser said. “We will quickly merge our know-how and wealth of expe-

rience in this growing market. Our aim is to become the world’s leading supplier of diagnostics solutions for all makes of vehicle,” he added.

The business of SPX Service Solutions will be integrated into the Bosch Automotive Aftermarket division, which had a sales of 4.3 billion euro in 2011.

Uno Minda Group To Produce Air Brakes For M&HCV Our Bureau New Delhi

anesar-based auto components manufacturer Uno Minda Group and Tokyo headquartered Nabtesco Automotive Corporation has signed a joint venture Joint Venture in India for designing, manufacture and sale of Air Brake Products for Commercial Vehicles and Clutch Products for Passenger Vehicles. The joint venture will be set up with an equity of `37.3 crore in a 51:49 partnership with UNO Minda holding 51 percent. The new company will be known as Minda Nabtesco Pvt. Ltd. The JV’s manufacturing plant will be set up at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand with start of production planned in July 2014. This JV is being considered as a major move by both the partners as it will help them establish a new product line and explore new markets. Commenting on the association, Shinji Juman, President, Nabtesco Automotive Corporation said, “UNO Minda has an in-depth knowledge and pertinent experience on market dynamics. We are confident that this association will benefit both of us in the long term.” “Nabtesco is renowned for its technical excellence, exhaustive product expertise and extensive experience in Japan. We are now venturing into a new product line, in keeping with our diversification and consolidation approach,” said N K Minda, CMD, UNO Minda.

N K Minda, CMD, UNO Minda.

Auto Monitor

NEWS

MANN +HUMMEL Opens Auto Component Plant At Delhi

ANN+HUMMEL has opened a new manufacturing plant at Bawal near New Delhi, which will help the company to become a strong contender of other major OEMs in North India. Kazuhiko Ayabe, Board member, Maruti Suzuki, inaugurated the plant. Filter systems for the air and ﬂuid management of the engine, which will mainly be used for passenger cars and industrial applications will be manufactured at the newly opened plant. The extremely environment friendly Bawal production plant would prove to be an important part of MANN+HUMMEL’s expansion strategy in Asia. Alfred Weber, President & CEO of MANN+HUMMEL Group on the inauguration of the new plant said, “It is our goal to be ﬁrst choice for our Indian customers and top supplier in our segments in Asia. By 2018, we will increase our Asian sales

The Bawal plant will serve MANN+HUMMEL’s customers in the Northern, Central and Western part of the country. These customers are currently serviced from the company’s plant in Tumkur.

10 DECEMBER 2012

Tata Motors Luring Koreans To India

Moving around to several manufacturers.

share to 25 per cent, and India is one of our key markets in Asia to reach this goal. The inauguration of Bawal is part of our continuous growth plan.” The Bawal plant will serve M ANN+HUMMEL’s customers in the Northern, Central and Western part of the country. These customers are currently serviced from the company’s plant in Tumkur near Bangalore. The new plant would not only make deliveries on time, but would also reduce the transportation cost. Moreover, the new plant would also fulﬁl the company’s commitment made to its largest customer Maruti Suzuki. Apart from this, the new plant would also cater to the requirements of the company’s other customers like Tata Motors, Suzuki, GM, M&M, Volvo Eicher and many others. The plant is

spread over an area of 10,000 square meters and will have an annual production capacity of around two million products. There is also a possibility that the capacity of the plant will be doubled depending on the market demand. Pradeep Randhawa, Managing Director of MANN+HUMMEL INDIA, reiterating the group’s commitment to India said, ”We are making signiﬁcant investments to enhance our R&D capabilities to support our ambitious growth targets in India and have invested in one of the most advanced testing and validation facilities in the country to be able to launch our products locally. This helps us tremendously to align ourselves with the demands of Indian OEMs and to meet the challenging targets for time to market.”

n the interests of effective management, it is imperative for all companies to focus on reducing their operating costs to a minimum. Tata Motors currently spends around Rs 2,000 crore on importing automobile parts. To reduce this expenditure, the company is planning to focus on importing more cost-effective parts from Korea and reducing the number of parts sourced from Europe, US and Japan. The Korean manufactured parts offer similar levels of quality and are cheaper to import making them more cost-effective. Currently China is the number one automobile parts supplier to Tata Motors followed by Korea. Tata Motors is expecting its Korean imports to be valued at $85 million During FY’13 in comparison to $70 million during FY’12. The Korean companies who are looking into the prospects of setting up shop in India through a JV are braking system manufacturer Sanchen (with RSB group), suspension parts manufacturer CTR (with ZF India) and plastic granules maker Cepla (with TACO). To further bring down the costs of sourcing automobile parts, Tata Motors is trying hard to convince Korean manufacturers to setup shop in India. Leaving no stone unturned, Tata Motors is even suggesting them to either enter the market independently or via a JV with established Indian companies. It is too early to say how

Currently China is the number one automobile parts supplier to Tata Motors followed by Korea. Tata Motors is even suggesting them to either enter the market independently or via a JV with established Indian companies. the Korean part manufacturers will react to the extra attention and advice from the Indian automobile manufacturer. Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the Korean Auto Parts Plaza trade show in Pune, S.B. Borwankar, Executive Director, Tata Motors, said, “Tata Motors wants to increase its imports from Korea and other South-East Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia by 20-25 per cent over the next two to three years. The automobile parts made in these countries are around 10-15 per cent cheaper than their Japanese components of the same quality. The parts sourced from China are more cheaper but the quality is nowhere so good.” The Korean Auto Parts is a two day trade show being organized for the second year. The show has attracted participation from around 20 Korean automobile parts manufacturers.

10 DECEMBER 2012

Auto Monitor

NEWS

Mercedes-Benz Has Accessories For Belarus Ready For Auto GL Class Cluster Project

ercedes-Benz has introduced a lineup of over 160 accessor ies for their GL-Class SUV comprising of advanced multimedia systems and practical transport solutions. The Drive Kit Plus allows buyers to seamlessly integrate their iPhone into the SUV. It also incorporates advanced navigation solutions from Garmin, Google, 3D map depiction along with Facebook, Twitter and internet radio. There is also Glympse a real-time location sharing app which enables one to share their location with select others. An iPad Rear Integration Plus docking station enables all iPad models to be docked safely and ergonomicaly in the rear compartment of the vehicle. The Rear Entertainment System comes loaded with 17.8cm displays, DVD player with docking station, two infrared headsets and an infrared remote

Docking your iPad safely.

control. The Becker MAP PILOT offer advantages like integrated control through the central control element, voice output through the vehicle loudspeakers and display on the Audio 20 screen. It also allows buyers to discreetly ﬁt it in the glove box. The Alustyle Easy-Fix II basic carrier bars for rails can be ﬁtted directly to the roof without requiring any special tools to be used. It can also be combined with bicycle or ski or snowboard

racks and roof boxes ranging from a capacity of 330, 400 and 450 litres. A rear mounted bicycle rack has been introduced allowing one to transport two or three bicycles. Other practical solutions available for a price are luggage net, boot tub and a special plugin module. It allows the boot to be partioned as per one’s requirement and prevent the luggage from getting shifted around by driving forces.

Luggage net and boot tub makes it worthy.

elarus is ready to participate in establishing an automobile manufacturing cluster in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. First Vice Premier of Belarus Vladimir Semashko remarked there are two ways for Belarus to take part in the project. Belarus can design and build turn-key automobile assembly factories. Otherwise, Kaliningrad Oblast can get products made by the Belarusian holding company Autocomponents. The components to assemble automobiles can be shipped by Belarus directly or by a joint venture to be established in Kaliningrad Oblast. Once the enterprises start working, Belarus can offer the experience and real products of the holding company Autocomponents that comprises nine enterprises. Autocomponents enterprises have been shipping components for assembly lines of Russian companies – OAO GAZ and OAO VAZ – for a long time already. Moreover, the holding company has started shipping components for assembly lines of German companies. “Therefore, we would be pleased to discuss these matters, namely the 50% localization of automobile assembly in Kaliningrad Oblast, the development and production of components on request of Western companies, their adaptation to certain kinds of vehicles, and their shipment,” underlined Vladimir Semashko. There are various ways to deliver these shipments. “Either they

Autocomponents enterprises have been shipping components for assembly lines of Russian companies – OAO GAZ and OAO VAZ – for a long time already. can be made in Belarus and we are ready to see these companies as shareholders, including BMW, taking into account that Belarus offers qualiﬁed and comparatively cheap workforce, with other favorable options enabled, or we can go to Kaliningrad Oblast and set up joint ventures there to make components for automobiles,” said Vladimir Semashko. This way both sides – Belarus and Kaliningrad Oblast – will earn beneﬁts. There are plans to sign an agreement between the holding company Avtotor and BMW in the near future. The agreement envisages the construction of 12 factories in the oblast. Several days ago two agreements were inked with the concern Magma that will also take part in the construction of these factories. Securing 50 percent localization rate at these factories is the idea. The experience the Belarusian automobile engineering industry boasts now is invaluable and therefore, and most people believe that Belarusian partners could take part in resolving the problem – the localization of manufacturing processes in Kaliningrad Oblast.

Auto Monitor

10 DECEMBER 2012

MACHINING

Composites For Large-Scale Manufacturing Continuous ﬁbre-reinforced composites with thermoplastic matrix resins are very well suited for use in automotive manufacturing. However, to manufacture them is complicated. A new approach now makes it possible to use the injection moulding process.

o date, it has been very laborious to manufacture fibre-reinforced composites w ith a thermoplastic matrix in large quantities. On the one hand, the textile-like dense continuous fibre-reinforced structures are difficult to shape, on the other, joining the continuous fibres with a highly viscous thermoplastic matrix material is a highly complex process. To date, there is no economically profitable production technology for largevolume component series.

Injection process Together with the injection moulding machine manufacturer ENGEL Austria GmbH, the scientists of the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT in Pﬁnztal (Germany) have, for the ﬁrst time, brought a technology to production readiness that allows the series production of

Using the ENGEL e-victory 120, thermoplastic composite structures can be mass-produced using the injection moulding process.

such continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composites with an injection moulding process. So far, it has only been possible to use the injection moulding process for fibre-reinforced composites made of short fibres or long fibres. “Continuous fibrereinforced composite structures with a thermoplastic matrix are becoming increasingly popular, and will be used increasingly in the automotive industry”, states Dr.-Ing. Lars Fredrik Berg, scientist and project manager at the ICT. “With the injection moulding process, components that have high fibre contents by volume and therefore outstanding mechanical characteristics can be produced efficiently in high volume series”. Based on the results of their own research, the scientists of the ICT developed, together with ENGEL, a prototype machine for injection moulding. The ENGEL

It is exactly this technology that the automotive industry has been lacking for continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composite structures. e-victory 120 can handle all the necessary working steps in a single machine. The reactive components are prepared and mixed, and the material is injected into the moulding die. The in-situ polymerization also takes place in it, after the textile reinforcement structures have been introduced. “The ICT and ENGEL have developed a robust, compact and fully automated technological system to series readiness that is ﬂexible and quick at the

same time. It is exactly this technology that the automotive industry has been lacking for continuous fibre-reinforced thermoplastic composite structures. The process, which to date had been distributed across several machines, can now be carried out on a single one”, says Dipl.Ing. Peter Egger, Head of the Technology Center for Lightweight Composites at ENGEL. e-victory has already passed its first crucial test: Engel produced, as an example, a brake pedal insert made of fibre glass-reinforced polyamide for the automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen.

Direct polymerization In contrast to the injection moulding processes for fibre composite materials to date, where only short fibres could be processed, continuous fibre-reinforced composite structures can be fed into the e-victory and be impregnated with a very low viscosity plastics matrix. “We have developed a process in which the in-situ polymerization of thermoplastic matrix materials works. We allow monomers, which are highly reactive molecules, to polymerize directly in the machine. The monomers have a shorter molecule chain than polymers, and therefore a lower viscosity. When being processed, the viscosity of the reactive plastics matrix is similar to that of water. This means that the fibre structures can be wetted down in an ideal manner, without displacing the structures in the form”, explains Berg. In October the Reinforced Plastics Industrial Association AVK awarded the ICT and ENGEL an AVK Innovation Prize in the “Processes” category for this new technology.

Ford Takes New Tack In Latest Software Update

etermined to show that its infotainment systems are up to date and easy to use, Ford Motor Co. is launching another software improvement for MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch. But this time, the task is bigger. The infotainment systems are installed in more than 1 million vehicles on the road or at dealerships.Ford executives have insisted the company will continue its quest to be a vehicle technology leader. To reassure customers, Ford is extending the warranties on the systems. On MyFord Touch, the warranty now will be 5 years/ unlimited miles, up from 3 years/36,000 miles. The software on Lincolns will now be covered for 6 years/unlimited miles, up from 4 years/ 50,000 miles. Customers can improve their systems by downloading the updates from Ford’s syncmyride.com Web site or they can visit a dealership.

Auto Monitor

10 DECEMBER 2012

G L O B A L WAT C H

European Auto Recession Hits Domestic Component Exports

According to Wards Auto, an information centre on the global auto market, overall vehicle sales for October declined by almost 4.6 percent in Europe, although world sales showed an increase because of a poor base in the yearago period. Europe accounted for 23.1 percent of global deliveries in October, down 4.9 percent for the ﬁrst 10 months, with a huge contraction seen in commercial vehicle sales.

Meanwhile, US sales are just about limping back.

A disconcerting trend is that imports of components has been higher than exports.

ndian auto component makers have a challenging year ahead as the global auto business is precariously poised. Estimates by Automotive Component Manufacturers’

Association of India (ACMA) point to a single-digit growth of 5.6 percent, with the industry turnover at around `2,200 crore for ﬁscal 2012-13. This is after clocking strong 34.8 percent and

15.6 percent growth rates in the previous two ﬁscal years. The key reason for the gloomy outlook is the contraction in exports, especially with the declining auto sales in Europe.

This is mirrored in the ACMA data. Exports of components from India are expected to fall by 24.6 percent in ﬁscal 2012-13, after growing at a phenomenal pace in the last two years. According to Vinnie Mehta, executive director, ACMA, “Auto component exports from India in the last two quarters have been sluggish, primarily on account of the slowdown in Europe, mainly Germany, and is unlikely to improve in the near term.” Europe alone accounts for 36 percent of India’s auto component industry turnover. The US and Europe together account for little over half the exports. Further, there’s stiff competition from other Asian

counterparts in the global marketplace. Indian exports have risen from $3.8 billion to $6.9 billion over the last five years. China’s auto component exports have jumped nearly 73 percent to $39.4 billion during the period, while Thailand is also an active player. This exerts pressure on pricing and deliverables, leading to margin contraction for auto component makers. Component suppliers, mainly in the original equipment space, like Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd, Bharat Forge Ltd and Sundram Fasteners Ltd have portrayed sluggish growth in revenue and profits, with pressure on operating margins. Another disconcerting trend is that imports of components has been higher than exports for the last several years, although the growth rate of imports has also slowed down now, following the declining growth rates in the Indian auto sector, too. With recession in Europe showing scant signs of reversal at this juncture and several domestic automotive firms announcing production cuts to align with market demand, the pain for component makers is expected to continue at least for the next two quarters.

SKF signs SEK 1 billion contracts with Audi

KF has signed contracts with Audi for the delivery of SKF components for use on a range of vehicle models. The contracts, estimated at nearly SEK 1 billion, include the delivery of four different versions of wheel bearing units for the wheel ends and a range of bearings for the new double clutch transmission. The SKF wheel bearing units include an active ABS system and the ﬂexible design provides a cost-effective solution for a range of vehicles, from compacts to SUVs, using Audi’s new modular MLB Evo-platform. The transmission and clutch bearings are designed to meet Audi speciﬁc double clutch transmission requirements. The integrated hub bearing unit, originally conceived by SKF in the late 1930s, is now the most common solution for car and light commercial wheel bearing applications. Today, nearly, 90 million vehicles are riding on SKF wheel bearings and hub units. Deliveries will begin in 2013 from SKF factories in Spain and Italy.

Berns Takes Charge

he Bosch Group has appointed Dr. Steffen Berns as Managing Director of Bosch Limited and President of Bosch Group in India. Dr. Berns will also lead the operations for Bosch group in India. Dr. Berns will be taking over on January 1, 2013 from VK Viswanathan. A doctorate in Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Berns joined the Bosch Group in Stuttgart, Germany in 1990. He worked in the Bosch Group in India from 1996 to 1999, responsible for OE Sales and R&D and later as Managing Director of Robert Bosch Engineering Business Solutions. Sharing views on his new role, Dr. Berns said, “Bosch in India has an excellent track record with its strong growth, good customer relationships, local development, strong talent base and manufacturing capabilities. We will continue and extend the journey further by strengthening local innovations and will additionally focus more on opportunities in the non-automotive business ﬁelds, e.g. power tools, security technology, thermo technology and capital goods.”

Auto Monitor

10 DECEMBER 2012

G L O B A L WAT C H

China Car Makers, Suppliers Metalsa Reaches An Agreement To Acquire Form Lightweight Alliance ISE Automotive

group of global resin suppliers and Chinese automobile companies have form ed a technology alliance to increase the amount of plastic used in the country’s cars, close the sizable gap with global auto companies and boost fuel efﬁciency of domestic vehicles. The International Auto Lightweight Technology Alliance, announced Nov. 28 at a conference in Hebei province, includes global plastics raw material makers Rhodia SA, DSM NV and Arkema SA, along with large domestic Chinese car makers Chang’an Automobile Group Co. Ltd., Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd. and Beiqi Foton Motor Co. Ltd. The alliance’s detailed agenda is still being worked out, but with Chinese economy cars using only about 50 kilograms of plastic parts on average, compared with 130 to 180 kilograms per vehicle in the United States, Western Europe and Japan, the participants see a lot of opportunities. Chinese car makers use a higher percentage of metal components in their cars, alliance members said, and those heavier parts in turn make the cars less fuel efﬁcient and potentially more polluting. Members of the group acknowledge they have some challenges ahead of them, however, including recruiting more Tier 1 automotive components makers, who are not present in large numbers among the more than 20 founding companies and organizations. The alliance is being organ-

Auto makers and suppliers in China don’t know much about each others needs.

ized by the Shanghai-based Sino-European Union Chemical Manufacturers Association, and its Auto Plastic and Innovative Materials Committee, which will provide administrative support. The alliance wants to bring together six key groups in China’s auto industry — the car makers, the auto parts and components manufacturers, materials suppliers, government agencies, associations and universities, said Cao Du, chairman of the alliance and vice president of the Chang’an Auto Global R&D Center, a unit of major Chinese auto maker Chang’an Automobile Group Co. Ltd. In particular, he said auto makers and materials suppliers in China don’t know much about each other’s capabilities and needs.

Cao is also vice chairman of the APIMC, and he spoke in an interview at the 6th International Auto Plastics and Innovative Materials Development Forum, held Nov. 28-29 in Cangzhou. APIMC organized the conference. APIMC Chairman Jean-Claude Steinmetz, vice president of automotive for French resin supplier Rhodia SA, said the alliance can initially identify a handful of key demonstration projects to focus on that would involve Chinese car makers, Tier 1 ﬁrms and raw materials suppliers. “Out of the discussion the last two days, we really have to pinpoint down the key deliverables for the next six months on deﬁnite projects,” he said in an interview at the forum. “The process should be started and well engaged in six months.”

etalsa, S.A. de C.V. has announced its agreement to acquire the global assets of ISE Automotive GmbH, a portfolio company of the Private Equity Fund Nordwind Capital. The acquisition is subject to the standard conditions of completion, including regulatory and other approvals, and is expected to be ﬁnalized within 60 days. Terms of the proposed agreement were not disclosed. Once complete, the acquisition will strengthen Metalsa’s position as a global automotive supplier of structural components to the light and commercial vehicle markets and further expand its customer base and global footprint into new regions. Under the terms of the agreement, Metalsa, a subsidiary of Grupo Proeza, will assume control of eight ISE Automotive manufacturing facilities, including four in Germany, and one each in China, South Africa, Turkey and the United States. ISE Automotive’s product portfolio includes body and chassis modules, hinges and transmission components and safety systems, which complement Metalsa’s current business and expand upon its manufacturing processes. In addition, Metalsa will acquire ISE Automotive engineering centers in Germany and Hungary. Overa ll, approx imately 2,500 employees will join the Metalsa organization as part

of the arrangement. Metalsa currently has 9,000 employees in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Thailand, Russia, the United Kingdom, USA and Venezuela. “This strategic acquisition is a logical next step for Grupo Proeza and Metalsa to reach its vision 2020 as we continue to diversify our product portfolio and expand our operations globally,” said Enrique Zambrano, CEO, of Grupo Proeza. “With the proposed acquisition, we will expand our manufacturing footprint supporting our customers in key automotive regions, while gaining technological capabilities to support additional business on a global scale.” The acquisition is part of Metalsa’s strategy for the business and is in alignment with its current business, adding a complementary product portfolio while leveraging each organization’s commitment to innovation, quality and customer service within the global automotive components market. “We look forward to integrating the talented ISE Automotive team into the Metalsa family, and are conﬁdent that we will have a bright future together as we move forward to better serve our customers,” said Leopoldo Ced i l lo, CEO, Meta lsa. “Additionally, we expect to receive explicit support from current ISE customers to ﬁnalize the acquisition process.”

10 DECEMBER 2012

Auto Monitor

G L O B A L WAT C H

Renault Moves Export Supply Chain Into the Cloud Selects GT Nexus to support growing expansion plans

T Nexus has been selected by Renault SA to provide one of the European Automotive leaders with a cloud supply chain platform that will support the company’s growing expansion into international markets. Based on a successful live pilot covering the spare parts export supply chain from France to key markets such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa, Renault will now roll out its “Easy Tracker” project, enabled by GT Nexus, to all export markets around the world. As part of the company’s “2016 - Drive the Change” corporate initiative, the after sales organization is focusing on the high value spare parts and accessory business. The visibility and

control that has been enabled through the GT Nexus cloud supply chain platform will help Renault better serve its fast growing international markets and customers, while reducing inventory and transportation costs. “The emerging markets are very competitive and Renault wants to guarantee spare parts and accessories availability at the best-in-class level, while reducing safety stocks, inventory, and expediting costs,” said Francesca Gamboni, After Sales Logistics Vice President at Renault Group. “GT Nexus is the technology foundation that is helping us achieve our objectives. The ability to have real-time tracking of customer orders and shipments across our value chain is a key enabler.”

Customer service is vital in competitive export markets.

Renault’s spare parts supply chain is highly complex, covering 110 export destinations and 7,000 dealers across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Central Europe, and Asia. Renault uses a large range of road, air, ocean and express parcel carriers to ship goods to remote markets. Product diversity is high with over 200,000 SKUs sourced from 1,700 suppliers. “Customer service is vital in competitive export markets. When cars are off the road because of missing parts,

PKC Moves To Harness Vehicle Market

y focusing its efforts on key international markets, Helsinki-based PKC Group has built a reputation as a design, development and manufacturing leader by providing electrical distribution systems, components and cables for the global automotive and electronics industries. Today, PKC supplies smart power distribution centers,

connection systems, routing and retention aids and terminal systems. It also provides electronic design and manufacturing services, primarily for the commercial vehicle industry, and employs more than 20,000 people in its global manufacturing network covering 11 countries. Following the purchase of AEES, one of the leading North

American w iring harness manufacturers for heavy and medium-duty trucks, PKC’s customer base now includes the six leading Western truck groups. By expanding its operations geographically, PKC is reaching out to the global market, particularly to China. “As we continue to work closely with our international customers, we want to present

our dealers will do whatever it takes to get what they need for their customers,” added Ms. Gamboni. “The lack of visibility into orders and inventory in transit can add costs and create unnecessary customer service disruptions across our distribution networks. By providing accurate ETA status in the cloud through GT Nexus, our importers and affiliates now have access to the information they need to operate smoothly”. GT Nexus uses a “single version of truth” information model

PKC as a world-leading partner to Chinese players,” said Matti Hyytiainen, PKC Group president and CEO . “We want to drive efﬁciency for all our customers through our short lead times, which reduce customer inventories and facilitate cost-efﬁcient manufacturing. Our professional product development and design services will create synergies between PKC and Chinese partners.” By setting industry benchmarks in economical product

which gives advanced capabilities that go well beyond traditional track and trace software. For example, Renault is able to monitor real time its On-Time and In-Full (OTIF) delivery ratio, from the time products are ordered until they’re delivered overseas at the dealership. GT Nexus also enables the Renault logistics team to measure transportation services performance for reliability and variability. The pilot was completed in the third quarter of 2012 and global rollout is currently in progress.

design, process innovation, time-to-market and operational excellence, PKC is well positioned to build on its reputation in the challenging Chinese market. “Following our acquisition of AEES, we are now turning our attention to the Asian market”, said Hyytiinen. “We intend to continue investing in China and develop our know-how to meet local market requirements. We intend to develop our business in China through partnerships.”

Auto Monitor

10 DECEMBER 2012

NEWS

Auto Sector Seek Tax Cuts

troubled automobile industr y is seeking growth stimulus by asking the government to lower excise duties across product categories. But this demand comes at a time when the government is likely getting ready to levy more taxes. Which side will win this battle of perception, where cars and SUVs are seen as luxury products which need to be taxed more in the licence raj mindset, will become clear on the Budget day in February. But for now, the auto industry appears to have been caught offguard over taxation. Not only is the government thinking of raising excise duty on all vehicles (except possibly large cars which are already taxed at the highest slabs of 24 percent and 27 percent) by 200 basis points, from 12 percent now to 14 percent, Kirit Parikh has again gone after diesel cars and SUVs with a vengeance by

suggesting an annual additional levy on them of Rs 50,000 in the form of road tax. A senior official of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said to the media that in the lobby group’s pre-budget meeting with officials of the Finance Ministry last week, only lowering of excise duty was proposed. “There has been no discussion as far as I know on any new taxation on diesel cars,” this official said. In case the government has been thinking of additional taxes on diesel vehicles to generate more revenue, this could very well be done by raising diesel prices. An industry official had said earlier that even if the government were to impose 5 percent additional excise duty on diesel vehicles, only Rs 2,000-2,500 crore additional revenue would be generated. This is a pittance against the

diesel subsidy burden of over Rs 1,00,000 crore. Diesel prices were increased by Rs 5 in September after a 14-month gap. Meanwhile, another ofﬁcial asked, “if the Government wants to tax diesel because of pollution, what about diesel gensets used to run air conditioning and telecom towers?” His point is why single out diesel cars and SUVs alone when other forms of diesel pollution are rampant. Apart from seeking excise relaxation, the auto industry has also asked the government to relax targets it had promised to achieve in 2016 in terms of vehicle sales, employment generation etc by a decade to 2026 under an Auto Mission Plan (AMP). Already, the AMP target of growing into a $145-billion industry by 2016 may be missed by 20-25 percent at the current growth rate levels. The SIAM has already lowered its sales growth projection for passenger cars to

just 1-3 percent for this ﬁscal from its earlier forecast of 9-11 percent growth as slowing economy, low consumer sentiment, high fuel prices and steep interest rates threaten to prolong the slowdown in the market. Car sales had grown over 20 percent in the ﬁscal year that ended in March 2011, signalling the steep decline in sales in less than two years. SIAM has also had to cut its motorcycle sales growth estimate for the year to 5-7 percent from 11-13 percent previously. Commercial vehicle sales are seen growing 3-5 percent, down from earlier estimates of 6-8 percent. The SIAM official quoted earlier said that unless the government reverts to a stimulus package and lowers taxation on vehicles, the industry is driving fast towards a negative territory. The industry was hoping for a revival in the festival months of October and November but retail sales have not kept up with last

The auto industry has also asked the government to relax targets it had promised to achieve in 2016 in terms of vehicle sales, employment generation etc. year’s levels in most categories. So, will the government listen to auto industry woes? Even if it relents and maintains status quo in excise duties, will it necessarily again give in on the issue of diesel taxation? Especially, now that diesel vehicle sales have been going smoothly in an otherwise tepid market? The SIAM ofﬁcial hinted at a prominent “anti-diesel” lobby which is working against the interests of the automobile industry. Perhaps it is time this lobby came to the forefront and discussed its reservations openly.

Global Majors Set Up India Bases Bosch To Up Local Growing market for passenger vehicles is highly lucrative Production

rawn by the growing domestic market for passenger vehicle s (e spe c i a l l y low-budget and diesel cars) and commercial vehicles, numerous global automotive majors have set up manufacturing bases, and are expanding their footprint. They are also looking to make the most of India’s rising prominence as a global manufacturing hub to meet their export targets. Auto component manufacturers tend to locate their production facilities near these OEMs, driving the growth of domestic logistics market, including transportation and warehousing. New analyses from Frost & Sullivan ﬁnds that the total automotive sector including auto components and automobiles spent a total $3.13 billion in 2011 on logistics activities. Within this, auto compo-

nents industry spent an amount of $1.65 billion in 2011 on logistics activities, accounting for 5.5 per cent of the industry turnover. Transportation accounts for the largest share of the entire logistics spend of the industry, while warehousing accounts for the second largest share. The automobile industry spent an amount of $1.48 billion in 2011 on logistics activities accounting for 3.5 per cent of automobile industry turnover. Transportation accounts for the largest share of the entire logistics spend of both the industry segments and is also the most outsourced function to logistics service providers (LSPs). Although the market has signiﬁcant potential, the rising costs of materials erode the proﬁts of auto component and automobile manufacturers, and limitations in logistics infrastructure result

The auto industry spent $1.48 billion in 2011 on logistics activities accounting for 3.5 per cent of automobile industry turnover. Transportation accounts for the largest share. in supply chain inefﬁciencies. “Auto components and automobile companies are exploring alternate sources of raw materials to reduce input costs, while logistics service providers must seek to adopt global models and standards to improve the supply chain efﬁciencies of their clients,” said Srinath Manda, Program Manager, Transportation & Logistics Practice, Frost & Sullivan. Importantly, they should look to plug security loopholes, as around 65 per cent of Indian auto component companies declared that their most important concern in logistics is the risk of information leak to competitors through their logistics service providers (LSPs), while around 78 per cent of Indian automobile companies declared that their most important concern in logistics is the safety of goods during transit and warehousing by LSPs.

Aims at turnover of `410cr by 2015

uto components major Bosch is looking to ramp up local production of its power tools division with an aim to increase sales by nearly 25 percent to about Rs 410 crore by 2015. “We are gradually increasing localisation of our power tools products in India. We will produce more tools here in future,” Vijay Pandey, Vice President (Power Tools Division), Bosch Ltd told media agencies. The company currently produces drills, grinders and blowers at its Bangalore facility, he added. “We will start producing the hammer series now from our plant in India... By 2015, we are targeting to produce 40 per cent of our tools sold in India from the Bangalore

The company, which sells its products under Bosch, Skil and Dremel brands, is expecting sales of about nine lakh units of various tools this year and 35 percent of that will be produced locally, he added.

unit,” Pandey said. The company, which sells its products under Bosch, Skil and Dremel brands, is expecting sales of about nine lakh units of various tools this year and 35 percent of that will be produced locally, he added. Currently, the company imports various equipments from Malaysia, China and Germany. Talking about its sales turnover, Pandey said: “The Indian power tools market size is around Rs 1,000 crore and it is growing at 8-9 per cent. We are currently enjoying one third of this, which is around `330 crore.” The company is aiming to increase the revenue of power tools division to `400-410 crore by 2015, he added. “In the last four years, the power tools division has seen 25 per cent growth every year. However, the economy is slightly sluggish this year. So conservatively we are now expecting a growth of 18-20 per cent for the next three years,” Pandey said. Besides various multi-brand outlets and retail chains, Bosch power tools are also available through various online stores, including Flipkart.

10 DECEMBER 2012

Auto Monitor

B L O G S /J O U R N A L S

Inside A Carbon-ﬁbre Factory Jack Rix

MW is about to need a lot of carbon-fibre. Both the i3 - which goes on sale in the middle of next year - and the i8, which follows a year later, have entire body cells made from the stuff – and it’s not a cheap material to make, either. We all know the benefits – it’s up to 50 per cent lighter and stronger than steel and aluminium, it absorbs energy brilliantly in an accident (any Formula One driver who’s had a high-speed smash can verify this one) and doesn’t corrode and fatigue like metal. But high costs and lengthy manufacturing times have limited its use to hi-end cars like McLarens and Lamborghinis. BMW is planning to change all that, though, by manufacturing carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic components from scratch, and en masse, in a series of dedicated plants dotted around the world. We had the opportunity to visit a brand-new $100m factory – a joint venture with carbonexperts SGL – in Moses Lake,

Washington, where spools of carbon-ﬁbres are produced before being shipped back to Germany and turned into parts. “Once both production lines are in place, we’ll make around 3,000 tonnes of carbon ﬁbres a year - around 8 per cent of the world’s total production and there’s space for four more lines on the existing site and an option to buy 60 acres more,” Dr Joerg Pohlman, managing director of the BMW-SGL partnership, told us. A crucial competitive advantage for BMW is the intelligent positioning of the Moses Lake plant. Located nearby on the Columbia River are two enormous hydroelect ric da ms, which supply 100 per cent of the factory’s substantial energy requirements at just three cents a kwh – a quarter of the normal price. “This cheap, sustainable energy is the difference between being it making financial sense and not,” Pohlman admitted. Inside the factory itself, the production line has more in common with the textile indus-

Customers Are Not Your 3D Laminating R&D! Bill Formella

ell it’s been over month since my last blog. A heavy travel schedule, medical mission trip to Guatemala, and a few health concerns kept me out of commission for a while. I’m happy to report it’s all behind me and I’m ready to get back at it. Before this extended break we spent several weeks dissecting available press technologies for 3D laminating. The strengths and weaknesses of each were covered. Buyers were given a little more insight into what questions to ask when sourcing equipment or outsourcing 3DL components. As a transition into materials, I’d like to focus on how to maintain a healthy approach when investigating new product developments. Many years ago I made my living by selling automatic transmission parts to rebuilders. The joke in the industry at the time was that one particular auto maker used their customers as their R&D department. New transmission designs were released and massive numbers of overhauls were required, many just after the warranty had expired. Modiﬁcations for these ﬂawed systems were developed just as totally new designs were being introduced, starting the entire cycle all over again. We sold a lot of parts in those days. Sadly, many 3DL component producers have functioned in much the same way. A new material is released with claims that it is cheaper, better, or easier to use than others and some jump on it immediately. “We’ll give it try,” they say. And try it they do…on their customers before ever running any serious internal tests. Personally, if a vendor ever explained a rash of failures by telling me they tried a new material and it just didn’t work out well, I’d look for a new vendor. When I buy a product it’s not so I can be used for R&D. So what do you do when something new is introduced? Should all new products and technology be shunned in favor of the “tried and true?” Of course not! The secret is to cautiously approach the possibility of embracing new developments without giving in to our universal human tendency toward wishful thinking. Smaller manufacturers should seek to work with independent testing laboratories. Although the fees can run a few thousand dollars for each test, lost production and a damaged reputation are far more costly. Once again, it’s not just your reputation that’s on the line. http://bit.ly/YR9a2W

try than cars. It begins in the creel area where boxes of 40km long 100-strand strips of precursor (a by-product of crude oil imported from Japan) are fed onto rollers and ‘combed’ into neat 50-strand strips. From here they are fed through a series of six increasingly hot ovens, which ﬁrst oxidise and then carbonise

the glossy strands, turning them from white to jet-black. The material is then shocked in a high-voltage bath to rough up the edges and coated in a light resin before being rolled onto 9kg spools. These are then shipped to another factory in Wackersdorf, Germany, to be knitted and shaped into the 30 parts that,

once glued together, make the i3’s passenger cell. “Our goal is to match the cost of aluminium,” Pohlman revealed. “We’re not there yet, but compared to the carbon currently used in the roof of the M3, the new material we’ll use in the ‘i’ cars is a third of the price to produce.” http://bit.ly/V5QdD2

10 DECEMBER 2012

Auto Monitor

CLASSIFIEDS

Tej Control Systems Pvt Ltd Plot No.329/331, Road No.25, Wagle Industrial Estate, Thane(W) - 400 604. Tel. +91 22 2583 8191 to 98, Fax: +91 22 25838199 Email: tivs@tejcontrol.com, vision@tejcontrol.com Website: www.tejivs.com

ADVERTISERS’ LIST Advertiser’s Name & Contact Details ACE Micromatic Group

Pg No 1, BC

Advertiser’s Name & Contact Details

Pg No

Carl Zeiss India (Bangalore) Pvt Lt

Advertiser’s Name & Contact Details

Pg No

Guhring India Private Limited

BIC

T: +91-80-40200555

T: +91-80-43438102

T: +91-80-40322500

E: customercare@acemicromatic.com

E: imtndia@zeiss.co.in

E: info@guhring.in

W: www.acemicromatic.net

W: www.zeiss.co.in

W: www.guhring.in

Advertiser’s Name & Contact Details Rohan Standox Autolack

Pg No 16

T: +91-22-65803331 E: sales@spraytec.net W: www.spraytec.net

Safexpress Private Limited ACMA Automechanika

Dhoot Transmission Pvt Ltd

T: +91-22-61445900

Jyoti CNC Automation Pvt. Ltd. T: +91-2827-287081

E: info@india.messefrankfurt.com

E: sales@dhoottransmission.com

E: info@jyoti.co.in

W: www.automechanika.com

W: www.dhoottransmission.com

W: www.jyoti.co.in

Auto Monitor Anniversary

Ecocat India Pvt Ltd

Larsen & Toubro Limited

E: suyash.srivastava@safexpress.com W: www.safexpress.com

Sandvik Coromant India FIC

T: +91-22-30034650

T: +91-129-4266500

T: +91-09967800456

E: b2b@network18publishing.com

E: alok@ecocatindia.com

E: SM.Haridas@larsentoubro.com

W: www.amonline.in

W: www.ecocat.com

W: www.larsentoubro.com

Automach 2013

Engineering Expo

T: +91-124-4014060

T: +91-09819552270

E: rachna.jindal@cii.in

Automotive Dealership Excellance Awards 10,12,24,25

Fox Solutions

TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council) 21

E: taitra@taitra.org.tw W: www.taitra.com.tw

TRUMPF India Pvt Ltd

T: +91-9823745435

W: www.makino.in

E: rupali.kavi@sandvik.com

T: +886-2-2725-5200

E: makino@makino.in

W: www.engg-expo.com

T: +91-20-27104725

W: www.sandvik.coromant.com/in

T: +91-120-6519685

E: engexpo@infomedia18.in

W: www.ietfindia.in/automach.aspx

Makino Auto Industries Pvt Ltd

T: +1800-113-113

Meiban Engineering Technologies Pvt 23

W: www.in.trumpf.com

T: +91-22-30034650

T: +91-253-6618100

T: +91-80-26860600

E: adea@network18publishing.com

E: sales@foxindia.net

E: sales-turning@meibanengg.com

T: +91-40-23224910

W: www.adea.in

W: www.foxindia.net

W: www.meibanengg.com

E: sales@weissindia.com

Weiss Technik India Pvt Ltd

W: www.weissindia.com

Baker Gauges India Ltd

G W Precision Tools India Pvt Ltd

MMT Imtex Special

22 World Courier India Pvt Ltd

T: +91-20-66093800

T: +91-80-40431252

T: +91-22-30034650

E: tsd@bakergauges.com

E: info@gwindia.in

E: b2b@network18publishing.com

E: ripudaman@worldcourier.co.in

W: www.bakergauges.com

W: www.gwindia.in

W: www.mmtonline.in

W: www.worldcourier.com

FIC : Front Inside Cover BIC : Back Inside Cover BC: Back cover

T: +91-80-43438607

Our consistent advertisers

Auto Monitor

THE OTHER SIDE

Getting Personal with Philipp von Sahr, President, BMW India

If not in the Auto industry, where would you be? May be in the aerospace industry. What car you drive? What do you dream of driving? I drive a BMW 7 Series which makes me very happy. I’d love to drive the BMW M5 and also the BMW 1-Series M Coupe which is a very fascinating car. Your most recent indulgence? I’ve invested in an apartment in India. What are you currently reading? The White Tiger. What are you doing when not talking auto? I have a big community of friends and we talk about everything in the world apart from cars. Outdoor activity you would miss ofﬁce for? Drive a bicycle. Where did you go for your last holiday? To Kerala. You get angry when… I don’t know, ask my wife! What’s the one thing you’d like to change in yourself? I have to be sometimes more patient, especially in India.

Illustration: Sachin Pandit

Best thing to have happened to you is… That I’ve grown up in a very good environment and I’ve found a very nice wife.

In Person Philipp von Sahr (54), currently President of BMW Group Belgium-Luxemburg, will succeed Dr. Andreas Schaaf (42) as President of BMW Group India (effective October 1, 2012). Born in 1958, Philipp von Sahr has completed his Master of Business Ad m i n i st rat ion f rom University of Munich. He began his career with BMW AG in Munich in 1987. Prior to joining BM W G r ou p Belgium-Luxemburg, von Sahr was the Head of Sales for BMW Group Germany.

An experience I won’t forget… My wedding.

10 DECEMBER 2012

Regn. No. MH/MR/WEST/20/2012-2014. RNI No. MAHENG/2000/11414 Licenced to post at Mumbai patrika channel sorting office G.P.O. Mumbai 400 001. Date Of Mailing: 1st & 2nd Fortnightly Issue. Date Of Publication: 28th of Every Month