Auto Monitor - 16-31 May 2011

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. 11 No. 09

w w w. a u to m o n i to r. co . i n

16-31 May 2011

INTERVIEW

WEST INDIA SPECIAL Pg 22-34

OEMs PREFER COMPETITION AMONG SUPPLIERS Dr Ralf Cramer, Executive Board, Chassis & Safety Division, Continental Corporation

Audi launches A7 and RS8 Audi India has launched two sports coupes—A7 and RS8 in the Indian market. The car comes with a price tag of `64 lakh and `76 lakh respectively (exshowroom price Delhi).

Photo: Shamik Banerjee

Pg 08

(Index)

280

` 50

AUTONOMICS

260 240 220 200 180 160 140 120 100 80

PLATFORM SHARING HELPS CARMAKERS COMPETE BETTER Pg 14

Scooters India to enter four-wheeler segment

NEWS IN BRIEF

Audi A7

The A7 is equipped with a 3.0 TDI V6 engine 500 nm of torque at 1400-3250 RPM and 180 kW (245 HP) at 4000-4500 RPM. The RS8 puts out 331 kW (450 HP) at 8,250 RPM, and torque of 430 nm at 4,000- 6,000 RPM. The company has received 90 bookings for A7 and plans to sell 100 units this year.

Ford Assured to reach five cities Ford India’s multi-brand used car retail operation, ‘Assured’ has commenced operations in five key markets in partnership with Ford’s existing dealers. Ford India’s dealers such as Harpreet Ford in Delhi, Bhagat Ford in Chandigarh, KS Ford in Jaipur, Kairali Ford in Kochi and Planet Ford in Pune-will buy, recondition and sell a wide choice of Ford and other brand cars to customers under the trustworthy inspection and service commitment offered

by Ford Assured.

Nabeel A Khan Lucknow

S

cooters India (SIL), spinning in a vortex of losses for the past few years, is gearing up to sail across with a new defi nitive strategy to overcome the challenges. The company will introduce a four-wheeler passenger vehicle in the coming year and is currently in talks with two Indian companies to provide them with the design of the vehicle in compliance with the latest emission norms delineated by the government; a highly placed source informed Auto Monitor recently.

It is also exploring the option of fi nding a partner who could supply them with the fourwheeler as a Completely Knocked Down (CKD) unit which SIL could assemble and sell under its own brand name. The source cited the fi nancial crisis as the main reason for the three-wheeler manufacturer not being able to launch the proposed vehicle independently. ‘We lack funds, and to design and develop such a vehicle, you need time and an

Hyundai Verna’s re-incarnation

Apr-Mar 10

Apr-Mar 11

Change

PV

1,951,333

2,520,421

29.16%

CV

532,721

676,408

26.97%

3W

440,392

526,022

19.44%

2W

9,370,951

11,790,305

25.82%

TOTAL

12,295,397

15,513,156

26.17%

Exports Sector

Apr-Mar 10

Apr-Mar 11

Change

PV

446,145

453,479

1.64%

CV

45,009

76,297

69.51%

3W

173,214

269,967

55.86%

2W

1,140,058

1,539,590

35.04%

TOTAL

1,804,426

2,339,333

29.64%

India holds 95 percent stake in the company.

Talking about the condition of the company, sources elaborated, ‘Since the plant was bought from an Italian company in the 1960s, there has been no upgradation, and even in this situation we are surviving, which is an achievement.’ Also, the company is not able to produce three-wheelers with rear wheel mounted engines like its competitors, which poses a major deterrent to its demand volumes. The other hitch was that it is unable to upgrade its inhouse developed petrol engine to be BS III compliant and fi nally had to source it from outside.

The plant originally belonged to Innocenti of Italy, after which, SI bought the plant and by 1975, it sold the scooters under the brand name Vijai Super in the domestic market and Lambretta in the overseas market. Eventually, it expanded it’s portfolio to three wheelers; Vikram and Lambro, which was later discontinued. The company might also plan on reentering the two-wheel segment to reinforce its revival strategy and forge ahead with optimism.

Kuka establishes robotic training centre

BMW’s Vision on display

I

Domestic Sales Sector

ernment in February 2010. The investment of over `400 crore. revival strategy highlights three The government cannot support steps : (1) Increasing the producus with such an investment, so tion capacity and modernisation we will rope in a partner,’ the of technology with government source said. funding (2) Signing a joint venEstablished in 1972 in ture (3) A merger with a Public Lucknow, UP, the launch of the Sector Unit (PSU) or fi rm. four-wheel passenger carrier According to the government may play a key role in the companorms, any PSU can be ny’s revival story. However, considered for the situation of SIL has revival if the improved both, in net wor t h terms of production has become and sales compared less than 50 to the previous year. percent of In FY10, it produced t he tota l approximately worth. And 11,700 units comScooters prising all six models India’s net of three-wheelers, which Artistic impression worth washas gone up to 14,200 below 50 percent in 2009 so it units in FY11. The sales revenue was registered in the Board for which stood at `118 crore in FY10 Reconstruction of Public Sector has climbed up to `146 crore Enterprises (BRPSE) for revival. in FY11, hence reducing the The BRPSE is expected to forloss from `28 crore to `17 crore ward it to the cabinet for further respectively—the break even approval after which, the propoint is when the production posal will be sent to the Board touches 22,000 units. for Industrial and Financial SIL has prepared a revivReconstruction (BIFR) and fi nalal plan in consultation with ly to the divestment department.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Currently, the government of and submitted it to the gov-

Shambhavi Anand Ghaziabad

DATA MONITOR

* Source: SIAM/ ** all sub segments considered

64 Pages

H

yundai Motor India has unveiled the new Verna Fluidic in Delhi with a compete facelift and a number of variants in both petrol and diesel engine options. The company will discontinue the previous model of the car.

The new car will be available with four engine options—1.4 litre VTVT, petrol 1.6 litre VTVT, 1.4 litre CRDi and the diesel 1.6 litre VGT CRDi. The car will be available in six colours and have been priced between `6.99 lakh and `10.74 lakh in Delhi (ex-showroom).

NEW

n order to bridge the gap between the availability of trained manpower and the requirements of the industry, Gurgaon-based Kuka Robotics India has set up India’s fi rst industrial robots training centre in Ghaziabad.

Engineering students will be trained with the state-of-the-art robots and technologies used by the industries. The training centre which has been set up in collaboration with Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College (AKGEC), Ghaziabad will be based in its campus.

‘Usually a fresh engineer takes around six months to get familiar with the industry practices. The cross disciplinary courses help reduce time and increase productivity,’ MD, Kuka Robotics India, Raj Singh Rathee said.

The 80-hour long course will have three levels of training and students will have to clear a

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test at the end of each level before they get a certificate, which will be recognised all over the world.

Set up by AKGEC with the help of Kuka, the training material has been designed by the company itself. Kuka Robotics India is a 100 percent subsidiary of Kuka GmbH, Augsburg, Germany. It is leading industrial robotics solution provider and was incorporated in 2006. Its key clients consist of automotive and food packaging industries.

Kuka is one of the leading suppliers of robots to OEMs and Tier I and Tier II suppliers in the automotive sector. Tata Motors, Volkswagen, Daimler, Hyundai, Ashok Leyland and Mahindra and Mahindra are its existing users.

‘We are planning to increase our market share in the country and add more customers to our list.’ Rathee said. The automotive sector constitutes 50 percent its business worldwide and India contributes 70 percent of the company’s business.

Gandhi Park Gujarat University Exhibition Hall Auto Cluster Exhibition Centre Chennai Trade Centre Poddar Plaza Garware Stadium

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MW India had displayed its latest Vision EfficientDynamics concept car at Deutsche Motoren in New Delhi. The concept car, unveiled by the Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Praful Patel is exhibited at the new BMW Studio, Connaught Place.

The sports car is a four-seater double door and claims a fuel economy of 26.5 kmpl. The car is capable of achieving a top speed of 250 kmph with acceleration from 0 to 100 kmh in 4.8 seconds.

CONTENTS CORPORATE Modern diesel engine technologies promise more

06

ARAI and SIAM organised a conference on ‘Advancement in Diesel Technologies’ in Pune to dispel myths and showcase diesel’s superior fuel economy and eco-friendliness

06 GLOBAL WATCH Delphi GDi wins PACE award

53

GM posts $3 billion profit

59

Magneti Marelli and Chrysler tie-up to reinforce US footprint

61

Google Maps deal to boost electric autos

61

MDelphi has been honoured with the Automotive News 2011 Premier Automotive Suppliers’ Contribution to Excellence (PACE) award for its Multec GDi

GM scripted its strongest first-quarter earnings in more than a decade— $3.2 billion—thanks to robust sales in the US and overseas

Magneti Marelli and Chrysler Group’s Mopar have recently announced a strategic alliance to reinforce market presence across the US Anant Talaulicar, Chairman, Diesel Image Group, SIAM, Supriya Sule, MP, M Rajpal, Pune Mayor and SR Marathe, Director, ARAI

Lohia Auto to roll out electric two-wheeler with higher speed

12

National Renewable Energy Laboratory is joining with Google to provide up-to-date information about electric vehicle charging stations in communities nationwide

Lohia Auto Industries is launching a new electric two-wheeler, which can gain upto 60 kmph and a new three-wheeler passenger carrier this fiscal

Processes, technology upgradation on cards for Ruia Group

16

62

THE OTHER SIDE

Ruia Group is considering more acquisitions and is busy managing earlier ones to consolidate its position as a major supplier to the automobile and engineering sectors

Ecocat to introduce new catalytic products

18

Ecocat India is arming itself with newer and more innovative technologies to emerge as a dominant catalytic convertor supplier and double its revenue in the next three years

Eaton to localise locking differentials, superchargers

23

Eaton India is planning to assemble a range of products, which will include locking differentials, superchargers and valve actuation systems

Texspin may enter transmission systems business

Pawan Kumar Ruia, Chairman, Ruia Group

24

Texspin Bearings is in talks with potential partners for making an entry into transmission related products as a mode of forward integration

Varroc Group plans expansion, de-risk business

A chartered and a cost accountant, PK Ruia is in the process of carving out a global auto component network and set benchmarks on quality and delivery

33

Varroc Group is looking to notch-up a turnover of `4,000 crore by 2012-13 and de-risk its business from the cyclical trend of the automotive industry

Sandeep Khosla

Associate Vice President: Sudhanva Jategaonkar

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Akshata Rane

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16 - 31 May 2011

Modern diesel engine technologies offer promise T Murrali Pune

T

hough the modern diesel engines delivers 20–40 percent more fuel efficiency than their equivalent gasoline engines in addition to the tailpipe emissions being manageable, still diesel has not been the preferred fuel by passenger car users in the country.

This is perhaps due to certain misconceptions about fuel. In a bid to dispel various myths and also to showcase its benefits in terms of better fuel economy and eco-friendliness, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and the Society of Indian Automobi le Ma nufacturers (SIAM) had organised a conference on ‘Advancement in Diesel Technologies’ in Pune recently.

ARAI President, the Chairman of the Diesel Image Group of SIAM and CMD of Cummins India, Anant J Talaulicar said that in regions with traditionally high fuel costs, such as Europe, diesel engines have also been widely adopted for passenger cars, where more than 50 percent of cars are diesel-based and this ratio continues to grow. In India, the little knowledge on the advancements in diesel technologies has ironically, worked favourably for the industry. Its relatively lower price has helped propel its popularity, and in the process not only made it a strategic fit for the right oil-energy balance of the country, but also for delivering superior performance. This is due to its energy density, safety and performance characteristics. The automotive industry is on a path to produce virtually emission-free vehicles while still retaining the efficiency, reliability and power—the factors that were long associated with diesel, he observed.

For instance, the norms that have been implemented in the US as of last year bring particulate matter to 0.013 gm/kW-hr and NOx to 0.27 gm/kW-hr, which indicate a 99 percent reduction of emissions. This environmental progress is the result of the new technologies—combining quality diesel fuel, advancement in engine technology and effective exhaustcontrol innovations, he said.

The volatile crude oil prices will further propel the adoption of diesel across the globe as governments, business and consumers go in for enhanced fuel efficiencies. Climate change concerns are also driving adoption of diesel applications worldwide. The carbon footprint of diesel-powered applications is typically 20 percent lower than an equivalent gasoline solution.

Carbon Footprint There is a disturbing trend by some central and state governments to disincentivise usage of diesel vehicles through additional taxes and levies. The approach is actually counter-productive to economic growth as well as the environment. The right method will be to set tighter, globally harmonised emission standards over time, and not dictate or bias any particular fuel or technology, but encourage various innovative solutions.

‘There is a need to clear the misconception that diesel is subsidised and therefore being preferred by consumers in India. SIAM is in favour of eliminating any subsidies and is confident that diesel technology can be a competitive solution if its price is left to market forces,’ Talaulicar opined.

Towards Timely Decision India has done well to move to Bharat Stage IV (Euro IV) standards in 13 metros and Bharat Stage III (Euro III) in the rest of the country. The next step would be to move to Bharat Stage IV (Euro IV) for the entire country by the 2014-15 timeframe and then to Bharat Stage V (Euro V) standards with requisite fuel quality.

This would dramatically reduce both the major pollutants such as Particulate Matter (PM) and NOx. However, the delay from the government’s side on implementation of emission norms hampers the development process of the fuel management system suppliers, said the General Manager (Engine & Vehicle Applications), Bosch, Carsten Kopp. Though multinational companies are currently working on Euro VI and beyond they cannot introduce technologies in India due to mar-

ket conditions, fuel quality and infrastructure issues like availability of urea for SCR. It is necessary to customise the technology for India and it requires three to four years before commercialising the technologies, he said.

The Director of ARAI, SR Marathe said the key objectives of future road veh icles with respect to powertrain tech- (Second from left) Anant Talaulicar, ARAI President & Chairman, Diesel Image Group, SIAM, Supriya Sule, MP, Mohansingh Rajpal, Pune Mayor and SR Marathe, Director, ARAI nologies will have to encompa ss energ y resources, greenhouse gas, em ission, noise, traffic, safety, market power and recyclability. However, the market demands are confl icting as it requires higher combustion efficiencies whi le containing t he emissions.

The CO2 reduction from new generation diesel engines can be contained by New generation diesel engine reduction of friction loses, weight, trade, goods and public transport new combustion processthe fuel being dearer than petin the country. Besides, the price es besides, managing air and rol unlike India. The US is also being lower, it is a great influ exhaust system. In addition, evincing interest in diesel for encer of the Indian economy. On efficient drives, active aerodylight-duty vehicles. the advantages of diesel, he iternamics, reduction in tyre rolling ated that the fuel, in addition to resistance and light weighting US Favours Diesel having lower CO2 emissions also will help reduce greenhouse Addressing the audience from gases, he said. Brake energy the US through teleconferenchas higher torque when comregeneration and introduction ing, the Executive Director of pared with petrol counterpart. of ‘auto start-stop function’ will Diesel Technology Forum, Allen Conventional diesel engines have augment further. He opined that R Schaeffer said that clean diehigher NOx emissions, smoke, use of bio-fuels, change in drivsel technology has been well particulate matter and with NVH ing style and creation of required accepted in the US even at cost on the higher side. The weight of infrastructure and better manpremiums. ‘Higher fuel prices the engine is high due to more agement of traffic will also help make better fuel efficiency look moving parts that eventualcontain emissions. good. Energy resource is and will ly jack up the cost. Besides, the While the direct injected petcontinue to be an important issue cost of exhaust treatment is also rol engine can emit 180 g/km of and policy makers in the US are higher. However, with advanced CO 2 , the direct injected diesel favourable towards diesel as they combustion, emission control, believe the positives of fuel outbetter material, electronics and engine can contain it to 150 g/ weigh its negatives,’ he added.

CAE technologies, modern diesel km. What’s more, the share of Marathe said diesel vehiengines are being developed with diesel vehicles is increasing rapcles are the backbone of general targets close to their petrol sibidly in developed nations despite lings. In addition, the fuel gives 25-30 percent better fuel economy over petrol and these factors, according to him, are the reasons for the fuel to become popular for the automotive applications.

Since diesel engines achieve greater fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions, hybrids coupled with diesel have more potential and it can emerge as a preferred choice for next-gen hybrids.

The Road Ahead The challenge for the researchers is to develop diesel technology that offers better fuel economy coupled with performance besides being reliable and durable while meeting forthcoming stringent emission standards. Marathe called for an integrated approach for successful control of emission from transport sector, oil companies, government departments, research institutions, vehicle manufacturers, judiciary, NGOs and vehicle users. It will help follow an integrated approach to clean air. ‘The right technology with effective implementation is the key to sustainable development,’ he opined.

8

Auto Monitor

16 - 31 MAY 2011

INTERVIEW

‘OEMs prefer competition among suppliers’ In an exclusive interaction with Auto Monitor at the headquarters of Continental’s Chassis & Safety Division in Frankfurt, Member of the Executive Board, Chassis & Safety Division, Continental Corporation, Dr Ralf Cramer elaborated on the strategy for the emerging markets and new products and systems for India.

Abhishek Parekh What are the major hurdles on your way to deeper penetration in the Indian market?

One of the major hurdles to better acceptability and deeper penetration in the Indian market is the price sensitive nature of the market. It is difficult to adapt products for all segments of the market in India in order to ensure wider acceptance of our products.

There is a cost to getting the product into the market.

The cost may be

higher or lower depending on scenarios where a new technology has to be developed or existing technology has to be modified to suit the market requirements. In certain scenarios, local manufacturing may help but that may not always be feasible. Hence it is not a straight forward scenarscenar io for product introduction in i many markets.

Why is it be sso difficult to match or o offer low price levels level for an already existexist ing technology?

Even t hough houg some of the prodprod ucts or technologies technologie are already in existexis ence, they may not b be directly suitable for the th market requirements. requirements there For instance, ther may be prodprod ucts with well we defined funcfunc tionality where wher significant price variations variation are possible but bu prodfor certain prod price ucts, major pric not variations are no possible. A radio, radio for instance, is a well defi ned prodprod uct and can hav have major variations variation in feature and an size, and hence henc its price in India Indi as compared compare

to Germany is lower. But in case of safety products like braking systems, offering products at a significantly lower price is not so easy.

Even though the technology and cost required for manufacturing braking systems for a 500 kg passenger car is different (lower) than that required for a two tonne passenger car, it is still difficult to offer expected price variations to customers. Moreover, the difficulty gets accentuated when customers demand Japanese or European specifications for an Indian model at Indian price levels.

Are there any performance parameters for safety products which are specific to emerging markets including India?

The operating conditions in India may differ from other markets like Germany or the US. Though cars are unlikely to wade on ice or snow on Indian roads, there is lot of sand or dust on the road making it challenging for braking purposes. A safety product like ABS (Anti-lock Brake System) can be helpful on such road conditions even though it is not mandatory in India as yet.

Also, customers may demand a different or stripped down version of an existing product.

Such specifications may change the nature of the product. For instance in braking, a customer may not require long braking distance and may do just fine without a pump and steering abilities. But such discussions with customers get trickier when they require a global standard ABS product at Indian prices.

We are always open to developing products to meet specific market needs when it makes commercial sense. Regulations generally drive faster adoption of

safety related products like ABS but it is also driven by customer needs. In most Western Europe markets, all cars are sold with an ABS while there has been a regulation enacted in North America driving the sales there. Brazil, which is likely to be as big a market for passenger vehicles like India, has enacted a regulation making it mandatory for every car sold after 2014 to have an ABS. How challenging is it to mark your presence in the face of existing players who may occupy dominant positions?

It is not easy to mark our presence in that scenario. But in the automotive industry, customers always prefer to have competition. From the OEMs perspective, it is not a good situation to have a single dominant player for any systems or products. We would be having a manufacturing facility for safety products, mainly ABS, in India with a capacity of around 200,000 to 300,000 units per annum in the next two years.

How does Continental judge the market response for new products?

We conduct consumer surveys to judge the end customers’ responses in addition to feedback from our OEM customers on products that are likely to be accepted in the market. This is true for all markets we operate in. We interact extensively with organisations representing OEMs as well as end customers to get feedbacks on current and future requirements on safety and security related products.

What is the technology road map for safety products as anticipated by you?

The basic functionality of a safety related product may not undergo any radical change but there will be innovations in manufacturing strategy or processes that can help bring down the cost.

There may be markets or specific customer demands for cruise control or braking control products as opposed to a complete ABS. We evaluate these products as per market requirements. There could be some demand for advanced products including dynamic braking system and cruise control and their variants. But I must add that there is unlikely to be any demand for such advanced braking products in developing markets like India in the near to medium term.

India may continue to remain a market for basic safety products including air bags, ABS and ESP (Electronic Stability Programme).

We expect revenues from chassis and safety related products to grow to around Euro 500 million in India for which we need to have much larger presence.

Is Continental currently working on any new products?

We are looking to develop and introduce electronic steering systems, which will be introduced in India in the near future. Such electronically controlled motor operated power steering would be a significant step forward for Indian customers as compared to currently available power steering. We are planning to launch the steering systems primarily in India and not in other markets due to favourable factors like size and fuel efficiency among other things. We are evaluating whether to manufacture steering systems in the existing joint venture or establish a new facility and entity for these steering systems.

EDITORIAL Headwinds could nullify traditional gains

T

he auto industry witnessed about 23 percent growth in domestic sales in the fi rst month of this fi scal over last year. Though the growth has begun to moderate, indications are that the industry will continue the positive momentum this year too. And the news is all about capacity expansion from both vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers to catch up with the trend. It is happening in almost all the auto clusters across the country.

The good news is that the forecasted economic growth rate of around nine percent in this fiscal is likely to translate into at least 20 percent plus growth for the auto industry.

Though it is less when compared with the average growth rate of last year, it still provides immense opportunities for many players in the automotive space. However, the industry is facing several issues including non-availability of land and high real estate prices. This is not over; the companies will have to manage their power requirements once the factories are commissioned as most of the states in the country experience both scheduled and unscheduled load-shedding.

This issue is a special on West India and we have attempted to give you some insights on the ground realities of the two major states in the region—Maharashtra and Gujarat.

While Maharashtra is already established, Gujarat, on the other hand is gaining significance with the Tata Motors’ plant in Sanand. Off late it has emerged as one of the most investor-friendly states in terms of speed of approval, power availability and other infrastructure advantages including good road connectivity.

Maharashtra, though industrially well developed, has its own set of problems. For instance, the new players and those who are planning to expand capacities in the auto clusters in the state face several issues—right from the initial stage of setting up a manufacturing plant such as availability of land to the fi nal stage, when the plant becomes operational.

Being in these auto clusters enables the component manufacturers to supply on just-in-time basis. Besides, it helps in concurrent engineering and hastens response to feedback

from OEMs. However, any company that is planning to have a manufacturing facility in the auto clusters of the state will have to consider several factors. The cost of setting up a plant, for instance, is 30 to 40 percent higher than the auto clusters in neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and about 10 to 15 percent more than few places in NCR like Manesar, Tapukara and Nimurana. As the demand outpaces supply in terms of labour, sand and other materials, the construction cost is also higher. These companies also face problems due to the Mathadi Union, which is one of its kind in the country, controlling labourers involved in loading and unloading goods. And they are at least four to five times more expensive than their peers in the adjacent states. In addition, the running cost of any factory in the state is about 10 percent higher than other locations, due to increased wages, especially in the Pune area. The investing community fears that these headwinds could nullify some of the traditional gains offered by the state so far.

My colleague, Abhishek Parekh met with a few companies in the region to make this issue a special one. You will fi nd some interesting stories on Amul Industries, Eaton, Varroc, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation and Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation. Wishing you much reading pleasure. Do send us your feedback.

T. Murrali t.murrali@infomedia18.in

IMAGE of the fortnight

FORTNIGHT’S QUOTES ‘It’s a reasonable target to have even as there are a few headwinds we have to face’ Nick Reilly, President, GM Europe

‘The supply situation is not good and so we have cut production by 50 percent from May’ Jnaneswar Sen, Senior VP (Marketing and Sales), Honda Siel Cars India

‘A long-term solution to high gas prices is to build more efficient vehicles, and that’s exactly what we are doing in Michigan’ Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Fiat Chrysler

‘It helped when we started in China, to get awareness up quicker. People of course saw us more often than other brands’ Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi Sales Chief

‘We have plans to add to our portfolio not only higherend segments but also in the lower segments’ Peter Honegg, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes Benz India

Auto Monitor Editorial Team Editor T. Murrali Principal Correspondent Abhishek Parekh Senior Correspondent Nabeel A Khan Correspondents Shambhavi Anand, TS Bhargav, Akmal Rahman B Senior Copy Editor Nandita Rohit Kapadia Contributing Editors Sirish Chandran Bertrand D’Souza

Design & Photography Chief Photographer Mexy Xavier Photographer Neha Mithbawkar, Joshua Navalkar Asst. Art Director Varuna Naik Senior Designer Mahesh Talkar Scanning & Colour Correction Ravikumar Potdar, Ravi Salian, Sanjay Shelar Production Team Dnyaneshwar Goythale, Vikas Bobhate, Pravin Koyande

Send in your feedback and comments to: The Editor AUTO MONITOR, Infomedia 18 Ltd, 6th Floor, Kannammai Bldg, 611, Anna Salai, Chennai - 600 006. Ph: +91 44 3986 4200. Email: automonitor@infomedia18.in

Peter T Honegg, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes Benz India with SL 350 and GL 500

Mercedes launches SL 350, GL 500 Continuing its celebration of completing 125 years, Mercedes Benz launched the SL 350 and GL 500 in the Indian market and priced them at `98.50 lakh (exshowroom Delhi) and `80.90 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) respectively.

The SL 350 has a 3.5 litre V6 sports engine that produces a power of 315 HP and torque of 360 nm which claims to give an enhanced performance and reduced fuel consumption. The GL 500 has a 5.4 litre V6 engine producing a power of 388 HP along with a torque of 530 nm.

The company wants to lead the luxury segment in the Indian car market by offering the largest portfolio of products not only in the higher range, but also on the lower end. ‘We are planning to bring in smaller cars in the A and B Class range that may have a great market potential in India,’ Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes Benz India, Peter T Honegg said.

12

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16 - 31 May 2011

CORPORATE

Ansys develops simulators for Hybrids, EVs Shambhavi Anand New Delhi

I

n the wake of growing concern over petroleum supplies and the pressing demand for an alternative source of energy, Ansys, a globally renowned Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software company and simulation solution provider, has developed solutions for simulating complex systems such as battery packs of hybrid and electric vehicles. It has also signed two new channel partners for better distribution of its products.

‘With the proliferation of electronics, cars are more of an electronic device than a mechanical machine. In an electrical device with so many electrical components multiphysics has become predominant.

Consequently, with the electrical

Sandeep Sovani, Manager, Global Automotive Strategy, Ansys

and magnetic physics mixed with structural sciences, fluid mechanics and thermal mechanics of so many components and systems, the amalgamation of the various technologies makes the vehicle a much more complicated unit than what it is till now,’ Manager of Global Automotive Strategy, A nsys, Sa ndeep Sovani said.

To be able to understand the role An internal combustion engine modeled using Fluent and effect of multiple have ice accumulated on it alongphysics is extremely important with other components with fluid as multiple physics can cause flow. Simplorer is a tool used for deformation, noise, vibration, simulating a system which has overheating and many more comsmaller components. plications in a hybrid and electric ‘Toget her Simplorer and vehicle. Also, as HEVs and EVs are Fluent make a strong simulating a result of the quest for fuel econtool for hybrid and electric vehiomy, it is necessary to extract cles. It provides the ability to maximum from the motor. simulate complex systems such In order to enable its users as battery packs for hybrid and to study the multi-physics that electric, cooling of electronoperates in an electric vehicle ic systems, traction motor and and helps in optimising the commore systems. While Simplorer ponents better, the company has looks at the electronic behavintegrated two of its existing iour of the battery, Fluent takes products named Fluent with a care of the cooling behaviour tool called Simplorer. Fluent is of the same. Previously there a computational fluid dynamics was no way for looking at the solver (CFD solver) and is used coupled behaviour of the batto simulate the fluid flow (flow of tery and other systems. This air, water, gas, oil). Hence it can solution means that the batbe used in the optimisation of air tery can be designed for better conditioners, wind shields which

A polyhedral mesh of a car by Fluent

cooling with better life, that solves a major engineering as well as consumer problem,’ said Sovani.

Apart from Simplorer and Fluent, Ansys has also integrated its existing product Workbench which was used to simulate thermal, fluid and structural parts with the fl agship product of Ansoft, provider of magnetic and electric simulation solutions, known as Maxwell to integrate electromagnetic functions with it. ‘We had acquired Ansoft two years ago as it was the leader in electric and magnetic solutions.

It helps the user in studying the complexities of the of the multiphysics playing in a hybrid and electric vehicles,’ Sovani said.

Ansys has also signed two new channel partners in order to dis-

tribute its solutions better. The two new partners are Aten and Entuple. While Entuple sells only electromagnetic solutions Aten deals with other solutions too.

In India Ansys operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ansys, USA. The company is headquartered in Bangalore and has offices in Pune, Hyderabad and Noida. Apart from the automotive industry, it provides CAE solutions to industries like construction, aerospace, defense, energy, healthcare, material and chemical processing, consumer goods, electronic and semi conductors, academics among others. Ansys isone of the leading suppliers to major OEMs including Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, among others.

Lohia Auto to roll out electric two-wheeler with higher speed Nabeel A Khan New Delhi

L

ohia Auto Industries is launching a new electric two-wheeler, which can gain upto 60 kmph, and a new three-wheeler within this fi nancial year. The company will roll out both the vehicles from its Kashipur plant in Uttarakhand.

The new scooter is likely to be priced at around `35,000 in New Delhi. The new two-wheeler is expected to be launched around February 2012 while the threewheeler will be presented at the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) for approval in a month and expected to be formally launched by September this year.

‘We are getting it (threewheeler) approved from the ARAI and it is going to be a 2+1 passenger vehicle,’ CEO, Lohia Auto Industries, Ayush Lohia told Auto Monitor. Talking about the price of the three-wheel-

er, Lohia said that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) scheme for subsidy is yet not clear on 2 +1-seater. Lohia is discussing the subsidy on the vehicle with the government.

The company will decide on the pricing of the three-wheeler after getting feedback from the government. The three-wheeler will be competing with Bajaj 2+1-seater on the city roads.

Lohia Auto Industries entered the electric vehicle segment in early 2009 with three models— the Fame, the Oma Star and the Oma Star Dx priced at `20,990, `24,475 and `26,991 respectively.

In order to encourage people to adopt electric two-wheelers, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) offered subsidy on the ex-factory prices of all electric vehicles, subject to a maximum limit, last year. Twowheeler makers have been given a subsidy ceiling of `4,000 for low-speed vehicles and `5,000 for high-speed vehicles valid till Oma Star by Lohia Auto

2012. Additionally VAT on vehicle sales is not levied in New Delhi though buyers in other states have to pay around 12 percent VAT in most other states. Since the launch of these three models, Lohia Auto has sold over 5,000 scooters mostly in Delhi while few hundreds were sold in Lucknow.

The company claimed that the idea behind starting this venture was to provide a range of cost effective, eco-friendly and energy efficient vehicles. Its manufacturing unit based out of Kashipur, Uttrakhand has the capacity to produce 1,000 units per day. It has two existing dealership in Delhi and two more are expected to come up in the near future.

Lohia Auto is planning to expand its network of dealers in the states likes Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

The new three-wheeler will be an indigenous product as with all the components sourced domestically and assembled at Kashipur plant. Lohia has invested `20 crore in putting up a new assembly line for the threewheeler and for the research and development for the product— the company’s R&D centre has a team of 15 engineers working on product development. The company is sourcing components from Taiwan and China for twowheelers. It recently signed an agreement with Exide for sourcing batteries.

Lohia Auto Industry’s assembly plant in Kashipur

The electric vehicle maker is targeting the commercial drivers and contractor who can use the vehicle to run for commuters in the city. However, the speed limit of 25 kmph might not be so convincing for commuters and drivers. The other hitch is the availability of the infrastructure like charging points. The vehicles (both two and three wheeler) take

The new threewheeler will be an indigenous product.

Lohia has invested `20 crore in putting up a new assembly line for the threewheeler and setup an R&D centre for its development

around seven to eight hours to get fullly charged and once it is fully charged it can run for around 70 to 80 km.

Admitting that the Indian market is not so conducive for electric vehicles, Ayush said, ‘The main reason for the unfavourable response from the market is because the earlier entrants could not offer after-sales service and parts were not available.

Also, with the encouragement of government subsidies, general traders brought the vehicles and sold it here without any support for the aftermarket,’ he said.

In a move to control the damage, the company has instructed its entire network of workshops to provide after-sales service to the electric bikes to any company.

‘If you are running a motorbike and you don’t get spare parts, it spoils the reputation of the entire industry. That’s why it is taking time for us to spread our business,’ Ayush Lohia pointed out.

14

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AUTONOMICS

Platform sharing helps carmakers spread costs, compete better O Sridhar C Head, Automobiles, CRISIL Research Hetal Gandhi Team leader, CRISIL Research

ver 2004-05 to 2009-10, competition in the Indian car industry has been steadily rising. In response, carmakers have stepped up the rate of model introduction to spur consumer interest amid strong demand for cars. As a result, research and development (R&D) and royalty costs have increased. Platform sharing—a concept whereby carmakers share design, components and production facilities for a set of models—helps reduce R&D costs and allow the players to sustain their rate of model introduction.

Internationally, players have saved 15-25 percent on R&D costs through platform sharing. As the concept becomes popular in India too, carmakers will be able to spread costs across a larger volume base that will enable more investments on R&D, helping them compete better.

About Platform Sharing The Indian cars industry has grown strongly at a 17.7 percent CAGR during 2005-06 to 2010-11, led by growing affordability and availability of finance. However, rising demand in turn has intensified competition. In the small cars segment itself, the number of manufacturers has almost doubled to 13 from seven between 2004-05 and 2010-11. Players responded to this by launching more models, which pushed up development costs.

Over the past 10 years, research and development costs, and selling and distri-

bution costs of carmakers have increased rapidly. For example, for a leading Indian car manufacturer, R&D and royalty costs increased by 15 percent per unit sold per annum, during this period. Further, raw material costs have shot up due to strong global demand for automobiles.

With competition intensifying and carmakers likely to persist with their rate of model launches, costs are only set to increase further.

Platform sharing is one way out of the cost-competition dilemma. Under this method, there is a shared set of design, engineering and production capabilities, and major components for a range of car models and even different types of automobiles. This helps the manufacturers reduce development costs per model, as the costs are spread over a range of models that are based on a platform.

The basic components of a platform generally include—f loorpan/chassis; steering mechanism; suspensions and engine components.

Platform sharing can be joint ventures (JVs) between two or more players, or a single large carmaker may use the same platform across a range of models sold globally. An example of the fi rst scenario is the JV between Renault and Nissan, under which they share powertrain components for their models. Similarly, a single player can save on costs by leveraging on a popular existing platform or model—Toy-

Platform sharing will cut down development costs (Index)

Renault and Nissan signed a platform sharing agreement in 1999, under which they share 30 percent of powertrain components for their models. The agreement led to annual combined savings of $1.5 billion in 2009. The concept of platform sharing is gaining in popularity in India. At least six different sharing tieups have been formed in India over the past ten years.

280 260 240 220 200 180 160

ota achieved sales of 2.8 million units on its Camry model in 2010, by launching different models across countries on the same platform.

The joint ventures have helped carmakers spread R&D costs over a larger number of car units sold, lowering the fi xed cost burden of the individual manufacturers.

Having a large number of models on a single platform can help carmakers sustain their market share with a limited increase in cost. In the past, carmakers have shared small components to reduced fi xed costs; or at times have shared engines and suspension assemblies. Another way to reduce costs is to share complete platforms and manufacturing facilities.

Increasing Competition Competition in the car industry has increased significantly in the past five years. While the number of manufacturers in the industry has increased from 14 to 21, the number of models launched has more than doubled from 21 to 49. With the increase in the number of new models, there has been cannibalisation of sales of existing models—sales volumes per model in the small car segment have therefore grown at a lesser rate than the volumes in the segment as a whole.

The time between successive model launches has also been shrinking. A classic example is the reducing gap between revamped launches of each generation of Honda City in India. The gap between fi rst two generations was eight years whereas that between the second and third generation was four years.

Under platform sharing, with more models launched on a single platform, although growth in sales volumes per model may not increase, growth in volumes per platform will be relatively sharper, enabling carmakers to sustain profits.

Platform sharing gains in India

140 120 100 80

Jan-05

Jan-06

Jan-07

RM cost per vehicle index

Jan-08

Jan-10

Jan-09

S&D cost per vehicle index

R&D and royalty cost index Source: CRISIL Research

Small-car volumes rise faster than sales per model with rising model launches (No. of models)

25

70%

66%

60%

23

22

20

50%

49%

40%

31% 15

16

14% 19%

10

28% 27%

20%

13

23% 10%

11

10

30%

3%

0%

-3%

-7%

5

-10%

-16%

-20% -30%

0 2005-06

2006-07 Models

2007-08

2008-09

Volumes/ Model Growth (%)

2009-10

2010-11

Volumes Growth (%)

Source: CRISIL Research

Some of the major platform sharing tie-ups in India Joint venture/ Year Tie up

Key objective

Tata-Fiat

Manufacture vehicles and engines for Fiat Efficient utilisaand Tata catering to domestic and interna- tion of plant and tional markets at Fiat’s plant in Ranjangaon, technology Maharashtra. Currently Tata’s Indica Vista and Fiat’s Punto use the same Fiat engines.

AudiVolkswagenSkoda Source: CRISIL Research

2006

2009

Benefits till date

Volkswagen’s Polo and Skoda’s Fabia which Efficient utiliare manufactured at the Chakan facility in sation of plant capacity Pune share the same platform.

Globally, platform sharing has helped carmakers reduce costs. Renault and Nissan signed a platform sharing agreement in 1999, under which they share 30 percent of powertrain components for their models. The agreement led to annual combined savings of $1.5 billion in 2009 itself. Models like Nissan Tida and Renault Clio have been launched on the same platform. Another example is Toyota, which achieved global volumes of 2.8 million units on its Camry platform in 2010. Adopting platform sharing helped Toyota save $4.4 billion during the year, by writing off R&D costs faster on a larger volume base.

The concept of platform sharing is gaining in popularity in India. At least six different sharing tie-ups have been formed in India over the past ten years. Of these, two are directly linked to platform sharing—Tata and Fiat tieup (2006) and the Volkswagen-Skoda engine-sharing deal (2009).

The Tata-Fiat tie-up is one of the evolving examples of platform sharing in India, where Fiat engines manufactured at the Ranjangaon plant are fitted in Tata Indica platform vehicles. Also, the Volkswagen Vento, Polo and Skoda Fabia use the same engine. The Tata Indica, Indigo and Indigo Marina also share the same platform.

As platform sharing becomes popular in India, players will be able to reduce R&D and royalty costs for new model launches by basing these models on a smaller number of platforms.

(Please note that the views expressed here are those of CRISIL Research and not of CRISIL’s Ratings division. CRISIL Research operates independently of and does not have access to information obtained by CRISIL’s Ratings Division.)

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CORPORATE

Processes, technology upgradation on cards for Ruia Group Abhishek Parekh Beckingen & Neuwied, Germany

P

awa n Kuma r Ruia, Chairman of Ruia Group, has been rather busy of late making newer acquisitions and managing earlier ones, as well as consolidating his position as a major supplier to the automobile and engineering sectors. However, he is unlikely to have much time for a breather given the task of turning around the fortunes of fastener operations that he has acquired in Germany. Not only is the demand from the automotive sector looking up globally, but also the increasing customer confidence and business expansion within Europe and India, is likely to keep him busy.

Ruia Group acquired Schlegel Automotive Europe, an automotive sealants company based in Leicestershire, in 2008. Ruia followed it up with the acquisition of Henniges (renamed Draftex Automotive Grefrath GmbH).

RGF’s Neuwied facility

A worker at Grefrath facility

Subsequently, the group also acquired Gumasol Rubber Tec, a solid tyre and rubber based products manufacturing company based near Frankfurt. The acquisition of Acument gave Ruia Group an almost 15 percent share of the German automotive fastener market. Acument has since been renamed Ruia Global Fasteners with a metal processing capacity of around

55,000 tonnes and employing a crew of 1,300 at four plants in Neuwied, Beckingen, Neuss and Schrozberg and a logistics centre in Koln.

Restructuring The German facilities are in the midst of restructuring with top priority accorded to customer confidence building exercises and are looking to spread their footprint around Europe and other parts of the world as well as developing lighter and environmental friendly fasteners.

‘The heading department is the most important department in respect to the manufacturing of screws. The main portion of added value is generated there; especially, if the headers are integrated headers. At our site, we are able to manufacture a fastening element from the construction of tools to the fi nished product including surface treatment,’ said Plant Manager, Ruia Global Fasteners (RGF), Beckingen, Jorg Bosch, who has been with Acument for around two decades. He added that the co-operation and the experience of the employees are likely to play a crucial role in the turnaround process.

‘We are looking for a significant increase in revenues and currently, it looks like that can be achieved as the OEMs and Tier I are regaining their faith in us after Ruia Group took charge,’ he added. He also pointed out that the new company’s increased willingness to invest and develop will also result in a considerable improvement of sales.

Draftex facilty at Grefrath

The Beckingen facility supplies steel for processing to other facilities including Neuss, Grefrath, Neuwied and Schrozberg, located in the western part of Germany.

Product Develpment RGF is working on eco-family of fasteners including aluminium fasteners to reduce the weight and consequent reduction in CO2 pollution. They are mainly used for the fastening of steel, magnesium and aluminium products.

The product range includes ballstuds, screws, cold formed specials and plugs. The application area for these fasteners mainly comprises gearboxes, steering columns, oil pumps and engine covers. EU market size is around 10 percent of the total fastener demand of around Euro 3.3 billion.

‘The future product development efforts are primarily focused in the area of weight reduction so that the vehicles have better fuel efficiency,’ according to Plant Manager, Ruia Global Fasteners Neuwied, Dr Wolfgang Guth. He

added that RGF is closely working with customers in the area of new product development and streamlining of logistics to help increase efficiency and garner market share.

The company has been refi ning and improving on other modes of cost cutting by enhancing manufacturing efficiency and better raw material management. One of the processes includes special phosphating performed at Beckingen facility.

Phosphating also ensures best results of the forming process.

Another advantage is the justin-time production as the wire is only processed when needed within the next few days.

RGF, especially the Beckingen facility, has also been proactively tackling the human resource issue in its own unique way.

A significant chunk of current employees started their careers with RGF as apprentices. With 3-1/2 years of apprenticeship, the apprentices gain considerable knowledge of steel processing, learn how to operate process machines and about the setup of cold-forming headers. The company has trained more than 1,000 trainees at the Beckingen facility originally set up by Bosch’s father.

Electric Drive The process to electric drive has considerable influence on RGF’s current portfolio. It is one of few companies in Germany that is able to manufacture long-shaft parts. These fastening components are used for the assembly of electric engines and battery bases. Bosch points out that electric vehicle will play an important role in the future growth of the company.

However a company official points out that as a major part of production is focussed on high-end fastening elements, the impact of product substitution may not be very adverse. Also, the development of adhesive technologies has barely affected fastening products because there are no special requirements for the fastening components in respect to the screwing of sheet metal parts.

16 - 31 May 2011

Auto Monitor

CORPORATE

17

Best Forgings plans major expansion Bhargav TS Chennai

C

hennai-based Best Forgings has recently commenced supplies of rocker arms to Diamler through Autotech industries. The pilot production has been completed and the company has supplied 2,000 rocker arms to the German commercial vehicle manufacturer that has a plant in Oragadam, Chennai. The company will supply four components such as rocker arms, two gear shifting leavers and a gear shifting fork soon.

The Chief Operating Manager, Best Forgings, G Raman revealed that it has planned to expand its units by installing additional machines in this fi scal to meet the increasing demand. During the expansion mode, it is planning to come out with machine

India’s first F1 circuit in full throttle Our Bureau New Delhi

T

he logo of India’s first venue for Formula One Gra nd Pr i x na med ‘Buddh International Circuit’ was unveiled by the JP Group in Greater Noida recently. The circuit has been designed by world-renowned F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke, and has cost $400 million.

Manoj Gaur, Chairman, Jaypee Sports International Limited, at the unveiling of the logo

Located about 40 kilometres from the capital, the circuit can accommodate up to 1,25,000 spectators, including 25,000 fans at the main grandstand and thousands more at the natural grass stands and temporary stands. The ticket prices will start from `2,500. Speaking about the circuit, MD and CEO of Jaypee Sports International (JPSI) Sameer Gaur explained that construction of the 5.14km track would be completed by 30 August and claimed that this is the fi rst circuit in the world to have been built according to the latest guidelines of the Federation Internationale d’Automobile (FIA) which allows overtaking. The new circuit will enable at least four cars to overtake each other at four turns. The circuit will have a total number of 16 turns.

The race is expected take place on 30 October, subject to homologation—the inspection and approval from the Federation FIA that the track meets all predetermined requirements.

Moreover, over `1,700 crore is being invested to build the track and there will be a racing academy in the premises. The unveiled logo consists of a stylised ‘B’ that resembles a heart. The circuit will be part of the 2,500-acre Jaypee Greens Sports City, which will include a 100,000-seat cricket stadium, 18-hole golf course, 25,000-seat hockey stadium and a sports academy.

shops which will enable the company to become a Tier I supplier for major OEMs. The company is already supplying components like the axle tube, nuts and hubs to Ashok Leyland, gears to Greaves, and hubs to Eicher Motors and Mahindra through Tier I suppliers. Initially, it had supplied about 2,000 rocker arms to Diamler and according to the requirements of the client, it will increase its production. ‘Orders from Diamler will be our major entry into the passenger car segment in the Indian market,’ Raman said. Currently, the company is manufacturing components for two-wheeler and commercial vehicle parts to Royal Enfield, Tata Motors, Mahindra and others.

Established in 2005, Best Forgings has an installed capacity of 400 tonnes per annum and plans

Rocker arms

to double it in the current year.

Meanwhile, to enhance the quality of the products, it has installed a vertical machining centre, which will also reduce the operation time. He continued, ‘Our forging expertise, extensive capabilities and proactive approach with the companies to understand the requirements and expectations, helped to supply cost effective forgings while supplying a superior product.’

The company specialises in medium carbon steel materials and makes engine components for commercial vehicles and various two-wheeler manufacturers.

Bracketed under ten different product categories, it also manufactures a range of components with weight ranging from 200 grams to two kilograms. Its customers include ALL, Royal Enfield, Mahindra and Autotech.

18

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16 - 31 May 2011

CORPORATE

Ecocat to introduce new catalytic products A

s India is inching towards stricter emission norms, component manufacturer, Ecocat India is arming itself with newer and more innovative technologies to emerge as a dominant stake holder in the segment and double its revenue in the next three years. It is adding new products to its portfolio and also shifting its focus toward petrol applications.

‘We have developed two new products—ceramic prick with coating and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) to leverage innovative solution to various applications,’ Business Head, Ecocat India, Alok Trigunayat said in an exclusive interaction with Auto Monitor. The ceramic prick with coating will be used in petrol applications while SCR will be used for diesel applications. These products are touted to be effective for emission control in various condition and vehicle types.

Alok Trigunayat, Business Head, Ecocat India

The component maker said that it is working with a number of OEs to supply these new products but due to the non-disclosure agreement, it could not divulge any details. The company was formed as an equal joint venture between Ecocat Finland and the Vikas Group in 1996. Initially it was importing components from Finland but in 2008 it established a plant in Faridabad and started supporting the Indian market from here.

So far, Ecocat has been focusing on diesel and CNG applications with customers like

Mahindra & Mahindra, Piaggio, Tata Motors and GM. Now it plans to tap the growing opportunity in petrol applications also. Its product portfolio consists of complete solutions in terms of substrates (prick), chemical coating, and canning. The offerings include oxidation catalyst and partial fi lters, three-way catalysts for CNG applications in compliance with BS-IV norms. It is also working at developing products in compliance with higher level of emission norms like BS-V. It claims to have all major OEMs in its customers list for both commercial and passenger vehicles applications. The component maker affirms that it will also be diversifying to off-road and agriculture equipment once the emission legislation for such application is in place. Ecocat claims to have been growing quite well in the past two years and expects to continue the northward graph in the coming years.

In FY11, its revenue stood at `110 crore which it hopes to be double in the next two to three years.

It has already ramped up its capacity to 300 percent in the last two years. It is currently producing five lakh catalysts annually from 1.5 lakh units in 2008. The company asserts that it can increase its capacity further at a very short notice for unscheduled orders.

Mindful of the importance of research and development to sustain its growth, the component manufacturer is expanding its testing and R&D facility at its plant. In the last two years it claims to have invested close to `50 crore in technology upgradation. Now it plans to upgrade the R&D and design centre by FY12 with modern technology and equipment by investing another `20 crore. ‘We will be setting up a new plant in the Pune zone because we have a good number of existing customers like Tata Motors, Piaggio in the same region,’ Trigunayat pointed out.

Ecocat was exporting products to China from its Faridabad plant till last year—it has ceased exports—due to the increase

Substrate

in demand in the local market.

Presently, it is also exploring opportunities in the after sales market in India.

‘The older cars may not be able to comply with the newest legislation for emission control, but can easily reduce the emission considerably by installing these components. It is already happening in the other countries but in India, the emission control devices have so far not been used in the aftersales, but now we are talking to people to introduce these products in the aftermarket also.’ Alok Trigunayat added.

Hella sparks market with low-cost LED lamps Shambhavi Anand New Delhi

G

urgaon based company, Hella India Lighting (HIL), which is a subsidiary of Hella KGaA Hueck, Germany and deals in automotive lighting and signalling equipment, is in the process of expanding its portfolio in LED and front lights. It is also planning to launch some new products in the thermal products category.

Safety being the key focus area of the company, it is in the process of customising LED tail lights used in high-end luxury cars for the Indian market. ‘According to WHO reports, India ranks number one in road accidents. Studies say that 15 people die every hour on roads, which is more than any terrorist attack or natural calamity. Since lack of visibility is one of the major factors that cause accidents, we as a lighting company can play a major role in reducing

them,’ MD, Hella India Lighting, Ramashankar Pandey said.

The product development team of HIL is working on developing LED tail lights similar to those used in high-end luxury cars like Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Skoda at cheaper rate so that it suits the Indian consumer and in turn OEMs. These lights which usually cost somewhere around `4,000 to as high as `10,000 will cost `2,000.

‘Most Indian OEMs still use filament bulbs for tail lamps. But for higher safety LED lights are imperative, especially with the lighting conditions of our streets. LED lights also make business sense as they have a longer life and so don’t need to be replaced often,’ Pandey said. HIL, which mainly deals with Commercial Vehicle (CV), agricultural equipment and construction equipment and aftermarket for all segments for Hella Group, plans to introduce these LED tail lights in the aftermarket before taking the

Photo: Shamik Banerjee

Nabeel A Khan New Delhi

Ramashankar Pandey, MD, Hella India Lighting

OEM route. The aftermarket route will help in educating the customer and penetration will also be easier according to HIL. It plans to start by selling these lights to large fleet owners. ‘Our research shows that by investing `2,000 in our new tail lights one can save around `4,000 on fuel consumption,’ Pandey added.

Once the product is accepted, it can be sold to the OEMs who are supportive of the idea but are reluctant to initiate. The lights will be available in the market soon.

Apart from lighting, the company is also in the process of adding new products to its thermal portfolio. It will launch condensers for the aftermarket by September 2011 and in the next three months it will also introduce compressors to the market. Last year, it introduced radiators and sold around 10,000 units of the same.

In order to increase the availability of all its products the company plans to double its dealers to 4,000 by next year.

The manufacturing plant of the company is at Derabassi near Chandigarh and has a capacity to produce 1,15,000 head lamps and 80,000 tail lamps in a month. It currently produces 69,000 head lamps and 32,000 tail lamps in a month. The company which follows a fi nancial year from June to May has a turnover of `36.3 crore in FY10 and expects to reach to `48 crore in FY11.

HIL is a subsidiary of the Euro 3.7 billion Hella Group which has headquarters in Germany and is one of the largest aftermarket organisations in the world for automotive parts and accessories. countries.

20

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16 - 31 May 2011

CORPORATE

Gearing SMEs for the next level Nabeel A Khan New Delhi

T

he Automotive Component Manufacturer Association (ACMA) has delineated a concrete road map to solve issues of concern for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) recently. The road map covers various concerns such as the lack of funds, buyers or organisational, structural and technological problems faced by the SMEs. To resolve the concerns, ACMA has initiated a unique programme of arranging a ‘marriage’ between Tier-I suppliers—who are facing a shortage of supply and are looking for suppliers—and Tier II and Tier III manufacturers—who are having difficulty procuring orders.

‘We have introduced a unique programme of co-branding between Tier I and Tier II, Tier III

Sunil Arora, Chairman, ACMA SME

suppliers. As of now, at least 75 percent of the ACMA members are SMEs so we have to promote the SME business. We have received very good response from the Tier I suppliers who were facing a shortage of supply for which, they were going to China and other countries. Now, with this ‘marriage’ between Tier I and Tier II, both the parties have benefited. Over 15 Tier I suppliers including Sona

Koyo, Ricco, Minda have joined this programme,’ Chairman, ACMA SME Committee, Sunil Arora told Auto Monitor.

ACMA has illustrated a very clear strategy line for the growth ahead. In the next fi ve years a `50-crore company will be called a micro industry, a `200crore organisation will be termed as mini-industry and an above `500-crore organisation will be regarded as a small industry.

Thus, it will be a lost game for those industries who are not able to reach `500 crore within the next five years. However, according to vision 20:20, looking at the positive signs, the association can enable them to sustain the status of an SME at least.

Speaking about the fund problems faced by SMEs, the ACMA SME chairman said that its members are receiving funding through

Small Industry Development Bank of India (SIDBI) on easy terms. SIDBI has brought some important schemes for the small scale industry including a grant of `15 lakh. Secondly, it is also providing loans of upto `10 crore for risk capital without any collateral, which is of great help in improving the ratio of a company and eventually being able to access loans from any bank.

Another major hitch in the growth of SMEs is when funds are not allocated to business strategic planning and the organisational structure. The association explained that when the SMEs get orders, they usually do not invest the same in their organisation’s structure and development, but rather push it for their personal usage such as buying houses, which stalls the overall growth of SMEs in the industry.

‘We foster collaborations between research & industries’ In an exclusive interview with Auto Monitor, Chairman of AutoCRC, Barry Comben discusses his plans of extending the business relationship between Australian and Indian auto companies to the next level.

T Murrali Chennai What is the objective of the Victorian Trade mission?

This is the second in series of the Mission’s visit, while the fi rst delegation had come in February last year. As a follow-up, in this mission some of the participants are the same while some are new. The Victorian government is supporting this mission and will continue doing so for future missions as well. This is just a part of an ongoing series of explorations by Australian suppliers of automotive goods and services to fi nd opportunities in India. It is part of the Victorian government’s Automotive Action Plan (AMAP), which is the policy umbrella under which this mission takes place. Thus all of these fi rms are Victorian based and Victoria is the primary centre for automotive manufacturing in Australia.

Could you give us an update on the outcome of the last mission?

About six companies participated in the 2010 mission. I think it s good news. It is not often that good news comes within a space of 12 to 14 months. However, one of the companies that was present last year, Davis Craig—that makes patented electric water pumps— offered its technology and is successful in securing a contract with Mahindra & Mahindra. The water pump will be incorporated in the new Scorpio and I think this vehicle is meant for exports to the US as far as I know. That’s one good story.

Another one is called MTM that manufactures auto shift mechanisms for automatic transmission. Presently, they are supplying their products to M&M. The company did not participate in the current mission.

These are two good examples where commencement in business relationships has started; but as I was saying, it often takes longer time. Thus it doesn’t surprise us and it would not have surprised us if there were no results to talk about a year later, as it depends on the models and

the plans of the customers to a great extent.

More importantly, it is an entry point for Australian companies to India. In the automotive industry, you have to be patient; the gestation is always long.

How many companies have joined this mission and how are they classified?

Nine companies have joined this mission. Of these companies, there are five component manufacturers including some large Australian fi rms such as Futuris Automotive (seat manufacturer), Air International (HVAC manufacturer), Davis Craig, and Composite Materials Engineering (CME). This company is interested in light weighting, which is in most of the automotive applications through the increased use of composite materials and various forms of composites for body panels, door pillars and the like.

They have a lot of expertise in this area.

A mong the researchers, Com monwea lt h Scient i f ic Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has participated in the delegation. It is the premier research organisation in the country, which is funded by Commonwealth. It has a high level of expertise in the light metal technologies and light weight technologies like magnesium sheet, magnesium die casting—a new process for high high-pressure die casting that can reduce weight and increase the strength and quality of the fi nish. So there are more opportunities opening up for the use of new materials in design and manufacture of motor vehicles and components.

What is the objective of CSIRO in the mission? Are they looking at associating with some research institutes in India?

CSIRO is looking to have its technologies taken up by the automotive industry in India.

So the opportunity is open to the Indian partners to participate in a joint venture to localise the product and commercialise it in India. Thus it’s a question of which of these com-

panies on a mission find the best way to come into the bu s i ne s s r e l ationship. In some cases like MTM and Davis Craig, which I mentioned in the beginning, the volume may be small and may see exports from Australia. But when the volume reaches critical mass it would be necessary to establish manufacturing facilities, which is a great thing. That’s the win-win for India Barry Comben, Chairman, AutoCRC and Leader of Victorian Trade Mission to India (Automotive) and Australia.

What is the role played by you at AutoCRC that you represent?

AutoCRC is a Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) operating under the Austra lian Government’s CRC programme.

The programme that commenced in Australia in the early 1990s was introduced by the commonwea lt h government and funding was made available. Its purpose is to foster collaboration between research institutions and industry firms.

It’s a relationship whereby the industry and researchers works together on a budget with the aim to commercialise the outcome, thus it’s a commercial or iented prog ra m me. T he projects are defined and created by the industry partner. We have 20 consortium members who contribute cash/funds) and the commonwealth contributes roughly an equally amount of funding and therefore it’s a cofunded activity. The industries that join in partnership define the project that they are interested in and find the research capabilities that is necessarily for that particular project. It varies from project to project.

To how many countries will you take the delegation?

The focus for the Victorian government at this time is India, there is no other focus.

Why is that so? Is there another reason like culture etc?

India is the growing market and the fi rms in Victoria want to

try and participate in India. Yet, it’s beyond that; fi rst of all there is a cultural relationship that we have at this time. Approximately 2,00,000 Indians are living and working in Australia. In addition to that, we have a student population of 45,000. So this is already a quarter of a million people in a relatively small population. Australia is the multi-culture community and society and people from India are have increasingly integrated in our society. This is one of the reasons. From the automotive perspective, our interest is in your growth. From the business perspective, it is really the same—India is a growth story irrespective of which segment one can talk about. So in this mission, it is a multi-sector as we have delegates from the construction industry, aerospace and defence industry, in food and beverage industry in addition to automotive industry.

Are you planning similar delegation in future?

Later this year there will be a bigger mission coming from Victoria from even more segments of economy represented.

Thus I think that there will be 65 people from Australia who will be visiting in September.

Would you be looking at taking an Indian automotive delegation to Australia?

Yes. We would welcome that, though nothing has been decided. Let’s see what comes out of this visit.

‘We have advised them to restructure their organisations and have roped in highly skilled people to conduct seminars on this issue in different parts of the country. Thus, we are also giving inputs on how to plan strategies and get ready for the growth and corrections ahead,’ Sunil Arora added.

The association has a slew of plans in place for technology improvements in SMEs. It is mindful of the fact that it is not possible for all SMEs, who are mostly Tier II and Tier III manufacturers, to have technological tie-ups with foreign companies due to financial constraints.

Thus, the association has suggested for the SMEs to invite good engineers from foreign countries for a period of time to benefit from the experience of working with them.

Daimler receives RBI approval Our Bureau New Delhi

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aimler AG received approva l from t he Reserve Bank of India to setup a ‘Non-Banking Finance Company’ for its fi nancial services business in India. The newly founded company, Daimler Financial Services India (DFSI), will be a 100 percent subsidiary of Daimler AG and is expected to be operational in the third quarter 2011.

‘With business activities in over 40 countries, Daimler Financial Services is one of the leading automotive financial services companies in the world.

Every second passenger car from Daimler is fi nanced or leased by us. India is one of the fastest growing automotive markets and Daimler Group has high expectations from this market. We will support the sales of MercedesBenz cars and Daimler trucks, as we see a large demand for fi nancing solutions in the market. We will initially invest upwards of $50 million as part of market entry,’ said the Member of the Board of Management of Daimler Financial Services AG, Richard Howard, who is responsible for the Africa and Asia-Pacific region.

Managing Director of DFSI, Sidhartha Nair pointed out that by providing innovative and customised fi nance and insurance solutions to dealers and customers, the company intends to enrich the ownership experience of Mercedes-Benz and Bharat Benz branded automotive products, under the MercedesBenz Financial and Bharat Benz Financial labels.

The product range of the subsidiary will include financing, leasing, insurance and dealer fi nancing for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars at the market launch. Also, commercial vehicle finance products will be offered for the newly developed Daimler truck for the Indian market called BharatBenz in 2012, after the start of truck production at its plant in Oragadam near Chennai.

Auto players in western region facing major challenges Our Bureau Mumbai

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estern India, especially Pune, has been striving to regain its prominent position in automotive space as a destination of choice for manufacturers. Apart from Tata Motors opting for Sanand, 30 kms from Ahmedabad, as the location for manufacturing the cheapest car in the world ‘Nano’, the host of tractors, construction equipment and auto component manufacturers are in the process of strengthening their presence in the western region. And the latest to make it to the list is the Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturer Beiqi Foton who is planning to manufacture light and medium commercial vehicles in a facility

near Pune with an investment of around `1,676 crore.

Though the investment scenario appears to be optimistic, the existing automotive sector players have a mixed opinion on the attractiveness of western India as a manufacturing base. The key issues faced by most medium and smaller auto sector companies include getting managerial manpower, road connectivity or transportation and uninterrupted power supply though gravity of issues differ from location to location.

‘Some of the major issues that have been pointed out by potential investors include support infrastructure near industrial belts and speed of approval,’ said General Manager, Human Resource Development and Deputy Collector, Maharashtra Industrial

Development Corporation, Rajendra Kshirsagar. He added that government may be looking to take up and implement measures, which may make the state as a more investor friendly location.

‘A facility within government promoted industrial development zones including Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) has good infrastructure support and facilities in place and Gujarat is one of the most investor friendly locations considering speed of approval, power availability and road connectivity,’ said Chairman, Amul Industries, Chandubhai Patel. Amul Industries is a Rajkot -based crankshafts and connecting rods manufacturer with facilities in Rajkot, Sanand and Uttarakhand.

A major concern area for potential investors in Maharashtra is

availability of power and industrial relations, given the tendency of labour unions getting upper hand in most disputes. ‘The uncertainty on the availability of power in Maharashtra has an impact to the overall cost of any project, medium or large, and the government has not taken any major steps on this front,’ said an auto component manufacturer requesting anonymity. He added that Gujarat could turn out to be a favoured location for the automotive sector in the coming years with a business-friendly environment and improving infrastructure across the state.

‘Our objective is to provide a very conducive environment for investors to set up a facility with minimum specified investment commitment and job creation potential in the state with a mix of

incentives and promotional offers.

We are identifying areas or clusters where specific sectors could congregate and support infrastructure could also be established,’ said General Manager, Special Projects, GIDC, Nayan Raval.

With growing awareness of job creation potential of automotive sector, authorities in western states including Maharashtra and Gujarat have enrolled services of consultants like Ernst & Young for IT, knowledge partnership and other services to gain from latter’s experience and offer a business-friendly image to potential investors. It remains to be seen if these measures will result in higher share of investments compared to traditional automotive base like National Capital Region and ChennaiSriperumbudur cluster.

16 - 31 May 2011

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Eaton to localise locking differentials, superchargers Nabeel A Khan Pune

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aton India, betting on the robust growth of the Indian automotive industry, is planning to assemble a range of products, which will include locking differentials, superchargers and valve actuation systems shortly. It also envisages manufacturing an array of plastic products locally, like oil pick up pipes and oil pans

by FY12.

‘We have a host of new products which we don’t manufacture in India, but plan to assemble here

by FY12. One of them is the locking differential, a torque enhancing product that usually goes into the rear axle and enhances the torque—of a passenger car or a commercial vehicle.’ Executive Director, Automotive, Eaton India, Ramchandra Rao told Auto Monitor recently.

In India, the torque enhancing component maker is currently supplying locking differentials to Mahindra for Scorpio which is predominantly exported to Australia and South Africa.

It claims that the equipment provides a four-wheel drive capability to any vehicle and believes that the locking differential is ideal for Mahindra’s latest Thar, and is in talks with the vehicle manufacturer to incorporate the component in other vehicles too. The Indian OEM is also launching a pickup in the US with factory-fitted locking differentials by Eaton.

The company is also working with a number of other OEMs including car manufacturers and commercial vehicle makers to supply the differentials.

The product takes little space and can get retrofitted in a vehicle easily and enhances the capability of vehicles by providing torque, which is crucial for Indian conditions.

Cashing in on the retrofitting advantage of the locking differential, the manufacturer is ready to explore opportunities in the Indian aftermarket. It plans to launch the differentials in a couple of regions in India, where the off-roading is prominent such as for trucks and SUVs. The component has already captured business in the aftermarket in the US and expects to clock sales

Eaton India to triple sales by 2015 Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation has recently announced a sales target of $500 million in India by the end of 2015, which would be triple of its current revenue in the country.

‘India will be an important part of our goal of generating 30 percent of our sales from emerging markets,’ said Chairman and CEO, Eaton, Alexander M Cutler. He contined, ‘We are excited about participating in the development of India’s infrastructure and in its manufacturing, transportation and power industries.’

Cutler announced that it will be entering the power distribution market in India by the end of 2011 and will establish sales, marketing, application engineering, and local manufacturing and assembly capabilities.

Ramchandra Rao, ED, Eaton India

of at least 15,000 units in India in the after-sales market annually by next year.

The manufacturer is open to re-design and to customise the torque enhancing component for any car or vehicle based on the

Eaton’s Pune plant (Inset) Eaton’s locking differentials

demand. Another component on the agenda is the supercharger or turbocharger that boosts the power while reducing fuel consumption by four to five percent.

Nissan is already using the supercharger in one of its cars in India,

which the component maker is supplying from its Japan plant.

It also supplies fuel connecting pipes to Ford India from its UK plant but will begin supplying the component from India soon. The locking differentials

will be the initial components to be assembled from Eaton’s Nasik plant in a year. Moreover, the company has clinched a deal with Hyundai Motor India to supply locally produced valve actuation for the Kappa engine in i10 and i20 cars from the current quarter.

Eaton is one of the world’s largest independent producers of torque controlling differentials for various manufacturers. In India, it currently manufactures engine valves to segments ranging from automotive, agricultural, and industrial and locomotive applications. Amongst its important customers are Ford (Europe), Suzuki, Tata Cummins, Kirloskar Oil Engines and Mahindra and Mahindra and Chrysler. These valves are manufactured at Eaton’s plants in Ahmednagar and Nashik.

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Texspin may enter transmission systems business Abhishek Parekh Ranpur, Ahmedabad

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hmedabad based bearings and automotive systems manufacturer Texspin Bearings is in talks with potential partners for making an entry into transmission related products as a mode of forward integration.

The impending entry into automotive products would mark a shift for one of the oldest bearings manufacturer in the country.

‘We are in talks with various companies for automotive products, but bearings would continue to be the main focus area for the company. The effort at development of automotive products is in line with our strategy to diversify revenue base and offer customised products to customers,’ said Director, Business Development, Texspin Bearings, Dipen Makwana.

Texspin, based in Ranpur that is around 130 kms from Ahmedabad, manufactures and supplies bearings for engine, transmission, suspension, clutch, steering systems and other automotive and engineering applications. Its product range for the clutch system includes self centering clutch release bearings. The transmission bearings portfolio comprises cylindrical and roller bearings, detent and ball bushes and synchronizer rings. Suspension bearings portfolio comprises thrust kingpin bearings, kingpin kit and strut bearings. The company’s engine bearings portfolio comprises water pump bearings, needle bearings and BPM rollers, propeller shaft bearings and tension bearings and idlers. It also supplies steering columns, four-point contact steering columns, angular contact steering

column bearings and steering races as a part of its steering bearings product range. It has recently launched hydraulic slave cylinders for automotive clutch manufacturing applications.

‘We have always focused on developing products which can help customers substitute for imports. We have been the fi rst Indian bearings manufacturers in India to manufacture kingpin bearings, steering and clutch application bearings in India at a time when these were largely imported to cater to local demand,’ said Vishal Makwana in a chat with Auto Monitor at Texspin’s Ahmedabad facility.

The company is investing around `35 crore in a new 40,000 sq ft facility near its existing plant in Ranpur to cater to the growing demand from the automotive sector. The new facility would help raise the production capacity by close to 35 percent. It supplies around 12 million units of bearings up to 120 mm in diameter to domestic and global customers.

‘We currently derive around 12 to 15 percent of the current turnover from exports. This share will, move up significantly as we are in the process of bagging several major orders from OEMs in Europe and North America for precision, customised bearings solution which should take a share of exports to close to 20 percent over the next couple of years,’ said Dipen Makwana. He added that bagging a global OEM customer is a long drawn process and also entails significant spare capacity in order to ramp up the

Vishal Makwana, Director, Business Development and Bhupendra Makwana, Managing Director, Texspin Bearings

production at a short notice. The company turnover last fi scal was around `108 crore and it is aiming to reach a turnover of around `200 crore over the next three years. It is looking forward to bagging a few large sized orders from global OEMs for more than 1.5 million to two million units as culmination of long drawn efforts to expand its international presence.

Around 50-60 percent of the revenues come from servicing the OEM demand and the company is hoping to expand its share of OEM business to gain recognition in the aftermarket.

It also has around 140 exclusive and non-exclusive dealers around the country to cater to the aftermarket.

The company facility has capability in the areas of sheet

metal manufacturing, alloy forging, injection moulding and fi nishing. Its research and development activities include product design, prototype development, system testing and high volume production control. The company’s machine and tool development capabilities has enabled to offer customised solution using special purpose machines, testing fi xtures and injection moulding tools as well as press tools.

It’s major customers comprise leading domestic and global OEMs like Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher, Ashok Leyland, Escorts, TAFE, Bajaj and Mahindra Navistar. It also supplies to global OEMs like BMW, ZF, GKN Driveline and other Tier I suppliers like Valeo and Autotec.

Testing faciility at Texspin plant in Ahmedabad

‘Our efforts to expand our international presence is beginning to bear fruits’ In an interaction with Auto Monitor, Director, Business Development, Dipen Makwana elaborated on diversification and growth opportunities for his company.

Assembly line at Texspin’s Ranpur facility near Ahmedabad

What are the key issues that the automotive sector faces today, and what are its implications for you?

The automotive sector demand is likely to continue growing over the next two years though there will be some dips and spikes in the interim. The key challenge is attracting quality manpower to support the growth initiatives.

There is a major issue in terms

of attracting quality manpower in the western region and hence attracting major OEMs to the region is a challenge.

How big is your presence in the aftermarket?

The automotive aftermarket is a very important segment for any bearings manufacturer. But we are likely to gain more visibility and access to the latest technology through OEM association.

We are looking to maintain an around equal share of OEM and aftermarket in the revenue mix.

Moreover, it would be difficult to recover high development costs

if we supply to OEMs only. We are part of newer vehicle platforms of domestic OEMs and our volumes from OEMs are likely to go up over the next 12 to 18 months and the offtake in the aftermarket will follow suit.

What are the future plans?

We are hoping to increase our presence in exports but our key focus will continue to be on the domestic market. We are hoping to maintain our edge in researchdriven product development and will continue to develop product which serve as import substitutes for our customers.

Amul Industries looking for diversification opportunities, ups capacity by 30 percent Abhishek Parekh Mumbai

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ajkot based Amul Industries is implementing capacity expansion programme based on growing customer orders at its existing locations in Rajkot, Uttarakhand and Sanad.

The company’s capacity would grow by around 30 percent by the end of ten year. It is also in discussion with a North American auto component major for joint venture or a technical collaboration to gain a major presence in the passenger vehicle segment.

‘We have to be very conservative in the execution of the capacity expansion programme as the demand scenario in the automotive sector is softening.

The impending rise in interest rates and high base effect is likely to curb the demand for

Connecting rods, camshafts, crankshafts, cylinder block and cylinder head manufactured by Amul Industries

passenger cars and commercial vehicles in coming months.

The capacity expansion has to be well coordinated with confirmed customer orders,’ said

Director, Amul Industries, Nitin Santok i. The diversification programme, still on the drawing board, is aimed at reducing cyclicality of commercial vehi-

cle segment and enter high value segment within the automotive segment.

The company is a leading manufacturer and supplier of connecting rods, crankshafts, cylinder blocks and cylinder heads for commercial vehicles and passenger car segment.

The production capacity for connecting rods is currently pegged at around 500,000 units per month which is likely to grow to around 750,000 units per month over the next 18 to 24 months. The capacity for crankshafts is around 20,000 units per month which is likely to grow to 40,000 per month over the next 18 to 24 months.

The company was part of the suppliers’ park at Singur, West Bengal for Tata Motors’ Nano project and has now set up an additional facility in Sanand.

The company was promoted as a small scale unit in Gujarat Indust r ia l Development Corporation (GIDC) three decades back by the Santoki family.

It has since grown to become one of the leading suppliers of crankshafts in the country.

It has a major presence in the commercial vehicle, tractor and passenger car segment in India.

Commercial vehicle constitutes around 75 to 80 percent of the total supply volumes for Amul Industries. The major customers of the company include Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, TAFE among commercial vehicles and tractors manufacturers in India.

It supplies components to global CV manufacturers through loca l purchase of f ice a nd directly to the parent company as per requirement.

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WEST INDIA SPECIAL

Maharashtra to review auto investment policies

Abhishek Parekh Mumbai

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aharashtra Government is in the process of getting feedback from potential investors on issues and areas of concern that need rethinking for facilitation of continued investments in the state. MIDC and Industries Development commissioner’s office are taking feedback from stakeholders on the subject and may revise the package schemes and incentives offered to investors in Maharashtra.

‘There are issues concer n i ng t he approval process and support infrastructure offered to potential investors in the state.

We feel that they need to be looked into for facilitation of further greenfield and brownfield investments in the state,’ said Deputy Collector and General Manager, Human Resource Development, Ma h a r a s ht r a I ndu s t r i a l Development Corporation, Rajendra Kshirsagar.

Investor Concerns Though issues and concerns may differ from industry-to-industry and location-to-location, there are certain common issues, which need to be tackled at the highest level, he added. He refused to put a figure on the expected investments from automotive sector but said that automotive sector is a priority sector for growth and further investments at existing auto belt in Chakan-Talegaon-

Pimpri on the outskirts of Pune as well as in other parts of the state.

Certain issues like availability of power, feeder roads to areas developed by MIDC, logistics are among the issues that are needed to be addressed. Companies hoping to set up their respective facilities within the areas developed by the Maharashtra I ndu s t r i a l D e v elopment Corporation (MIDC) are provided the land on a 99-year lease rather than outright sale. MIDC provides express power feeders, internal connecting roads and power generation within some of the MIDC locations to enable investors to speed up the process of project implementation.

Support Infrastructure Additionally, the corporation provides assured water supply, drainage (effluent disposal) and Common Eff luent Treatment Plants (CETP) schemes among other services to companies located in the industrial areas.

For the purpose of regulating the water supply operations of the corporation, Maharashtra

Government has prescribed a legal and fi nancial relationship between the Government and the Corporation. A water supply scheme providing water to more than one industrial area in grid system is termed as centralised water supply scheme, implying that the ownership remains with MIDC. The scheme catering to the need of only one industrial area is termed as localised water supply scheme with the ownership remaining with Government, as in the case of industrial area itself.

The water supply made either from centralised or localised water supply scheme is treated as supply made on behalf of the government and the revenue thus collected is shown as revenue accruing to government.

Water Supply Scheme The corporation takes credit for so much portion of the water revenue as is sufficient to meet its net operating and other expenses. This is done annually at a bulk rate arrived at by dividing the net expenses debited to the income and expenditure account of the corporation by quantity of water supplied through the centralised water supply scheme. The surplus/deficit thus generated out of total water supply operations is to the account of government. Though the relationship provides for the crediting of the entire water revenue to the government in agency function, the regulation prescribing the relationship does not categorically stipulate payment of the amount of surplus generated out of water supply operations to the government. Thus the corporation is authorised to plough-back

GIDC looking for growing auto sector presence Abhishek Parekh Gandhinagar, Gujarat

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ith Tata Motors zeroing in on Sanand for its ‘Nano’ facility, Gujarat received a major leg up as a destination of choice for the automotive sector. Several auto component manufacturers have already set up facilities in the vendor park near the Sanand facility and more are expected. But the heartening story is the proactive approach by the state to attracting investments into the state by identifying priority sectors and offering a helping hand.

‘The vendor park at Sanand will also provide opportunities to the small scale automobile component manufacturing players to entrust upon the region for future large opportunities. Many large automobile manufacturing players have been enquiring with the government and GIDC to analyse the feasibility for the operations. We could expect an initial proposed investment of around `10,000 crore in the next 12 to 16 months,’ said General Manager, New Projects, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), Nayan Raval. He refused to identify investments from the automotive sector in the state but added that the government is currently in talks with at least three OEMs for potential greenfield units and may offer customised packages.

OEM investments will lead to

more suppliers setting shop in the state.

He pointed out that Gujarat offers several advantages to potential investors including proximity to the urban area or major city, well developed road connectivity, water supply, power supply, gas grid throughout length and breadth.

Additionally, Raval also claims that the Gujarat government has ta ken various initiatives to facilitate investors including simplification of procedures for speedy cleara nce a nd approvals for the projects.

Among the more speci fic measures, the government has introduced a scheme of assistance to mega/innovative projects defined by investments above `1,000 crore and direct employment to the tune of 2,000 being eligible for the package scheme of development.

The government has identified priority sectors, which include auto and auto component sectors for fuelling economic growth and employment opportunities.

Even as the government has worked on incentive packages for

certain identified priority sectors, GIDC has been active in providing a conducive environment for growth. For instance, the vendor park at Sanand is the main point of attraction for the automobile companies. The internal infrastructure including power, water, storm water drainage and internal roads are provided by

GIDC. ‘We have identified Rajkot, Vadodara and Halol as other potential location for the automobile sector in Gujarat, apart from Sanand. Apart from infrastructure, a proactive government and business-friendly policies, Gujarat offers exemption from electricity duty for five

years to all new industrial units,’ according to Raval.

There are many schemes providing fi scal incentives to medium and small enterprises in the nature of interest subsidy, marketing assistance and environmental measures, according to a GIDC official. The state has an ambitious training and skillupgradation programme to make available the required skilled and semi-skilled manpower to various sectors.

‘We are planning 11 Special Investment Regions (SIRs) throughout the state for the planned industrial development. We intend to have well planned industrialisation in the state and are hoping to act as a facilitator for the purpose,’ said Raval. He added t hat u npla n ned industries lead to concentrated growth in a smaller area putting strain on available infrastructure. Better planning and coordination could lead to planned and sustained growth of industrial activities.

Apart from customised incentive schemes, industrial promotion bodies within Gujarat are making an effort to work in close coordination and cooperation with each other.

the surplus in its operational improvement and it does this on a regular basis.

MIDC has been instrumental in developing five dams in Maharashtra: Barvi and Mudmudi in Thane, Ransai in Raigad, Savitri in Mahad and Mutinala in Jalgaon, with a total installed capacity of 2,045 million litres per day.

Effluent Treatment The corporation has effl uent disposal (drainage) schemes only in selected Industrial areas having chemical industries.

Such schemes are designed to collect and discharge the treated effluent only. In such areas, the corporation recovers drainage cess to defray the expenditure on maintenance and to partially recover the capital cost. With a view to arrest pollution, the corporation has started the operations like hazardous waste management and common effluent plants on joint venture basis with the help of local industries associations.

‘Though infrastructure within MIDC may be adequate, there are issues like assured power availability and connecting roads leading to MIDCs which need to be improved. One cannot ignore the support infrastructure and neighbouring state score over Maharashtra on these fronts,’ said an official from an auto component manufacturer with facilities in NCR and Pune while refusing to identify himself.

Though efforts have been made in the direction of attracting additional investments from the automotive and other sectors, investors appear to be spoilt for choice of destinations.

TML launches Magic IRIS Our Bureau Mumbai

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ata Motors recent ly launched Magic Iris and Ace Zip, in order to expand its footprint in the transportation segment. Tata Magic Iris’ BSIII version is priced at `1.95 lakh (ex-showroom Thane) while Tata Ace Zip’s BSIII version is priced at `1.90 lakh (ex-showroom Thane).

The Magic Iris is a three-four seater small passenger carrier, while the Ace Zip is a micro truck with a payload of 600 kg for deeppenetration door-to-door goods movement.

The Magic Iris is equipped with a 611 cc water cooled engine with 11 HP power and 31 nm torque.

It comes with a warranty of one year or 36,000 km, whichever is earlier, and is available in Arctic white, ruby red, school yellow and jet black. The Tata Ace Zip is sub-600 kg load carrier with single cylinder water cooled engine, delivering an output of 11 HP and torque of 31 nm.

16 - 31 May 2011

WEST INDIA SPECIAL

Auto Monitor

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DSK charts course for future transportation designers Our Bureau Mumbai

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SK Supinfocom is evaluating opportunities for closer ties with automobile manufacturers in India and Europe in order to provide exposure to students in cutting edge technology and tools as well as a challenging environment for pursuing designing as a profession.

The Pune campus, located near Fursungi off NH 9 and spread over 20 acre complete with all international amenities, is being shaped up as a centre of excellence within Supinfocom global network with several students from France and other parts of Europe pursuing their training here.

The infrastructure and tools available at DSK Supinfocom is on par with that available at Supinfocom’s design school in Paris, France. The company is focussed on imparting training in three verticals: transportation design, industrial design and digital design.

Transportation designing is focussed on a wide range of transportation solutions.

‘One of the key issues we focus upon is to ingrain a sense of proportion in our students.

A designer, as opposed to an artist, has to be concerned about reaching out or touching maximum number of people through his/her concepts. The design needs to be practical and commercially viable solution,’ explains Principal, Head of studies, DSK Supinfocom Inter nat iona l Ca mpus, Philippe Vahe.

DSK Supinfocom is offering an international curriculum, which is organised on the practical mode of teaching with extensive student and faculty interaction.

It offers courses on professional lines in animation, game design and industrial design with broad verticals. The school is a result of collaboration between the DSK Group and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of North De France (CCINDF). The French institute functions under the brand name of Supinfocom for animation, Supinfogame for game design and production management, and International School of Design (ISD) for industrial design.

‘We are attempting to address the need of local and global companies in automobile and other manufacturing sectors. Global companies are seeking local design talent for better implementation of local taste and culture in product design while companies based in India are looking for students with global experience and discipline,’ said Vahe. He added that many design schools have faculty members who have never worked as professional designers, DSK’s major differentiation is predominantly practical orientation imparted by design professionals.

Already, students from DSK Supinfocom are pursuing internship at BMW, Daimler and Citroen in transportation design. It has established a network of leading designers in global epicentres of designing including Paris, Munich, Detroit, Rome among other locations. Typically, OEMs prefer to work with Indian designers in headquarters before enrolling designers in local manufacturing or R&D units around the world including India. ‘One does not typically see pathbreaking car

design concepts churned out by any automobile company in a matter of weeks or months. Carmaker like Audi overhauled and rejigged its design process and ideas more than two decades ago and are just beginning to see the result of the overhaul,’ added Vahe.

Transportation designing as a specialised field is veering towards environmental friendly designs with focus on better quality interiors and styling inspired by local culture and tastes. The stakes are high for success or failure for the industrial and transportation designer. Students have to be flexible in order to accept change and be prepared for newer tools and solutions in designing concepts.

This global exposure comes at a cost, which may be termed steep by Indian standards but Vahe insists that the value driv-

en approach of the school speaks for itself in terms of placement and demand for admission among budding designers. ‘How many design schools can you think of which can coordinate professional designers to oversee student projects and offer internship opportunities for students in leading automobile and engineering companies around the world?’ he asked. The school offers a five-year integrated course commencing after typical ten plus two pattern of school education in India. Thus total cost of education could range from 36 to 40 lakh per student.

Currently around 170 students are undergoing their undergraduate training in design from DSK’s Pune campus, of which around 40 percent are pursuing transportation design as their specialisation.

The academics are controlled by

Philippe Vahe, Principal, Head of studies, DSK Supinfocom International campus

the French Institute to maintain the same quality standards of education followed in France. All the trainers recruited by them are full time trainers from France and Europe. The trainers are not academicians but possess Industry rich experience.

Companies also opt for direct involvement in the school through undertaking masterclasses / workshops. The names of some companies who have engaged with the school include Pininfarina, Renault, Tata Motors UK, BMW, Bentley and Volvo.

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WEST INDIA SPECIAL

DSM to offer resins, engineering plastics for automotive sector Our Bureau Pune

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he Dutch engineering plastics major, DSM is planning to strengthen its presence in the mid-sized to premium car segment with new products and technologies in resins and engineering plastics in order to offer value to OEMs. It is also actively working with its JV partner in India on entering the two-wheeler and compact segment with suitable technology/products at relatively lower price points.

‘We (DSM Group) are evaluating on an entry strategy into the two-wheeler business as it can potentially be a big business for us. But our current cost structures and products are not suitable for this price sensitive market,’ said Business Director DRS India, DSM Composite Resins, Ajay Patwardhan. He added that there are several products from engineering plastics portfolio for

automotive under the hood applications, whereas most composites based products are used as applications in automotive exterior products and systems. He also said that DSM is evaluating the introduction of super speciality products, especially in the area of coating, from its global portfolio for automotive and engineering segment but it is yet to identify such products or the introduction strategy. DSM India’s parent Royal DSM recently entered into a JV with Kemrock Industries for manufacturing speciality composite resins with commitment to invest around $25 million. DSM Group has 51 percent stake in the JV. ‘Metal processing and weight is a major concern and we can provide cost effective solutions to OEMs to substitute metals with engineering plastics. But the process of substitution will be gradual and we are hoping to offer cutting edge solution at suitable cost,’ said Sales Director

(Compou nds, Eng ineer ing Plastics Asia Pacific) DSM, Sanjay Jain. He takes over as the head of DSM’s engineering plastics business in India.

DSM India recently re-jigged the structure for its Indian activities in the performance materials cluster. The company optimises the organisational structure of three DSM business groups in the cluster, DSM Engineering Plastics, DSM Dyneema and DSM Composites. Rajiv Chopra has assumed charge as CEO & Managing Director, DSM (India).

DSM Engineering Plastics will be headed by Sanjay Jain under the new structure. He was formerly Director Sales, Asia Pacific for DSM Engineering Plastics and based at Shanghai. DSM Dyneema will continue to be managed by a team of business development managers, based at Mumbai.

Royal DSM is a global sciencebased company active in health, nutrition and materials.

(L-R) Ajay Patwardhan, Business Director DRS India; DSM Composite Resins, Sanjay Jain, Sales Director Compounds, Engineering Plastics Asia Pacific DSM and Rajiv Chopra, CEO & MD, DSM (India)

16 - 31 May 2011

Bharat Forge enters in JV with David Brown Our Bureau Mumbai

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F Infrastructure Ventures (BFIVL), a subsidiary of Bharat Forge, has signed an agreement with David Brown System India (Holdings) for a JV ‘David Brown Bharat Forge Gear Systems India’ to supply new gearboxes and comprehensive aftermarket services to power, mining, defence, wind, rail and steel sectors in India.

Initially, the JV entity is intended to commence operations from Bharat Forge’s current facilities.

By the middle of 2012, it is expected to have a dedicated site for gear box assembly and testing. The JV

company will set up two service centres in Bangalore and Kolkata by the end of 2011. Additional locations for service centres in Delhi and Hyderabad are being planned by the end of 2013. These service centres will be designed to global benchmark providing rapid aftermarket service and support to key industries.

David Brown is part of the Clyde Blowers portfolio and a leading manufacturer of gear products and services. It provides engineering services to a range of industries for more than 150 years. It has six key manufacturing facilities in the UK, South Africa, China, Australia, France and the US.

Tata Technologies gets funding from Alpha TC Holdings and Tata Capital Our Bureau Mumbai

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ata Technologies has completed a round of equity funding for `141.06 crore ($30 million) from Alpha TC Holdings Pte and Tata Capital Growth Fund I. The investment represents a 13.04 percent equity stake on fully diluted basis. Alpha TC Holdings Pte and Tata Capital Growth I, specialise in investing in midsized companies within India that are market segment leaders which demonstrate high growth potential.

The company offers full-vehicle development capabilities with offshore engineering engagement model to reduce cost and deliver benchmark quality products. Tata Technologies’ revenue has doubled over the past five

years and its profits have grown by over 11 times. Founded in 1989, it is a leading engineering services outsourcing and product development IT service company for the manufacturing industry. It delivers solutions for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Enterprise Resource Management (ERM) to the leading automotive, aerospace, heavy machinery, industrial and consumer product manufacturers and their suppliers.

It has offices in 11 countries with delivery centres in India (Pune), the US (Novi, Michigan), the UK (Coventry), Thailand (Bangkok) and international headquarters in Singapore.

Alpha TC Holdings Pte is a wholly owned subsidiary of the partnership sponsored by Mizuho Securities and other international investors.

16 - 31 May 2011

WEST INDIA SPECIAL

Auto Monitor

33

Varroc Group plans expansion, de-risk business T Murrali Aurangabad

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urangabad headquartered Varroc Group has set its priorities straight to not only record a turnover of `4,000 crore by 2012-13 but also to derisk its business from the cyclical trend of the automotive industry.

The company has reported sales of `3,100 crore in 2010-11 against `2,500 crore last year. To augment its growth projections, the group will look at acquisitions both in India and abroad in automotive and non-automotive segments.

Commencing its operations in 1990 by supplying plastic injection moulded parts for Bajaj Auto and white goods manufacturer, Videocon, the company, over a period of time, has evolved as a manufacturer of diversified portfolio of automotive components and sub-assemblies. Emergence of plastics as a raw material helped the company to broad base its product portfolio.

Today the group has 20 manufacturing facilities in India and abroad under two broad business divisions—Varroc Engineering (VE), which contributes 65 percent and Varroc Polymer (VP) that fetches 35 percent to the group sales. VP has one strategic business unit while VE has four strategic business units—machining and forging, electrical and electronics, engine valves and the Uttaranchal plant, which supplies several components for Bajaj Auto. This plant will soon commence supplies of a few components to Ashok Leyland.

Besides, its subsidiary companies make few other forgings and catalytic converters. For catalytic converters the company currently has a technology license with

Umicore, which will be extended as a joint venture soon. The strategic business units manage their own marketing and R&D, while the HR, purchase and fi nance come under the group’s corporate head.

About 70 percent of the business for the group comes from two and three wheeler customers including Bajaj Auto, HMSI, Suzuki, Yamaha, Enfield, Piaggio and few from overseas market including Ducati. Recently, it has added Harley Davidson to its clientele in India and it is currently in talks with the premium two-wheeler manufacturer to supply parts for its global operations.

About 25 percent of the revenue comes from four-wheeler, offroad vehicles and oil and gas from several customers including Tata Motors, Mahindra and Volkswagen. The rest comes from white goods. The polymer division primarily caters to two/three-wheelers and white goods, primarily catering to domestic market.

Elaborating on the strategy, the Managing Director of Varroc Group, Tarang Jain told Auto Monitor that the group has evolved a four-point agenda to help accomplish the set objectives. Listing out his priorities Jain said the quality is paramount and the group will be looking at achieving zero defects besides, reducing waste and containing internal rejections.

Secondly, it will focus on cost by making its operations lean and introduce need-based automation. It will also concentrate on efficient purchasing and outsourcing operations in the organisation.

Jain’s third priority is innovation, which will be given

Tarang Jain, MD, Varroc Group

adequate push by strengthening the R&D centres to offer more value engineering ideas for their customers. ‘Beyond a point, giving discounts is not an option; we must give value engineering proposals and also look at how to enhance performance with the existing technologies by offering light weight solutions,’ he said.

Lastly, the group will focus on improving not only just-intime deliveries but also execute the projects on time. Delivering products to customers will help enhance customer satisfaction while on-time project execution will not only contain the cost but also help achieve the return on investments faster.

Asked to elaborate on his plans to look in to new technologies, Jain said, the group is already well diversified and may not look at entering new product groups in the near future, unless it is a progression from the existing technologies and products. For instance, the CDI ignition system for two wheelers will be obsolete with the next emission norms and to sustain the demands, the vehi-

cle manufacturers will have to switch over to the fuel injection system. This requires electronic control units, which can be a natural progression for Varroc, he said.

Varroc group will also look at options where there is an entry barrier in terms of investments.

The company has been manufacturing crankshafts for two wheelers and smaller engines and now it is setting up a new facility to make crankshafts for engines having up to six cylinders. ‘We are looking at foraying in to manufacturing new products that fall within our scope where there are entry barriers in terms of investments and technology, so that the competition is less. Technology should be the real differentiator,’ he said.

The group is predominantly catering to two and three-wheeler segments and it is looking at expanding its four-wheeler product portfolio for several reasons including better margins.

However, it will be confined to automotive space only. ‘We would like to leverage our core competence and our strategy is to not depend on the automotive segment alone.

Instead, we would like to look at non-automotive segments that synergise with our areas of competence, product range and technologies,’ he said. This will help the group to strike a balance during the cyclical trend of the automotive industry. It has already begun this initiative in a small way in 2007 by acquiring oil and gas business overseas. ‘We acquired the company because we wanted to have the balance. Eventually, it will be a good idea, if we get 65 percent of revenue from automotive

and the rest from non-automotive segments.

The strategy is to basically derisk our business besides, seeking better margins. We recently bought a fi rm in Turin, Italy that makes components for special purpose vehicles for the US Army, which helps in de-risking our business,’ he said.

As part of global sourcing initiatives, several multinational companies are eyeing India to buy components and Varroc group has become part of several twowheeler manufacturers across the world. This is because of the fact that the company’s products have already been proved as its customers had been exporting to several overseas destinations.

This stature gives tremendous opportunities for the company to export to Far Eastern countries.

If the volumes are justified, the group will establish manufacturing facilities in the ASEAN region, he quipped. Since there is a greater response from global two-wheeler manufacturers, ‘we are thinking of a strategy of having our offices in Japan and Thailand,’ he said.

The idea is to leverage the prevailing setup as R&D centres of these companies are based out of Japan while sourcing centres operate from Thailand. ‘We are looking at options on how to establish our network to support when the business comes. We will have some technical people, more as an interface for R&D, in Japan and marketing interface in Thailand,’ he said.

The crankshaft facility being set up by the group in Waluj in Aurangabad will commence production from second quarter of 2012-13 and fetch about `225 crore to the group’s turnover in three years.

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16 - 31 May 2011

WEST INDIA SPECIAL

Harsha Engineers to invest in new facility Abhishek Parekh Ahmedabad

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hmedabad based bearings cage manufacturer, Harsha Engineers is planning to expand its capacity by more than 30 percent over the next 12 to 16 months with an investment of around Rs 35 crore. The expansion programme would be carried out adjacent to its existing facility on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

‘In the light of most of our customers being bearing manufacturers, we are undertaking major expansion programmes.

Bearings segment is likely to see investments in excess of `2,500 crore over the next couple of years with total capacity that may double over the next three to four years compared to last year. We are thus anticipating major upturn in business for Tier II manufacturers like us as well,’ said Joint Managing Director, Harsha Engineers, Harish Rangwala in an exclusive chat with Auto Monitor.

Brass split ball bearing cage

China Operations The company is set to kickstart production at a newly set-up facility in Changshu, about 50 km from Shanghai, to manufacture brass cages and taper roller cages for meeting local and global requirements of its existing customers. ‘The purpose of having presence

in China is to service the requirements of our customers from multiple locations as well as develop local customers in that country. Though these are early days, managing rising quality expectation and increasing labour cost in China are likely to be major challenges going forward,’ said Director, Harsha Engineers, Palak Shah. He added that the current capacity in China is 20 percent of the total capacity at its two facilities in Ahmedabad but he is looking forward to investing further on the back of growth in demand.

Downturn Lessons

Deep Groove Ball Bearing Cages

‘Our total production at the end of 2009 came down to around 50 percent and by June the following year we were back to more than 75-80 percent capacity utilisation level. Such fluctuations has taught us to be conservative and consolidate our position as well as work on new products during lean times,’ said Rangwala. He

Brass Angular Contact Ball Bearing Retainers

added that company developed around 400 new sizes and varieties for customers last year even as the capacity utilisation gradually picked up by the middle of the year. He added that the outlook for the automotive sector is very positive over the next two years and company is gearing up to meet the growing demand from automotive and engineering sectors.

Harsha Engineers is a leading stamped and machined bearing cages supplier to many of the leading bearing manufacturers including SKF, NRB Bearings, Schaffler Group (FAG Bearings, INA and LUK), Timken and other domestic and overseas bearings manufacturers. The company registered a turnover of around `160 crore in fi scal 2010. It supplies bearings cages manufactured in brass, steel and polyamide. Additionally it also manufactures speciality components including stamped components for engine, chained drive, transmission systems and

bearing seals and brass casting and bushings.

Foundry Capacity The company’s brass foundry has the capacity to manufacture castings of up to 1,500 mm size and can deliver 200 tonnes of centrifugal castings per month using induction furnace and centrifugal casting machines. It has capacity to manufacture around 2.4 million brass cages, 113 million cages of up to 650 mm and 190 million sets of maximum 300 mm diameter steel cages.

It also has a capacity to manufacture three million polyamide based cages of maximum 100 mm diametre. The company exports around 65–70 percent of the total production mainly to Europe and North America.

Its tooling facility is equipped w it h C A D/C A M designing software, measuring instruments and cutting machines for turning out high precision components with significant level of customisation.

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16 - 31 May 2011

CORPORATE

Castwel to supply components to Renault and Tata Bhargav TS Chennai

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hennai-based Castwel Autoparts has recently bagged orders from Tata Motors and Renault to supply steering gear and alternator housing components. The company will be supplying 20,000 units of steering gear housings to Tata Motors and 40,000 alternator housing to Renault soon.

Speaking exclusively to Auto Monitor the company’s Chief Technical Officer, S Muralidharan said, ‘We will be manufacturing steering gear and alternator parts from our new facility in Chennai and we are looking to notching a turnover of around `65 crore due to the new business in the current year.’ Last year, it had reported a turnover of `36 crore.

The company revealed that it

Steering column component

Alternator housing

has received confi rmed orders from Nissan and Toyota to supply steering gear components.

It is already supplying parts to Toyota and several other OEMs, and has doubled the production of its new facility to meet the orders from Toyota. Thus, before this December, the company will be utilising around 70 percent of its capacity to meet the domestic and export orders.

Talking about the new facility, Muralidharan said that the casting technology is unique. ‘We have a vacuum and squeeze technology which creates vacuum to avoid the porous formation on the castings.

And to reduce the waiting period of the components in the bin, we have introduced robots in the machine shops which will clear the parts immediately and the work flow will be executed faster.’

Castwel is continuously upgrading its new plant by installing special machines and robots, and this year it will be investing around `seven crore for the same. Already the company has made `93 crore investment in its new facility that comprises automated machine shop and inhouse R&D, which helps develop quality castings faster. ‘We have installed a floor simulation software and a testing and analysing capability using x-ray, which can identify

Castwel exports 15 percent of its total capacity, and this year plans to increase the same to 40 percent by supplying more components to US, Europe & Malaysia

the defective parts during the production and stops before going to the next stage. This helps us to produce accurate products faster,’ Muralidharan added.

With the setting up of the new facility, the company has increased its capacity by ten fold to 400 tonnes annually, which has enabled Castwel to capture more orders and become a Tier I supplier for three major car manufacturers with which the company will be signing the contracts soon.

Also, it is the Tier I supplier for tractor manufacturers Same Tractors and Tafe too. Currently, the company manufactures steering components, alternator parts, starter motor parts, rack and pinion housing, engine parts, wiper parts, yoke and pinion covers, inlets and exhaust manifold and governor parts.

The company has also received a pilot order from a German company to supply components for solar application and the volume is around one million parts per month. ‘This is the beginning and we will be collaborating with them towards bringing this business up to four times in terms of value as well as volume,’ Muralidharan said.

Founded in 1985, it began supplying components to Sona Koyo, Lucas-TVS and Bosch and currently has increased its domestic clientele to 20. At present, Castwel exports 15 percent of its total capacity, and this year plans to increase the same to 40 percent by supplying more components to US, Europe and Malaysia.

16 - 31 May 2011

Auto Monitor

CORPORATE

37

Alto: world’s largest selling car

BMW opens dealership in Raipur

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ne of the most popular and fast-selling compacts in India, Alto, has been reported to be amongst the best selling cars in the world. In 2010, Alto sold 3,00,956 units, whereas VWGol sold 2,93,738 units and Gold sold 2,51,078 units.

Alto, which was launched in September 2000, has sold cumulative 16.68 lakh units to date.

Since fi nancial year 2005-06, the company claimed that Alto is the number one selling car model in India. Alto crossed its fi rst one million sales mark in just eight years, making it one of the fastest one million units selling car of India.

Chief General Manager of Marketing, Maruti Suzuki, Shashank Srivastava informed, ‘Today, Alto along with another sibling called Alto K10 launched in August 2010 sells average 32,000 units a month. In March this year, it sold over 38,000

units. During just concluded fi scal 2010-11, Alto alone has sold around 3.47 lakh units. This is over 1/4th of Maruti Suzuki’s total sales of 12.71 lakh units

from all models during the fi scal. It also reflects a growth of 47 percent in Alto’s sales compared to 2.35 lakh units sold during fi scal 2009-10.’

MW India announced the launch of Munich Motors, its new dealership facility in Raipur recently. Munich Motors brings to Raipur, the BMW standards of sales and service and the same international experience as any BMW dealership worldwide.

Dr Andreas Schaaf, President, BMW India said, ’BMW India envisages an exuberant growth potential for the luxury car segment and has chalked out an aggressive plan to strengthen its dealer network in the country. We are very excited to partner with Munich Motors to offer our products and services in Raipur, a regional centre for trade and commerce which is fast emerging as an industrial hub offering unlimited business opportunities.’

The fully equipped workshop comprises three service bays that can service up to four cars a day.

The Munich Motors showroom

Managing Director, Munich Motors, Prashant Mandhan said, ’It is a moment of pride for us to partner with the number one luxury car manufacturer in India and we look forward to an exciting time ahead. We share BMW India’s business outlook and aim to play an instrumental role in bringing the premium brand experience to our growing clientele in Raipur.’ The new showroom is located at Megnato Mall, GE Road, Labhandi and the new service facility is located at GK House, GE Road, Telibandha.

Q1 reveals Mercedes-Benz sales spike

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ercedes-Benz India has continued its strong growth in the fi rst quarter. The company’s sales numbers for April 2011 notched-up to 537 units, an increase of 67 percent over April 2010 (321 units).

The C-Class & the E-Class have yet again emerged as clear favourites of the Indian luxury car buyer. Driving this strong growth are the company’s best sellers, the C-Class that registered a 72 percent growth by clocking 253 units (147 units) and the f lagship E-Class which grew by 42 percent at 178 units (125 units). The M-Class also continued its popularity run with total of 58 units for the month of April 2011 (10 units).

Mercedes-Benz India also grew by 67 percent clocking 2670 units in the period of January-April 2011 as compared to JanuaryApril 2010.

Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India Peter T Honegg, said, ‘The growing preference amongst customers for a premium product like Mercedes-Benz reiterates our faith in our product offering and brand value. Our customers appreciate the passion, excitement and fascination that are associated with Mercedes-Benz brand and products.’

WMW CW+ 400 p 00 p 30 p 00 Investments for Greater Productivity

The WMW CWK machining centers have proven themselves on the market in countless applications, as all-round machining centers providing high flexibility, performance and accuracy.

They are suited for the complex machining of the most varied workpieces in steel, cast or light metals.

Price hike Mercedes-Benz India has revised the prices of all its models effective 1 May, 2011.

Commented Peter Honegg, ‘The rising input costs and challenging exchange rates as well as infl ationary impacts are areas that have a bearing on the cost of the fi nal product.

We have absorbed these to a significant level but moving forward, we have to pass on some portion of this impact to the customer. The prices of all Mercedes-Benz models have been revised upwards for the Indian market.’

Please visit

OPEN HOUSE

@ our Tech Centre on 23rd - 24th June 2011 Bangalore

38

Auto Monitor

16 - 31 May 2011

TECHNOLOGY CORPORATE

High-performance corrosion protection Dr Gerhard Reusmann

I

ndia is… the next China!— with these words CEO of Daimler AG, Dieter Zetsche, described the prospects for one of the most interesting future global economic areas in November 2010. The fact that India has moved from being merely a sales market to a production location can be witnessed with a brief glance at two key industries: the automobile industry and the wind energy industry. At the fi rst glance they appear to have little in common. However, for the developer and manufacturer of a micro-layer corrosion protection system there are positive parallels.

When India is mentioned as an economic location, thoughts still currently turn to motorcycles and affordable cars. This image has been enhanced in recent years particularly by the Tata Nano, which caused a stir a few years ago as the ‘cheapest car in the world’. The number of cars produced in India is set to quadruple in the next ten years, according to the estimates of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. In 2009 the figure stood at 2.2 million, which is expected to reach 8.7 to 9.7 million by 2020. And yet it is not only the production volumes that are rising… quality standards, too, are on the up. More and more western car manufacturers are setting up their own operations in India and producing high-quality models. The necessary subcontracted parts are still imported at this time, but this can change rapidly, as the example of China shows. Global players such as the automobile industry are accustomed to purchasing locally and just in time—and the subcontracting industry will respond to this pressure.

Local manufacturers such as Tata and Maruti Suzuki already have local sources; but other western subcontracting companies will follow and set up operations in the vicinity of the production plants. This also applies to suppliers in the field of fastening and joining and—where these manufacturers do not have their own in-house coating operations—the coaters of these parts.

One system for protecting the surface of connecting elements approved by all well-known automobile manufacturers worldwide is zinc lamella technology which, as has been the case in China, will have to be available locally in India in order to supply the OEMs on site.

Change Of Scene

With increasing requirements of quality, zinc lamella systems

are also enjoying greater significance on the Indian market. The Indian market for wind energy plants is already booming and has therefore long been an attractive environment for western companies with the corresponding know-how. In the ranking of ten largest worldwide markets for wind energy, India already occupies the fi fth place, behind the US, Germany, China and Spain.

As it is one of the countries with the fastest economic growth in the Asian region, this trend is likely to grow even more strongly, as the demand for energy on the subcontinent is enormous. The expansion of wind energy plants is supported by the Indian government, which specified in its most recent five-year plan that energy generation in the country should increase by a further 61 GW by 2012. And 14 GW of this should come from renewable energies, of which ten GW alone from wind energy. However, in order to achieve these goals, the share of wind energy needs to actually double to up to 20 GW—due also to the fact that the alternative regenerative energies are not yet sufficiently technologically advanced.

About 70 percent of wind energy plant construction in India is dominated by local providers, including Suzlon Energy, which has a market share of 47 percent. The company exports worldwide and is one of the top five wind energy plant manufacturers. Zinc lamella technology has long been used here, particularly in the fastening elements for rotor blade mounting. The company is supplied by fi rms including the German specialist bolt manufacturer Randack, which has set up a subsidiary near Pune specifically for the purpose, producing fastening and connecting elements for wind energy plants and coating them with zinc lamella systems.

Technology For Higher Demands Zinc lamella systems, then, have long arrived on the Indian market and is the key technology for increasing requirements of quality in surface technology. The technological leader in this field is Dörken MKS-Systeme GmbH & Co. KG of Germany, which has been involved with micro-layer corrosion protection systems for over 30 years. As a rule, protective coatings are applied in coat thicknesses of between 6 and 25 µm, enabling very high corrosion durability in salt spray tests. The product portfolio of the company includes both zinc lamella basecoats and organic and inorganic sealing systems. From the very

Zinc lamella coatings are used on automotive fasteners

beginning, these products have been free from known carcinogenic substances such as chrome (VI). They thereby fulfil the requirements of the EU Directive on End-of-Life Vehicles, which has practically forbidden the use of heavy metals in vehicle construction since 2007. Worldwide, there are currently numerous components such as fastening elements, pressed parts, clamps, springs, side-impact protection units, and brake discs that are coated by licensees using MKS systems.

The fact that India has moved from being merely a sales market to a production location can be witnessed with a brief glance at two key industries: the automobile industry and the wind energy industry

arrangement of the fl ake layers creates a barrier effect that significantly retards the onslaught of corrosive media (moisture and oxygen). A subsequent organic topcoat with Delta-Seal or the silicate, water-based products of the Delta-Protekt VH 300 range serve to further enhance corrosion protection considerably. In contrast to the basecoat, the topcoat is not electrically conductive. Corrosion protection can be further enhanced with the aid of the topcoat.

Depending on the choice of topcoat, further requirements regarding colour, temperature resistance, chemical resistance and defined glide and friction characteristics can also be fulfi lled.

However, optimal corrosion protection can only be provided with very good adhesion of the coating to the object. Prerequisite for good adhesion of the coating is therefore the pre-treatment specified for the part. Common treatments here are hot alkaline degreasing, blasting and fi necrystal zinc phosphating.

Coating Technique Coating Systems Generally speaking, the coating systems comprise a basecoat and an organic or inorganic topcoat. Depending on requirements, a basecoat may also be applied without a topcoat.

Both basecoat and topcoat are annealing systems, chemically combined at temperatures of below 250°C. The DeltaTone 9000 and Delta-Protekt KL 100 zinc lamella systems are largely inorganic, micro-layer-forming basecoats, on the basis of zinc and aluminium fl akes. The metallic nature of these enables cathodic corrosion protection. The scale-like

The selection of coating technique depends on the respective component. Zinc lamella coating is applied using the standard application procedures of coating technology, followed by annealing in a tunnel furnace after each coating stage. The risk of application-related hydrogen embrittlement of high-strength components does not exist, as no hydrogen is present in the coating process. The focus is upon dip-spin applications for small mass-produced parts and the spraying method for larger components.

Free-flowing components are dipped in the coating medium in baskets and then spun to remove excess material. This process takes place in enclosed coating facilities. The necessary coating parameters such as dipping time, spinning time and tilt angle of the unit are controlled with the aid of computers.

Coating and annealing typically occur several times in order to achieve adequate coverage of the material. Heavy, non-pourable parts can be coated using either the spin-coating procedure or via spraying. The spraying procedure involves both hand spraying and automated robot technology.

Tribology The complete stud bolt set for the rotor blade connection in the wind turbine

Thanks to its versatility, zinc lamella systems can fulfi l most requirements of fastener ele-

ments. In the foreground there are high corrosion protection requirements and defi ned friction factors with low spreads.

Maintaining the friction factor and minimising the friction factor spread on a bolt connection are indispensable in automated assembly in the field of automobile construction. But this factor is also decisive in wind turbine assembly, where corrosion protection requirements are joined by the need for optimal connectability of the fastening elements on the construction site.

Torque is the control element in screwed assembly. A bolted connection is defi ned as secure when a specified pretension has been applied. The pretension of the bolted connection depends on the geometry, the strength class, the friction factors and, naturally, the tightening torque.

Depending on bolt type and coating, up to 80 percent of the tightening torque is required to overcome the friction, with just 20 percent converted into pretension. The friction factor therefore secures the correct ratio of tightening torque to pretension. Excessively high friction factors reduce pretension, if the friction factors are too low, pretension is increased—with the risk that the bolt may break as a result of the permissible tension in the bolt being exceeded or by becoming loose.

The setting of friction factors in connecting elements was typically achieved via subsequent greasing in the past. This is still the case with regard to trucks.

In the field of cars the users employ coating systems where lubricant is already integrated into the topcoats.

The success of the zinc lamella system and its high degree of acceptance in the automobile industry has also helped to make Dörken MKS-Systeme into a global player. In order to be able to offer technical advice and support to customers worldwide on site, the company has established local subsidiaries and an extensive technical network in the relevant markets. In addition to the large technology centre at company headquarters in Herdecke, there are also tech centres in the US, Brazil, South Korea and China.

India is set to be a further link in this chain.

(The author is the Managing Director of Dörken MKS-Systeme GmbH & Co KG, Herdecke. Views expressed are personal.)

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CORPORATE

Manufacturing must add 25 percent to GDP by 2025: CII Our Bureau Chennai

I

f India has to sustain a high growth trajectory, it can only happen if the developmental model for that is inclusive,

B Muthuraman

according to Confederation of the Indian Industries (CII). A dedicated Manufacturing Policy

should be the bedrock for this to happen if India has to emerge as a location of high value adding, technologically advanced and globally competitive manufacturing sector.

According to a press release issued by the CII, a step in this direction has been taken by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry alluding to the draft Manufacturing Policy, which has been on the DIPP website for comments. The good part of this policy is that it tries to address the key issues that come in the way of manufacturing assuming a much larger share in India’s GDP. By providing the necessary infrastructure, easier clearance and approval mechanism, f lexible yet secure labour rules, focus on clusters and necessar y skill development facilities, the proposed National

Manufacturing and Investment Zones (NMIZ) are ideal locations for Indian manufacturing to emerge as globally competitive entities, the release said.

Not being based on a model of tax sops, the proposed manu-

Venu Srinivasan

facturing policy tries to deal with the issues that have historically come in the way of India

emerging as a strong base for manufacturing.

CII hopes that the Government of India would be able to drive this necessary policy in time for investments to pick up, as the announcement of a policy like this would certainly improve sentiments among the investing communities.

‘From being an agrarian economy, India has moved to being a service led economy, skipping the stage of manufacturing led industrialisation.’ said the CII President, B Muthuraman. He continued, ‘For a country of a billion plus people with high levels of unemployment, this is not desirable from a sustainable and inclusive growth point of view.

Manufacturing has to be a strong pillar of our growth story. CII wants this sector to register an average growth of between 12-14

percent and with that the sector can contribute about 25 percent to the GDP of the country by 2025 from the current 16 percent. We are hopeful that the NMIZ based New Manufacturing Policy of the country would help in this proc-

R Seshasayee

ess. In fact we also expect the New Manufacturing Policy to lead to the creation of new urban centres, which would come up around the NMIZs. This is also important to decongest our existing cities, which are stretched beyond limits in terms of civic amenities and infrastructure.’

The President designate, CII, Adi Godrej, said while India’s manufacturing has grown, it is scale driven, by the growth of consumer demand in many sectors, it has not built ‘depth’ of value addition and capability in many industries. Depth is important for multiple reasons—retaining control over critical industries, capturing greater share of value along the chain and reducing vulnerability to global shocks.

Government policy can accelerate depth creation through easier clearance and approval processes, preferential access to fi nance, capability building for start-ups and small enterprises, developing and promoting clusters, and building supporting infrastructure. In fact FTAs with other countries and regions has to be done keeping in mind the imperative of incentivising greater value addition within the country.

The Director General, CII Chandrajit Banerjee opined that if India has to emerge as a prominent player in the global manufacturing community, then we shall have to harness the opportunities that are being created by new developments in the world. One such opportunity is in the area of green manufacturing technologies, he pointed out.

‘The manufacturing policy must be effective from the point of view of creating value addition in the sector and also employment.’ stated Past President and Chairman, Manufacturing Council of CII, Venu Srinivasan said. He added, ‘Our current labour laws have for years come in the way of creating substantial employment creation in the manufacturing sector. The new policy should aim to provide fairness to employees while giving more flexibility to industries to adjust to their levels of production.’

The Past President and Chairman, Trade Policy Council, CII, R Seshasayee said that the level of growth required in manufacturing, cannot happen if India is dependent only on domestic demand. Exports need to be a significant part of the overall business strategy of Indian companies. Towards this, ‘we need to look at opportunities in Latin America, Africa, China and South East Asia.’

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42

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CORPORATE

Automall with virtual bazaar launched in Vadodara

O

ne of India’s largest asset fi nancing companies, Shriram Transport Finance has launched Shriram Automall in Vadodara recently.

The Transport Commissioner of Gujarat, Honourable JP Gupta, was the Chief Guest who graced the occasion.

The mall is pegged to be the country’s fi rst single-window destination for trade of preowned commercial vehicles.

The facility, spread across a sprawling 1,30,000 sq feet space, is the fi rst-of-its kind initiative, which will provide access to the country’s large community of truck-owners to trade their vehicles in a hassle-free manner.

At the Automall, apart from trading of the commercial vehicles, the truck-owner or contractor will also be able to explore fi nancing and insurance options as well as repair facilities. The overall plan is to

16 - 31 May 2011

have 50 such facilities strategically located on important highways of t he country covering a pan-India population ofcommercial vehicle highUG Revankar, Deputy MD, Shriram Transport Finance with JP way users.

‘Creating Gupta, Transport Commissioner of Gujarat about used commercial vehicles value for our truck owner commuavailable for sale and simultanenity with utmost transparency is ously facilitates registration of our aim. We strive to provide the individual buyer’s requirements. best services to our customers and One Stop will bring more transprovide one-stop solution to all of parency while buying and selling them’ said Deputy MD of Shriram used commercial vehicles.

Transport Finance Company UG The Automall will include Revankar, on the occasion.

Shriram New Look, wherein The Automall will house refurbished pre-owned commerShriram One Stop, a computercial vehicles are put on ised touch screen kiosk which display for buying with inbuilt will be a virtual Truck Bazaar, fi nancing options. providing real time information

Defiance receives global AS 9100 certification

D

efiance Technologies has become one of the fi rst few companies in India to receive the AS 9100 Revision Certification which is considered as the gold standard for Aerospace and Defence customers globally. It has been awarded this certificate for its entire gamut of services with UL-DQS as the certifying body. The certification is awarded to companies complying with stringent standards specific to the Aerospace and Defence industries.

CEO and Managing Director, Defiance Technologies, Subu D Subramanian responded, ‘The certification is due recognition of our capability to offer such quality solutions to our Aerospace and Defence global customers.’

Wit h t he certif ication, Defiance joins the select global companies that are members

Subu D Subramanian, CEO and MD, Defiance Technologies

of the International Aerospace Quality Group, Online Aerospace Supplier Information System (IAQG-OASIS)—a list of certified suppliers’ directory maintained

by SAE International.

Executive Vice Chairman of Hinduja Automotive and Chairman, Defiance Technologies Dr V Sumantran stated that the certification ‘represents another milestone in Defiance’s journey in the larger domain of IT, ERP and engineering and specifically in the Aerospace and Defence verticals.

With our domain specialists, we have prepared ourselves for a course, to address new opportunities here and be capable of more value addition.’

Tata Motors marks Q1 growth

T

ata Motors’ total sales (including exports) of commercial and passenger vehicles in April 2011 were 64,383 vehicles, a growth of 13 percent over 57,199 vehicles sold in April 2010. Domestic sales of the commercial and passenger vehicles for April 2011 were 60,125 units, an 11 percent growth over 54,062 units sold in April last year.

Commercial Vehicles The company’s sales of commercial vehicles in April 2011 in the domestic market were 36,738 units, marking a 19 percent growth compared to 30,963 vehicles sold in April last year.

LCV sales were 22,802 units, a growth of 28 percent over April last year. M&HCV sales stood at 13,936 units, a growth of six percent over April last year.

Passenger Vehicles The passenger vehicles business reported a total sale and distribution offtake of 25,436 units (23,387 Tata + 2,049 Fiat) in the domestic market in April 2011, compared to 24,899 units (23,099 Tata + 1,800 Fiat) in April last year. Sales of the passenger vehicles for April 2011 are at 23,387 units, clocking a gentle growth over April last year.

The sales of the Tata Nano was 10,012 units, higher by 184 percent over April last year. The Indica range sales were 4,250 units, lower by 53 percent over April last year. The Indigo range recorded sales of 5,282 units, lower by 27 percent over April last year. On the other hand, the Sumo, Safari, Aria and Venture range accounted for sales of 3,843 units, higher by 15 percent over April last year, while the Jaguar Land Rover sales continued their upward trend.

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CORPORATE

Mahindra launches Maxximo mini van

Lanxess India wins RBNQ Award 2010

M

anxess India, the specialty chemicals company, won the IMC (Indian Merchants Chamber) Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality Award 2010 (RBNQA) in the ‘manufacturing category’ on 16 March 2011. The award was received by Senior Vice President Basic Chemicals and Senior Executive Director, Lan xess India, Neelanjan Banerjee, at a ceremony held in YB Chavan auditorium. The chief guest at the ceremony was Governor of Maharashtra, K Sankaranarayanan who also handed over the award to the winners.

The RBNQA is the highest category of award for quality from an Indian industry body and has been conferred for Lanxess operations at its manufacturing site in Nagda, Madhya Pradesh. Last year, Lanxess India received the ‘Outstanding

ahindra & Mahindra (M&M) r e c ent l y launched a passenger carrier variant on its Maxximo platform at `3.2 lakh (ex showroom New Mumbai). The mini-van will be manufactured at their Chakan facility near Pune. The van is based on a monocoque chassis, constructed with bigger box-sections for rigidity and provides 25 HP power output and around 18 kmpl. ‘We are targeting the van at the entrylevel contract carriage segment, tour and travel operators, schools and other institutions,’ said Chief Executive, Automotive Division, M&M, Rajesh Jejurikar at the launch. The van will be ava ilable across a ll M&M dealerships by September this year. It will be also be a part of Mahindra’s X- mart, used car exchange programme, across all dealerships.

16 - 31 May 2011

L

tion segments l i ke ag rochemicals, pharmaceuticals, dyestuff, f lavours and fragrances and coatings among others.

Managing Director and Country Representative of La n xess K Sankaranarayanan, Governor of Maharashtra handing the India, Dr Joerg award to Lanxess, India team Strassburger, said, ‘This is indeed a proud Achievement Trophy’ in the moment for our site at Nagda and same category. for Lanxess India. It speaks volThe Lanxess Nagda operations umes about our efforts towards are a part of the advanced interimproving quality, maintaining mediates segment of Lanxess. safety and bringing about susThe products are manufactured tainable development. I sincerely at the Nagda site and are supplied thank IMC Ramakrishna Bajaj to major markets across more trust for recognising our efforts than 50 countries worldwide, through this award.’ servicing a wide range of applica-

The chairman of the panel of judges this year was Chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani. Other members of the panel of judges were Executive Vice-Chairman and MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Uday Kotak; Former VC, SNDT Women’s University, Prof Rupa Shah; Chairman, Baroda Pioneer Asset Management, Dr Anil Khandelwal and Chairman, BDO Consulting, Shailesh V Haribhakti.

Since its inception in 1996, the IMC Ramakrishna Bajaj National Quality Awards recognise excellence in Indian organisations across categories like manufacturing, service, education and health care. The award criteria emphasises openness and transparency in governance and ethics, the need to create value for customers and the business and the challenges of rapid innovation and capitalising on the knowledge assets.

Carl Zeiss launches Accura II

G

erman measuring technology major, Carl Zeiss India (Bangalore) has launched an innovative new generation bridge-type measuring machine called Accura II. The Machine comes with precision, speed, reliability and multi-sensor capability. The platform concept of the new Accura allows one to tailor the measuring machine according to the requirements on the configuration, sensors and software and budget.

Accura II

Equipped with the new performance package, the Accura II reaches speed up to 800mm/s.

The smallest version of the machine features a measuring range of Z=800mm. The Accura II can be operated up to a temperature of 26 degree centigrade.

Honda Siel India cuts production

H

onda Siel Cars India (HSCI), one of the leading manufacturers of premium cars in India reported sales of 2,012 units during the month of April 2011 as against 3,578 units sold during the corresponding month last year.

Commenting on the company’s sales volumes, Sr Vice President, Sales & Marketing Jnaneswar Sen said, ‘As announced earlier, the Japan issue prompted us to reduce production at our Greater Noida plant to 50 percent from this month. However, production adjustments for a smooth transition began from mid-April.

Further, to ensure continuity of supplies to our customers in the forthcoming months, we have moderated our wholesale despatches. We are hoping that supplies will normalise post-July and we would be able to catch up on the lost volumes.’

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16 - 31 May 2011

TECHNOLOGY CORPORATE

Silicone: The answer to challenges of tomorrow

S

ilicones are amazing materials with a unique potential to improve the world we share. They are revolutionising our present and shaping our future. Did you know that silicones answer the automotive needs of today and the challenges of tomorrow? They make our journeys safer and more enjoyable and improve the performance and fuel efficiency of our automobiles and add years to their lives.

Automotive applications Silicones have unique properties that enable them to thrive in harsh engine compartment, under-vehicle, weather, and driving conditions: • They are stable over a wide range of temperatures, from -50 to 200°C and resistant to thermal shock. This enables

• • • •

flexible joint movement with excellent sealability Silicones resist moisture, pressure, salt spray, engine fluids, and UV light They have stable dielectric properties, even at high frequencies Silicones have very low water absorption: 0.1% per weight at room temperature Silicones have excellent sound and vibration damping capabilities

Solving problems and improving performance Silicones are so unique and versatile they are used to solve problems and improve performance in virtually every automotive system.

Components: Silicone technolog y of fers component manufacturers cost-effective

Silicone is widely used is tyres and auto electronics

sealing solutions that improve performance and productiv it y. Silicone elastomers create rugged seals, hoses, boots, and mounts that reduce maintenance and help extend

vehicle life. Custom silicone fl uids offer controlled torque transfer properties that optimise performance of engine cooling fan clutches and all-wheel drive transfer units.

Auto Electronics: Silicones enable the development of the increasingly smaller, more powerful, and more sophisticated auto electronics. Silicone sealants reliably seal electrical connections and instrument lenses. They also protect and dissipate heat from electronic engine, transmission and gearbox controllers and protect sensitive circuits from the environment.

Engine: Silicone sealants and elastomers help manufacturers fabricate parts and systems that can withstand the heat, pressure, aggressive fuels, and coolants found in today’s engine compartment. This contributes to fuel efficient engine performance.

Robotically dispensed, advanced liquid silicone elastomers also speed parts production.

Interiors: Silicone coatings add unique, consumer-pleasing touch, appearance, and soundreduction qualities to leather, fabric and plastic. Silicone protectants can also improve the long-term reliability of the electronic modules that control information and entertainment displays and ‘luxury’ seats.

Doors and roofi ng: Silicones reduce annoying squeaks and rattles. They protect and improve the appearance of exterior fi nishes and hold trim fi rmly in place.

Silicone seals and O-rings insulate headlamps and tail lamps from moisture and dust, even at extreme high and low temperatures. They also keep windows, doors and sunroofs from leaking.

Brake applications: Silicone technologies help improve the performance of ABS (Anti-Lock Braking) and ESP (stability) systems. In brake applications, silicone lubricants, greases, and pastes help reduce vibration, noise, and squeaking.

Temperature-resistant silicone muffler hangers and dampers also reduce noise and vibration.

Airbag Safety: The airbag is one of the outstanding developments in the field of vehicle safety.

Silicone coating ensures the fabric, which protects the driver and passengers, has controlled inflation/deflation and dependability and remains gas-tight and heat resistant during inflation Silicones are all around you, improving your driving experience in diverse and unexpected ways. Silicone joint sealants and waterproofi ng chemicals extend the life of roads and bridges.

Silicone materials enable lightemitting diode (LED) traffic signals to shine more brightly.

And silicones in auto car products help you polish and protect your auto investment.

(The study is by Dow Corning.

Views expressed are personal)

16 - 31 May 2011

TECHNOLOGY CORPORATE

Auto Monitor

49

Baosteel places order for new Schuler line I

n China’s growing car market, the demand for premium models continues to rise. A recent decision taken by one of China’s leading part suppliers illustrates how this development is impacting the entire production chain: Baosteel has ordered a new blanking line for its facility in Changchun, China, from the experts of Schuler Automation.

The line promises flexible and highly dynamic processing of both steel and aluminum coils.

This will also allow the manufacturer to supply aluminum blanks—a product in growing demand for the production of premium cars in China. The fact that similar lines from Schuler with coil feed line, high-performance roll feed unit and stackers are already in use at facilities in Europe was an additional factor in Baosteel’s investment decision process. The company wants to guarantee international car manufacturers in China that it can supply the blank quality they require and are used to, from Europe.

Producing Blanks The fi rst stage of the forming process—for car body panels— is always the production of sheet metal blanks. Various blank sizes are fi rst cut out of a coil of sheet metal and then formed into doors or engine hoods in a second production stage. It soon becomes apparent, therefore, why blanking lines play such an important role for the overall process: poor surface quality of the blanks can hardly be corrected at a later stage. Moreover, this fi rst production step has an impact on the economic efficiency of the entire process.

Securing The Quality The experts of Schuler will be installing the latest generation of blanking lines at Baosteel’s facility in Changchun. ‘We’ve installed similar lines at German facilities, but this is the fi rst of its kind in China,’ explained Robin Reid, responsible for the overall concept of the new blanking lines at Schuler.

Why has one of China’s largest part suppliers chosen this concept? ‘Baosteel’s customers in China also produce models known from Europe. Obviously, these car manufacturers also want their suppliers to use identical processes for the production of blanks. This helps guarantee the required premium quality of the fi nished body panels,’ stated Reid. At the same time, the new machine generation stands for a veritable leap in blank production output: increases of up to 50 percent are possible compared to older lines. This leap has been made possible by the perfect synchronization of all components in the line. The coil feed line and roll feed unit at the beginning of the line and Stop2Drop stackers at the end are all perfectly adapted to the movement curve of the programmable servo presses.

Process Flexibility Schuler’s servo technology has also proved to be the ideal drive for a line which, if required, can also process aluminum—a highly sensitive material. The cutting speed can be adjusted to the material strength or to the quality of the dies used. Output

The Schuler blanking line is expected be operational at Baosteel’s Changchun facility in spring 2012

remains high, however, as the monoblock servo press with a press force of 800 metric ton can draw on its key strength— the ability to program the slide’s movement curve—during the actual cutting process. The cut itself happens extremely quickly, while the movement of the slide during material transport is slowed down. The system thus ensures high output levels.

The line is expected to go into operation at Baosteel’s Changchun facility in spring 2012. ‘Baosteel will then be able to meet the highest blank standards of the major premium car manufacturers. And with regard to the dynamic development of the Chinese car market, we are convinced that this technology will also be interesting for other Chinese part suppliers,’ said Reid.

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VIEWPOINT

The UNIDO-AIEMA Project

MR Srinivasan

S

mall and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the growth of a nation. They provide significant boost to the economy by mobilising knowledge, skills and technology to promote an industry. As a result, its smaller counterpart, the Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) are also exposed to greater opportunities for expansion and diversification across the sectors.

As a specialised agency under the United Nations, UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organisation) enables SMEs to accelerate sustainable industrial development in developing economies by way of sharing expertise and incorporating best practices and approaches to common problems of the region.

As a part of the organisation’s development plans across seven nations, UNIDO is executing over 26 projects in India. In one of their intensive projects for SME development, UNIDO has identified AIEMA-ATC (Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers AssociationAmbattur Technological Centre) as the focal point of the SME Consolidated Project in India that was launched in July 2007.

The project—through a series of specialised intervention programmes—aims to support MSMEs in becoming globally competitive and also enhancing the sustainability of the underachieving MSME clusters by strengthening the capacity of the fi rms and forging stronger collaborations among them, as well as between the fi rms and other cluster level institutions.

The Goals The project is based on an innovative approach integrating development activities focused upon three components: (1) Establishment of cooperation agreements between Indian and Italian clusters (Cluster Twinning), (2) Promotion of FDI and technology (Investment & Technology Promotion Component or ITP) (3) Promotion of the Italian Mutual Credit Guarantee Schemes (MCGS) component in India.

About AIEMA AIEMA represents the interest of the industrial units of Ambattur Industrial Estate and liaises with various government bodies to initiate programmes to upgrade the management and profitability of the member units. ATC is an offshoot of AIEMA to facilitate promotion of its members through technological upgrades.

AIEMA Component Cluster From the AIEMA customer segmentation studies conducted, the globalisation effect has enabled the Chennai auto manufacturers’ cluster to pull in new entrants like Hyundai and Ford,

but local supplier development for the two brands has a long way to go. As Koreans prefer their own JVs or Korean invested companies as vendors, quality and delivery issues of the local suppliers pose as barriers to brands like Ford. Although some units are capable, they lack fi ne-tuning of technical capacities to become listed vendors of international brands, thus deprived of the geographical presence.

UNIDO-AIEMA programme activities

UNIDO-AIEMA Roadmap There are about 45 SMEs who are actively participating in the UNIDO cluster programme. The units are regarded as the change agents of the cluster and have shown a progressive growth rate of 15-20 percent for the last three years, with an average turnover ranging from Rs 55-60 million.

The participating SMEs in the programme are mostly Tire II & III, and aim to become direct suppliers to OEMs or Tire I suppliers of car manufacturers like Hyundai and Ford.

As the cluster needs a different approach to development, the project conducted an ‘Excellence Gap Analyses’ on competitiveness for 25 fi rms. The study mapped the soft and hard skills of the participating units and a three-year road map was laid out.

A Unido workshop being conducted

The Need The Excellence Gap Analysis and Vision & Strategy interventions confi rmed the participating SME’s potential to become suppliers to Tire I manufacturers. As these companies are part of the value chain at the lower level, the need is to upgrade their position through various sustainable interventions.

The Strategy A multi-pronged strategy was proposed for the AIEMA auto component cluster. The study comprises: • Technical Training: The training is conducted in the areas of quality, process up-gradations, lean manufacturing and process certification from experts who implement the interventions • Enhanced Marketing Support: A marketing organisation for exploring new markets is also proposed, covering auto, trucks and earthmoving equipment. The initiative would eventually lead to capacity utilization and investment opportunities.

Leveraging on the presence of international brands like Hyundai and Ford in Chennai, a tailor-made technical intervention, called UNIDO-AIEMA SPX Supplier Development Program (SDP), has been planned, based on the demands of cluster members.

The aim was to link them to the supply chain of Hyundai and Ford.

Besides technical interventions by national experts, networking was initiated by project experts.

Under this SDP, 181 employees/representatives from 28 (Tier II & Tier III) auto-component MSMEs were trained on various shop floor best practices, following a well structured improvement agenda helping SMEs to develop compliance with the preferred productivity, quality & delivery ‘Supply Norms’ of Tier 1 and OEMs Units within auto industry. The program not only created good confidence and trust amongst the AIEMA SMEs

A visit to a shop floor

A Swedish delegate holding consultation

but also laid the foundation for future replication by AIEMA for the next set of its members with the help of stakeholders.

The UNIDO-ITP component aims at building the capacity in industry institutions to create networks and strengthen the association’s ability to promote MSMEs. ITP also makes investment and technology proposals for the MSMEs in India through joint ventures.

The UNIDO-MCGS component aims at structuring the

schemes in India on the lines of established best practices of the Italian experience of mutual guarantee associations. They have been a great success in Italy.

They are formed as solidarity groups, in the form of consortia or co-operatives, by micro-small fi rms with limited or no access to credit.

The state government aims to transform the state into one of the top three manufacturing hubs for automotive and auto ancillary in Asia by 2015. The

project is expected to achieve its results over a few years. However, the effects of the global partnership have already taken root and show tremendous potential for helping propel the government aims to fruition.

(The author is a Cluster Business Development Advisor (Auto Components Sector), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation Consolidated Project for SME Development in India.

Views expressed are personal.)

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VIEWPOINT

Future Automotive Materials

Dr M Venkatraman

W

hat would be the future materials for auto? This question has been time and again posed for decades and alternate materials such as aluminium, composites and plastics have been foreseen to be the futuristic materials. Decades have passed and yet, steel remains the only material that is being extensively used for automotive applications. While worldwide research still continues to look for alternate materials and claims and counterclaims have been made, steel continues to be the preferred material of choice.

Alternative materials One of the major reasons why alternate lighter materials such as aluminium or composites are not favoured is because of the tooling and post-use recycling costs.

Apart from aluminium, carbon fibre and glass fibre reinforced composites have been suggested as alternatives to steel for some body parts. While considering steel versus any other material, one thing must be kept in mindâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; steel can only be substituted, but can never be replaced.

Understanding Steel Steel is unique in possessing some of the critical properties that are needed in automotives. It has good formability, good crashworthiness (resistant to crash under impact loading), good dent resistant property, good weldability and a good fatigue life. The metal has a long life under alternate loading conditions viz fatigue loading compared to composites.

This is because in composites, the fibres or particles are orientated which decreases the fatigue life.

But steel has the unique characteristic of providing a better crash

resistance property because of positive strain rate sensitivity. The strain rate sensitivity is a measure of how much load a material can with stand on high impact loading, and is an important parameter to analyse the behaviour of material during crash testing. Studies on crash performance shows that steel offers good strain rate sensitivity, meaning that the strength increases to as high as 43 percent under crash loading. Increasing crashworthiness requirements are pushing the use of high strength steel usage in automotives. The behaviour of composites under crash has not yet been established, although it is claimed they can withstand impact loading. Other inherent advantages of steel are easy forming and amenability to fast production, easy availability in large volumes and recyclability.

Advantages of steel Part-by-part substitution of other materials has been attempted to prove their advantages, but when it comes to industrialisation of large volumes, these substitutions have not been proved to be economically viable. The properties of the material for each part of the car component are different.

For example, the door inners and hoods may require high strength and drawablity, while outer panels require dent resistance, but floor panels and the hood require different properties. Steel is amenable to achieve all these by slight changes in process and chemistry, whereas different composite material may be needed for each of these. Mass production of such different materials for industrial use is not possible.

Technology Developments One of the most significant developments in the automotive industry is the introduction of high strength and advanced high strength steels leading to weight reduction of vehicles there by increasing the fuel efficiency.

Research shows that a 20 percent or greater reduction in body weight can be achieved by combining new steels and the new manufacturing technologies like tailor welded blanks, hydro forming, hot stamping etc. As steel is used almost universally in the automo-

tive industry, reductions could be introduced into existing facilities almost immediately, increasing the cost advantages of weight reduction using steels rather than other composite materials.

Tailor-welded blanks are steel sheets of different thickness and gradesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;laser welded into a single fl at blank prior to pressing to achieve the optimal material combinations thereby reducing the weight of vehicles. These blanks produce other tangible savings including reductions in scrap and weight, and improving dimensional accuracy by limiting the use of higher-strength, heavier-gauge, and more expensive materials. Hydro-forming technology produces complex shaped steel components offering weight-saving potential with improved performance.

Hot forming is another emerging technology. In this process, the part is formed at high temperature and rapidly quenched in water. After quenching, the formed component can gain strength up to three times the original strength (eg Parts: B pillar, axeles, long member etc).

These new technologies are unsuitable for composite or aluminium due to basic limitation in material characteristics.

Composites can offer light weight and good design flexibility and can be substituted for some body panels, but components such as t r a n sm i s sion parts(forged parts), structural parts, long members in buses, wheels etc, will continue to be in steel. Roof, floor pan, cross member have been tried out but they were found to be marginally cost effective at lower production volumes (<40,000 per year) but at large volume, steel is undoubtedly found to be good. (MIT study, 2003)

three components: raw material cost, manufacturing cost and the design and testing cost. Although it is said that the total life cycle cost for carbon composites is lower than steel by 16 percent, the actual economy industrial scale has to be seen. The fact remains that the raw material cost of carbon composite is 16 times higher (avg $1/ kg for steel vs $16/kg for composites). Another area of concern for carbon composites is recycling costs which are four times the cost of steel. The tooling cost for composite materials, although not very different from steel, has limited durability. (SAMPE JL.2009, V45)

Conclusion The debate continues, but steel will be the material of choice for automotive applications in the years to come. At best, hybrid cars with some parts in composites and majority of steel will be the future. Perhaps 2020 may see the new type of cars going by trend of active research and auto makers thrust to save weight reduction.

(The author is the Senior Vice President of Essar Steel. Views expressed are personal)

Steel is unique in possessing some of the critical properties that are needed in automotives. It has good formability, good crashworthiness, good dent resistant property, good weldability and a good fatigue life. The metal has a long life under alternate loading conditions. While worldwide research still continues to look for alternate materials and claims and counterclaims have been made, steel continues to be the preferred material of choice

Cost Factor One of the most important consumer driven factors in automotive industry is the cost. The cost includes

(L) A Reinforced B pillar with a wheel rim and base (R) A long member

Essarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cold rolled products

16 - 31 May 2011

GLOBAL WATCH

Auto Monitor

53

Delphi GDi wins PACE award F

or the second consecutive year, Delphi has been honoured with the Automotive News 2011 Premier Automotive Suppliers’ Contribution to Excellence (PACE) award for its Multec homogeneous GDi (Gasoline Direct injector) last month.

Presented annually at a ceremony to coincide with the SAE World Congress, the PACE awards recognise superior innovation, technological advancement and business performance by automotive suppliers.

‘This year’s honour complements the 2010 PACE award recognising our direct-acting piezo diesel injector,’ said Engineering Director, Gasoline Engine Management System (EMS) and Powertrain Products, James Zizelman, ‘The award further validates Delphi’s expertise

Lapp Charge for easy refuelling

T

he German-based connectivity solutions major, Lapp Group demonstrated its power for innovation with e-mobility solutions at the Hanover Fair recently. The big draw at the stand was the Lorinser Easybrid, a car that has been converted into a hybrid vehicle by the Swabian tuning specialist, without any alterations to the engine or the gearbox.

With the Easybrid, the Lapp Group showcased how easy refuelling would be in future with the Lapp Charge system.

The innovative charging system, which was developed together with Bals Elektrotechnik GmbH from North Rhine-Westphalia, won customers with its ergonomic design and numerous safety features. The Lapp Charge meets the VDE standard, which was defi ned with input from several renowned automotive manufacturers.

The Lapp Charge

Lapp also displayed a range of charging variants that are ready for series production. A spiral cable can also be used as a connecting cable. This is halogen-free, f lame-retardant, oil-resistant and suitable for use in temperatures from -40°C to +90°C. Those specifications make it perfect for use in harsh conditions. Werner Becker, CEO of Lapp Systems, part of the Lapp Group, said, ‘This kind of cable must function reliably in all weather conditions. In addition, it shouldn’t be possible to drag it inadvertently across the ground when recharging or to damage the vehicle with it.

That is why we are offering this charging system as a bespoke solution and recommending the use of special, f lexible spiral cables.’

The complete connector series comprises plugs and a range of different flush-mounted socket designs. In the future, additional contacts in the connectors will be used to exchange data between the vehicle and the power supply.

and creativity in supporting our customers’ advanced combustion strategies across both major fuel types with affordable highperformance technologies.’

Delphi’s Multec homogeneous GDi is a patented multi-hole injector engineered with a unique decoupled design offering high dynamic range, very low noise, and no pintle bounce for precise fuel control. It also optimises fuel delivery performance, which translates into better vehicle performance—improved fuel economy, reduced emissions and increased engine power and torque.

The innovative GDi technolog y offers fundamental improvements in engine performance compared to traditional port fuel injection (PFI) engines. With an inwardly opening valve group and multi-hole

atomizer, the Multec injector optimises fuel delivery performance. These features translate to better vehicle performance— improved fuel economy, reduced emissions and increased engine power and torque.

‘Delphi is committed to reducing the environmental impact of internal combustion engines.

However, the technology must be broadly applied to realise maximum impact,’ said Zizelman.

‘For this reason, our emphasis centres on technically superior, cost-effective solutions that are practical to implement in highvolume production.’

This is Delphi’s 13th PACE Award since 1995. ‘Our talented inventors are continually developing industry-leading technologies that reduce the environmental impact of vehicles, improve their safety and add value for

our customers,’ said Executive Director a nd C h ie f Technologist for Delphi Andrew Brown Jr. ‘The award recognises the quality of our innovations and the people who deliver them. They are at the heart of what ma kes Delphi successful today.’

T he 2011 PACE Award is a valued addition to other industry recognition for Delphi technologies. Recently, Delphi received a ‘Successful Practice Award‘ for targeted and efficient technology management

Multec homogeneous GDi

from the prestigious Fraunhofer Inst itute for Product ion Technolog y (IPT) —regarded as the largest organisation for applied research in Europe.

54

Auto Monitor

GLOBAL WATCH CORPORATE

16 - 31 May 2011

International auto round-up EUROPE

AMERICA

Renault’s Slovenia unit to cut 20 percent of workforce

GM truck surplus may hit production

Renault SA will drop shifts at its Novo Mesto plant in Slovenia following a lack of electronic parts that are produced in a tsunami-hit area of Japan. The move will mean 520 job cuts at the facility, which employs around 2,600 workers. The factory will stop building cars on its night shift from May 23, Renault said. The plant currently builds the Renault Twingo minicar and the Clio subcompact and in 2012 will begin production of a four-seater Smart model for Daimler AG, which will share the same platform as a new Twingo model. Both cars are scheduled for launch in 2013. In 2009, Renault built 212,680 cars in Novo Mesto.

GM is closely monitoring the consumer shift to more fuel-efficient cars, trying to determine whether it should curtail truck production, Chief Financial Officer, Dan Ammann said. He declined to elaborate on what those alterations might entail. GM had about 111 days’ supply of trucks at the end of April—more than double what is considered healthy by the industry for an automaker. Asked if GM may soon eliminate shifts at truck factories, Ammann said it’s too early to tell. Truck sales got a boost late last year as many business replaced older models. In April, GM’s US car sales rose 49.8 percent over the same month last year; while trucks sales grew 11.5 percent year-over-year, according to AutoData Corp.

Audi plans extra shifts to trim waiting times for SUVs Audi plans to add shifts to ease waiting times for models including the Q7 sport-utility vehicle. It plans additional weekend shifts this month at its two main German factories to increase production, CFO, Axel Strotbek said.

Demand for Audi vehicles has fuelled a surge in parent Volkswagen’s fi rst-quarter earnings before interest and taxes, which more than tripled to a record Euro 2.91 billion ($4.3 billion). BMW, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz and Audi are targeting their highest-ever sales this year, lifted by growing wealth in China. Also, with a rebound in spending in the US, Audi has sold 18 percent more cars and SUVs in the fi rst quarter, a total of 312,600 units, and April deliveries confi rm that the VW division is on track to achieve its full-year target of delivering more than 1.2 million vehicles, Strotbek said.

Beijing firm buys Inalfa Roof Systems Beijing Hainachuan Automotive Parts, a Chinese parts conglomerate, has agreed to buy Inalfa Roof Systems Group BV for an undisclosed price. Inalfa, of Amsterdam, is one of the world’s leading sunroof producers whose customers include BMW, Daimler, Chrysler Group, Ford, GM, Geely, Volkswagen and others. Inalfa has facilities in China, Europe, the United States, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico and Japan. The company is owned by AAC Capital Partners, a European buyout fi rm, and Parcom Capital.

Hainachuan is a 60/40 joint venture owned by Beijing Automotive Industry Holding and Beijing Industrial Development Investment Management. Hainachuan owns 26 manufacturing subsidiaries that produce interior and exterior trim, seats, electronic modules, heat exchangers and chassis components. The company maintains joint ventures with international suppliers such as Johnson Controls, Delphi, Lear, Visteon, BorgWarner and Tenneco.

Marchionne wins concessions to build Maseratis at former Bertone plant Fiat, CEO Sergio Marchionne won concessions from workers in exchange for a 500 million-euro ($739 million) investment to build Maserati models at a former Bertone plant in Grugliasco, Italy. A program of increased work shifts and more flexible overtime won approval from 88 percent of the 1,011 workers taking part in the ballot, Roberto Di Maulo, a Fismic union representative, said. The workforce at the plant near Turin, which Fiat bought from bankrupt car-design company Bertone in 2009, totals about 1,100 employees. Fiat plans to build the Maserati Quattroporte successor and a new mid-sized sedan at the plant. The mid-sized sedan will compete with Audi A6, BMW 5 series and Mercedes-Benz E class and is due in the fourth quarter of 2012. The new Quattroporte will be launched in mid-2013. Total annual production of the two models is planned at 30,000 to 35,000 units at peak cycle. The labour agreement is the third in less than a year that Marchionne has reached as part of his strategy of raising productivity at Fiat’s domestic plants. About 54 percent of workers at Fiat’s factory in Turin’s Mirafiori district approved the concessions in January in exchange for a Euru one billion investment. The programme received 63 percent support in June from workers at Fiat’s plant in Pomigliano, near the southern city of Naples.

Bosch projects record 2011 sales Robert Bosch could hit record sales in 2011 on the heels of a $62.7 billion net profit last year and its ability to meet the growing demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles. Bosch officials said that they expect continued growth in North America, where sales were up 27 percent to $8.8 billion in 2010. The auto sector accounted for $5.6 billion of the revenue.

Bosch continues to invest heavily in direct-injection and turbochargers to improve the efficiency of gasoline and diesel engines. The supplier is spending $580 million and devoting 800 engineers worldwide to work on hybrids and electric vehicles, including the Fiat 500 that is due in 2012, North American CEO, Peter Marks said. Direct injection is used on about six percent of new vehicles but Bosch forecasts penetration of 18 percent by 2015.

BMW surges past Mercedes BMW’s namesake brand outsold Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz in April to be the month’s top-selling luxury brand in the US and to take the lead for the year by just 29 vehicles. BMW’s US deliveries, boosted by sales of the new 5 Series sedan and X3 sport-utility vehicle, rose 8.9 percent to 18,801 compared to the same month last year, the Munich-based automaker said. Deliveries for the first four months of the year rose to 71,417 vehicles, to lead Mercedes’ 71,388 sales and the 64,932 deliveries by Toyota’s Lexus. Lexus has been the top-selling luxury auto brand in the US on an annual basis for the past 11 years. Its lead over BMW narrowed to 9,216 last year, less than half the 19,473 gap in 2009. Mercedes finished in third place last year. US sales of BMW’s 5 Series rose 77 percent last month and the X3 more than tripled its deliveries, the company said.

GM recalls 2011 Cruze models to inspect steering shaft GM is recalling more than 1,54,000 of its top-selling Chevrolet Cruze cars to check that the steering shaft was properly installed. Of those vehicles, more than 1,20,000 cars with an automatic transmission will also be inspected to ensure the transmission shift linkage was properly installed. The cars are built at a plant in Lordstown, Ohio and sold in the United States and Canada. The recall population covers nearly every Cruze assembled since the vehicle went into production in the US in September 2010. In April, GM recalled 2,100 Cruze cars to inspect for an improperly fastened steering wheel. The largest US automaker also announced two other smaller recalls. No crashes or injuries stemmed from any of the recalls. The company said the nut on the windshield wiper motor crank arm could come loose on some 2011 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks, affecting 6,303 vehicles, including 4,674 trucks in the United States.

Nissan wins $1B contract to provide NY taxicabs The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has chosen Nissan to design and supply a cab starting in late 2013—a deal that city officials value at $one billion over ten years. The Nissan taxi, a modified version of Nissan’s NV200 compact commercial vehicle already available in Japan, Europe and China, will be built at Nissan’s plant in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The base model, with a sticker price of $29,000, beat out fi nalists from Ford and Karsan of Turkey. Nissan will also work with the city of New York on a pilot program to study zero-emission, electric vehicles as taxis. Nissan will provide up to six all-electric Leaf models to taxi owners for testing in 2012, along with charging stations. New York’s cab fleet of 13,200 vehicles ferries 600,000 passengers a day. From 2013, Nissan will be the exclusive cab provider. The average New York City cab travels 70,000 miles a year. The boxy new taxi will feature a transparent roof, passenger air bags, more legroom, charging stations for mobile devices, high fuel-efficiency ratings and built-in GPS navigation systems, and enough trunk space to handle the luggage of four people. The current fleet is anchored by Ford’s Crown Victoria and yellow has been the uniform colour by law since 1967.

ASIA US automakers guilty of dumping, China rules China has found some US-made passenger cars benefited from unfair subsidies, damaging its automakers, although Beijing side-stepped a potential trade row with the United States by not hitting them with duties. The decision could ease fractious US-China relations, already strained by tensions over the appreciation of the yuan and criticisms from the United States that Beijing is favouring giant state-owned enterprises by keeping borrowing costs low. China’s Commerce Ministry launched the investigation in November 2009 in an attempt to defend Chinese automakers against US competitors. US exports of new and used passenger cars to China tripled to $3.4 billion in 2010 over 2009’s figures. China’s announcement came just days before the once-a-year Strategic and Economic Dialogue, which covers various economic and diplomatic issues between the United States and China. Trade disputes are likely to feature prominently.

China firm to buy stake in Saab owner Saab Automobile received a financial lifeline after Hawtai Motor Group agreed to invest in the Swedish firm and build cars together in China. Hawtai, based in Beijing, will invest 120 million Euros ($177 million) and get as much as 29.9 per-

cent of Saab’s owner, Spyker Cars NV, the firms said at a news conference in Beijing. The Chinese company also will loan Spyker 30 million Euros ($44.6 million). GM sold Saab to Spyker, the maker of the C8 Aileron and other sports cars retailing for more than $200,000, as the Detroitbased automaker shed assets as part of its reorganisation. Saab’s North American headquarters, employing about 45, is based in Royal Oak. Hawtai. Founded in 2000, it makes Hawtai B11 and B21 cars, Terracan and Hawtai Boliger sport-utility vehicles, buses and engines. Sales at Hawtai’s Rongcheng-based unit rose 60 percent last year to 81,439 vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

The company has production units in Rongcheng and in the city of Erdos in China’s Inner-Mongolia province.

56

Auto Monitor

16 - 31 May 2011

N AMERICAN ASSEMBLY

AUTOFACTS Global Automotive Outlook PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

North America Assby Tracking 1-2011 (Tracking by Brand & Nameplate) March 2011 Ownership Org/ Brand & Nameplate

Volume

Last 3 Months YOY

Assembly

YOY

% Chg

Share %

Share Chg

Volume

Year to Date YOY

Assembly

YOY

% Chg

Share %

Share Chg

YOY

Assembly

YOY

Volume

% Chg

Share %

Share Chg

AutoAlliance International (USA)

9,991

10.9%

0.8%

(-0.1)

26,518

1.0%

0.8%

(-0.1)

26,518

1.0%

0.8%

Ford Mustang

7,038

17.3%

0.5%

(-0.0)

15,607

3.3%

0.5%

(-0.1)

15,607

3.3%

0.5%

(-0.1) (-0.1)

Mazda Mazda6

2,953

-2.0%

0.2%

(-0.0)

10,911

-2.1%

0.3%

(-0.1)

10,911

-2.1%

0.3%

(-0.1)

BMW (Germany)

25,996

89.1%

2.0%

0.7

63,796

72.2%

1.9%

0.6

63,796

72.2%

1.9%

0.6

BMW X3

11,223

-

0.9%

0.9

26,877

-

0.8%

0.8

26,877

-

0.8%

0.8

BMW X5

10,374

8.8%

0.8%

(-0.1)

25,504

-0.8%

0.8%

(-0.1)

25,504

-0.8%

0.8%

(-0.1)

BMW X6

4,399

4.5%

0.3%

(-0.0)

11,415

0.6%

0.3%

(-0.1)

11,415

0.6%

0.3%

(-0.1)

Chrysler Group LLC (USA)

202,060

35.8%

15.5%

1.9

487,789

29.1%

14.5%

1.5

487,789

29.1%

14.5%

1.5 0.8

Chrysler 200

11,752

-

0.9%

0.9

26,719

-

0.8%

0.8

26,719

-

0.8%

Chrysler 300

7,311

58.0%

0.6%

0.1

8,094

-27.2%

0.2%

(-0.1)

8,094

-27.2%

0.2%

(-0.1)

Chrysler PT Cruiser

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.2)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.2)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.2)

Chrysler Sebring

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.5)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.5)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.5)

Chrysler Town & Country

10,728

-19.6%

0.8%

(-0.4)

26,353

-3.2%

0.8%

(-0.2)

26,353

-3.2%

0.8%

(-0.2)

Dodge Avenger

9,234

58.9%

0.7%

0.2

18,352

48.1%

0.5%

0.1

18,352

48.1%

0.5%

0.1

Dodge Caliber

5,439

33.7%

0.4%

0.0

13,104

-29.7%

0.4%

(-0.3)

13,104

-29.7%

0.4%

(-0.3)

Dodge Caravan

16,345

-16.2%

1.3%

(-0.5)

43,466

8.2%

1.3%

(-0.1)

43,466

8.2%

1.3%

(-0.1)

Dodge Challenger

2,505

-13.0%

0.2%

(-0.1)

9,238

-15.8%

0.3%

(-0.1)

9,238

-15.8%

0.3%

(-0.1)

Dodge Charger

9,419

8.9%

0.7%

(-0.1)

26,586

12.3%

0.8%

(-0.0)

26,586

12.3%

0.8%

(-0.0) 0.0

Dodge Dakota

2,801

50.1%

0.2%

0.0

6,405

41.1%

0.2%

0.0

6,405

41.1%

0.2%

Dodge Durango

8,104

-

0.6%

0.6

22,154

-

0.7%

0.7

22,154

-

0.7%

0.7

Dodge Journey

11,739

-12.0%

0.9%

(-0.3)

27,410

-18.5%

0.8%

(-0.3)

27,410

-18.5%

0.8%

(-0.3)

Dodge Nitro

2,744

24.3%

0.2%

0.0

6,365

5.1%

0.2%

(-0.0)

6,365

5.1%

0.2%

(-0.0)

Dodge Ram Pickup

-

-100.0%

-

(-2.6)

-

-100.0%

-

(-2.5)

-

-100.0%

-

(-2.5)

Dodge Viper

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0) 0.2

Fiat 500

3,492

-

0.3%

0.3

6,010

-

0.2%

0.2

6,010

-

0.2%

Fiat Freemont

1,510

-

0.1%

0.1

1,510

-

0.0%

0.0

1,510

-

0.0%

0.0

Jeep Commander

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.2)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.2)

Jeep Compass

10,990

189.7%

0.8%

0.5

26,490

183.0%

0.8%

0.5

26,490

183.0%

0.8%

0.5

Jeep Grand Cherokee

15,612

313.6%

1.2%

0.9

38,346

67.1%

1.1%

0.3

38,346

67.1%

1.1%

0.3

Jeep Liberty

6,649

-1.1%

0.5%

(-0.1)

17,119

23.1%

0.5%

0.0

17,119

23.1%

0.5%

0.0

Jeep Patriot

8,731

74.7%

0.7%

0.2

22,795

112.9%

0.7%

0.3

22,795

112.9%

0.7%

0.3

Jeep Wrangler

6,781

25.6%

0.5%

0.0

16,684

31.8%

0.5%

0.1

16,684

31.8%

0.5%

0.1

Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

10,404

34.5%

0.8%

0.1

27,839

47.3%

0.8%

0.2

27,839

47.3%

0.8%

0.2

Ram Pickup

36,616

-

2.8%

2.8

89,783

-

2.7%

2.7

89,783

-

2.7%

2.7

Volkswagen Routan

3,154

0.8%

0.2%

(-0.0)

6,967

19.1%

0.2%

0.0

6,967

19.1%

0.2%

0.0

Daimler AG (Germany)

13,308

4.9%

1.0%

(-0.1)

35,565

4.0%

1.1%

(-0.1)

35,565

4.0%

1.1%

(-0.1)

Freightliner Sprinter

796

26.6%

0.1%

0.0

2,141

26.9%

0.1%

0.0

2,141

26.9%

0.1%

0.0

Mercedes-Benz GL-Class

2,760

-9.6%

0.2%

(-0.1)

7,440

-9.6%

0.2%

(-0.1)

7,440

-9.6%

0.2%

(-0.1)

Mercedes-Benz M-Class

8,096

9.6%

0.6%

(-0.1)

21,520

8.1%

0.6%

(-0.0)

21,520

8.1%

0.6%

(-0.0)

Mercedes-Benz R-Class

1,656

2.4%

0.1%

(-0.0)

4,464

2.4%

0.1%

(-0.0)

4,464

2.4%

0.1%

(-0.0)

Ford Motor Company (USA)

261,864

27.5%

20.0%

1.3

637,863

14.8%

18.9%

(-0.2)

637,863

14.8%

18.9%

(-0.2)

Ford Crown Victoria

9,101

148.3%

0.7%

0.4

22,208

80.9%

0.7%

0.2

22,208

80.9%

0.7%

0.2

Ford Econoline

18,260

39.6%

1.4%

0.2

43,683

28.6%

1.3%

0.1

43,683

28.6%

1.3%

0.1

Ford Edge

17,116

18.1%

1.3%

(-0.0)

44,619

11.8%

1.3%

(-0.1)

44,619

11.8%

1.3%

(-0.1)

Ford Escape

30,482

14.3%

2.3%

(-0.1)

81,070

12.8%

2.4%

(-0.1)

81,070

12.8%

2.4%

(-0.1)

Ford Expedition

6,741

32.3%

0.5%

0.1

14,217

37.3%

0.4%

0.1

14,217

37.3%

0.4%

0.1

Ford Explorer

16,375

161.7%

1.3%

0.7

36,410

94.4%

1.1%

0.4

36,410

94.4%

1.1%

0.4

Ford Explorer Sport Trac

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

Ford Fiesta

10,234

-

0.8%

0.8

29,482

-

0.9%

0.9

29,482

-

0.9%

0.9

Ford Flex

1,589

-60.6%

0.1%

(-0.2)

6,234

-49.9%

0.2%

(-0.2)

6,234

-49.9%

0.2%

(-0.2) (-0.7)

Ford Focus

19,511

47.4%

1.5%

0.3

25,656

-40.1%

0.8%

(-0.7)

25,656

-40.1%

0.8%

Ford F-Series

74,289

33.5%

5.7%

0.6

182,718

30.3%

5.4%

0.6

182,718

30.3%

5.4%

0.6

Ford Fusion

26,841

7.7%

2.1%

(-0.2)

75,305

15.4%

2.2%

(-0.0)

75,305

15.4%

2.2%

(-0.0)

Ford Ranger

10,663

66.5%

0.8%

0.2

25,320

39.3%

0.8%

0.1

25,320

39.3%

0.8%

0.1

Ford Taurus

8,134

-17.4%

0.6%

(-0.3)

18,544

-27.9%

0.6%

(-0.3)

18,544

-27.9%

0.6%

(-0.3)

Lincoln Mark LT

36

-62.9%

0.0%

(-0.0)

100

-65.0%

0.0%

(-0.0)

100

-65.0%

0.0%

(-0.0)

Lincoln MKS

1,546

-15.7%

0.1%

(-0.0)

2,950

-37.6%

0.1%

(-0.1)

2,950

-37.6%

0.1%

(-0.1)

Lincoln MKT

341

-48.1%

0.0%

(-0.0)

1,488

-39.0%

0.0%

(-0.0)

1,488

-39.0%

0.0%

(-0.0)

Lincoln MKX

3,347

19.5%

0.3%

0.0

8,827

15.0%

0.3%

(-0.0)

8,827

15.0%

0.3%

(-0.0)

Lincoln MKZ

4,267

151.6%

0.3%

0.2

10,002

56.5%

0.3%

0.1

10,002

56.5%

0.3%

0.1

Lincoln Navigator

1,090

14.3%

0.1%

(-0.0)

2,867

50.7%

0.1%

0.0

2,867

50.7%

0.1%

0.0

Lincoln Town Car

1,029

-27.5%

0.1%

(-0.1)

3,544

-11.3%

0.1%

(-0.0)

3,544

-11.3%

0.1%

(-0.0)

Mazda B-Series

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0)

Mazda Tribute

872

-9.3%

0.1%

(-0.0)

2,454

-38.7%

0.1%

(-0.1)

2,454

-38.7%

0.1%

(-0.1)

Mercury Grand Marquis

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.5)

165

-98.5%

0.0%

(-0.4)

165

-98.5%

0.0%

(-0.4)

Mercury Mariner

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.2)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.2)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.2)

Mercury Milan

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.2)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.3)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.3)

Mercury Mountaineer

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0)

Fuji Heavy Industries (Japan)

23,569

4.2%

1.8%

(-0.3)

68,034

14.6%

2.0%

(-0.0)

68,034

14.6%

2.0%

(-0.0)

Subaru Legacy

14,194

7.4%

1.1%

(-0.1)

42,258

19.0%

1.3%

0.0

42,258

19.0%

1.3%

0.0

Subaru Tribeca

635

-2.8%

0.0%

(-0.0)

1,889

0.5%

0.1%

(-0.0)

1,889

0.5%

0.1%

(-0.0)

Toyota Camry

8,740

-0.1%

0.7%

(-0.1)

23,887

8.6%

0.7%

(-0.0)

23,887

8.6%

0.7%

(-0.0)

General Motors Company (USA)

311,862

23.2%

23.9%

0.8

787,109

17.9%

23.3%

0.4

787,109

17.9%

23.3%

0.4

Buick Enclave

7,538

42.0%

0.6%

0.1

20,021

3.0%

0.6%

(-0.1)

20,021

3.0%

0.6%

(-0.1)

Buick LaCrosse

7,710

-3.3%

0.6%

(-0.1)

17,005

-5.2%

0.5%

(-0.1)

17,005

-5.2%

0.5%

(-0.1) 0.2

Buick Lucerne

3,676

41.9%

0.3%

0.0

9,362

213.5%

0.3%

0.2

9,362

213.5%

0.3%

Buick Regal

1,460

-

0.1%

0.1

1,460

-

0.0%

0.0

1,460

-

0.0%

0.0

Cadillac CTS

6,772

9.2%

0.5%

(-0.0)

17,941

8.5%

0.5%

(-0.0)

17,941

8.5%

0.5%

(-0.0)

Cadillac DTS

1,562

-18.6%

0.1%

(-0.1)

3,754

66.2%

0.1%

0.0

3,754

66.2%

0.1%

0.0

Cadillac Escalade

1,996

-11.6%

0.2%

(-0.1)

4,728

-31.1%

0.1%

(-0.1)

4,728

-31.1%

0.1%

(-0.1)

Cadillac Escalade ESV

692

-44.0%

0.1%

(-0.1)

1,684

-43.8%

0.0%

(-0.1)

1,684

-43.8%

0.0%

(-0.1)

Cadillac Escalade EXT

267

16.1%

0.0%

(-0.0)

728

24.4%

0.0%

0.0

728

24.4%

0.0%

0.0

Cadillac SRX

8,213

26.3%

0.6%

0.0

20,326

19.5%

0.6%

0.0

20,326

19.5%

0.6%

0.0

Cadillac STS

417

0.2%

0.0%

(-0.0)

1,086

-2.8%

0.0%

(-0.0)

1,086

-2.8%

0.0%

(-0.0)

Chevrolet Avalanche

2,256

26.6%

0.2%

0.0

5,785

20.9%

0.2%

0.0

5,785

20.9%

0.2%

0.0

Chevrolet Aveo

6,011

27.3%

0.5%

0.0

14,642

8.3%

0.4%

(-0.0)

14,642

8.3%

0.4%

(-0.0)

Chevrolet C2

4,650

-7.3%

0.4%

(-0.1)

11,587

-18.5%

0.3%

(-0.1)

11,587

-18.5%

0.3%

(-0.1)

Chevrolet Camaro

10,191

17.3%

0.8%

(-0.0)

29,769

14.8%

0.9%

(-0.0)

29,769

14.8%

0.9%

(-0.0)

Chevrolet Captiva

2,965

34.5%

0.2%

0.0

8,105

19.8%

0.2%

0.0

8,105

19.8%

0.2%

0.0

16 - 31 May 2011

N AMERICAN ASSEMBLY Feb 2011

Ownership Org/ Brand & Nameplate

Auto Monitor

Last 3 Months

Volume

YOY % Chg

Assembly Share %

YOY Share Chg

Volume

57

Year to Date YOY % Chg

Assembly Share %

YOY Share Chg

Volume

YOY % Chg

Assembly Share %

YOY Share Chg

Chevrolet Cobalt

-

-100.0%

-

(-1.1)

-

-100.0%

-

(-1.5)

-

-100.0%

-

(-1.5)

Chevrolet Colorado

2,834

-41.2%

0.2%

(-0.2)

9,350

-3.3%

0.3%

(-0.1)

9,350

-3.3%

0.3%

(-0.1)

Chevrolet Corvette

1,469

-20.4%

0.1%

(-0.1)

3,070

-32.0%

0.1%

(-0.1)

3,070

-32.0%

0.1%

(-0.1)

Chevrolet Cruze

26,353

-

2.0%

2.0

71,285

-

2.1%

2.1

71,285

-

2.1%

2.1

Chevrolet Equinox

23,766

55.8%

1.8%

0.4

62,942

51.7%

1.9%

0.4

62,942

51.7%

1.9%

0.4

Chevrolet Express

6,943

18.7%

0.5%

(-0.0)

18,606

33.8%

0.6%

0.1

18,606

33.8%

0.6%

0.1

Chevrolet HHR

6,682

2.9%

0.5%

(-0.1)

18,545

6.0%

0.6%

(-0.1)

18,545

6.0%

0.6%

(-0.1)

Chevrolet Impala

19,456

2.2%

1.5%

(-0.2)

53,994

8.3%

1.6%

(-0.1)

53,994

8.3%

1.6%

(-0.1)

Chevrolet Malibu

21,509

-5.1%

1.6%

(-0.4)

47,323

-5.0%

1.4%

(-0.3)

47,323

-5.0%

1.4%

(-0.3)

Chevrolet Silverado

52,691

27.7%

4.0%

0.3

125,452

11.0%

3.7%

(-0.2)

125,452

11.0%

3.7%

(-0.2) (-0.1)

Chevrolet Suburban

6,904

50.2%

0.5%

0.1

13,253

1.4%

0.4%

(-0.1)

13,253

1.4%

0.4%

Chevrolet Tahoe

9,723

-10.6%

0.7%

(-0.2)

25,189

-2.3%

0.7%

(-0.1)

25,189

-2.3%

0.7%

(-0.1)

Chevrolet Traverse

11,870

20.7%

0.9%

0.0

30,233

168.2%

0.9%

0.5

30,233

168.2%

0.9%

0.5

Chevrolet Volt

782

-

0.1%

0.1

1,986

-

0.1%

0.1

1,986

-

0.1%

0.1

GMC Acadia

9,187

213.1%

0.7%

0.4

23,857

24.6%

0.7%

0.0

23,857

24.6%

0.7%

0.0 (-0.1)

GMC Canyon

866

-43.4%

0.1%

(-0.1)

2,645

-30.0%

0.1%

(-0.1)

2,645

-30.0%

0.1%

GMC Savana

3,253

30.5%

0.2%

0.0

8,113

39.2%

0.2%

0.0

8,113

39.2%

0.2%

0.0

GMC Sierra Pickups

20,427

14.6%

1.6%

(-0.1)

49,908

4.5%

1.5%

(-0.2)

49,908

4.5%

1.5%

(-0.2)

GMC Terrain

11,221

88.6%

0.9%

0.3

29,766

80.4%

0.9%

0.3

29,766

80.4%

0.9%

0.3

GMC Yukon

4,645

-11.9%

0.4%

(-0.1)

13,400

10.7%

0.4%

(-0.0)

13,400

10.7%

0.4%

(-0.0)

GMC Yukon XL

4,093

14.8%

0.3%

(-0.0)

8,944

3.6%

0.3%

(-0.0)

8,944

3.6%

0.3%

(-0.0)

Hummer H3

-

-

-

-

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0)

Hummer H3T

-

-

-

-

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.0)

Saab 9-4X

812

-

0.1%

0.1

1,265

-

0.0%

0.0

1,265

-

0.0%

0.0

Saturn Outlook

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

Saturn VUE

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

Honda Motor Company (Japan)

114,276

-9.5%

8.7%

(-2.8)

336,626

1.8%

10.0%

(-1.4)

336,626

1.8%

10.0%

(-1.4) 0.0

Acura CSX

30

-90.9%

0.0%

(-0.0)

1,170

39.5%

0.0%

0.0

1,170

39.5%

0.0%

Acura MDX

6,483

3.2%

0.5%

(-0.1)

17,733

4.9%

0.5%

(-0.1)

17,733

4.9%

0.5%

(-0.1)

Acura RDX

1,784

-17.3%

0.1%

(-0.1)

5,385

-3.0%

0.2%

(-0.0)

5,385

-3.0%

0.2%

(-0.0)

Acura TL

6,342

90.9%

0.5%

0.2

9,753

-3.8%

0.3%

(-0.1)

9,753

-3.8%

0.3%

(-0.1)

Acura ZDX

131

-87.8%

0.0%

(-0.1)

461

-84.3%

0.0%

(-0.1)

461

-84.3%

0.0%

(-0.1)

Honda Accord

23,858

-16.1%

1.8%

(-0.8)

73,233

-1.6%

2.2%

(-0.4)

73,233

-1.6%

2.2%

(-0.4)

Honda Civic

19,509

-33.4%

1.5%

(-1.2)

69,565

-9.2%

2.1%

(-0.6)

69,565

-9.2%

2.1%

(-0.6)

Honda Crosstour

2,402

-47.3%

0.2%

(-0.2)

5,772

-52.8%

0.2%

(-0.3)

5,772

-52.8%

0.2%

(-0.3)

Honda CR-V

23,746

-4.3%

1.8%

(-0.4)

66,215

5.5%

2.0%

(-0.2)

66,215

5.5%

2.0%

(-0.2)

Honda Element

2,040

64.9%

0.2%

0.0

6,299

62.5%

0.2%

0.1

6,299

62.5%

0.2%

0.1

Honda Odyssey

13,681

31.3%

1.0%

0.1

37,557

34.8%

1.1%

0.2

37,557

34.8%

1.1%

0.2

Honda Pilot

12,688

13.0%

1.0%

(-0.1)

38,713

34.1%

1.1%

0.2

38,713

34.1%

1.1%

0.2

Honda Ridgeline

1,582

-48.8%

0.1%

(-0.2)

4,770

-37.1%

0.1%

(-0.1)

4,770

-37.1%

0.1%

(-0.1)

Hyundai Motor Company (South Korea) 55,563

42.5%

4.3%

0.7

150,663

54.7%

4.5%

1.1

150,663

54.7%

4.5%

1.1

Hyundai Elantra/i30

12,948

-

1.0%

1.0

30,222

-

0.9%

0.9

30,222

-

0.9%

0.9

Hyundai Santa Fe

9,817

15.4%

0.8%

(-0.0)

26,411

15.2%

0.8%

(-0.0)

26,411

15.2%

0.8%

(-0.0)

Hyundai Sonata/i40

18,782

-1.7%

1.4%

(-0.3)

56,054

28.1%

1.7%

0.2

56,054

28.1%

1.7%

0.2

Kia Sorento

14,016

23.1%

1.1%

0.0

37,976

23.7%

1.1%

0.1

37,976

23.7%

1.1%

0.1

Mitsubishi Motors Corp (Japan)

4,266

45.9%

0.3%

0.1

11,911

41.3%

0.4%

0.1

11,911

41.3%

0.4%

0.1

Mitsubishi Eclipse

1,053

45.6%

0.1%

0.0

2,186

52.8%

0.1%

0.0

2,186

52.8%

0.1%

0.0

Mitsubishi Endeavor

1,296

174.6%

0.1%

0.1

1,960

2.1%

0.1%

(-0.0)

1,960

2.1%

0.1%

(-0.0)

Mitsubishi Galant

1,917

10.9%

0.1%

(-0.0)

7,765

52.9%

0.2%

0.1

7,765

52.9%

0.2%

0.1

Nissan Motor (Japan)

110,157

27.9%

8.4%

0.6

291,932

21.9%

8.7%

0.4

291,932

21.9%

8.7%

0.4

Infiniti QX series

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.1)

Nissan Altima

32,524

23.0%

2.5%

0.1

81,402

13.5%

2.4%

(-0.1)

81,402

13.5%

2.4%

(-0.1)

Nissan Armada

2,162

19.8%

0.2%

0.0

5,884

25.0%

0.2%

0.0

5,884

25.0%

0.2%

0.0

Nissan Frontier

6,243

49.3%

0.5%

0.1

15,059

21.1%

0.4%

0.0

15,059

21.1%

0.4%

0.0

Nissan March

2,442

-

0.2%

0.2

3,114

-

0.1%

0.1

3,114

-

0.1%

0.1

Nissan Maxima

7,216

7.5%

0.6%

(-0.1)

18,808

4.4%

0.6%

(-0.1)

18,808

4.4%

0.6%

(-0.1) 0.1

Nissan NV-Series

2,005

-

0.2%

0.2

2,958

-

0.1%

0.1

2,958

-

0.1%

Nissan Pathfinder

4,202

44.7%

0.3%

0.1

10,957

80.3%

0.3%

0.1

10,957

80.3%

0.3%

0.1

Nissan Pickup

3,799

56.0%

0.3%

0.1

11,273

71.7%

0.3%

0.1

11,273

71.7%

0.3%

0.1

Nissan Sentra

13,632

33.7%

1.0%

0.1

45,224

40.7%

1.3%

0.2

45,224

40.7%

1.3%

0.2

Nissan Tiida

7,094

32.4%

0.5%

0.1

18,545

38.7%

0.6%

0.1

18,545

38.7%

0.6%

0.1

Nissan Titan

3,467

15.6%

0.3%

(-0.0)

7,931

-1.5%

0.2%

(-0.0)

7,931

-1.5%

0.2%

(-0.0)

Nissan Tsuru

6,537

-2.0%

0.5%

(-0.1)

20,376

12.2%

0.6%

(-0.0)

20,376

12.2%

0.6%

(-0.0)

Nissan Versa

16,552

32.4%

1.3%

0.1

43,270

10.0%

1.3%

(-0.1)

43,270

10.0%

1.3%

(-0.1)

Nissan Xterra

2,082

-23.0%

0.2%

(-0.1)

6,651

3.1%

0.2%

(-0.0)

6,651

3.1%

0.2%

(-0.0)

Suzuki Equator

200

33.3%

0.0%

0.0

480

71.4%

0.0%

0.0

480

71.4%

0.0%

0.0

NUMMI (USA)

-

-100.0%

-

(-2.9)

-

-100.0%

-

(-3.1)

-

-100.0%

-

(-3.1) (-2.2)

Toyota Corolla

-

-100.0%

-

(-2.1)

-

-100.0%

-

(-2.2)

-

-100.0%

-

Toyota Tacoma

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.8)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.9)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.9)

Tesla Motors (USA)

174

117.5%

0.0%

0.0

469

118.1%

0.0%

0.0

469

118.1%

0.0%

0.0

Tesla Roadster

174

117.5%

0.0%

0.0

469

118.1%

0.0%

0.0

469

118.1%

0.0%

0.0

11.8%

9.4%

(-0.6)

345,159

20.7%

10.2%

0.4

345,159

20.7%

10.2%

0.4

Toyota Motor Corporation (Japan) 122,349 Lexus RX Series

7,521

-5.7%

0.6%

(-0.2)

20,886

-2.7%

0.6%

(-0.1)

20,886

-2.7%

0.6%

(-0.1)

Toyota Avalon

4,203

106.2%

0.3%

0.1

11,526

80.8%

0.3%

0.1

11,526

80.8%

0.3%

0.1

Toyota Camry

18,942

-23.3%

1.5%

(-0.8)

55,264

-26.9%

1.6%

(-1.0)

55,264

-26.9%

1.6%

(-1.0)

Toyota Corolla

21,381

35.2%

1.6%

0.2

60,297

51.0%

1.8%

0.4

60,297

51.0%

1.8%

0.4

Toyota Highlander

10,326

43.1%

0.8%

0.1

29,870

71.9%

0.9%

0.3

29,870

71.9%

0.9%

0.3

Toyota Matrix

1,392

-70.6%

0.1%

(-0.3)

4,640

-62.2%

0.1%

(-0.3)

4,640

-62.2%

0.1%

(-0.3)

Toyota RAV4

16,063

71.5%

1.2%

0.4

44,812

106.5%

1.3%

0.6

44,812

106.5%

1.3%

0.6

Toyota Sequoia

1,543

-15.9%

0.1%

(-0.0)

4,464

-14.4%

0.1%

(-0.0)

4,464

-14.4%

0.1%

(-0.0)

Toyota Sienna

12,818

-1.6%

1.0%

(-0.2)

36,564

33.5%

1.1%

0.1

36,564

33.5%

1.1%

0.1

Toyota Tacoma

11,420

129.8%

0.9%

0.4

32,511

137.7%

1.0%

0.5

32,511

137.7%

1.0%

0.5

Toyota Tundra

11,002

-1.4%

0.8%

(-0.2)

29,890

19.7%

0.9%

0.0

29,890

19.7%

0.9%

0.0

Toyota Venza

5,738

-13.9%

0.4%

(-0.2)

14,435

-28.2%

0.4%

(-0.3)

14,435

-28.2%

0.4%

(-0.3)

Volkswagen (Germany)

50,835

37.1%

3.9%

0.5

127,907

36.4%

3.8%

0.6

127,907

36.4%

3.8%

0.6 -

Volkswagen Beetle

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Volkswagen Bora

31

-98.0%

0.0%

(-0.1)

84

-98.4%

0.0%

(-0.2)

84

-98.4%

0.0%

(-0.2)

Volkswagen Golf/Jetta Variant

15,241

63.9%

1.2%

0.3

38,347

69.9%

1.1%

0.4

38,347

69.9%

1.1%

0.4

Volkswagen Jetta

35,563

63.9%

2.7%

0.7

89,476

69.9%

2.7%

0.8

89,476

69.9%

2.7%

0.8

Volkswagen New Beetle

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.4)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.5)

-

-100.0%

-

(-0.5)

Total Light Vehicle

1,306,270

19.0%

100.0%

-

3,371,341

16.1%

100.0%

-

3,371,341

16.1%

100.0%

-

58

Auto Monitor

ADVERTISERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; LIST CORPORATE

16 - 31 May 2011

Pg No. .... Advertiser ......................................................Tel ................................................ E-mail ...................................................... Website 40 .......... AB Diachem Systems Pvt Ltd .........................+91-11-25155456 ......................... info@anandbros.com .............................. www.anandbros.com 53 .......... ARB Bearings Ltd ...........................................+91-9810677476 .......................... vinod@arb-bearings.com ........................ www.arb-bearings.com 11........... Assab Sripad Steels Ltd ..................................+91-44-24951980 ........................ chennai@assabsripad.com ...................... www.assabsripad.com 41 .......... Borg Warner Beru Systems ............................+91-20-24226300 ........................ sales@beruindia.com .............................. www.beru.com 55 .......... Camozzi India Pvt Ltd ...................................+91-120-4055252 ........................ info@camozzi-india.com ......................... www.camozzi.com 29 .......... Carl Zeiss India Pvt Ltd ..................................+91-80-43438102 ........................ imtndia@zeiss.co.in ................................. www.zeiss.co.in 44 .......... Cobra Carbide................................................+91-8110-415003 ........................ sales@cobracarbide.com......................... www.cobracarbide.com 19 .......... DJR Delux Bearings Limited ...........................+91-22-24926660 ......................... delux.info@deluxmail.com...................... www.deluxbearings.com 51 .......... Durr Ecoclean ................................................+91-20-30585001 ........................ info.india@eclclean.durr.com.................. www.durr-ecoclean.com 46 .......... Electronica Hitech Machines Pvt Ltd .............+91-20-30435400 ........................ hitech@electronicahitech.com ................ www.electronicahitech.com 30 .......... Engineering Expo...........................................+91-9819552270.......................... engexpo@infomedia18.in........................ www.engg-expo.com 35 .......... Etas Automotive India Pvt Ltd .......................+91-80-41916581 ........................ sales.in@etas.com ................................... www.etas.com 23 .......... Ferromatik Milacron India Ltd .......................+91-79-25890081 ........................ salesfmi@milacron.com .......................... www.milacronindia.com 5 ............ Francis Klein & Co Pvt Ltd .............................+91-80-22272781 ........................ sales@francisklein.in ............................... www.francisklein.in 42 .......... G W Precision Tools India Pvt Ltd ..................+91-80-40431252 ........................ info@gwindia.in ...................................... www.gwindia.in 43 .......... Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Limited ...................+91-22-67962751 ........................ trmktg@godrej.com ................................ www.godrejtoolings.com 61 .......... Godson Engineering Corporation ..................+91-281-2361467 ......................... godsonindia@hotmail.com ..................... www.godson-india.com 39 .......... Greaves Cotton Limited .................................+91-22-24397575 ......................... rrao@greavesmail.com............................ www.greavescotton.com BIC ......... Guhring India Private Limited .......................+91-80-40322500 ........................ info@guhring.in ..................................... www.guhring.in 16 .......... Hi - Life Machine Tools Pvt Ltd ......................+91-79-22821615 ......................... info@hilifegroup.com.............................. www.hilifegroup.com 3 ............ IAC International Automotive India Pvt. Ltd. .+91-20 -66538604 ....................... ASharma@iacna.com............................... www.iacna.com 18 .......... ISK Bearing Industries ...................................+91-2827-287956 ......................... hub@iskbearings.com ............................. www.iskbearings.com 17........... ISMT Limited..................................................+91-20-66024901 ........................ sachin.joshi@ismt.co.in ........................... www.ismt.com 49 .......... Jyoti CNC Automation Pvt. Ltd. ......................+91-2827-287081......................... info@jyoti.co.in ....................................... www.jyoti.co.in FIC ......... Kamal Envirotech ..........................................+91-124-4367305......................... enquiry@kamalcedsolution.com ............. www.kamalenvirotechgroup.com 47 .......... Larsen & Toubro Limited ...............................+91-9967800456 ......................... SM.Haridas@larsentoubro.com ............... www.larsentoubro.com 8 ............ Mahr Metrology India (P) Ltd. ........................+91-44-42170531 ........................ r.ganesan@mahr.com.............................. www.mahr.com 32 .......... Meiban Engineering Technologies Pvt Ltd. ....+91-80-26860600 ........................ sales-turning@meibanengg.com .............

BC .......... Micromatic Machine Tools .............................+91-80-41492285 ........................ mmtblr@acemicromatic.com .................. www.acemicromatic.com 6 ............ Mipox ............................................................+91-80-65830898 ........................ rag-rao@mipox.co.jp ............................... www.mipoxindia.com 59 .......... MMC Hardmetal India Pvt Ltd .......................+91-80-23516083 ........................ mmcindia@mmc.co.jp ............................ www.mitsubishicarbide.com 9 ............ Oetiker India Pvt Ltd .....................................+91-2192-250107 ......................... akeswani@oetiker.com............................ www.oetiker.com 31 .......... Omron Automation Pvt. Ltd. .........................+91-80-40726400........................ in_enquiry@ap.omron.com .................... www.omron-ap.com 21 .......... Padmini VNA Mechatronics Pvt. Ltd. .............+91-124-3207398 ......................... sales@padminiengg.com......................... www.padminivna.com 34 .......... Patvin Engineering (P) Ltd .............................+91-22-27780310 ......................... patvin@patvin.co.in ................................ www.patvin.co.in 7 ............ Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd.................................+91-22-66013150......................... info@piaggio.co.in................................... www.piaggio.co.in 22 .......... Rohan Standox Autolack ................................+91-22-65803331......................... sales@spraytec.net .................................. www.spraytec.net 18 .......... Sarveshwari Technologies Ltd........................+91-11-27023750 ......................... info@sarveshwari.com ............................ www.sarveshwari.com 36 .......... Shimadzu Analytical (I) Pvt. Ltd .....................+91-22-29204741 ......................... info@shimadzu.in ................................... www.shimadzu.in 16 .......... Sreelakshmi Traders ......................................+91-44-24343343 ........................ sreelakshmitraders@gmail.com .............. www.sreelakshmitraders.com 37 .......... Starragheckert Machine Tools Pvt. Ltd. .........+91-80-42770600 ........................ sales.in@starragheckert.com .................. www.starragheckert.com 25 .......... Subros Ltd......................................................+91-11-23414946 ......................... pmehra@subros.com .............................. www.subroslimited.com 45 .......... Tata Motors Ltd..............................................+91-22-66561866 ........................ charu.gulati@tatamotors.com ................. www.tatamotors.com 48 .......... Unitech Exhhibitions Private Limited ............+91-44-24543322 ........................ info@unitechexpo.com ........................... www.weldindia.com 13........... Varroc Engineering Pvt Ltd ............................+91-240-2556227 ........................ varroc.info@varrocgroup.com ................. www.varrocgroup.com 26 .......... VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd. ..........................+91-7292-402633..........................................................................................

15........... Yamazaki Mazak India Pvt Ltd ......................+91-2137-668800 ........................ sudhir_patankar@mazakindia.com ........ www.mazak.com Q Our consistent advertisers

16 - 31 May 2011

GLOBAL WATCH

Auto Monitor

59

GM posts $3 billion profit G

M heads into the spring selling season with its strongest first-quarter earnings in more than a decade— $3.2 billion—thanks to robust sales in the US and overseas and the jettisoning of parts supplier Delphi Automotive, according to a report in Detroit News.

‘We view this quarter as a solid quarter,’ Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann said. ‘It’s on plan. It sets up a good foundation for the year.’ But, he added, ‘we have more work to do on several fronts all around the company, and that’s what we’re focused on.’

Deep discounts, which industry analysts say were a gamble, stimulated showroom traffic during the typically sluggish latewinter months. So did GM’s line-up of fuel-efficient cars and crossovers in the face of stead-

Automechanika Shanghai expects 3,600 exhibitors

A

utomechanika Shanghai, Asia’s largest trade fair for automotive parts, accessories, equipment and services expects to attract 3,600 exhibitors, a 15 percent increase compared to the previous show. Scheduled to be held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, China from 7–10 December, 2011, the event will have 16 percent more space (160,000 sqm of space covering 13 halls) than last year to accommodate the increasing number of exhibitors.

Automechanica Shanghai 2010

The show, organised by Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) and the China National Automotive Indust r y Inter nat iona l Corporation (CNAICO), has already confirmed overseas pavilions from Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and the US. Having gained a strong foothold in the automotive industry, the 2010 show drew 50,561 visitors representing 130 countries and regions, an increase of 31 percent compare to 2009. Exhibitor numbers rose by 29 percent with 3,115 exhibiting companies from 27 countries and regions showcasing their latest automotive products and services in 138,000 sqm covering 11 established halls and six temporary halls.

This year’s edition will feature a new automotive accessories product hall to meet an increasing domestic demand resulting from the booming car sales in China. Exhibitors will showcase their latest products ranging from vehicle electrics and electronics, car care and lubricants to decoratives and tuning. In addition, to help exhibitors explore the potential of the fast growing eco-friendly vehicle and renewable energy markets under the strong support from the Chinese government, this year’s show will set up remanufacturing and new energy vehicle product zones.

ily climbing gas prices. The $3.2 billion profit, the equivalent of $1.77 per share, was more than triple the $865 million GM made in the fi rst quarter of 2010. Still, analysts and investors fear that developing headwinds, including higher materials costs, could offset some of the gains posted by GM and its domestic rivals.

‘North American auto profit was the biggest disappointment, offset partially by a break-even result in Europe and strongerthan-expected profit’ in GM’s overall international operations, explained Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas.

In North America, GM’s earnings were nearly flat over last year’s first quarter. The company earned a $1.3 billion profit after excluding a onetime gain from its Delphi sale but before taxes and interest were figured in. That’s up from $1.2 bil-

GM is projecting larger per-vehicle profits by this summer

lion in the first quarter of 2010.

GM was the last of Detroit’s Big Three automakers to report its fi rst-quarter earnings; Ford last month posted a $2.6 billion profit for the fi rst three months of the year; Chrysler Group recently announced its fi rst profitable

quarter— $116 million—since exiting bankruptcy in 2009.

The fi rst-quarter profits build on last year’s momentum in the industry and usher in a new chapter for the American automakers, which after a rough couple of years are all profitable again. GM

earned $4.7 billion in 2010—its fi rst profitable year since 2004.

GM is projecting larger pervehicle profits heading into the summer, as parts shortages in Japan put a squeeze on US inventories, but rising commodity costs remain a concern. It plans to offset those increases through higher prices and additional cost controls—but no staff reductions, Ammann said.

Additionally, GM has pulled back on vehicle discounts after spending about $300 million in January and February on incentives—a tactic that was criticised by analysts but appears to have worked. The automaker sold about 593,000 vehicles in the fi rst quarter, up 25 percent from the same quarter of 2010. It also has increased car and truck prices nearly one percent since the end of last year.

60

Auto Monitor

PRODUCT INDEX

16 - 31 May 2011

2d/3d laser cutting .....................................................46

Form&cylindercity testers ..........................................29

Pumpsets and power reapers ....................................39

3d coordinate measuring machine ............................29

four axis horizontal machining centers .....................37

Quality steel ...............................................................11

Acc. Padel sensor assy. ...............................................21

Granulator ..................................................................23

Races ..........................................................................19

Air chiller ....................................................................23

Grinder .......................................................................16,23

Rapid prototyping tools for automotive software......35

Aluminium endmills...................................................44

Grinding machines .....................................................16

Reamers .....................................................................BIC

Analytical instruments ...............................................36

Grippers......................................................................55

Robot system..............................................................23

Autocoding .................................................................35

Gun drills ....................................................................BIC

Roll forming machine ................................................61

Automatic painting system ........................................34

Hardware in loop(hil) system .....................................35

Roundness ..................................................................29

Automotive electrical components ............................13

Headliner and overhead systems ...............................3

Safety lig.....................................................................31

Ball bearings ..............................................................18

High performance endmills .......................................44

Scalewatcher ..............................................................40

Bearings .....................................................................18

Hollow bars ................................................................17

Sealer dispensing system ...........................................34

Bearings for automotive ............................................53

Hopper dryer..............................................................23

Seat assemblies ..........................................................13

Bgie suspension brg ...................................................19

Hopper loader ............................................................23

Self adhesive tapes .....................................................16

Bus a/c ........................................................................25

Horizontal CNC machines...........................................49

Solenoid valves ..........................................................55

Buses ..........................................................................45

Horizontal machining center .....................................49

Solid carbide drills .....................................................42

Car paints ...................................................................22

Horizontal pipe & tube bending machine .................61

Solid carbide drills with ic ..........................................42

Car polish ...................................................................22

Hot,Cold & warm forged machined parts ..................13

Solid carbide mills......................................................42

Carbide routhing endmills .........................................44

Hvacs & evaporators ..................................................25

Solid carbide reamers ................................................42

Ced/ktl coatings .........................................................FIC

Hydraulic press ma ....................................................61

Solid carbide reamers with ic.....................................42

Centreless grinding machine ......................................16

Hydraulic shearing machine ......................................61

Solid carbide special drills .........................................42

Clamps........................................................................9

Ic engine valves ..........................................................13

Solid carbide special mills..........................................42

Clutch bearings ..........................................................18

Industrial cleaning .....................................................51

Solid carbide special reamers ....................................42

Clutch release bearings ..............................................19

Industrial control & sensing devices ..........................31

Solid carbite tools ......................................................59

CNC .............................................................................49

Industrial metrology ..................................................29

Soses & tubes .............................................................25

CNC angular cylindrical grinding machine .................16

Industrial scientific instruments ................................36

Spade drills.................................................................44

CNC cylindrical grinding machine ..............................16

Instrument panels ......................................................3

Spark plugs.................................................................41

CNC hmcs ...................................................................49

Internal grinding machine .........................................16

Special purpose machine ...........................................43

CNC lathes ..................................................................BC

Jobber length drills ....................................................44

Spherical roller bearings ............................................18

CNC machines ............................................................49

King pin bearing.........................................................19

Spl ball bearings.........................................................19

CNC oval turning centers ............................................49

Level controllers .........................................................31

Spray guns ..................................................................34

CNC turn mill centers .................................................49

Lightweight diesel engines for automotive applications..39

Spray painting equipment .........................................22

CNC turning center .....................................................49

Lightweight petrol......................................................39

Standard endmills ......................................................44

CNC vertical machining center ...................................49

Machine tools .............................................................5

Standard pyramid type plate bending machine ........61

CNC/vmc machines.....................................................15

Machinery steel ..........................................................11

Steering bearings .......................................................19

Combined dril ............................................................44

Marpreset ...................................................................8

Straight flute drills......................................................44

Commercial vehicles..................................................... 7,26,45

Marsurf ld 120 roughness ..........................................8

Strip steel ...................................................................11

Compact chiller ..........................................................23

Measurement .............................................................8

Stub length drills ........................................................44

Compact measurement modules ...............................35

Measuring & monitoring relay for 1ph/3ph ...............31

Super finishing film - variofilm...................................6

Compaction & concreting equipment. .......................39

Mechanical / hydraulic press brake ...........................61

Switching relays..........................................................31

Compressors ...............................................................25

Mechanical/hydro mechanical section bending machine ....61

Taper roller bearings ..................................................18

Condensers .................................................................25

Metal cutting tools .....................................................42

Taps ............................................................................BIC

Consoles and cockpits ................................................3

Metric endmills ..........................................................44

Tempurature controllers ............................................31

Contour evaluation in single trace .............................8

Micro measurement modules ....................................35

Thermocompression moulds .....................................43

Cooling module ..........................................................25

Milling cutters ............................................................BIC

Three wheelers...........................................................7

Counters & power supplies ........................................31

Model based design ...................................................35

Timers ........................................................................31

Countersinks ................................................................. 44,BIC

Modular tooling system .............................................BIC

Tool bits .....................................................................11

Crimping machine ......................................................46

Mould temperature controller ...................................23

Tool presetters ...........................................................8

Cutting tools ...............................................................59

Multi gauging systems ................................................29

Tool presetting ...........................................................8

Cylindrical grinders ....................................................BC

N/c spotting drills .......................................................44

Tool steel ....................................................................11

Cylindrical grinding machine .....................................16

Needle roller bearings ...............................................18

Total data management .............................................8

Cylindrical roller bearings ..........................................18

Opto-electropnic systems...........................................29

Tube bending machine ..............................................46

Decimal endmills .......................................................44

Other interior and exterior components....................3

Tungsten carbide metal cutting tools ........................47

Dehumidified air dryer ..............................................23

Paint circulatin system ...............................................34

Turning machine solutions.........................................32

Diamond tools............................................................BIC

Paint pumps ...............................................................34

Turret punch press .....................................................46

Die casting dies ..........................................................43

Photo electric sensors ................................................31

Turrets ........................................................................BC

Die casting engineering services ................................43

Physical testing & measuring equipments .................36

Tyre chanding accessories ..........................................18

Diesel engines (10-1000hp) ........................................39

Plastic moulded components ....................................13

Tyre repair tools .........................................................18

Diesel/kerosene engines. Power sprayer....................39

Plug top coils .............................................................41

Tyre service tools ........................................................18

Door and trim systems ...............................................3

Pneumatics & hydraulics-cylinders............................55

Vaccum pump ............................................................21

Drilling tools...............................................................BIC

Polymer conveyer belt ...............................................23

Ventilators ..................................................................16

E-coatings solutions ...................................................FIC

Powder coating system ..............................................34

Vertical line series ......................................................49

Ecu interface modules ...............................................35

Power chucking cylinders ..........................................BC

Vertical machining centers.........................................BC

Egr valve .....................................................................21

Power press ................................................................61

Vision sensors.............................................................31

Electronic control unit ...............................................21

Power tiller .................................................................39

Vmc-linear series ........................................................49

Encoders.....................................................................31

Press tools ..................................................................43

Wheel alignment accessories .....................................18

Envirnmental monitoring systems .............................36

Press tools engineering services.................................43

Wheel balancing accessories ......................................18

Exhibition - Engineering Expo ....................................30

Pressure regulators ....................................................55

Wheel bearings...........................................................18

Five axis machining centers ......................................37

Profile bending machine ............................................46

Wheel hub units .........................................................18

Flooring and acoustic systems ...................................3

Proximity sensors .......................................................31

Wobble bearings ........................................................19

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

16 - 31 May 2011

GLOBAL WATCH

Auto Monitor

61

Magneti Marelli and Chrysler Group Mopar tie-up to reinforce US footprint M

agneti Marelli and C h r y sler Group’s service, parts and customer-care brand, Mopar have recently announced a strategic alliance to reinforce market presence across the US. Magneti Marelli will give Mopar’s dealership network the availability of its products, and knowledge to fully service all-brand vehicles.

During a recent press conference, an Avenger Rally car was also unveiled—a Dodge model— representing the result of the fi rst collaboration of the announced alliance between Magneti Marelli and Mopar.

Since April, the fi rst Magneti Marelli product lines have been sold in Chrysler Group dealerships.

Google Maps deal to boost electric autos

T

he Obama administration announced two efforts recently to boost electric vehicles, including a partnership with search engine giant, Google.

Energy Secretary, Steven Chu said that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is joining with Google to provide consumers with consistent, up-to-date information about electric vehicle charging stations in communities nationwide. The effort will use Google Maps to coordinate an online network of all US charging stations and will serve as the primary data source for GPS and mapping services tracking electric vehicle charging locations.

President Barack Obama wants 1 million electric vehicles in use by 2015 and oil imports cut by one-third by 2025. Local governments and private companies will work together in order to apply for funding to accelerate the installation of charging stations and the improvements in infrastructure needed to support them. The communities will develop plans and strategies for electric vehicle deployment, update their electric vehicle permitting processes, develop incentive programs or launch other initiatives that improve the experience of electric vehicle users.

Subaru unveils Impreza model at NY auto show

S

ubaru introduced its new 2012 Impreza at the New York auto show and said the planned fall sale of the Japanesebuilt sedan won’t be delayed by the effects of the country’s natural disaster. The all-new sedan will get 36mpg on the highway and should average about 30mpg in combined city-highway driving, according to Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer, Subaru of America, Tom Doll. The vehicle should help the company top 3,00,000 units in annual vehicle sales for the fi rst time. Subaru’s US sales were up 22 percent to 2,63,820 in 2010—an all-time record. For Impreza however, sales fell five percent to 44,395 last year. Two versions of the 2012 Impreza—a five-door model and a four-door —will be built on schedule starting this fall.

(L-R) Dino Maggioni, CEO, Magneti Marelli After Market Parts & Services; Pietro Gorlier, President Mopar; Lisa Davis, President Shell Lubricants America

Other product lines will gradually phase into the Chrysler Group dealership network throughout

the year. Chrysler Group has a network of 2,311 dealers and Magneti Marelli AMPS is aiming to offer 26

product lines and more than 3,000 part numbers to Chrysler Group dealership customers.

Through Magneti Marelli product lines, Mopar will be able to extend its offer to the all-makes parts and enable comprehensive servicing of GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, and Kia vehicles at Chr ysler Group dealerships.

“Recently, we have joined forces with Mopar and worked together on t he sy nerg ies i n distribution and parts range proposition and now we are ready to strengthen our presence in the US aftermarket, offering Magneti Marelli product range thus becoming the brand for all-makes parts for Chr ysler dealers,” said CEO, Magneti Marelli Aftermarket, Dino Maggioni.

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Auto Monitor

THE OTHER SIDE

Getting Personal With Pawan Kumar Ruia, Chairman, Ruia Group If not in the auto industry, where would you be?

The auto industry is my passion—the upstream and downstream of auto industry. I have deep involvement with the engineering and the infrastructure industry as well What car do you drive? What do you dream of driving?

In Kolkata, I mostly use a BMW for my personal use. It’s an efficient machine, and well, I feel satisfied. I used to love driving but do not get the time now. Can’t say, I still have a dream car…

Your most recent indulgence…

My passion for acquisition is basically my only indulgence. That is where I get my best adrenaline flow What are you currently reading?

A few books on how the economic balance of the world is changing, where it is heading to, and also on the societal changes in the world around us, including the Middle East What is Pawan Kumar Ruia doing when not talking auto?

Talking to family, listening to family. Family is very important in my life.

My family want a lot of me, but get very little of me because of my perennial commitments. I am a family man and I feel most happy when my family is around Outdoor activity you would miss office for…

I would not miss my office for anything, except when I am visiting the proposed targets of acquisition. Work encompasses all I do Where did you go for your last holiday?

Koh Samui, Thailand You get angry when…

When people don’t do what they are expected to do What is the one thing you would like to change about you?

My food timings. That is something I need to pay attention to

Illustration: Sachin Pandit

Best thing to have happened to you…

Individual happenings apart, I love being surrounded by loving, loyal and dedicated family and the employees around. That is my sense of happiness

16 - 31 May 2011

In Person Pawan Kumar Ruia was born in the remote district in central Bihar (now Jharkhand) on 10 December, 1958. He is a commerce graduate from St Xavier’s College, Kolkata, a Chartered Accountant, a Cost & Works ks Accountant and has a degree in Law. He was initially a ut his busipractising accountant and cut ics at a very ness teeth in industrial ceramics early age.

Beyond business, Ruia has prioritised social work and funds the education ts in West of underprivileged students Bengal (his state) every year. His initiatives cal treatment include providing free medical clinics in like setting up free remote villages.

He has also partnered with the Indian Institute e infraof Cerebral Palsy to provide tute of structure facilities to the Institute Child Health.

Above all, Ruia is a family man. olkata He lives in the southern Kolkata ldren with his mother, wife, children and family.

An experience I won’t forget…

Jessop & Co was a basket case when I acquired it, as the highest bidder, although everybody had strongly advised me against it. However, on the morning of August 29, 2003, when I stepped into Jessop, I saw a glimmer of hope in the workers’ eyes that made me realise that I had done the right thing. I realised how great was the talent pool that came with the company, and how much one could achieve with it if handled properly. I felt that it was worth all the trouble I had gone through; all the litigation, all the pressures. I had no doubt that it was a jewel of a company and that I could turn it around, which we did, in a very short time, though the time and effort put in was enormous. We did long hours there. I remember having the dhabawala open up at odd hours because we were hungry and no food was available anywhere. It was an experience I can never forget.

Regn. No. MH/MR/WEST/20/2009-2011. RNI No. MAHENG/2000/11414 WPP Licence No: MR/Tech/WPP-269/WEST/09-11 Licenced to post without pre-payment at Mumbai patrika channel sorting office G.P.O. Mumbai 400 001.

Date Of Mailing:16th & 17th Fortnightly Issue. Date Of Publication: 13th of Every Month

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