Motown India January 2014

VOL-4 • ISSUE-4 • JANUARY 2014 • 100

PULSE OF THE AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS WORLD

INDIA

FREE 60-page supplement enclosed

DELPHI SRS products raise safety bar for automobiles

MAHESH KODUMUDI, President & MD, Volkswagen India Private Limited.

VOLKSWAGEN INDIA

Das Auto für Indien?

SIMCOMVEC 2013 Focus on key technology issues

Lamborghini

TRACTOR launched at Kisan 2013 Show

EDITOR’S NOTE We end the year 2013 with yet one more meaty, meaningful and informative edition of Motown India. Motown India wishes its readers a joyful and prosperous 2014!

- Editor

STOP PRESS

Apollo Tyres “Disappointed”; To explore legal remedy Following US based Cooper Tire’s announcement made on December 30, 2013 that it was terminating its deal with Onkar Kanwar controlled Apollo Tyres, the Indian tyre major has said in a statement that it is “disappointed that Cooper had prematurely attempted to terminate the (R) Onkar Kanwar with Neeraj Kanwar merger agreement”. The company also hinted at taking legal recourse to Cooper’s “detrimental conduct”.

A note signed by P N Wahal, Company Secretary, Apollo Tyres to the Mumbai Stock Exchange said, “While Cooper’s lack of control over its largest Chinese subsidiary, Cooper Chengshan Tire Company and inability to meet its legal and contractual financial reporting obligations has considerably complicated the situation. Apollo has made exhaustive efforts to find a sensible way forward over the last several months, however, Cooper has been unwilling to work constructively to complete a transaction that would have created value for both companies and their shareholders. Cooper’s actions leave Apollo no choice but to pursue legal remedies for Cooper’s detrimental conduct.”

The statement further noted, “Importantly, Apollo has made many other compelling growth opportunities around the world that we are continuing to pursue. Our business is performing well—as evidenced by the strong top and bottom line results we reported last quarter--- and we remain focussed on executing our standalone strategic plan to maximise value for Apollo’s shareholders. We are confident that Apollo is well positioned for continued success”.

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company had earlier announced it had terminated the merger agreement with Apollo Tyres. “It is time to move our business forward,” said Cooper Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Roy Armes. “While the strategic rationale for a business combination with Apollo is compelling, it is clear that the merger agreement both companies signed on June 12 will not be consummated by Apollo and we have been notified that financing for the transaction is no longer available. The right thing for Cooper now is to focus on continuing to build our business.”

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EDITOR Punnoose Tharyan EDITORIAL ADVISORS Salil Sharma, Alexander T., Annie Jacob -------------------------DELHI - EDITORIAL (editorial@motownindia.com) News Coordinator Jisha P Sr. Correspondent Abhijeet Singh Sr. Photographer Mohd. Nasir CHENNAI - EDITORIAL Editor(South) Jayashankar Menon (jayashankar@motownindia.com) -------------------------MARKETING & SALES (sales@motownindia.com +91-9958125645) Director - Business Strategy Sanjeev Sharma (Delhi) Associate Managers- Business Strategy Anuj Srivastava (Delhi), Arun Prabhu (Chennai), Ananth Swaminathan (Chennai) -------------------------ACCOUNTS Ankit Sharma -------------------------CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTION (subscription@motownindia.com) Manager Dalip Singh Bagdwal -------------------------EDITORIAL DELHI OFFICE 145 B/9, First Floor, Kishangarh, Next to United Free Church, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110070,Tel: 011-26122758/59, Tele Fax: 011-26122757 -------------------------EDITORIAL CHENNAI OFFICE 76/9 A Block, New Street, AN Colony, Aminjkkarai, Chennai - 28.

Mobile: +91 – 9790971663 -------------------------DISTRIBUTED BY Central News Agency, New Delhi -------------------------EDITORIAL CONTENT The publisher makes every effort to ensure that the contents in the magazine are correct. However, he can accept no responsibility for any effects from errors or omissions. Any unauthorised reproduction of Motown India content is strictly forbidden.

-------------------------Motown India is printed, published, edited and owned by Punnoose Tharyan and published from 4058 / D-4, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070. Printed at Pearl Printers, 52, DSIDC Shed, Okhla, Phase 1, New Delhi. This issue of Motown India magazine contains 76 pages including both covers and a 60-page booklet.

January 2014 / 3

CONTENTS

VOLKSWAGEN INDIA

26

DAS AUTO FÜR INDIEN?

DELPHI SRS products raise safety bar for automobiles

Farmers flex tech-savvy muscles at KISAN 2013 show

34

SIMCOMVEC 2013 Focus on key technology issues relevant to mobility engineering

6 / January 2014

54

42

58

TÊTE-À-TÊTE Amit Dakshini, Chief Strategy Officer, Varroc Group

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CANDID VIEWS

Are we at a cusp in indian politics?

SALIL SHARMA, Partner,

Kapur Sharma & Co., www.kapursharma.com

t

8 / January 2014

he Aam Adami Party (AAP) has been occupying not just the mind space of Indians but also is the most talked and written about party in the country. The reason for the same is that the party has taken the shortest time for an idea to be transformed into a political party which swept the first election it fought and has now formed the government in the capital. The party has been distinct in a number of ways – be it the transparency in fund collection, appointment of candidates and even resolving dilemma of forming the government despite falling marginally short of the majority. The party has also touched a special chord of the middle class sensibilities by refusing to take palatial bungalows for its ministers, turning down offers from the Delhi Police to provide an entourage of security and appealing to honest officers in the Delhi administration to come forward to assist them. The idea of refusing bungalows, when seen in the background of news report that the Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar had not moved to her official accommodations at Akbar Road because she was over staying in the Krishna Menon house which was originally allotted to her father Babu Jagjivan Ram (died in 1986), is appalling. The consequence was that for a number of years these two above mentioned bungalows were being used by one politician who had a rent bill of 1.96 crore pending which the Congress government has now waived. The matter has been further compounded when despite a law banning any property being converted into memorial for any leader, the current government has now allotted the Krishna Menon Marg property to the Babu Jagjivan Ram National foundation for the coming 25 years to be used as a memorial in his name. The annual rent of these bungalows vary between 1.8 crore to 2.0 crore per annum which implies that the Kumar family has been given a favor of 50 crore (at current prices) at the cost of the tax payer and against the law.

There is no doubt that Arvind Kejriwal and his party is bringing about a paradigm shift in the political discourse and the way in which politics is being done in this country. This is also evident from the fact that even though the Bhartiya Janata Party had won 32 seats in the Delhi Assembly, and were four seats short of majority, but still it refrained from enticing MLAs from other parties.

This was done because BJP did not want to set a bad example, in stark contrast to AAP party, especially before the general election due in April next year. There is a possibility that if the party is successful in the Delhi experiment then more honest people join them on the national level, thus improving the quality of the politics in the country.

The risk to the above scenario could come from the electoral promises made by the party in its march towards power in Delhi. The two promises which border on populism are of reducing the electricity charges by 50pc and providing 700 litres of water free of cost per household. The former is a tricky proposition because since the privatisation of power distribution in Delhi the biggest bane of the sector i.e. transmission and distribution losses have been brought down from 55pc to the current 12pc (which is very close to the international norm of 10pc). This has resulted in better quality of power and much lower power outages. The undesirable part of reducing charges would be either increase in government subsidy or deterioration in the quality of power. The team Kejriwal claims that it has interacted with experts and bureaucrats to get around this problem. In the case of water supply there is lot of scope to clamp down on water mafia and other causes of water wastage, but the real challenge lies in providing water to the 20pc households which do not have pipes of Delhi Jal Board coming into their homes. The citizens on their part should be willing to mellow down their expectations and not hope for miracles.

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TUTU’S FINE TUNES

New Honda CIty---It’s just getting better!

R.K. DHAWAN (TUTU)

A

fter the Amaze, it’s now the turn of the new fourth Generation City to get a diesel engine. The car comes with a 1.5 litre i-DTEC engine. The i-DTEC engine in the new City has the best fuel economy in India with 26 kmpl as tested by ARAI. It delivers a maximum power of 99bhp@3600 rpm and maximum torque of 200Nm@1750rpm. The car also comes with a 1.5 litre i-VTEC engine that comes in both a manual transmission and also an automatic (CVT).

Till a few years ago, one could not have imagined that Honda was in any hurry to get a diesel engine in its portfolio. In India, no car manufacturer can afford not to have a diesel powertrain. Now that it has a diesel engine, it boasts of a phenomenal 26km per litre of fuel efficiency. Okay, even if one gets around 20 to 22 kmpl, it still would bring a lot of joy among the consumers. The engine is an all aluminium one.

When I got a chance to drive the diesel car recently, I noticed that the car had several plusses to it. The story does not start and end with its remarkable mileage. The exterior is now

10 / January 2014

more impressive with all the erstwhile sharp lines being rounded off.

Despite the car length remaining more or less the same, there’s much more knee and shoulder space. The overall length of the new City stays at 4,440mm, though the wheelbase has been extended by 50mm, and is now 2,600mm. While the width of the car remains at 1,695mm, the shoulder room has been increased by 40mm. The front head clearance is improved by 10mm and the overall height of the car has been increased by 10mm. The knee room is up by 70mm and rear legroom improved by 60mm. With these changes, there’s much more the car is offering in terms of space.

There’s more for the customer in terms of features---retractable ORVMs, rear camera for making reverse parking easy, four charging ports for all four passengers...the list is endless and Honda is surely going to win the hearts of the modern generation. Audio controls on steering wheel, touch controls for the air-conditioner, well, what more can one hope to get from a premium sedan? The once slightly bland interiors have now given way to bright and modern interiors. That’s another great change that goes in favour of the new Honda City.

In the good old days Honda City cars sold in large numbers because the car was virtually trouble free and was real value for money. It also had a great resale value. But then competition was not as fierce as it is now. Now Indian consumers have a huge basket to choose from-- sporty hatchbacks to compact SUVs and premium sedans. The new Honda City will be competing in this market and it is to be seen how the Honda magic works.

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HIGHLIGHTS

SIAM organises Auto Expo 2014 road shows across India Report: Jayashankar Menon

HALL NO.1: DC Design, Ford India, Isuzu Motors HALL NO. 2: Brandsquare, Hindustan Petroleum, Incadia India, Mega Telematics, Yokohama, MRF Tyres, Natrip, UNPNG, Goldstar, ASDC HALL NO.3: Hyundai Motor India HALL NO. 4: Areion Motors, DSK Motor

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) recently organised a road show for the first time in Chennai for the 12th Auto Expo 2014 to be held in Delhi NCR area. The road show was organised on December 16,

12 / January 2014

Wheels (Hyosung), HarleyDavidson, Lohia Auto, Lovely Professional Industries, MIT Institute of Design, Triumph Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd., Firefox Boikes HALL NO.5: General Motors India, Renault India HALL NO.6: Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, India Yamaha, Suzuki Motorcycle, Terra Motor

2013. Similar road shows were held in other major cities too.

Vikram Shreekant Kirloskar, President of SIAM and Vice Chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited, Vinod K Dasari, Vice President of SIAM

Technologies, TVS Motor Company, UM India Pvt Ltd, Vardenchi Motorcycles HALL NO.7: Maruti Suzuki

HALL NO. 11: Ashok Leyland, JBM India, Paracot Porducts, Scania, SML Isuzu, VE Commercial Vehicles

HALL NO. 8: Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Piaggio

HALL NO. 12: Nissan Motor, Skoda Auto, Volkswagen

HALL NO. 9: Honda Cars India, Toyota Kirloksar

HALL NO. 14: Tata Motors

HALL NO. 10: Fiat Group, Mahindra & Mahindra

and Managing Director of Ashok Leyland, Sugato Sen, Deputy Director General of SIAM and Debashish Majumder, Director Trade Fairs, SIAM were present.

The 12th Auto Expo 2014 will be held in two venues with The

HALL NO. 15: Audi India, BMW India, Mercedes Benz India

Motor Show happening from February 7-11 at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida in the Delhi NCR area and the Component Show that would be held from February 6-9 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. These two events Continued on page 14

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HIGHLIGHTS

are jointly organised by the SIAM, the apex body, the Auto Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

While briefing the media, Sugato Sen, said: “The Auto Expo will be held in two venues in February next year. The Component Show would continue at Pragati Maidan from February 6-9, 2014, while The Motor Show would be held from February 7-11 at a new venue: The India Expo Mart in Greater Noida. The special press preview of The Motor Show will be held on February 5, while the media preview overflow and formal inauguration will be held on the following day. The gross exhibition area of Component Show is 50,000 square meters.

More than 1,200 exhibitors are participating in the Component

14 / January 2014

Show. The Country Pavilions include China, Taiwan, the UK, Canada, Germany, Korea and Japan. What is more, a lot more parallel events are being planned.

The details will be updated to the media, when these plans are firmed up�.

Exclusive media preview and launches of vehicles will be held on February 5, 2014 between 10.00 AM and 6.00 PM. The following day media, special guests and dealers will be converging at the venue along with the opening ceremony, which will happen during the morning hours. The exhibition is happening from February 7-11, 2014.

THE MOTOR SHOW 2014 The Motor Show 2014 has a total ground area of 235,000 square meters (58 acres) and has an

indoor built up area of 75,000 square meters (gross exhibition and facilities area). In comparison to 41,000 square meters in the previous edition of Auto Expo for vehicles, this time around, the gross exhibition area is around 60,000 square meters. It also has an estimated outdoor area of 50,000 square meters.

An additional outdoor space of 18,000 square metres will be used for various activities including motorcycle driving training, safety driving tips, torture tracks and last, but not the least, electric and hybrid electric mobility city.

There will also be 22,000 square meters open area for various entertainment activities and food and beverage stalls.

On display will be cars, MUVs/ SUVs, two-wheelers, threewheelers, special vehicles, concept vehicles, commercial

vehicles (trucks and buses), vintage cars, super cars, super bikes, tyres and tubes, oil firms, automotive design and technology; engineering and IT for automobile companies, institutions and universities, financial institutions, auto insurance firms, media and auto publications that includes Motown India.

THE EXPO CENTRE India Expo Mart boasts of having 14 exhibition halls, three outdoor hangers, outdoor areas for various activities and food and beverages and six each entry and exit gates. Separate provision is made for media lounge at CFB first floor. At the entrance itself, there is this VIP Lounge.

SIAM will have in place a three layer security systems with CCTV cameras and other necessary Continued on page 16

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HIGHLIGHTS security equipment like scanners, metal detectors are also being installed.

bus service from opposite gate number 1 in Pragati Maidan for the expo centre.

TICKETING

PARKING

There are online, offline and onsite ticketing, accreditation (exhibitor, service providers and media) and turnstiles (automated entry gates). For the first time the current edition of Auto Expo is witnessing an online ticket booking facility. Online booking is on www.bookmyshow.com, SIAM’s official online partner.

Tickets are priced between 200 to 500.

In order to facilitate the parking, secured Greater Noida Convention Centre is identified, where secured ASI parking for almost 4,000 vehicles is possible.

SIAM has secured land at KCC Institute, which is ideal location for additional parking.

FREE BUS SERVICE Organisers also plan to operate free bus service from the following metro stations: Noida City Centre, Akshardham and Jasola. Besides that, the organisers will also provide free

DEDICATED LANE AT DND TOLL GATES DND Toll Route can be used by the visitors from various locations in Delhi including passengers coming from IGI Airport during the Auto Expo - The Motor Show 2014. Hence, SIAM has created a provision for one dedicated lane each side at DND Toll Plaza that will be made available to the

visitors coming via DND Toll to reach India Expo Mart, Greater Noida in order to avoid traffic bottleneck at the DND Toll.

YELLOW NUMBER PLATE TOLL TAX COLLECTION Before getting to the venue, today one has to travel to the RTO at sector 32 Noida to pay for the toll and collect the receipt to enable taxis to enter and move in Greater Noida, which takes around 45 minutes to an hour. Considering the number of visitors during those days and time spent in moving to the RTO office, temporary toll collection counters are being created near India Expo Mart parking for facilitating the entry and exit of the passengers who could commute to Greater Noida during the exhibition/set up days.

MEDICAL FACILITIES SIAM will be maintaining first aid centres at the venue including ambulances stationed at strategic locations. Multiple medical facilities with ten reserved beds and one ICU bed will be reserved for Auto Expo - The Motor Show 2014 at Kailash Hospital and Sharda Hospital. In addition to that, arrangements in Government hospitals will also be made.

PARKING FOR MEDIA & EXHIBITORS Enclosed reserved parking at P8 is arranged for both media and exhibitors. Parking stickers will be issued before hand for 1,000 odd exhibitors and 300 persons from the media. What is more, exhibitors and the media personnel will be allowed to disembark at their respective gates till 9.45 AM.

Datsun GO on countrywide roadshow campaign Datsun has given customers in India an opportunity to experience the all new its Go hatchback firsthand via a panIndia road show. The Dastun Go will be showcased in more than 90 cities at prominent locations.

The Datsun Go is expected to be a category up in its price range and will be priced below 400,000.

The road shows commenced from December 14, 2013 in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, and will subsequently move to various other cities and towns across India. Post unveil in New Delhi in July this year, this is the first time customers will be able to touch and feel Datsun’s first offering.

The Datsun GO has been engineered to meet the needs of modern Indian customers that seek better value propositions.

The roadshow has them a chance to experience innovative and

16 / January 2014

convenient features of the car developed specially for India.

The road show has featured specially created pavilions with interactive LCD display kiosks offering information about Datsun brand, heritage as well as the all new Datsun GO. Visiting customers will be encouraged to participate in various activities by specially trained Datsun Brand Ambassadors who will facilitate guided tours to this pavilion.

Commenting on the roadshow, Kenichiro Yomura, President of Nissan India Operations, said, “Dream, Access and Trust constitute the three pillars of the Datsun brand and we wish to highlight each one of them by showcasing the

all-new GO to our customers.

The GO promises to fulfil the aspirations of the Indian car buyers with its attractive price proposition and we are sure that it will exceed their expectations

with its stylish exteriors, spacious interiors and innovative features.

We wish to become a household name in India and reaching out to our customers is the first step towards it. ”

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HIGHLIGHTS Mahindra Two Wheelers receives international patents

Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd, a part of the Mahindra Group, recently obtained international patents for its four indigenously developed technologies, showcasing its ability to innovate and develop unique features that meet the evolving needs of global two wheeler users. The four innovations for which patents were received by the company are the fuel gauge system, the automatic ignition cut-off, the distance to empty fuel system, and the engine immobilizer system. These technologies are incorporated into the current and future range of Mahindra Two Wheelers’ products.The Centuro’s innovative features include an Anti Theft Alarm with Engine Immobilizer, an encrypted Remote Flip Key, Find Me Lamps and Guide Lamps. The Mahindra Centuro also offers an advanced Digital Dashboard with a Distance–to-Empty (DTE) indicator, Service Reminder and Economy Mode indicator. It also offers a Maintenance Free Battery and is backed by a 5-year warranty that would ensure peace of mind for the owner.

“With our in-house technologies getting international patents, we are reaffirming our commitment to offer best-inclass technology and innovative products to meet customers unmet needs,” said Viren Popli, Executive Vice President – Mahindra Two Wheelers.

18 / January 2014

Mahindra First Choice inaugurates new workshops

(R) Rajeev Dubey President (Group HR, Corporate Services & After-Market) & Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. with Y.V.S. Vijay Kumar, CEO Mahindra First Choice Service With 25 Company Owned Company Operated (COCO) outlets across the country, Mahindra First Choice Services (MFCS) has emerged as the brand of choice in the car servicing industry India. This was stated by Rajeev Dubey President (Group HR, Corporate Services & AfterMarket) & Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. while speaking to journalists in the capital.

In the meantime, MFCS has launched four new workshops in the National Capital Region (NCR). The workshops are located at Noida Sector 63, Noida Sector 5, Greater Noida and Faridabad.

With the inauguration of these four workshops, MFCS now has a network of 25 Company Owned and Company Operated (COCO) workshops nationally.

These four facilities cover an area of 75,000 sq. ft with a

combined bays count of close to 70. This will increase MFCS’ capacity to service multi-brand cars by 4000+ cars every month.

The workshops were inaugurated

by Dubey.

“We are delighted to expand our footprint in NCR with the inauguration of these four workshops. Our existing workshop in Ghaziabad has received an overwhelming response and these new facilities will help us fulfill the servicing needs of car owners in the region,” he stated.

He added, “We are extremely pleased to launch two exciting new products today ‘Car Dent Estimator’ and ‘AMC First’. ‘Car Dent Estimator’ is an innovative first of its kind product in the country for getting instant repair estimate for car damage. It has been designed for use on the go and hence has a specially

designed interface for smart phones and other devices.

The other product we are launching today is ‘AMC First’, a car protection package with a unique triple advantage of annual maintenance services, roadside assistance services and warranty.”

“These products, coupled with existing products like Help First (roadside assistance service) and Save First (annual service maintenance plan), will offer car owners complete peace of mind by giving them a onestop solution for all their car needs. MFCS also offers skilled technicians, quality spare parts, state-of-the art equipment, a free pick up and drop facility and a convenient online booking option, all geared to provide a world-class car servicing experience for any brand of car,” added Y.V.S. Vijay Kumar, CEO Mahindra First Choice Service.

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HIGHLIGHTS MphasiS join hands with ‘Wheels of Change’ As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, the Bangalorebased IT service provider, MphasiS, has joined hands with the city based NGO, ‘Wheels of Change’ and had flagged-off cab service for the disabled, marking World Disability Day. Disability Commissioner, Government of Karnataka, KS Rajanna, who himself is physically challenged had experienced the KickStart cab. Ganesh Ayyar CEO MphasiS and Rajanna jointly flagged off KickStart cabs. Shahna was the first traveller in the retrofitted Maruti Suzuki WagonR. While speaking on the occasion, Vidhya Ramasubbban, Director of KickStart said: “Initially, we are operating the service with just three cabs in Bangalore.

These vehicles have customised seats and we have added some unique features, tailor-made for the differently- abled passengers”.

According to the official, the fare would be on par with any other passenger who travels in the private cab that is operating in the city. The best part is that the drivers are being given adequate training to make the disabled passenger comfortable while travelling in these retrofitted vehicles.

“Our intention is not just to provide an exclusive cab service to only for the disabled passengers, meaning others can also either accompany or travel in these cabs. Anything that is special will always be exclusive.

Therefore, the emphasis on this initiative is to raise awareness for the need to have more ‘disabledfriendly’ service in place”, Vidhya pointed out.

Dr Meenu Bhambhani, Head (CSR), MphasiS said: “Bangalore will be the testing ground for KickStart cab services.“

20 / January 2014

UNO Minda & Fujitsu JV new audio manufacturing unit

Fujitsu Ten Minda India Pvt. Ltd , a Uno Minda Group and Fujitsu Ten Ltd. joint venture company, has officially inaugurated a car audio facility in Bawal, Haryana.

The facility was inaugurated by H Nakagawa (outgoing MD, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd.) and. K. Ayukawa (MD, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.). The ceremony marked the presence of senior officials from leading OEMs such as MSIL, TKML, HCIL, M&M, Fiat, etc.

The facility includes a captive tool room, moulding shop, press shop, SMT Assembly line etc to manufacture CD Tuners, display audios & navigation system. To match the rigorous requirement of automobile manufacturers, facilities in the plant also include various testing, inspection & endurance equipment. A surface mount technology line for mounting components on the PCB and two assembly lines have already started Phase 1 of Production and Audio Systems

are on the rollout for Maruti already.

T. Shigematsu, President, Fujitsu Ten, added “The strong product & process technology of Fujitsu Ten combined with equally strong manufacturing & marketing skills of UNO Minda Group will help the JV to be the best of its kind in the industry.”

This integrated manufacturing plant of Audio System would alter the largely fragmented and CBU import market in the country. Today, most of the cars have Audio system installed as an OEM/OES or aftermarket fitment.

The new company would tap into the OEM/OES audio market by providing high technology & locally manufactured, cost effective product to the different

car manufacturers in the industry.

“Although the automobile market is going through difficult times but investment in this new plant is in the right direction towards localisation and industrialisation” said Nakagawa.

Ayukawa stressed on the costcompetitiveness and the benefits that would accrue from this local manufacturing plant.

Summing up the ceremony, N.K. Minda, CMD, UNO Minda said “The customers would benefit in the form of high quality, competitive cost, timely delivery and faster response to their requirements”

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HIGHLIGHTS MercedesBenz India inaugurates ‘Centre of Excellence’ Mercedes-Benz India inaugurated its state-of-the-art ‘Centre of Excellence’ located within the company’s production facility in Pune. Created especially for its exclusive customers the ‘Centre of Excellence’ houses the latest and globally acclaimed high-performance MercedesAMG range of vehicles such as SLS AMG, SLK 55 AMG, E 63 AMG, G 63 AMG and also other fascinating specialty cars like SLKClass and CLS-Class. The centre was inaugurated by Matthias Lührs, Chairman of the Board of Management, Mercedes-Benz India and Vice President - Global Sales, Mercedes-Benz and Eberhard Kern, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India.

The Centre of Excellence is created adhering to the highest global standard of luxury experience followed by Mercedes-Benz globally and is the result of Mercedes-Benz India’s untiring endeavor to provide ‘The Best or Nothing’ experience to its customers.

Dedicated to the exclusive set of customers, Mercedes-Benz India’s Centre of Excellence features a dedicated helipad that will be used by exclusive set of customers who want to fly-in and fly-out, providing them highest level of convenience and ease in purchasing their desired specialty car. Customers will not just be able to experience their favourite cars, but also personalize it with their style using the ‘iConfigurator’. The ‘iConfigurator’ empowers customers to preview the entire range of MercedesBenz and AMG car portfolio digitally and experience the look and feel of the exterior paints, upholstery and alloy wheels.

24 / January 2014

FIEM enters into 50:50 JV with Italian company Leading automobile lamp manufacturer Fiem Industries Ltd has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the company has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Horustech Lighting S.r.l.

Italy and incorporated a joint venture company by the name of Centro Ricerche FIEM Horustech

S.r.l to set up a Design Centre at Correggio (RE), Italy.

The company is of the opinion that the design centre will add new dimensions to Fiem’s designing capabilities and will prove a major strength in offering new products to its customers, The product

range will include conventional and new generation LED automotive lighting and signalling equipment such as LED headlights, tail lights, turn signals and rear view mirrors etc for two wheelers and four wheeler segments and LED luminaries for indoor and outdoor applications.

Henniges, Amee Rubber form strategic alliance Henniges Automotive Holdings, Inc., a leading supplier of highly engineered sealing and anti-vibration systems for the global automotive market, has announced it has formed a strategic alliance with Amee Rubber Industries Pvt. Ltd., a producer of sealing systems & moulded rubber parts for automobiles throughout India.

With headquarters in Mumbai and a plant in Vapi, Gujarat, Amee Rubber supplies to original equipment manufacturers Force Motors Ltd., Mahindra Rise Ltd and Tata Motors Group. The company uses its technical know-how to blend and mix raw materials and chemicals through extrusion and vulcanization processes, helping to create more than 3,000 products.

The company also has a strong presence in the international markets in the Gulf, Sri Lanka and countries throughout Africa. Amee plans to set up a state of the art manufacturing facility to cater to the growing demands in the Indian and Asian market. “Partnership with Henniges will help the Indian Automotive Industry to get world class products and establish a leadership in the Indian market over the next five years,” said Vishal Miglani, President and Managing Director of Amee Industries.

“Since 1980, we’ve provided sealing systems and moulded rubber parts for automobiles and we continue to offer a wide range of sealing systems for all types

of architectural building profiles,” said Miglani. “With a new partner in Henniges Automotive, we’re able to leverage its experience and provide advanced and complex products to satisfy customers. Globalisation today makes every OEM offer a global program, partnering with Henniges, we would be able to provide advanced and future technology to achieve their global presence,” he added This agreement with Amee enables Henniges Automotive to further support its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers in India through the design, development and execution of dynamic sealing solutions for the automotive industry.

‘Voice Against Noise’ campaign Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, the second largest tractor manufacturer in India and part of the Amalgamation Group launched a fortnight-long drive, ‘Voice Against Noise’ (VAN) in association with the Chennai Traffic Police in the city. The ‘No Honking’ campaign to check noise pollution received a huge positive response.

The initiative kick-started on

November 22, 2013 with a poster contest on social media platform, Facebook, which also elicited overwhelming response, with hundreds of entries pouring in, all within a span of one week. Three best entries were chosen and six other participants received the jury prizes. Hari Raja Viswnathan from Kongu Engineering College, Erode; Neha Ann Balthazar from Stella Maris College, Chennai and

Raja K from Wipro Chennai were the winners. Monika Gugliya of Kalayug Studio, Mysore; Venkat Gopu from TFI Hyderabad; K Elavarasu from TAFE Chennai; Niveditha P from SRM College Chennai; Shashank Sahay from Aura, Bangalore and Madhav R from Saint John’s School, Chennai were the jury prize winners.

The prize winning posters were displayed across the city.

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This New Year make it

BIG

with

sales@bigboytoyz.in

2012 Rolls Royce Ghost

2011 Porsche Cayman S

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2012 BMW X5

2013 Bentley Continental GT

2010 Jaguar XKR Supercharged

2012 Fiat Ducato Motorhome

COVER REPORT

VOLKSWAGEN INDIA Das Auto für Indien?

I

Report P. Tharyan, Photography Mohd. Nasir

n the German language, Volkswagen (VW) means ‘People’s Car’. At the last count, in the Indian passenger car space (excluding passenger utility vehicles), VW had a share of a mere 3.15pc in overall sales in the country. By those standards, VW is far from being a people’s car, at least in India. But then, it’s barely been a few years since VW started its operations in India. The company’s current slogan is Das Auto (‘The Car’). The company sells the Polo, Vento, Jetta, Passat and Touareg passenger vehicles in India. The luxury car model Phaeton has been discontinued for the time being. The company used to import the iconic Beetle in India, but that too has been discontinued for the time being.

So, is the VW car Das Auto für Indien (The

26 / January 2014

Car for India)? Very much so, feels Mahesh Kodumudi, President and Managing Director of Volkswagen India Private Limited. Recently, he took over additional responsibility as the Head of Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Limited. Kodumudi joined the Volkswagen Group in 2008 and was appointed Executive Director - Corporate Purchasing for the Volkswagen Group in India. From March 1, 2013, he took over as President and Managing Director of Volkswagen India Private Limited at which time he assumed responsibility for the Indian production company of Volkswagen in Chakan, Pune.

In an exclusive interview with Motown India magazine, Mahesh Kodumudi says that his company has been debating for the last few years about its products vis-à-vis those of its competitors and the fact that, “Ours is better

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COVER REPORT

MAHESH KODUMUDI, President & Managing Director, Volkswagen India Private Limited www.motownindia.com

January 2014 / 27

COVER REPORT

File Photo: VW India’s Chakan plant. Picture courtesy VW India

28 / January 2014

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COVER REPORT in terms of quality, performance etc and whether that translates into adequate sales”.

“The fact is not lost on us that we engineer our products a little bit better. Our engineering is very robust. But it all starts with our fundamental philosophy of our group and our brands.

‘Volkswagen’ is a ‘Volkswagen’ whether we produce it in Germany or produce it in India, in China or anywhere else in the world. We will not in any way compromise our technical specifications or the DNA of our brands to gain short term benefits. Has it really been recognised by Indian consumers?

We think, yes. Definitely, the customers buying our products are becoming increasingly aware of our robust engineering that goes into our products and that the level of detail that we put into our product to get performance out of these products. The market is getting more and more discerning and we have to give the Indian market a little more time. We have the staying power and we shall stay here and never compromise on our products.

That is our forte and our strength and we shall do business with that.

“We are working very hard and believe me we are doing so very intensively. Right now we are in a consolidation phase. We set ourselves up in India in 2010 when we started selling cars here.

We have been here in India for about three years and we are not that old here. We want our get our productivity high, control our cost structure and also make sure we are producing quality products, after which we shall go in for an expansion phase,” he notes.

AN EXCITING PHASE Mahesh Kodumudi (48) completed his Engineering and

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January 2014 / 29

COVER REPORT

Management degrees in India and USA. Following a successful career in the automotive industry in the USA, he came back to India in 2008. “The reason why I came back was to work in an emerging market like India and India being my home country I was passionate about coming back and try to do something good here with whatever I had learnt abroad. I had lived abroad for almost 20 years. I had quite a bit of automotive experience. This was a fantastic opportunity for me to come back and contribute.

The last five years have been very exciting for me. So much so that the experience in the last five or

30 / January 2014

six years has been much more exciting than my last 20 years of experience put together,” notes Kodumudi.

According to him, India as far as the automotive market is concerned, is still an emerging market. It is still a nascent market compared to some of the developed nations where the automotive industry is a matured industry. “So for me it was an exciting time offering immediate challenges in the country, building the plant from scratch, etc. When I came here it was just a piece of land which we had to flatten it out. Looking back I feel satisfied that in a very short time

frame the Volkswagen brand has been able to establish itself in Chakan and we are producing cars, and we are quite successful in India,” he reminisces.

VW’s initial investment in Chakan was around E580 million (approximately 4,919 crore by today’s value terms).

Subsequently in the last two years in 2012 and 2013, the company invested an additional 100 to 200 million Euros for increasing productivity and capacities in the factory. “Of course India is a very important part of our group’s global growth strategy. We will continue investing in India,” he quips.

VW shares its Aurangabad and Chakan plants among its group brands. Kodumudi says that the “depth of production is greater in Chakan, we are highly localised in the models we produce there. Chakan produces the VW and Skoda brands, while the Aurangabad plant produces the Skoda, VW and Audi brands.

We have to see how the market evolves. As we go forward we have to rationalise the production footprint in India. Whatever best suits our business we shall do. It is unlikely that we create separate plants for individual plants even when numbers increase. We like to integrate and synergise on

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COVER REPORT

We are looking at all possibilities; we have still not evolved our formal strategy regarding a budget car. As of now one thing is clear, with the VW brand we shall keep our specifications high to maintain high standards. platforms”.

Kodumudi says that when his company came to India, its focus was on the Indian market. It set up its operation in Pune to mainly cater to the Indian domestic market. But subsequently, the company realised it had to have in its portfolio a reasonable mix of exports as well to address possible volatilities in the Indian market. Thankfully, he acknowledges, his company was ahead of the curve. It decided to have a healthy mix of exports in its portfolio. Thus, it started working on it in 2010 and commenced exports in 2011 even before the downturn in the Indian economy.

“In the calendar year 2013 we shall have exported about 20pc of our volume production out of Pune. Next year that number is expected to go up to 25pc and now we export to Mexico which is a large market where we export both right-hand-drives as well as left-hand-drives. In my personal opinion we need to have two legs in India, a domestic leg which will be our primary focus, and the second leg will be the export leg which I need to lean on which offers a natural hedge against the volatilities in the Indian market as well as the Indian currency,” he says.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data, VW India manly exports the Vento model of cars.

In November 2013 it exported

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1,611 units as compared to 520 in the same period last year.

Cumulative exports for the period April 2013 to November 2013 has grown to 14,515 units from the earlier 6,204 units.

Kodumudi is also very upbeat about his company’s foray into the motorsports arena in India.

“We started with Polo one make series race in 2010. Initially it started with one or two people getting interested in it and saying let’s do it in India. We have completed four full seasons of the Polo R Cup. It’s been a tremendous journey. It’s also been a fantastic success for us.

It’s been a great marketing tool and an awareness builder of the VW brand in India. I see only positive things here and going forward, the VW group will continue to be very active in the motorsport area and hopefully as the market evolves, we grow in our presence in the racing circuits also. We produce some of the best cars in the world, we are very proud of it, we produce high performance cars, our strength is that we are very much in high technology, high performance, robust engineering, and quality.

And all those aspects are shown in the motorsports activity. We have also successfully entered the India Rally Championship.

This showcases our entire technological prowess. I am sure all this has a positive effect on our consumers’ minds,” he emphasises.

THE BUDGET CAR As for a budget car on the lines of the Datsun Go, Kodumudi hints at a possibility albeit under a different brand. “We are looking at all possibilities; we have still not evolved our formal strategy regarding a budget car.

As of now one thing is clear, with the VW brand we shall keep our specifications high to maintain high standards. We are considering vehicles in every segment. In order to be a volume player we have to be there in the budget segment. We have to find the right product in terms of the cost structure and one which is suitable to the price cost structure that is present in India.

“We are working hard to identify products that fit into that segment. At the same time have platforms that are suitable for a global footprint. We do not want to create country specific platforms. We want to have platforms that cater to the domestic market, as well as suited for export markets. At the same time we want platforms that cater to a wide range of platforms. I do not want to bring in a platform that gives me one or two models only. It should have a sedan, a hatchback, an MPV etc,” he notes.

The challenge, according to him, is for the company to produce these cars more cost effectively and yet be profitable in India. “We will not take any hasty decision to move down the market and dilute our products,”

he says, adding that “We do recognise the fact that India is one of the most competitive retail markets in the world in the sense that it has got one of the lowest retail prices in the world, perhaps the least retail prices within the VW world. So it makes it even more challenging”.

THE COMPONENTS BUSINESS When VW came to India in 2008 and put up a factory in Chakan, it decided that it was going to exploit and develop the local supply base. Kodumudi is proud of this decision. It was a difficult journey to put together a dedicated team of suppliers in the country. “At that time we realised that many Indian suppliers, who even though were catering to other global OEMs because of the different strategies of the OEs, were not yet meeting our technical requirements. It was a difficult journey convincing them that they had to up their capabilities, they had to invest in new technologies, new machines, new production systems, new quality systems, etc. Now out of the 120 odd suppliers, we have in excess of 65 suppliers who are first time into the VW group,” he informs.

These suppliers are not supplying just nuts and bolts, but supplying key components like headlamps, suspensions systems, etc. “These are pureplay Indian suppliers we have developed. We

January 2014 / 31

COVER REPORT are very proud of that fact. The same suppliers who came five or six years ago came to me and said we were unreasonable in our expectations.

The same CEOs now come to me and thank me for having pushed them to have me there, because now they feel they are ready to compete with any international tier I supplier. We are proud of the fact that we have contributed to the growth of the supplier base in India. At the same time, when we developed these suppliers, it also opened up our international markets to them. Today, we have suppliers who export to the tune of 200 million ( 1,697 crore approximately) to our group companies abroad. These are not only parts which are common between a Polo in India and maybe a Polo that is produced in Russia, we are exporting to South Africa, Russia, and we are also exporting components developed jointly with Indian suppliers to North American and South American markets even though the products are not the same. Going forward, this is a very active initiative that is going on. We have a full fledged department by the name of C3. C3 stands for Cost Competitive Countries. We have a full fledged cross functional team that is exploring Indian suppliers for further development of exports. We are working on this very ambitiously.

The suppliers who have the right attitude and are willing to upgrade their capabilities, have become very successful. They are working with Audi and VW in the Americas. For example the steel wheels for the Passat that are produced in North America, almost 100pc is exported out of an Indian supplier based in India,” he points out.

Kodumudi is also clear on his views on the Free Trade Agreement with Europe which has yet to be finalised. “I think Indian needs to push the FTA with Europe strongly.

It will benefit the country greatly.

There should not be any fears from

32 / January 2014

any domestic player that this FTA will open the floodgates for imports from Europe. It is not going to happen. If you look at the automotive market, going forward in the next 10 to 15 years, the lower end segments are going to be the strong segments.

They are going to form 80 to 90pc of the total market. Those segments cannot be catered through imports.

So the domestic players and the industry need not fear the FTA. On the other hand it is going to spur exports out of India. The FTA will definitely open up exports for the Indian markets and it will also spur foreign direct investment into the country. It will create a lot more employment. So we are totally in support of this FTA with Europe and we would like this to become a reality,” he says candidly.

In the meantime, the road ahead for VW in India could be a bit bumpy.

But that does not deter the company nor its Managing Director. Kodumudi is ready to wait for success. Business, according to him, is not one simple thing. “Success comes out of a combination of things. It is not going to be sheer market share.

We are not going to increase our marketshare by putting out models which make no sense to the market or even for us. The bottom line is profitable growth for us. We also obviously want to raise the bar. We will not dilute our technologies.

The strength of our brand and our group is our products. This means we shall continue raising the bar on technology. And at the same time we shall focus on profitable growth which is one of the reasons we are deliberating so heavily before we jump into doing things. We shall take our time. We are in the market for the long haul. We are not into it to gain market share tomorrow, or next year. It will take a little longer for us, we have the staying power and India continues to be a very important part of our global growth strategy,” he concludes.

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COVER REPORT

File Photo: VW India’s Chakan plant. Picture courtesy VW India

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January 2014 / 33

INDIA REPORT

Delphi SRS products raise safety bar for automobiles Report: P. Tharyan

I

n our world where cars of every size and shape are being built for speed, space and comfort, there is now a new element that is gaining great significance---the element of safety. Customers in India are now increasingly delving into the safety aspects of a car before making a final purchase.

And safety while driving makes no real sense unless tiny connectors work in tandem and electrically trigger mechanisms that prevent injury during accidents. These interconnect solutions for airbags and other pyrotechnic devices are basically Safety Restraint Systems (SRS) that are produced in large numbers by US based Delphi across the world.

Delphi , a leading global vehicle components manufacturer that provides electrical and electronic, powertrain, safety and thermal technology solutions to the global automotive and commercial vehicle markets, manufactures these connectors at the Delphi Connection Systems India Ltd. plant in Kochi, Kerala.

According to a study, the SRS market globally is worth US $660 million ( 4,079 crore approximately). While India has a negligible share in the market today, Europe and North America account for more than 60pc of the market. “We see airbags and other safety related products coming into smaller cars too. In Japan, Korea, Europe and now even in North America, it is happening. Usually the top line cars have all the equipment, but in lower level cars, it can come as an optional fitment,” says Mika Arpe of Delphi Connection

34 / January 2014

Systems, Germany. He is the Director, Global Product Line Management SRS, Delphi Packard Electrical/ Electronic Architecture of the company. Mika Arpe was speaking to a select team of journalists at the company’s Kochi plant.

SRS connectors, also known as squib connectors, help to save lives. These connectors, which are used to connect wiring to pyrotechnic devices such as airbags, belt pre-tensioners, knee bolsters and pedestrian safety devices, aid in the protection of vehicle passengers. When it comes to connecting wiring systems to airbags and seatbelts, the squib connectors have to perform in severe automotive

environments.

They must be equipped with circuit filtering capabilities and need to cooperate with on-board diagnostics.

These squib connectors are available as a “pigtail assembly”, meaning as a cable sub-assembly (squib + wire) where the customer will specify the connector type, the wire length and type, or as a ”jumper harness assembly“ featuring the squib connector at one end, a sectioning connector at the other and the attachment accessories in between. Another critical part of SRS connectors are

retainers, which are installed into the pocket of the ignitor. They contain the features necessary for a reliable connection to the squib connector including indexing, a shorting clip and pin protection.

These design features encompass “the interface”.

Mika also confirms that Delphi is preparing a next generation product that improves the mechanical property that

A worker at the Delphi Kochi plant www.motownindia.com

INDIA REPORT L to R: Mika Arpe, Director, Global Product Line Management SRS, Delphi Packard Electrical/ Electronic Architecture, Delphi Connection Systems, Germany, Reji Varghese, President & Managing Director, Delphi Automotive Systems, India and Bruce Shuler, General Manager, Delphi Connection Systems India Ltd.

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January 2014 / 35

INDIA REPORT

The top management team of Delphi Connection Systems India Limited along with senior Delphi officials simplifies and streamlines the architecture with regards to mechanical performance and also lower amount of precious materials. The products will be more ergonomic and capable.

“With more reliable connection systems, the defects in the field will go down. So you will have lesser customers driving into dealerships with the airbag lights flashing. The trick is to adjust the design to the latest level of requirements. The new generation products will arrive in India by 2017-18,” he says.

Reji Varghese, President & Managing Director, Delphi Automotive Systems, India, feels that with the existing regulations (or lack of it) in India there is a need for products like the SRS. “Earlier airbags were fitted only in high end vehicles but now more and more cars are having this feature. OEMs are now aware about the people’s needs. This means our products

36 / January 2014

have opportunities with the existing regulations. The demand has to come with changing consumer needs, even if there is no legislation in place. The consumer in India is getting more updated about products, and about safety related issues,” he says.

But it’s Bruce Shuler who is the most excited about Delphi’s business in India. He is the General Manager of Delphi Connection Systems India Ltd. and is stationed at the Kochi plant.

“Globally we are No.1 in SRS. In India too we are No.1. There is only one other connector system manufacturer who supplies the products. Many of the OEMs I have spoken to are anticipating that SRS is going to be there in all future models. We are well positioned to serve the Indian market both with products as well as localised process capabilities.

Everybody is anticipating legislation, but definitely the

OEMs are looking at 2016 and beyond. The legislation will help it come faster. Producing safer vehicles is very important for India,” says Shuler.

Shuler explains that when his customers look at connection systems they do not just look at the plastic housing, they look at connectors with terminals inside those housings. “In order to be able to serve the Indian market, with a competitive product, we need to provide localised housings and localised terminals. We are producing a lot of terminals within Delphi outside of India. The technology involves high speed stamping at 1,200 strokes a minute. Every single terminal is then inspected.

We have identified six terminal families that we want to produce here locally. We are planning that for 2014. We are going to start with one stamping press here.

We are getting a lot of requests from OEMs for data connectivity

products. That is the fastest growing product line we have globally. We are working with certain OEMs to provide localised USB cables or data connectivity cables. We have so many different levels of data connectivity. We will initially look at simple data connectivity that can plug in smart phones,” he notes.

KERALA, INDUSTRIALLY PROGRESSIVE Shuler who came to Delphi’s Kochi plant in July 2013, says that many of his customers expressed the view that Kerala is a difficult place to do business especially when it comes to labour management. “With 100pc honesty I want to say that we have a great workforce. If you take care of your people, they would work and they would be productive. Manoj Kumar (he is senior manager HR & Administration) manages HR and a lot of his time is spent working

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INDIA REPORT with people, dealing with them when they have issues. We treat people as people and not as objects,” he points out.

The Kochi plant manufactures different kinds of SRS products.

The retainer products are 100pc exported from the plant. Overall, a good part of the products are exported though Shuler feels that his aim to ensure that more of his products sell in the domestic market as well. “Our focus is now on the domestic market and my job is to ensure that it grows here.

Even in a down market from this year to next year we are growing 14.5pc in the domestic market,” he says.

Ramesh Nair, Plant Manager, Delphi Connection Systems India Ltd also proudly notes that for the last 30 odd years there have never been any labour issues at the plant. “We manage well with the trade union here. Sometimes when we have differences, we sit with them and sort it out amicably. We consider people our greatest assets. We have one of the lowest attrition levels in the Asia Pacific region. We have some good educational institutions in Kerala and we pick up people and train them and absorb them later,” he states.

Even Reji Varghese who heads Delphi operations in India is happy to note that mindsets are changing in Kerala. “One of the philosophies we have in our company is that the HR manager is there to deploy policies and make sure things are managed properly. For an employee, the HR manager is the immediate boss.

On the shop floor, if I do not have good people managing things, you are bound to have problems irrespective whether you are in Kerala or elsewhere. On our shop floors we have good people to manage and we also have good people to work with us. Yes, we have a lot of legacy in this part of the country, but things are changing for the better. People are also realising the value of jobs,” he adds.

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January 2014 / 37

INDIA REPORT

Isuzu Motors India starts production of BS-IV compliant MU-7 SUV Report: Jayashankar Menon

I

suzu Motors India has commenced local production of its vehicles and rolled out its first India manufactured BS-IV compliant sports utility vehicle, MU-7. The announcement was made on December 10, 2013 at a press conference in Chennai. The BS-IV model is priced at 22.3 lakh while the BS-III vehicle is priced at 22 lakh (both prices are ex-Showroom, Chennai).

With the roll out of the first India produced vehicle, Isuzu also announced a unique service initiative, ‘Isuzu Insight’ to its patrons. As the name suggests, Isuzu Insight will provide insights of an individual’s driving habits and style, thereby helping that person improve fuel efficiency and vehicle performance.

In order to increase its national

presence and reach out to a wider customer base, Isuzu is contemplating on beefing up its dealer network to

Shigeru Wakabayashi (Deputy MD) and Takashi Kikuchi (MD) flagging off the first India-made Isuzu MU-7

38 / January 2014

60 outlets by the end of 2015-16.

The auto maker has also opened

its outlet on December 11 at the upcoming industrial and IT suburb of Ambattur in northern Chennai.

Currently, Isuzu has a contract manufacturing agreement with Hindustan Motors Limited, under which the latter assembles CKD kits of MU-7 and pick-up truck, D-Max at Tiruvallur plant in Chennai.

NEW FACILITY Isuzu’s new vehicle manufacturing plant is coming up at SriCity in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. The new plant is likely to go on stream by 2015-16.

The Japanese auto maker has earmarked a total investment of 3,000 crore for this factory, which will have a capacity of 120,000 units, once it becomes fully operational. Takashi Kikuchi, Managing Director of Isuzu Motors India Private Limited said, “We are extremely happy to begin the local assembly of our products

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INDIA REPORT in India. It is the culmination of our extensive research over the last three years to understand the Indian market. India is a key region in Isuzu’s global growth strategy for its emerging markets and as an important manufacturing hub in the future. In the next five years, our focus will be to accelerate our business and establish Isuzu as an important player in the pick-up

trucks and utility vehicles market in India”.

Kikuchi added, “Isuzu MU-7 SUV is known for its ruggedness, durability and fuel efficiency and is a proven and successful SUV in other key markets. I am sure the Indian customers will enjoy its extra spacious and comfortable ride”.

Isuzu’s foray into the country

is a great example of importance of India being a key market for Japanese business conglomerates.

A week before the launch of MU-7, the Japanese Emperor’s historic six-day long visit to India reaffirmed Japan’s commitment towards strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries.

The Emperor also visited Chennai during this tour, an affirmation

of the growing importance of the south in both business and cultural contexts of Indo-Japan relationship.

At present, Isuzu has eight showrooms spread across south India. Furthermore, it has plans to add more outlets in Mumbai and Delhi, latest by first half of next year. The aim is to add 60 more dealership outlets by 2015.

Interview with Shingeru Wakabayashi, Deputy Managing Director, Isuzu Motors India Isuzu forayed into Indian market three years back. What are your achievements?

In three years of our operation in India, 500 customers have been interviewed with the initial sale of 180 vehicles.

Isuzu is famous for its diesel engine as we have used it in our Ambassador cars many years back. Isuzu is the diesel engine expert with a cumulative production of 24 million diesel engines in 2013. Isuzu has many first to its credit. Isuzu produced Japan’s first diesel engine. Isuzu also introduced Japan’s first V8 water cooled engine. We also produced world’s first indirect injection engines, Japan’s first four valve diesel engine for heavy duty trucks, Japan’s first direct injection diesel engine for trucks, world’s first direct injection diesel engine for light duty trucks and world’s first diesel engine with electric governor for heavy duty trucks.

quality. The SUV should be both stylish and valuable for the customer. After intense study of the Indian market, interacting with a multitude of SUV owners in the country, Isuzu has finally incorporated all these finer points to bring out a world-class vehicle. MU-7 has enormous space and gives excellent comfort. The cabin and leg space is at class top level, especially the second seat space.

MU-7 offers passenger car like riding comfort, thanks to its comfort tuned suspension that suits any road conditions. The long wheelbase of three metres means an awesome experience in travelling in the SUV. All seats sustain comfort by air outlets in the roof. Air volume control, which is accessible from the second and third row seat. The high durability and reliability of D-MAX pick-up is reflected to MU-7. CAE has further contributed to its high body rigidity and stiffness.

What are the product concepts of MU7?

The product concept of MU-7 is to have voluminous space and comfort. In addition to that the vehicle should be tough and reliable. It should give superior performance with exemplary

Can you talk about the performance and quality of MU-7?

MU-7 has powerful, yet goodmileage diesel engine with latest technology. The vehicle has got a quiet cabin with optimised damping and acoustic material

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layout. Isuzu MU-7 functions on variable geometry turbocharger system (VGS) with a common rail and 4JJ1 engine. With tough and elegant looking front face and prestigious looking side view, Isuzu MU-7 has best in class second row space, with a feeling of business class travelling in space and comfort.

What is ‘Isuzu Insight’ and how does it operate?

Taking an insight into the driving habits of MU-7 customer, the company offers customised feedback to every individual to improve fuel efficiency and vehicle performance. Firstly, the MU-7 customer drives to the dealer, where the insight data is captured. The dealer then sends the data to Isuzu Motors India, where the data analysis and report are being generated and further sending it back to the dealer. The dealer in turn will explain the Insight Report to the customer.

The Insight has a gamut of parameters such as fuel efficiency, speed, engine idling, engine RPM, braking and acceleration. For instance, if the owner of MU-7, before he takes the vehicle to the dealer had a total score of 43 out of 100 with a fuel efficiency of 13.3 kmpl,

after the Insight data capture and the resultant advices, the total score improves to 60 out of 100 with a fuel economy of 13.5 kmpl. Similarly there is a considerable improvement in other parameters as well.

What is Isuzu’s corporate vision?

Our corporate vision is that Isuzu will always mean the best - a leader in light commercial vehicles and diesel engines, empowering our customers as members of Isuzu Community in respecting the environment in India. Our mission is trust, action and excellence. A Global team is delivering inspired products and services committed to exceeding Indian customers’ expectations.

The Isuzu Community consists of Isuzu + media, dealers and customers, not exactly in that order. The community will enrich the life and lifestyle and grow together.

What are your marketing efforts in India?

We are focussing on brand positioning and communication.

We will maximise Isuzu brand equity about diesel engine. Isuzu MU-7, the luxury of space with Isuzu Insight, besides building up Isuzu Community.

January 2014 / 39

INDIA REPORT

Magneti Marelli India lines up AMT for passenger cars by 2014 Photography: Mohd. Nasir

I

talian auto components maker Magneti Marelli has said it is all set to introduce its Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) gearbox in the Indian passenger car market by 2014. The Fiatowned company, which has already rolled out this advanced product in developed markets and China, is now planning to cater to the A, B and C car

segments in India. It is widely believed that the semi-automatic gearboxes would be imported completely from its Shanghai facility (where it is already building it in association with Shanghai Automobile Gear Works since 2010) in the intial phase and later will be assembled at Magneti Marelli Powertrain India’s facility at Manesar. The amount earmarked for the assembly

Eugenio Razelli, President and Chief Executive Officer, Magneti Marelli SpA

40 / January 2014

line could not be ascertained yet. Magneti Marelli India (MMI), its wholly-owned subsidiary, however, refused to share the name of automakers it will be allying with.

“The market for automatic transmission-driven cars is very negligible at this juncture. Over the last two years such products are gaining a lot of traction in tier1 cities where traffic congestion is pretty rampant. Moreover, a lot of female drivers are gravitating to non-manual transmission cars due to additional comfort. So we are going to step in by providing the AMT, which combines features of manual and automatic transmissions,” Saju Mookken, Country Manager, Magneti Marelli India. He added, “The first batch of cars to be equipped with our AMT could be somewhere around next year.”

AMT is an automobile transmission that does not change gears automatically, but rather facilitates manual gear changes by dispensing with the need to press a clutch pedal at the same time as changing gears. In other words, it uses electronic sensors, pneumatics, processors and actuators to execute gear shifts on the command of the driver or by a computer. This removes the need for a clutch pedal which the driver otherwise needs to depress before making a gear change, since the clutch itself is actuated by electronic equipment which can synchronise the timing and torque required to make quick, smooth gear shifts. The system was designed by automobile manufacturers in Europe, US,

and even China, to provide a better driving experience through fast overtaking manoeuvers on highways.

Furthermore, Magneti Marelli India is also looking to treble its revenues in India to over 3,000 crore in the next three years and plans to introduce many new technologies in the market.

Furthermore, the company is also planning to invest about 100 crore on ramping up output and building new facilities for new product lines like LED lights.

“India is one of the growth engines for Magneti Marelli. In 2012, we had a revenue of around 1,100 crore. Our target is to increase it three-fold to over 3,000 crore. By that time, India will be contributing significantly to our global operations,” Mookken added. MMI is also looking to accelerate export of components for global OEMS in Europe and other global markets.

Media reports have earlier stated that MMI had shipped out the shock absorbers produced at its Pune plant for OEs in Europe and have have been exporting some exhaust parts too.

Meantime, Hero MotoCorp announced a joint venture with Magneti Marelli for new generation powertrains and said both the partners would invest US $27 million in the JV over the next ten years. The JV firm ‘HMC-MM Auto Ltd’, in which Hero MotoCorp will hold 60pc take, is targeting sales of US$ 100 million in the next five years.

Consequently, the country’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp said it has acquired 17.49 lakh shares in its joint

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INDIA REPORT venture with Italian firm Magneti Marelli. The financial details of the transaction, were, however not revealed. The construction of a JV’s production plant is planned by 2015, at a location in India to be defined shortly.

“We have decided to form a JV with Hero MotoCorp for next generation fuel injection systems with a total equity injection of US$ 8.5 million in ratio of 60:40 will be invested in the JV over a period of three years. Our JV partner will be the majority stakeholder in this JV,” said Eugenio Razelli, President and Chief Executive Officer, Magneti Marelli SpA adding, “The scope of this agreement is quite significant for Magneti Marelli as our partner in this JV is the world’s largest manufacturer of two-wheelers. The aim is to partner with Hero MotoCorp in order to equip their products with advanced powertrain solutions.”

He added, “The purpose of the joint venture is to, amongst others, sell, distribute and market complete two wheeler fuel injection systems or components parts thereof.” Elaborating on the

Saju Mooken, Country Manager, Magneti Marelli India

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Picture courtesy: Magneti Marelli terms of the agreement, Razelli said, “The JV is also open to supply to other manufacturers and would not be an exclusive supplier to Hero MotoCorp.”

Since its entry in India in 2007, Magneti Marelli has entered into the following joint ventures in India: with Maruti Suzuki India Limited and Suzuki Motor Company for electronic control units of diesel engines; with Sumi Motherson Group for lighting and powertrain components; with SKH Metals Limited and with SKH Sheet Metal Components Limited (both part of the Krishna Group) for the production of automobile exhaust systems; with Endurance

Technologies Pvt. Ltd. for motor vehicle shock absorbers; and with Unitech Machines for automotive electronic systems, with Talbros Automotive Components Limited (TACL) in the area of suspensions.

The latest joint venture signed by Magneti Marelli is with Hero MotoCorp.

Currently, it is also working on other next-generation technologies like flex-fuel which is very popular in Brazil.

Magneti Marelli, which designs and produces advanced systems and components for the automotive industry around the globe, reported a turnover of 5.8 billion Euros in 2012.

January 2014 / 41

INDIA REPORT

KISAN 2013

Farmers flex tech-savvy muscles Report & Photography: P. Tharyan

I

ndia’s geographical boundaries are not limited to those within the metropolitan cities of New Delhi and Mumbai. It stretches into the hinterland where farming is a way of life and agri machinery is the favourite product to own.

As progress and prosperity spreads its wings across this rural landscape, enriching famers and farming alike, the dawn of prosperity begins to encapsulate the air. All that was very much evident at the Kisan 2013 show held in Pune recently. The show is India’s largest agri show that is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, government of India. The 21st in Kisan series, the show was held in Pimpri, Pune from December 11 to 17, 2013. Spread over 80,000 sq metres, the show had a display area of 22,597 sq metres and saw the presence of some of the biggest names in the agricultural machinery

42 / January 2014

and equipment segment.

These included Eicher Tractors, International Tractors Ltd of the Sonalika Group, Force Motors, Mahindra FES, Tatas, Kubota Agricultural Machinery India Pvt. Ltd , Same Deutz-Fahr, John Deere, New Holland, among others, besides a slew of local and global agri-machinery agriproduct manufacturers.

Foreign and Indian delegates from the farming community networked and forged alliances during the first two days of the show which were solely ‘Business’ days. Destroying all myths that farming is a profession for poor and illiterate farmers of India, the Kisan show demonstrated that this community too is rich, educated and aware of the modern ways of life. Behind the facade of simple living and simple dressing, these people are also well versed with the intricacies of modern day living through the use of internet and social sites. Facebook, twitter,

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INDIA REPORT

International visitors at the Kisan 2013 show

Farmers and their families came in large numbers

BKT tyre on display at the show

google+, Youtube and Linkedin were avenues through which the show gained its popularity and passed on relevant information to the world outside. Registrations through internet and use of iPads seemed to be an integral part of the show proceedings.

SUV and car makers like Force Motors, Tatas, Renault and Maruti displayed their passenger vehicles for the rural community to feel and buy. These vehicles are aspired and bought today not only by those in the cities but those living in India’s rural hinterland.

In agriculture, it is important to learn new concepts and technologies. A dedicated auditorium screened agriculture related documentaries and short films. This was meant to educate the farmers and visitors on various

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agricultural practices, managing & maintaining farmlands and value addition of the farm produce.

These films were sourced from ICAR and other specialised agencies.

The Kisan show was organised at Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL) Ground, Pimpri, Pune.

It was closer to the city with all amenities within reach. The first two days were designated Business Days. It helped exhibitors to initiate business dialogue and share knowledge. There was also a separate pavilion for international exhibitors. A global exposure always helps Indian agriculture to understand new innovations and technology around the world.

As a tradition, the Kisan show 2013 was inaugurated by the first batch of farmers who visited the show. Government owned

Lamborghini Green Pro tractor

January 2014 / 43

INDIA REPORT Akashwani and Doordarshan joined hands with Kisan to be its media partners.

Some of the participants included: ASPEE INDIA: ASPEE India is a manufacturer and exporter of agriculture sprayers, crop dusters, and nozzles. It has a wide variety of sprayers ranging from Knapsack to Tractamount sprayers. All these were very much on display at the Kisan show.

BKT: BKT is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of off-highway tyres. It manufactures a wide range of agriculture tires. A giant BKT tractor greeted the visitors at the Kisan show.

ITL (Sonalika)

CAPTAIN TRACTORS: This Rajkot (Gugarat) based company deals with a wide range of Mini, Compact, Garden and Small tractors. They have small tractors at very affordable prices so that small farmers can satisfy their farming needs without having to think about cost. Captain Tractors Pvt. Ltd., was earlier known as Asha Exim Pvt Ltd. The company not only manufactures tractors for domestic markets but also for exports.

FORCE MOTORS: Pune-based Force Motors displayed its range of tractors as well as its utility vehicles meant for passengers. It had on display a small tractor meant for orchard farming.

John Deere

HONDA POWER PRODUCTS: Honda Power Products is engaged in the manufacturing of portable generators, water pumping sets and general purpose engines. it is one of the world’s largest power products company manufacturing a complete range of 4-stroke range of portable generators, water pump sets, multipurpose engines, brush cutters, lawn mowers and rotary tillers. With power supply almost unavailable across rural India, Honda portable generators are a big hit among this farming community.

INTERNATIONAL TRACTORS LTD (SONALIKA): This Hoshiarpur (Punjab) based company owned and managed by LD Mittal, has become a force to reckon with among the tractor manufacturers in India. The company’s pavilion at the show had on display not only its high range tractors but also one meant for the orchards. The company today manufactures and exports tractors from its facility in Hoshiarpur.

JOHN DEERE: John Deere is the world’s largest producer and seller of farm and industrial tractors and equipment. Their product range include tractors, combine harvesters, cotton harvesters, balers, planters/seeders and sprayers. The huge machines were on display at the show.

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Eicher Tractors

Force Motors

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INDIA REPORT

Mahindra Tractors

KUBOTA AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY: Originally from Japan, Kubota Agricultural Machinery India Pvt Ltd is based out of Chennai.

The global company currently produces a wide variety of products ranging from agricultural equipment, engines, construction machinery, housing supplies, pipes, vending machines and various environmentally friendly processing facilities. Primarily in the area of agricultural machinery, it has earned global renown for quality and reliability that has made it a leading brand in North America, Europe, and Asia. In fact, Kubota exports tractors more than 150 countries around the world.

MAHINDRA TRACTORS: Apart from its Arjun tractor, the company had on display its entire range of tractors and farm equipment. A leader in the semi urban and rural regions of India with its sports utility vehicles, the company also displayed its trusted passenger vehicles at the show. Mahindra Tractors are the number one tractor company in the world (by volume). From low cost tractors that cater to farmers with marginal landholdings, to higher performance tractors with superior features, Mahindra has a wide range of tractors. The Mahindra FES pavilion had all their products at display at the show.

Kubota

MTD: This company manufactures a complete range of products to suit every type of customer and every kind of lawn and garden. From affordable models to professional-grade, MTD offers the widest product range available. Special area was earmarked within the who grounds by the company to demonstrate its products.

NEW HOLLAND : New Holland agricultural products include tractors, combine harvesters, balers, forage harvesters, self-propelled sprayers, haying tools, seeding equipment, hobby tractors, utility vehicles and implements. The company took up a huge space to display its range of tractors and other agri products.

MTD

New Holland

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SAME DEUTZ-FAHR: Subsidiary of the Italian SDF group, the Indian company focuses 40HP and above tractors. The company launched the iconic Lamborghini tractor at the show, a 30HP tractor with hydrostatic transmission. SDF tractors are known for their drive comfort and great power.

TATA CHEMICALS: Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium are key agro-nutrients for crops. Tata Chemicals is present in all three crop nutrition groups through its fertilizer product base. The company had on display an array of products for the farming community.

January 2014 / 45

INDIA REPORT

The Lamborghini bull is ready to plough India

T

he Lamborghini bull is ready to plough the Indian farmland. Italian farm equipment major Same Deutz-Fahr (SDF) group has introduced its

46 / January 2014

iconic tractor brand Lamborghini in India. The company unveiled a 30-horse power (HP) tractor with hydrostatic transmission (automatic) at a Kisan agricultural fair in Pune.

The company, through its wholly owned subsidiary SDF India, manufactures a range of tractors from 40HP to 80HP at its Ranipet plant, near Chennai.

It also manufactures and exports Lamborghini tractors in the 40HP to 80HP range from India. The SDF group has four brands — SAME, Deutz-Fahr, Lamborghini and Hurlimann. The Indian company only sells the DeutzFahr brand in the country.

Not only is the company planning to sell the Lamborghini tractors in India, but the company will also be introducing three new models under the DeutzFahr brand in the 35HP, 40HP and 45HP in the Indian market in 2014. This will be followed by 85HP, 90HP and 100HP tractors in the year 2015. The company also showcased a brand new side shift gear that would be fitted as part of the standard equipment in all its products in India.

Says Bhanu Sharma, Managing

Director and CEO, “The beautiful and iconic Lamborghini tractor is targeted at affluent farmers, golf courses, vine yards and luxury resorts. On the other hand, the introduction of our new 35-45HP range in 2014, which is the most popular configuration pertaining to tractors in India, will complete our entire product range in this market . We will follow this up with the launch of the 100HP range category, in which we have always excelled globally.”

SDF group had gained ownership of the Lamborghini brand of tractors in 1973 following the acquisition of Trattori Lamborghini, founded by Ferruccio Lamborghini — creator of the Lamborghini cars. The car business of Lamborghini is under Automobili Lamborghini SpA, which is a part of the Volkswagen Group.

SDF India currently produces Lamborghini tractors in the range of 40HP to 80HP, but globally

(L-R) Aurelio Noto, Plant Director and Bhanu Sharma, MD and CEO, SAME DEUTZ-FAHR India The Ranipet plant has a capacity to produce 18,000 tractors and 25,000 engines annually, catering to both domestic and export demands.

It makes the higher HP range Lamborghini tractors here at the plant and exports them to SDF globally. Sharma said the 30HP Lamborghini tractor will be used to get a feedback from prospective customers in India, before the company thinks of distributing them in India.

these tractors are in the range of 30HP to 250HP. “The one we got for the Kisan show has come as a CBU from our parent company. We shall test market it and see the responses. We have to identify the geographical segment for this tractor. Once we get the right direction we shall start some localisation,” says Sharma. This is the first time in India that a tractor is coming with hydrostatic transmission. In short it is an automatic. Sharma says he

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INDIA REPORT has been approached by owners of golf courses, resorts and even rich film stars who own tracts of land near the city where they live. “It can be used at the cricket grounds of India where you have to keep the grass safe and have a premium brand of equipment. By end of 2014, we shall start selling them in India,” he points out.

Speaking to Motown India magazine, Aurelia Noto, Plant Director, Same Deutz Fahr India noted, “Our plant in Ranipet produced Euro IV engines this year. By next year we shall assemble 24,000 engines for exports alone. For engines we have already done the capacity expansion. Our biggest customer is our group. We sell it to Germany, Australia, Africa, South East Asia, Latin America and North America”.

SDF, AHEAD OF THE REST IN TECHNOLOGY Many Indian tractor manufacturers still continue to use old technology when it comes to gears. The sliding mesh gear system where one has to stop the tractor and change the gear is still in use

Bhanu Sharma, posing next to the Lamborghini tractor in the country. A slightly more advanced technology has come with the constant mesh gear system. This was again followed by synchromesh or partial synchromesh gears. All SDF tractors come with synchromesh gears. “It is an inbuilt feature in our tractors. A lot of Indian tractor companies offer them as an option. The continuously variable transmission (CVT) is not there

An air-conditioned SDF tractor

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in India yet. The Indian market is driven by price sensitivity. People are generally offering sliding mesh or constant mesh. Our entire range from 40HP to 80HP comes with fully synchromesh gears,” says Sharma.

The side shift gear is the second feature of the gears. A tractor with a central shifting lever can have a constant mesh or sliding mesh. A side shift gear can also be a constant mesh.

The SDF tractors not only have a synchromesh gear but now also come with a side shift gear system.

While the company today has a capacity to manufacture 18,000 for tractors and 25,000 for

engines per annum, it currently makes around 8,000 tractors and 15,000 engines per annum.

In 2014 the company expect to make 25,000 engines. “Currently our exports and domestic consumption are in the ratio of 70:30. When our 35HP tractors are introduced in India in 2014, then this ratio will change to 50:50. We shall be launching the full range from 35HP to 45HP in 2014. In 2015 we shall come with 85HP, 90HP and 100HP tractors.

When we start making 100HP tractors for India, we shall also be exporting it. These tractors will be manufactured in India but not elsewhere in the world,” informs Sharma.

An SDF side shift gear system on display

January 2014 / 47

INDIA REPORT

EIMA Agrimach India 2013 held in New Delhi Report: Avishek Banerjee, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

T

he third edition of EIMA Agrimach India 2013, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Federation of Italian agricultural machinery manufacturers FederUnacoma (the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation), in conjunction with the Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), was held in Delhi during December 5 to 7, 2013. Some of the sponsors for the fair were John Deere (Principal), New Holland (Platinum), BKT (Gold), Shaktiman (Silver), and Howard (Silver).

The show hosted 270 exhibiting companies from India, Europe, USA, China, Korea and Japan, and was spread over an area equivalent to more than 15,000 sq metres. Various companies displayed its range of tractors, farm mechanisation solutions and specialised agri services at the EIMA Agrimach India 2013.

The event is inspired by EIMA International, the second largest exhibition and conference on farm mechanisation in the world.

At a forum held before the inauguration, industry analysts stated that the Indian farm equipment industry is expected to grow over the next five years at an annual rate of 5pc and 8pc. The forum, which was the 4th World Summit on Agriculture Machinery, gathered key agriculture stakeholders, decision makers and influencers from around the world to identify issues in today’s world agriculture and share solutions for the future.

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INDIA REPORT

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January 2014 / 49

INDIA REPORT

John Deere India rolls out sugarcane harvester for 1.4 crore Discerning the twin trends of manual labour crisis and booming mechanised farming in the Indian farming sector, John Deere India Private Limited launched its sugarcane harvester CH 330 specifically designed to work in the Indian farming conditions for 1.4 crore. The wholly-owned subsidiary of Deere & Company, USA, has stated that the product is tailormade for the Indian agricultural market and it is aiming to sell 20 units in the initial phase.

This machine is however imported as a CBU from its plant at Thibodaux, Louisiana, USA. However, the entire R&D for this product has been done in India as it caters to the Indian farmers. The CH 330 was unveiled at the EIMA Agrimach 2013 in New Delhi.

The product was unveiled by Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Tariq Anwar who handed over the keys to the customers from Maharashtra.

Satish Nadiger, Managing Director of John Deere India, said, “The company’s success around the world has been because of the focus on customer and on meeting the needs of many different markets. In India, this has been our strategy and we shall continue to invest and

50 / January 2014

bring products and programmes that help farmers move from subsistence levels to become business entrepreneurs.”

The CH 330 is the only fourwheel drive sugarcane harvester in India which is powered by a 6.8-litre six-cylinder inline diesel engine that churns out 198bhp and has a maximum traveling speed of 18kph. The CH 330 features slip prevention control and hydrostatic propulsion system which allows the operator to operate in three different ‘shifton-the-go’ ranges. The harvester also features hydrostatic dynamic braking and is customised specifically to tackle India’s small

sugarcane fields having narrow row spacing and heavy crop yields. In the initial phase, John Deere India would focus on its sales in sugarcane growing states of Punjab, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Karnataka.

John Deere established the India tractor business in 1997 as a 50:50 joint venture company with Larsen and Toubro Limited (L&T). In 2005, John Deere acquired the remaining shares in the joint venture. The India tractor business includes a fully integrated manufacturing facility, John Deere Pune Works with three focus factories - Engine, Transmission and Vehicle

Assembly. Spread over 112 acres with 50,000 square metres of covered area at Sanaswadi, Pune, it produces tractors from 35 to 75HP for both domestic and international markets. These include North and South America, Europe and South East Asia.

Meanwhile, the John Deere Technology Center - India (JD TCI), which began its operations in February 2005, is now actively working on India-specific tractors which will also be marketed worldwide. To be taking on SDF India’s upcoming India-specific tractor, the product is likely to be positioned in the affordable segment of the market.

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INDIA REPORT

New Holland showcases its suite of solutions New Holland Agriculture, Platinum Sponsor of EIMA AgriMach 2013, showcased its offering of tractors and crop solution products for sustainable farming at the show, It also launched the new High Clearance 4510 tractor, ideal for cotton growers. The display included a selection of New Holland tractors manufactured at its production plant in Greater Noida.

Also on show were the brand’s crop solution products, as well as a sugarcane harvester and tractor of strategic partner brand Case IH. New Holland also performed demonstrations of its square baler on paddy straw and displayed a Gyro rake and a fertilizer broadcasterin the outdoor demonstration area.

Rakesh Malhotra, Head of New Holland Fiat India, mentioned on the occasion of this

event: “EIMA AgriMach India is a key event for the promotion of mechanisation in agriculture in India. For us at New Holland Fiat India, it is a great opportunity to showcase our complete solutions for sustainable farming and help develop an efficient and productive agriculture with our innovative and reliable products, our training programs and

technical support.”

New Holland’s display at the exhibition represented well its wide offering of tractors developed for the specific conditions and requirements of Indian agriculture. On show were the 90HP TD5.90;the 55HP 3630 TX Special Edition, equipped with features such as Sky Watchtechnology, 12+3 gearbox,

and OE fitted music system; the 75HP 7500 and the 47HP 4710 in 4 wheel drive version; and the brand new high clearance version of the 42HP 4510, which is particularly well suited for the cotton growing regions of the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.

The display also included partner brand Case IH’s rugged and dependable 65HP Farmall 65 tractor, which offers all the power and hydraulics needed for field preparation, seeding, harvesting, mowing, loading and haulage.

The New Holland tractors on display were meantfor both the domestic and export markets, except the 3630 TX Special Edition, which is specific to the Indian market.

Approximately 20pc of the Greater Noida facility’s production is exported to over 50 countries around the world.

Mahindra FES displays Arjun Mahindra & Mahindra’s Farm Equipment Sector displayed its range of tractors, Farm Mechanization Solutions and Specialised Agri Services at the EIMA Agrimach India 2013.

On display were tractors ranging from 15HP to 85HP which included the Mahindra Yuvraj 215, India’s first 15HP tractor with single cylinder fuel efficient engine and side shift gear, the Mahindra 265 Power Plus Potato Special, the Mahindra 595, the Arjun 605 DI Ultra - 1 DLX MAT,

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a multi application tractor with suitable features such as the 4 cylinder fuel efficient engine, synchro shuttle and synchromesh transmission and the 85HP Arjun International with an air conditioned cabin and 4 wheel drive.

FES also showcased the Swaraj brand of tractors; these included the Swaraj 825 XM, Swaraj 744 XM, Swaraj 735 FE and 855 XM with large front tyres. Mahindra’s AppliTrac exhibit offered farm mechanisation solutions like the

Gyrovator. Mahindra AppliTrac focuses on offering the Indian

farmer agri-mechanisation solutions.

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INDIA REPORT

Assam SAII Motors launches Rhino XT 2022 DI tractor Assam SAII Motors Private Limited launched its first tractor range Rhino XT 2022 DI at EIMA Agrimach INDIA, 2013. The company is targeting to manufacture 3,000 tractors this fiscal year and the range of tractors is range is priced between 3 - 3.5 lakh. Developed in collaboration between Chinabased Xingtai, the product will be rolled out from the Indian firm’s greenfield facility at Faridabad. The companies are looking forward to investing in the manufacturing facility phase wise over the next couple of years in India “The Rhino XT 2022 DI tractor comes with a powerful PTO for multifarious farm activities and boasts of a haulage capacity of maximum 3 tonnes. An adjustable front width, fuel efficient double cylinder water cooled direct injection engine, a stable gear box and advanced features like automatic depth, draft control system, digital instrument cluster with hour-meter and single gear lever for speed and high-low makes Rhino XT 2022 DI the most user friendly and effective in its class. The company has also unveiled the tractor in multiple aesthetics giving the farmers the right to exercise their choice of colour,” the company said.

The brand “Rhino” entered the agricultural sector with RHINO 15 DI power tiller in 2008 and since then has strengthened its portfolio with new products like the RSP120 self propelled reaper and Rhino Super DI power tiller.

The 22HP tractor uses technology from China’s Xingtai First Tractor Company Ltd and features power steering, automatic depth,

52 / January 2014

Manoj Chhawchharia, Chairman, Assam SAII Motors Pvt. Ltd

draft control system (ADDC), fully modern gearbox with single lever for speed high and low and advanced digital instrument cluster.

Speaking on the occasion, Manoj Chhawchharia, Chairman, Assam SAII Motors Pvt. Ltd. noted, “Our expertise has always aimed at empowering the farmer, be it in India or globally. We want to improve farm lifestyles by making

hard work easier, increasing yields, and help the farmers prosper. With Rhino XT 2022 DI

tractor, we aim to redefine the marginal tractor market in India and emerge as a market leader.”

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INDIA REPORT

SIMCOMVEC 2013

Focus on key technology issues relevant to mobility engineering Report & Photography: Jayashankar Menon

H

undreds of Indian and foreign delegates comprising automotive industry experts, government officials and the academia focussed on a host of key technological issues relevant to mobility engineering as they participated, shared their views and debated during the 8th SAEINDIA International Mobility Conference & Exposition and Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress 2013 (SIMCOMVEC) held at the Chennai Trade Centre, Nandambakkam from December 4-7, 2013.

The show was organised by the Society of Automotive Engineers India (SAEINDIA), the largest affiliate of SAE International, USA. More than 60 firms showcased their technology and products in the exposition. The four-day event focused on ‘Technologies for Safe, Green and Connected Vehicles’.

Over 800 individuals from the global and domestic automotive horizon attended the event, thus providing a platform for exchange of ideas and knowledge in order to continue nurturing the growth path through solutions and opportunities for sustainable mobility technologies.

Dr K Rosaiah, Governor of Tamil Nadu formally inaugurated the conference by lighting the traditional lamp. Srivats Ram, Steering Committee Chairman of SIMCOMVEC 2013 and the Managing Director of Wheels India Limited (part of TVS Group) and Shrikant R Marathe, President

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of SAEINDIA and the Director of premium nodal agency, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) graced the occasion. Vinod Dasari, Managing Director of Ashok Leyland and Dr Donald Hllebrand, President of SAE International delivered the special L to R: Dr K Rosaiah, Governor of Tamil Nadu, Vinod Dasari, Managing Director of Ashok Leyland, Srivats Ram, Steering Committee Chairman of SIMCOMVEC 2013 and address. Later, the Managing Director of Wheels India Limited (part of TVS Group) and Dr Donald the Governor Hllebrand, President of SAE International released the technical magazine, opportunities and challenges global challenges and to raise titled: ‘Mobility Engineering’, in mass transportation and skill the bar for innovation, improved published by SAEINDIA. development for employability. processes and technology Dr.Arunkumar Sampath, Chairman While speaking at the inaugural upgradation”, he pointed out.

– SIMCOMVEC 2013 Organising event, Marathe noted: “We are Marathe said that hybrid Committee and General Manager, delighted to host SIMCOMVEC vehicles and fuel cell cars will Monocoque Platform, Mahindra 2013 as it allows us to bring assume greater importance in & Mahindra delivered the vote of global and Indian automotive future and the Indian Government thanks. leaders to showcase their is giving an impetus and technologies that address the encouragement to these areas.

GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR needs of sustainable mobility “Development of these vehicles INDUSTRY EXPERTS solutions for today and the future. will need to have tremendous SIMCOMVEC 2013 turned out These technologies have become local efforts along with smart to be a great opportunity for a competitive advantage for import of global technology. industry experts, Government manufacturers and are gaining SIMCOMVEC 2013 has created officials and the academia to get wide acceptance with customers”. the opportunity to tie all these a 360 degree view in the arenas of “India is making significant together and share best practices, emissions technologies, alternate contribution towards R&D for success stories and learn from fuels and power train, emerging such technologies. Automotive each other’s experiences. The trends in electronics and OEMs are investing heavily in conference theme is to create vehicle connectivity, advanced R&D, as overseas players are right emphasis for preparing the manufacturing methodologies, creating R&D hubs in the country. industry for future growth”, the besides gaining insight on These initiatives are to address official added.

January 2014 / 53

INDIA REPORT Dr Arunkumar Sampath said, “The conference theme is aptly chosen as ‘Technologies for Safe, Green and Connected Vehicles’, focusing on key technology issues relevant to mobility engineering.

I am glad to share my joy that even during the current economic situation the response from the mobility engineering community to both the mobility conference and the commercial vehicle engineering congress has been outstanding. More than 60 firms showcased their technology and products in the exposition.

Besides that, this technology exposition is featuring vehicles with green and connected technologies related to advanced engine combustion and emission, alternate propulsion, voice activated controls and advanced navigation system”.

“The highlight of the Conference is the panel discussion moderated by Dr Arun Juara with participation from leaders encompassing the entire mobility fraternity. The topic is rightly chosen as ‘Developing Tomorrow’s Synergistic Solutions for Commercial & Personal Mobility in Emerging Markets’.

SAEINDIA has been collaborating with several major industry players to organise professional development programmes to disseminate knowledge on recent technological trends and their applications to the Indian mobility industry. In this context, two professional development programmes were organised in line with the theme of the Conference – one focusing on Current and Future Safety Trends in Automotive Industry’ and the second touching upon ‘Connected Vehicles’. The topic on Safety was organised with active participation from WABCO, Mahindra and Applus IDIADA and the course on Connected Vehicles was arranged based on technical information and vehicle demo from Ford, Microsoft and Vodafone – a first of its kind”, he added.

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140 TECHNICAL PAPERS PRESENTED In addition to 140 technical papers which were presented during the conference in 32 different technical sessions on varied topics, it also had a dedicated session for student paper presentation. Besides these, SIMCOMVEC 2013 had organised an exclusive exposition featuring global and local technology giants showcasing their products and service prowess that included Ashok Leyland, Michelin, TAFE, Continental, Eaton, TCS, Turbo Energy, Vel Tech University,

investments’, Dasari concurred.

According to him, the automotive industry as well as the Government had to work in tandem in order to prioritise technologies and finally framing regulations for the Indian market.

What is more, the automotive sector also needs to innovate and offer affordable solutions, in order to meet the said regulations”, he added.

While urging for a cohesive focus on cleaner technologies, Dasari stated: “Cleaner technologies are the need of the hour, as it would address a gamut of issues including burgeoning

Dr. Donald Hllebrand, President of SAE International and Shrikant R Marathe, President of SAEINDIA

MRF, SRM University, Toyota Kirloskar Motors, Siemens-LMS International, CATEDC, John Deere and many more.

Dasari laid emphasis on framing a new ‘Auto Fuel Policy’ that would eventually address the need for emission controls and alternate fuels. The official further pointed out that the policy makers also give fillip on public transportation and faster vehicle retirement.

“This will encourage the commercial vehicle industry and help us plan our future

fuel bills, mounting trade deficits, along with pathetic ambient air quality across the country, especially in the urban centres.

Therefore, a renewed focus on public transportation and vehicle retirement programmes are very crucial. These programmes, when implemented, will bring in newer vehicles that would eventually help addressing these issues”.

He further pointed out that with the current recession - which comes after clocking 17 percent compound annual growth rate between 2005 and 2012 - this is

the good time for introspection.

In fact, this is an excellent opportunity for the automotive industry to do gear up for the future growth. The commercial vehicle segment has direct link with the state of the economy, infrastructure investments, public transportation and logistics industry, the official said while highlighting the importance of CV industry.

DEMAND FOR BETTER TECHNOLOGIES Stressing the importance of better technologies, Governor Dr K Rosaiah said: “Of late, the consumers are more particular about getting better technologies, fuel efficient vehicles and excellent connectivity at lower costs. Therefore innovative design concepts should be in place in order to fulfill the ever increasing demands of consumers.

In his address, Srivats Ram pointed out, “The Indian automotive industry is emerging as the preferred choice of destination for automotive players across the globe. The need to understand the mobility challenges of growing urban centres in the country and find safer and greener technologies will help in integrated transportation network.

Technologies offer numerous possibilities to address problems and India, with a well-developed infrastructure in place, especially in the IT sector can use this to an advantage and combine it with its automotive strengths”.

Stating that SIMCOMVEC 2013 was the first ever event being organised in India which was presenting a platform for technologies for both personal mobility and commercial vehicles, he said, “The automotive industry is evolving technologies driven by the changing consumer requirements to be green, connected and safe. While SAEINDIA has been organising a biennial automotive mobility conference for a number of

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INDIA REPORT years, this year, for the first time at SIMCOMVEC 2013, we are bringing an engineering conference that covers not only the car industry but also the commercial vehicle and off-highway segments. This conference has a wide spectrum of mobility, increasingly relevant to the development of our industry and country in the future. An impressive line-up of international and Indian speakers, R&D experts, engineers and policy makers representing automotive OEMs and suppliers, academia and the Government took part in the event. I am sure that the conference had enhanced knowledge sharing for mobility engineers and provided them with great networking opportunity with global and Indian leaders”.

GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT Dr Hillebrand, in his address, said, “This is the first ever event being organised in India which is presenting a platform for synergy in technologies for commercial vehicles and personal mobility.

India has been under the global spotlight for being a dynamic automotive market with frugal engineering at its fore. This conference has helped identifying best practices and standardised technologies for the future”.

“The challenges all of us face in the mobility engineering profession are many. But, so too are the solutions and opportunities. That is what this event is all about – solutions.

SIMCOMVEC 2013 combined the SAEINDIA International Mobility Conference, now in its eight year, and, for the first time ever, the Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress India,” he said.

David L Schutt, CEO, SAE International said: “This unique event blended the SAEINDIA Mobility Conference and the Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress India, which offered timely information and perspectives for all the

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engineering professionals in the automotive and commercial vehicle industries. The agenda was packed with relevant technical sessions and networking opportunities. With the theme of ‘Technologies for Safe, Green and Connected Vehicles’, the conference was enriching both personally and professionally”.

He had a word of praise for Chennai as well. “The city of Chennai served as the perfect location for us to gather.

Chennai for long has been a vital destination for R&D organisations, technical centres, major suppliers, OEMs and educational institutions”.

subsidies will aid in promoting the use of vehicles that are more environment friendly and also help in conservation of resources.

E-mobility will be at the core of sustainable mobility solutions”.

“As India progresses on its development path, access to affordable and sustainable mobility will be of key importance. With increasing urbanisation and the development of cities, there is a need for a seamless network that is safe and fuel efficient.

The entire value chain of the automotive industry will have to come up with innovate technologies that make initiatives such as improved fuel economy, connectivity and safety, more affordable for consumers and help the country progress on a growth path. Over the past 15 years, we have witnessed the maturing of Indian automotive ecosystem and today, the Indian market offers enormous potential for the automobile business.

It is the advantages of this ecosystem and the potential of the market that has attracted many multinationals to Indian shores, resulting in a very vibrant automotive industry”, Goenka said.

“Keeping in mind, India’s unique challenges and future opportunities, the industry needs to chart out a definite plan for the future. The theme of SIMCOMVEC 2013 is aptly chosen as ‘Technologies for Safe, Green and Connected Vehicles’. The conference thus has channelised innovative minds from the global automotive community to congregate and exchange ideas. Going forward, innovative design concepts will lead the way towards sustainable, safe and connected vehicles, in line with the ever changing customer demands and loyalty”, Goenka added.

Marathe pointed out, “In future, there will be a need for the Indian automobile industry to work closely with infrastructure development. The commercial vehicle customers find more ways to save money for their business while also being environmentally conscious. SIMCOMVEC 2013 has been a strong platform for bringing together the best practices from the industry to anticipate the demand of the discerning customers and to seamlessly integrate innovative solutions for a comprehensive automotive ecosystem”.

VALEDICTORY EVENT At the valedictory function, Dr T Ramasami, Secretary – Department of Science and Technology, Government of India presided, while Dr Pawan Goenka, Patron – SIMCOMVEC 2013 and Executive Director and President, Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Marathe and Dr Arunkumar Sampath were present on the occasion.

The immense support from the industry helped SAEINDIA to put together a benchmark event. SIMCOMVEC 2013 attracted four plenary sessions and a panel discussion from eminent industry experts, around 140 technical papers and participation by an estimated 75 exhibitors from the automotive fraternity.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Goenka noted, “Emerging markets have a great potential for sustainable vehicles and cleaner energy.

While OEMs are investing in R&D for better technologies and alternative fuel, Mahindra XUV5OO Powertrain on display at the SIMCOMVEC 2013 having Government

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INDIA REPORT

INTERVIEW WITH JORG LUTZNER Head of Services & Commercial Vehicles, Continental Automotive GmbH How has been your experience at SIMCOMVEC? Compared to the typical exhibitions and expos I participate in Europe, it is a much bigger attendance, which fascinates me. I really appreciated the questions that came up after the high quality presentations, incredible and lively discussions which were thought provoking and motivating. I want to appreciate the commendable job done by the organizers for organizing such a large scale event. I did attend few of the sessions myself.

What is your key take away?

It is very worthwhile because of the skillful and large audience here. I offer to participate again and would also recommend this to other colleagues in Germany to support such conferences.

The technical sessions give us intensive feedback about technology trends. Besides, the intellectual knowledge enrichment, it also provides a good networking opportunity.

With my previous visits to India where I had a chance to meet the truck manufacturers, I see a lot of my old friends from the commercial vehicles segment.

I come from an innovation background and here I get to understand the current trends and technologies by interacting with people from the major OEMs, Tata, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra and more.

Legislation is one of the major drivers especially for commercial vehicles, for commercial vehicles are not really about comfort or building and lifting the brand value with the latest technology. CVs are about reducing the overall cost, total cost of ownership and are

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dependent on the Government policies which support the market with right legislative measures.

Amongst Continental products, a few of them like airbags are universal. So with what other products do you see this kind of synergy?

If you go back to our history, we have been designing and manufacturing products like instrument clusters and on the face of it you don’t get a lot of synergies. But behind all of it is always a platform, which gives economies of scale with regard to development effort.

This is the field where we have standard solutions which only needs to be programmed. This is perfect for the customer, who needs a quick solution with low development effort, which is also typical of the Indian market. We also try to find economies of scale for body control units where we have a platform which realises its function just by software programming. This is the need of the hour when you have low volumes and you can turn this around in less than a year.

With many of the CV manufacturers you already have an established relationship, more specifically European companies. Will you be continuing this business relationship when they enter Indian market?

We see every company as a global manufacturer. No manufacturer will compromise on anything that is to do with their brand equity. For us a manufacturer is equally important in all the countries and we give them the same support worldwide.

Given the current market slowdown across the globe, what will be your priority? Is it developmental activities or research?

Agility is the key. You have to have the capability to increase your capacity at relatively short notice. If you can’t fill your capacity, you should perhaps compensate it with products from other BUs or Divisions. So the factories which have diversified production capabilities and manufactures multiple products, survive through the situation, where not everything plummets at once. This also implies to the human resources. In India, we are implementing cross skilling initiatives, which can help the employees as well as the company. Skill not only refers to manufacturing but also to engineering competence, wherein if the engineers in one location are underutilised, looking into other locations where they are over loaded,

engineers can be deployed accordingly. The Tech Centre in Bangalore works with a mix of local with global projects and hence this enables us to make the most of the employees.

Whenever there is a situation of economic crisis, recession etc, we do not stop development of technology but concentrate on the future and keep the development function going where our competence lies.

What is the share of business for commercial vehicles for Continental globally?

I wouldn’t disclose the numbers but we can say our market share is directly proportional to the number of cars and commercial vehicles produced.

What do you think are the comparison points between India & China?

I find it difficult to compare.

The markets have different infrastructure in terms of roads, legislation and adherence.

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INDIA REPORT

INTERVIEW WITH KRISHNA TAKSALI Business Development Manager, Deluxe Bearings Can you briefly tell us about your company Deluxe Bearings?

We are majorly into the production of clutch release bearings and we are the biggest manufacturers of clutch release bearings, steering bearings and king pin bearings. We cater to domestic customers like Ashok Leyland, Mahindra, Eicher Motors, Tata Motors etc.

For Ashok Leyland Boss, we are supplying clutch release bearings. We also supply parts to Sonalika Group. For Sonalika tractor, we supply steering bearings and for the SUV, Rhino, we provide clutch release bearings. In South, we supply steering bearings to Rane Steering and we also supply to ZF India. We supply bearings to all the Tata trucks. So, basically, our expertise is in the clutch release bearings segment.

We provide high temperature bearings. We are now penetrating to newer markets for clutch release bearings. We have developed technologies that will suit the Indian market.

We are now in the process of producing samples for Daimler India. They have realised that we are experts in the clutch release bearings segment and they have approached us. We have a turnover of around $20 million per annum.

Can you elaborate on the Daimler deal?

This is in design and development stage. Daimler has stringent quality norms.

When a customer approaches us, we start the process right from scratch. So the testing and the entire process are comprehensive. At every stage, there are people involved and there are testing happening at

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from aftermarket distributors, while the Pune plant caters to the domestic market. Pune is the main facility which manufactures clutch bearings, steering bearings and king pin bearings.

We have a huge market share in the steering and king pin bearings segments, which we are also planning to expand.

If you see the Pune plant, it is huge with seven and half acres area. We have a good angular shop, a heat treatment line and an auto assembly line. In fact, the Pune plant is new.

each stage. Right now, we have developed the bearings for Daimler and they are in testing stage. We will be submitting the samples soon.

What is the USP of Deluxe Bearings?

The USP of Deluxe Bearings is that when the customer comes to us with a problem or requirement, we design the bearing from scratch. Right now we are also trying to make and break into other markets like we make bearings for tensioners and idlers also. We make thrust bearings as well. And for general purpose bearings, we have an aftermarket section, which is totally different.

Tata Motors, we supply different kinds of bearings.

Is the Gujarat plant only for exports?

The Gujarat plant is mainly catering to exports. This plant manufactures suspension components and spherical roller bearings required for the domestic market. The facility mainly concentrates on exports.

We export parts to Mexico, Brazil, the US and more. Most of the export business comes

What is the kind of automation you have in Pune plant?

We are constantly developing low cost automations and at every stage we keep in mind the worker’s safety. We have projects every month for managers as a part of Kaizan.

We incorporate low cost automation. We are also trying to be an environment friendly company. We are trying to incorporate non-conventional energy resource. We are thinking of introducing solar energy. In that way, we can reduce our carbon footprint.

Does your company make bearings for cars?

We do supply small bearings for cars like the Tata Indica.

However, we supply parts to most of the commercial vehicle manufacturers. For MAN, we supply big bearings, bogey bearings used for bogey suspensions. To Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Eicher, Volvo and

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TÊTE-À-TÊTE

Amit Dakshini Chief Strategy Officer, Varroc Group

A US$ 1.2 billion dollar enterprise, the Varroc Group is a full service supplier of plastic moulded modules, mirror assemblies, seating assemblies, engine valves, machined forgings, exterior lighting and electrical systems to auto industry. It currently operates from 32 manufacturing plants and eight technical and development centers across three continents.

Based in Aurangabad, the Group has a diversified product portfolio catering to automotive companies worldwide with a workforce of 10,000+ employees.

Report: Motown India Bureau, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

Despite the recurring downturn in the automotive market, Varroc has done pretty well.

What do you think are the company’s key growth drivers?

The most important thing is that we anticipated the slowdown in the general economy and have prepared ourselves by de-risking.

Yes, there is a soft landing of sorts. While some OEMs have shown some signs of de-growth for the last one year, some of our customers are doing very well. Secondly, we have also diversified our product portfolio that has boosted our topline as well as our bottomline. Thirdly, our acquisitions (with Triom and

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Visteon) have been timed very well and have helped us grow the business inorganically.

Was adding new clients like Honda a part of your longterm gameplan to de-risk your business from a single client?

I won’t call it a de-risking strategy, but a growth strategy. This is because any player in the twowheeler industry will have a limit to its marketshare. So if an auto component maker has to enhance its operations organically, it has to look beyond a single customer.

De-risking becomes a by-product when you add new clients. The primary objective is to grow one’s

Varroc Group

business and become a global brand.

Have you identified any new areas of growth in your future course of action? If yes, could you tell us a little bit about that?

Let me give you a broader vision of our company. Our vision is to clock 20,000 crore in revenues by 2020 from 6,800 crore (on a consolidated basis) currently. Out of the said revenues, overseas business will contribute nearly 40pc of the total revenues. In the next 6-7 years, there will be new products which we will be focusing on. We have

recently opened a crankshaft facility for commercial vehicles at Aurangabad. That is itself a product diversification and we probably have one of the best manufacturing facilities in India.

We anticipate that once the commercial vehicle industry picks up, we will be able to leverage our investments in crankshaft facility.

Similarly, our two-wheeler lighting division will grow with the overseas acquisition that we are integrating seamlessly with our domestic operations. We might look at partnerships which will help us access new technologies as well as leverage our existing relationship with our customers.

Even within our existing businesses, our endeavour is to build relationships with customers (OEMs) which are not part of our

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existing portfolio today like Hero MotoCorp. We are also working on air filters in the two-wheeler and four-wheeler spaces. So it will be a combination of various factors which will propel our growth.

So two-wheeler segment will remain your core business?

Definitely, the two-wheeler segment will still contribute around 70pc to our domestic business. The remaining will be derived from the four-wheeler/CV space. The international business will be primarily driven by Varroc Lighting Solutions (VLS). Even in India, one of the focus areas will be to create more presence in the automotive lighting space.

We have a lot of interesting next-generation European technologies (with VLS and Triom) that we would like to leverage in the Indian market too.

Could you talk a little bit about your investment plans too?

We have already invested for short term and the focus is to

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utilise these capabilities in the short term. While we will get into new products and nextgeneration technologies in the long run, we will not be very capital intensive. Our investment plans will be driven by the expansion of our OEMs. For example, when Yamaha came up with its third plant at Chennai, we are also setting up our production unit there to cater specifically to them.Then we are looking at investing for a facility for serving Hero MotoCorp in Gujarat. For Honda (two-wheelers), we are heading to Pathredi (Rajasthan) for a greenfield facility.So it’s a footprint that we are following wherever our OEMs are spreading their base, especially for our Polymer business.

Could you talk a little bit about your R&D and other technical centres that you are running globally?

We have a dedicated R&D centre for polymer business wherein we have 100+ engineers working today. This will be ramped up

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TÊTE-À-TÊTE by twofold in the next few years.

There are two dimensions to our R&D operations. One is that we want to see more of our products to move from built-to-print to built-to-design solutions. So a lot of R&D work will happen in that space and we will make our proprietary solutions for our OEMs. The second dimension is in the existing product range; we need to probably look at solutions and advanced technologies and move out of commoditisation over a period of time. Apart from looking at new products and technologies, we are also constantly trying to be above the curve and invest in low-cost solution areas as well.

Advanced engineering for nextgen technologies will be a key focus area.

It’s a known fact that polymers account for a large chunk of our overall business. Will it continue to contribute sizably to your overall business or will the equations change?

To give you a broader perspective, we have five business division: i.e.

Polymer, electrical, metallic, twowheeler-lighting and four-wheeler lighting. This is how we divide our business. I would say that each of the business lines are expected to grow in their own areas from where they are today. They are all tied up to the same customers and markets and I don’t think the percentage contributions will change drastically. So the polymer division today will grow mostly in the domestic business.

In the metallic division, which contributes around 16pc to the total business, our exports are expected to grow in the future. The electrical division which contributes around 18 pc of the business is expected to be our growth engine for proprietary products. The balance contribution would be derived from our two-wheeler and fourwheeler lighting divisions.

Coming back to your polymers division, are you looking at

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acquisitions in that space too?

As I mentioned before, the polymers business also has a lot of opportunities in the fourwheeler space. We are primarily present in the two-wheelers space. Although we work with M&M, Volkswagen, General Motors, Tata Motors and some of the CV players like VECV, our size of the business is small. In order to add more presence in the four-wheeler space, we will surely be looking at new technologies. If the right opportunity comes our way, we might look for strategic alliances or partnerships, but we are also working aggressively to develop in-house technologies to fuel our growth.

(aftermarket vertical) is not as large as the direct market, it’s still one of the key focus areas for us. We are widening our product portfolio, enhancing our distribution network and expanding our sales team to crystallise our growth plans.

Our strength in that space lies in franchised outlets and distribution chains. It is also driven by the kind of products that you are offering in the market. While we sell CDI systems (capacitor discharge ignition systems), regulator rectifier, starter motor, wiper motor,

global multinational giant?

Our vision is to become a global conglomerate and we will be working on multiple directions to further our objectives. On one hand, we will continue to enhance our base in the two-wheeler market by adding new customers (OEMs). Within each customer, we intend to get a larger share of business for all the product categories that we have. The second dimension is to sharpen our focus in the emerging geographies where two-wheeler and select four-wheeler markets fit into our product strategies.

mirrors, coils, filters, relays in the aftermarket, we plan to add some new products to its portfolio such as headlights of passenger cars, crankshafts and engine valves.

Our exterior Lighting business (VLS) forms an important facet to this dimension where we target to be the No.3 global lighting supplier. The third dimension is to selectively look at product technologies where we feel we will be able to build a reasonablysized business.We will also be embracing technologies which will enable us to become greener and leaner. For example, we have invested in solar power projects.

So if you combine all these dimensions, you will start to see a strategy emerging out of that.

You also seem to be working on integrated foam-type seat and foam-in-place technology?

When will you be launching them?

Yes. The product is for twowheelers and is still under development. It is a new product for us and is slowly gaining acceptance in the Indian market.

Your presence is largely in the mass market two-wheeler segments. Do you have any plans to expand your base to premium clients like Royal Enfield, Triumph, Hyosung or Harley in the domestic market?

We have premium segment clients such as Ducati as our customer today and some of the clients that you have mentioned are already served by us. We are holding discussions with some of them like Harley Davidson and some deals are expected to be inked in the next few years.

We are also keen to supply our products to Triumph. It is important to have them as our customers as it brings in a lot of value to our products and technological strength.

How big are you betting on the aftermarket division?

Currently, that vertical is not very big for us. Even though it

So is Varroc looking for an IPO too once it reaches the Rs. 20,000 crore mark?

Even though I cannot comment on the timeline, what I can say is that we are hopeful about those plans in seven years.

So what else do you have in mind to transform Varroc to a

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Samar Nath CEO, DHL Logistics Private Limited Report: Jayashankar Menon

DHL Logistics Private Limited DHL covers a gamut of end-to-end supply chain solutions, through its four business units namely, DHL Global Forwarding, DHL Supply Chain, DHL Express and Blue Dart. All put together, DHL in India has in excess of 16,000 strong workforce spread across 36,000 locations with 6.45 million square feet warehousing space.

Having established in India a long time ago, with the advantage of being an early entrant, India is one of the fastest growing markets for DHL.

What is DHL’s marketshare in India from the automotive related businesses, especially ancillaries, kits and parts logistics?

DHL is amongst the largest players in the global automotive market. DHL Global Forwarding commands a major market share in the Indian automotive and auto-ancillary segments. The automotive market contributes a sizable share towards DHL Global Forwarding’s overall revenue.

What is the share of growth seen by DHL region wise?

DHL Global Forwarding has a significant share of the automotive market in India.

While we are well entrenched in the west, we are aggressively focused on further increasing our market share in other parts of the country, particularly in the south.

Developing auto markets are under the spotlight as traditional centres of production and

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TÊTE-À-TÊTE consumption are shifting to these developing markets heightened by a number of factors. Coupled with environmental pressures, government interventions and fuel spikes, change is in the air.

DHL Global Forwarding will continue to focus on pan India growth to expand its automotive base in the country. In India, much of the growth is being driven by the country’s expansion as a small car hub, increased sourcing of auto components, expansion of the domestic dealer network, development of higher volume production plants and an increasingly global presence.

How does automotive as a vertical fare for DHL against other verticals like Life Sciences, IT etc.?

The innovative logistics solutions we provide support DHL’s strategic orientation to key global industry sectors, such as automotive, technology, life sciences/healthcare or energy.

DHL pools sector-specific expertise across all business areas and has, for instance, established special Automotive Competence Centres for the automobile industry worldwide. In these centres, DHL employees cater exclusively to the logistics needs of car manufacturers and their suppliers.

What is the year-on-year growth for DHL in the auto segment in India?

As the Indian automotive sector develops, so too has the contribution of this vertical to our bottom line increased over the years and remains bullish for the future. As an industry, automotive sector has always been advanced when it comes to logistics. New cost and competitive pressures and environmental issues have thrown up the need for more modular supply chain solutions created with global partners who can adopt local approaches and expertise. Nowhere is this

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need greater than in emerging markets challenged by the lack of infrastructure, expertise and processes.

Can you name a couple of auto brands you cater to globally out of India?

Globally, DHL is the leading logistics service provider for the automotive industry, serving almost all vehicle manufacturers and suppliers worldwide. In India, we cater to most of the leading MNC and principal local automotive brands.

Can you talk about the network DHL has across the country.

Out of this, what will be the penetration level, down south?

DHL Global Forwarding has dedicated automotive teams that provide strategic consulting for a variety of customers – from international players seeking to expand their presence in the domestic market, to indigenous companies aiming to go global, servicing more than 50,000 customers across India.

What is more, our strong customer offering in India covers the entire spectrum of end-to-end supply chain solutions, through our four business units, namely: DHL Global Forwarding, DHL Supply Chain, DHL Express and Blue Dart. Collectively, DHL in India has over 16,000 employees spread across 36,000 locations with 6.45 million square feet warehousing space. Thus we are in a position to work closely with customers and ensure delivery of scalable and sustainable solutions, at any location in the country.

What are the expansion plans of DHL? DHL will continue to invest in innovative and cost-effective solutions to cater to the needs of our customers. With offices across the entire country, manned by our qualified employees, the company is strategically poised to enhance servicing capabilities, make

significant investments to further consolidate its leadership position and add considerable value to its service offering.

We recognise that the several opportunities and challenges in India are resulting in longer, more complex supply chains requiring increased control.

DHL emphasises the need to maximise on economies of scale, re-engineer manufacturing productivity and boost logistics efficiency for the growth of the automotive market.

What are the destinations DHL focuses on shipping auto parts globally?

DHL’s international network links more than 220 countries and territories worldwide which include the key global automotive markets, such as Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

Within India, DHL has dedicated automotive teams that provide strategic consulting for a variety of customers. Apart from the international players seeking to expand their presence in both the domestic market as well as companies aiming to go global, DHL services a large customer base in India.

Any other plans for 2014?

For global vehicle producers – and growing local brands – the challenges of meeting emerging market demand, dealing with

local requirements and increasing environmental imperatives will be just as complex as incorporating suppliers, assemblers and distributors from around the world, including emerging markets, into their value chain.

Combined, they create a tough challenge but those willing to take this up will enjoy sustained success and an unbeatable competitive advantage in these fast growing markets. Without doubt, the winners will be those who invest in sustainable supply chain management solutions.

Given the current economic condition across the globe, the most important aspect that customers seek before investing with a supply chain partner is their ability to adapt, collaborate, innovate and deliver value thus positively affecting their ROI on spends related to supply chain and logistics. Having worked with leading western and eastern automakers in every region and at every stage of the logistics process, DHL has both a macro and micro view of the issues they face in top emerging markets such as China and India. With its local and global expertise and in-depth knowledge of both the logistics and automotive markets, DHL has been delivering significant savings to customers and will strive to continue with providing this advantage to them.

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H.P. Nanda

DuPont India

Director - Strategy and Growth Initiatives, DuPont India Report: Motown India Bureau, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

DuPont is a well known chemicals firm which is focussed on developing innovative solutions for the automotive industry. What are the various themes that you are working on especially in the Indian market?

DuPont is a 211-year old science company. We work collaboratively to find sustainable, innovative, market-driven solutions to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, making lives better, safer, and healthier for people everywhere. We focus on three big global challenges- Food, Energy and Protection. We are

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also focused on developing innovative solutions for the automotive industry across eight automotive themes: Sustainability; Alternative Drive; Lightweighting; Improved Performance; Powertrain Efficiency; Total System Cost; Safety; and Comfort and Aesthetics (Design). Together we can find the right solutions and build cleaner, energy-efficient cars that people love to drive. The one which is most relevant for India is lightweighting.

Globally, one-fifth of DuPont’s business comes from the auto sector and this is expected to

grow multifold. Do you expect a similar trend in your Indian operations too?

The automotive segment is a strategic growth market for DuPont globally. We have been associated with this industry for more than 100 years. The very first car that rolled out from the assembly line of Ford Motor Company (at Detroit) was DuPont-painted. Even in India, the automotive segment is one of our strategic growth markets.

Currently, close to 10pc (US$ 100 million) of our total revenues (US$ 1 billion) are contributed by the automotive segment in

DuPont India is the wholly owned subsidiary of the US-based E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company.

DuPont’s relationship with India began more than 200 years ago when it received its first shipment of raw materials from India to produce black powder for explosives in 1802. Today, DuPont India markets a wide range of products in varied market segments.

With six production facilities in three locations, the DuPont Knowledge Center in Hyderabad and the DuPont India Innovation Center in Pune, DuPont India is delivering science-based solutions to address the needs of local markets. The material company has developed certain patented, composite-configurations trademarked under names such as Tyvek, Nomex, Zytel, Kevlar, Vamac and many others which are used in developing vehicle components such as fuel tank, oil filter module, air intake manifold, air cleaner cover, cylinder head cover, air ducts, engine mounts, fuel filler pipes, hoses, and multiple other parts.

Among the OEMs which use DuPont’s materials are Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai Motor, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Auto.

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TÊTE-À-TÊTE

India. Of course we are extremely optimistic about the long-term growth potential of this industry in India. This is because 1.6pc of the total Indian population are car owners today. There is a rising number of young people with a higher disposable income and conspicuous consumption.

Notwithstanding the downturn in the market in the last few quarters, we are quite confident that the long term growth story remains robust. Since we are offering scientific solutions to our clients, we should be growing faster than the automotive industry.

Does DuPont India collaborate only with OEMs or do they also partner with auto component firms to deliver both innovative and sustainable automotive solutions? And are any of your products supplied to end

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customers too?

Collaboration has always been our DNA and we firmly believe in our science-based solutions to truly make a difference. We make one of the advanced polymers which will be able to replace metals in the automobile to make them lighter, more efficient, eco-friendly and thereby improve the fuel efficiency. We also make the resins worldwide where it is possible to have the economies of scale. We bring those resins to India and do additional compounding which is then supplied to many plastic moulding companies based here. These plastic moulding firms then supply the products to tier-I component makers which finally gets fitted on to the OEMs’ finished product (vehicle) as an integrated systems supplier. So in this value chain, we have to work with the entire

stakeholders of the automobile industry. We have to work along with the OEMs to understand what their needs are from their buyers’ standpoint. We also have to gauge what capabilities and infrastructure facilities our tier-I suppliers possess. Then we have to finally go back and work with our plastic moulders. In the entire scheme of things, materials play a very tiny role and we have to think about combining multiple streams of science like prototyping, processing, designing, computer simulation, processing, and putting it all together and create a value. We also have a few products which go back to the consumers directly.

We have ‘Tyvek’ branded car covers which are sold directly to the end buyers through our value chain partners. ‘Tyvek’ protective vehicle covers were created in response to a need for a strong,

durable protective cover against the elements and environmental pollution. Vehicle covers made of DuPont Tyvek use a unique flashspunbonded process to create a fabric which resists water and damaging UV rays.

DuPont has opened its global innovation centre in Pune, which is incidentally its fourth such centre in the Asia-Pacific region, to address the needs of the automotive segment. So which are the key areas that this centre is focussing on?

And how many engineers are stationed there?

We strongly believe that we are in the world where speed and agility are extremely critical business imperatives. We cannot rely on conventional way of application or innovation development activities which could take ages. So keeping those trends in mind, DuPont

January 2014 / 65

TÊTE-À-TÊTE India established its innovation centre in Pune to focus on India’s fastest growing automotive industry. It is a strategic expansion primarily focussing on the automotive segment, and bringing automotive OEMs and component and system manufacturers together to develop effective solutions for the automotive industry. It operates as an interface between OEMs in India and 10,000 scientists and experts at DuPont’s 100 R&D Centres across the globe to provide solutions to help make automobiles faster, lighter, safer and more fuel efficient. The centre is developing products and solutions in six key areas that I have already spoken about. It is working on several forms of advanced materials and processes such as polymers, green materials, and alternate sources to develop

vehicle-specific components made of lighter composites. In this way, we can understand the problem of Indian consumers and try to delve deeper into their challenges and requirements and come up with solutions expeditiously. We focus on all the automotive themes that I have spoken about. ‘Lightweighting’ is one of themes that we are actively working on because it is of great relevance to India. Initially, it would employ 15-20 engineers which will be ramped up over the years based on the growth plans we have in the next few years.

The centre collaborates with its 500 scientists and engineers at the Application Development Centre in Hyderabad which was established a few years ago. So we are basically leveraging on the local science and technology talents for solving our global

challenges.

Do you foresee any change in the consumer’s choice when it comes to buying a vehicle? If yes, what solutions is DuPont India exactly offering to meet those choices?

The Indian consumers are smart and are evolving in their tastes and preferences. We have discerned the criticality of fuel efficiency for Indian vehicle owners. Safety is another critical area that we will be focusing on.

We have realised that airbags as a safety aspect is gaining a lot of prominence (in India). The number of consumers buying airbags-equipped cars is much higher than what the industry expected it to be. At the same time, the government also plays a very key role in propagating the safety aspects of a vehicle.

Just like the way the government made it mandatory to have seatbelts in cars and (wearing) helmets with two-wheelers, they can also consider the same for airbags for four wheelers. Comfort and aesthetics are another emerging areas for us. Factors such as the car’s aerodynamic design, shape, colour, interiors and exteriors, etc are making a huge difference in developing the final product. The fourth aspect which will contribute in a small percentage is the green products. Even though such eco-friendly cars are yet to gain mass acceptance, we do see some sort of presence of sustainable automobiles and that could be electric vehicles too. So we will be focussing on the automotive mega trends of the future: faster, lighter, safer and fuel efficient vehicles.

Your ‘Kevlar’ nylon hybrid cord fabric adopted by a handful of tyremakers here. So have you been able to offer this product to other tyremakers in India too?

This is a unique programme that DuPont is trying to roll out in India. If you look at truck and bus tyres in India, super bias tyres account for a major chunk of the volumes unlike radial tyres giving maximum volumes around the world. Moreover, there are two unique challenges in India. First among them are the potholed roads in this country. Secondly, overloading (of trucks) is pretty commonplace at every city’s street. So in such conditions, super bias tyres perform a lot better than radial tyres. So that’s why India is a unique country where such tyres are predominant.

So we actually work with these super bias tyre manufacturers and help them in improving their products’ performance so that they can deliver a better proposition to Indian consumers.

So that’s why we have thought about bringing in the ‘Kevlar’ nylon aramid fibre which is a

66 / January 2014

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TÊTE-À-TÊTE

high-strength material, has a higher resistance to extreme temperatures, and is used for many applications around the world. So we are working on ways to bring in the properties of ‘Kevlar’ and combine them as a mix with the nylon fibre cord and ultimately bring this value to the tyres. As the ‘Kevlar’mixed tyre is able to withstand high temperatures; the drivers can take the vehicle for a much longer distance. Furthermore, the blowout percentage of the tyres will go down. Thirdly, the rolling resistance of the tyres reduces thereby enhancing the fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

So these technical attributes helps our products to meet the unique challenges of the Indian market. What I can confirm at this juncture is that we are already working with the top three truck tyre manufacturers in the country

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for the last two-three years. Now they are in an advantage stage of development undergoing some fleet tests in different parts of the country in various climatic and road conditions. So we are hopeful to commercialise our products in the tyre market by next year.

With more than 10 million cars that are expected to hit the Indian roads by 2020, what sustainable solutions are you exactly working on? Can you talk a little bit about that?

Let me talk about a couple of solutions that we are working on. When asbestos was phased out globally, including India, we played the role of bringing in ‘Kevlar’ automotive brakepads.

The chopped aramid fibre, which has been used as a replacement for asbestos in brake pads, is utilised in a sustainable way thus

being environment-friendly. That is the first success story already in India. Secondly, we would be benefitting from Indian cars being exported to Europe. As you are aware, any new car introduced in the European market needs to be run on ultra-low global warming potential refrigerant at 4. The existing refrigerant has a global warming potential of 1,300.

So you can see the dramatic reduction in the global warming potential. And today, using our science, we have been able to develop that product which is approved by many OEMs selling their cars in Europe. So there is another sustainability solution that we are offering. Apart from developing sustainable materials like polymers, we are also eyeing ethanol blending as another business stream. Last but not the least, we are also betting big on turbocharging solutions. In a

country where 80pc of the crude oil is imported and where fuel efficiency is becoming a burning issue, we see increasing number of vehicles being turbocharged. A turbocharger not only enhances the fuel efficiency of the engine but also ensures that it complies with stringent emission norms. A turbocharged vehicle is also able to withstand higher temperature and higher pressure. And a turbocharging hose (that we make) is a very critical component in the entire process. If you look at turbocharging hose as a product, most of the materials are developed by us. We use our advanced elastometers, aramid fibres, and also PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) i.e.

Teflon and all put together we are able to make a turbocharging hose and meet two key things i.e. better fuel efficiency and stringent emission norms.

January 2014 / 67

GLOBAL REPORT

ASTON MARTIN, DAIMLER sign technical partnership agreements Daimler AG and Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. have signed an agreement for a significant technical partnership between Daimler, Mercedes-AMG GmbH, a 100pc subsidiary and highperformance brand of German automotive corporation Daimler AG, and Aston Martin.

Following the signing of a Letter of Intent in July this year, the two companies have continued to work together, exploring opportunities for cooperation and these discussions have resulted in the signing of definitive agreements.

The technical partnership will allow Mercedes-AMG and Aston Martin to develop bespoke V8 engines supporting Aston Martin’s

launch of a next generation of models that will incorporate cutting edge technology and newly-developed engines, combining high performance and fuel efficiency.

Daimler will receive up to 5pc non-voting shares in Aston Martin without cash consideration in several steps following the progress of the technical partnership. At the same time, the company will receive an observer status on the Aston Martin Holdings board. Daimler joins Aston Martin’s existing shareholder body that includes Prime Wagon, Adeem Investment and Investindustrial.

The parties are working to conclude the terms of an

additional cooperation for the supply of electric/electronic (e/e) components. Furthermore, the two groups will investigate additional areas of cooperation in the future. Aston Martin will continue to manufacture all of its sports cars at its Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire, England.

Tobias Moers, Chairman of the Management Board of MercedesAMG GmbH: “By signing the Umbrella Agreement and the Engine Agreement both parties have agreed to this technical partnership: Mercedes-AMG will provide the British icon Aston Martin with engines for their forthcoming sports cars. At our company´s headquarters in

Affalterbach we are proud to work with Aston Martin – this agreement is a real win-win situation for both sides.”

A spokesperson for the Aston Martin board said, “Our company is this year celebrating its centenary, and the partnership agreed underpins prospects for Aston Martin’s bright, vibrant and dynamic second century in the sports car business. This strategic collaboration for Aston Martin will, in our next generation of luxury sports cars, offer our customers increased performance and state-of-theart features whilst retaining the unique character and style of an Aston Martin.”

RENAULT inks alliance with Dongfeng of China Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Renault, and Xu Ping, Chairman of Dongfeng Motor, signed a contract for the creation of a new joint venture company for localised production in China: Dongfeng Renault Automotive Company (DRAC).

The final approval by the National Development and Reform Commission of China (NDRC) was granted on December 2, 2013. The investment for the 50/50 JV totals 7.76 billion CNY (€870 Million).

The Dongfeng-Renault joint venture will establish a new manufacturing plant which will start producing vehicles in 2016. The new plant will have an initial production capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year, with the potential for double that in the near future. This plant will be located in the capital of the Hubei province, Wuhan. The plant will cover a total area of 95 hectares

68 / January 2014

and will lead to the creation of 2,000 new direct jobs. DRAC’s product plan will begin with a new range of crossover vehicles under the Renault brand. At a later stage, the new joint venture will introduce a range of products under a local brand. Sales of locally produced vehicles will start in 2016.

The Renault brand has been present in the Chinese market with the imported cars such as Koleos and Fluence. Renault

is now swiching gear in China with plans for local production.

The Chinese new car market, now the world’s largest provides a significant new growth opportunity for Renault.

In 2013, Renault imported vehicles sales will exceed 30 000 vehicles in China (wholesales), thanks to the continuous success of Koleos. The Group is developing its network, set to grow from 92 dealers in 2013 to 120 dealers by 2016.

DFG chairman Xu Ping said, “The launching of the Dongfeng Renault project symbolises the start of a comprehensive cooperation between DFG and the Renault-Nissan Alliance. The project is a creative endeavour and practice in business model under economical globalisation trends. It is a vital milestone for DFG’s self-dependent development in opening process.

We expect Dongfeng Renault will bring fascinating products and customer satisfactions for the China auto market. We expect the success of Dongfeng Renault.

Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Renault said, “Dongfeng and Renault, as parent companies of DRAC, have been closely working together to ensure the future success of DRAC. Our partnership agreement is part of a long term strategy. The challenge is big and we are ready for it.”

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GLOBAL REPORT

Mary Barra becomes first woman CEO of GENERAL MOTORS General Motors has announced that Dan Akerson, who guided today’s GM to record profits and dramatic improvement in vehicle quality while closing the chapter on government ownership in the company, will step down as chairman and CEO on Jan. 15, 2014. Mary Barra, 51, executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, was elected by the Board of Directors to become the next CEO of the company. Barra will also join the GM Board.

The Board also named Theodore (Tim) Solso to succeed Akerson as Chairman. Solso, 66, is the former chairman and CEO of Cummins, Inc., and has been a member of the GM Board since June 2012.

“I will leave with great satisfaction in what we have accomplished, great optimism over what is ahead and great pride that we are restoring General Motors as America’s standard bearer in the global auto industry,” Akerson said in a message to employees.

With 33 years of experience at GM, Barra has risen through a series of manufacturing, engineering, and senior staff positions. She is a leader in the company’s ongoing turnaround, revitalizing GM’s product development process resulting in the launch of critically acclaimed new products while delivering record product quality ratings and higher customer satisfaction.

“With an amazing portfolio of cars and trucks and the strongest financial performance in our recent history, this is an exciting time at today’s GM,” said Barra.

“I’m honored to lead the best team in the business and to keep our momentum at full speed.”

Dan Ammann, 41, executive vice president and chief financial officer, was named company president and will assume responsibility for managing the company’s regional operations around the world. The global Chevrolet and Cadillac brand organizations and GM Financial will also report to Ammann.

Ammann joined GM in 2010

where his first assignment was to manage GM’s initial public offering. As CFO, he has led a transformation of GM’s finance operations into a world-class organization. He also led the strategy to rebuild the company’s captive finance capability through the successful establishment and growth of GM Financial.

“We have a significant opportunity to further integrate and optimize our operations to deliver even better results,” said Ammann. “While we have made good progress, we still have much work ahead of us to realize GM’s full potential.”

Ammann will retain CFO responsibilities at least through the release of the

company’s fourth quarter and full-year 2013 results in early February 2014. His replacement as CFO will be named later.

GENERAL MOTORS sells its stake in Peugeot, but keeps alliance intact General Motors has announced that it will sell its stake in PSA Peugeot Citroën, as the French company moves closer to tie up with Chinese carmaker Dongfeng.

The American auto giant announced it has completed the sale of its entire 7 percent stake in PSA Peugeot Citroen through a private placement to institutional investors. The private placement

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of 24,839,429 shares generated gross proceeds of €0.25 billion.

GM acquired the stake in PSA when it entered into its strategic alliance in March 2012, forming an alliance that was supposed to help both companies through one of the largest slowdowns in the European car market in the past two decades.

The announcements come

soon after GM emerged from government ownership and appointed Mary Barra as its next CEO. On its own the company has taken a huge step in the European market, withdrawing the Chevrolet brand name in the favour of promoting only Opel.

“Our equity stake was planned to support PSA in their efforts to raise capital at the time of

the creation of the GM and PSA alliance, and that support is no longer needed,” said GM Vice Chairman Steve Girsky.

“The alliance remains strong with our focus on joint vehicle programs, cross manufacturing, purchasing, and logistics.

We’re making good progress while remaining open to new opportunities.”

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GLOBAL REPORT

AUDI plans 22b investment through 2018

Picture: Body shop, Audi A3 Sportback Audi is launching an extensive investment programme for the next five years: Between 2014 and 2018, a total of around €22 billion (approximately 1,88,667 crore) will flow into new models, innovations and the continuous expansion of the worldwide production network. Seventy percent of the investments is intended for new models and technologies. The German sites will also benefit from the largest technical development and investment program in company history – more than half of the planned investment will go to the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm sites. Moreover, Audi also plans to create more jobs globally in 2014.

Rupert Stadler, Chairman

70 / January 2014

of the Board of Management at Audi AG, views the current investment program as an important component of the company’s growth strategy: “We had set the goal of 1.5 million deliveries per year by 2015, but we already achieved that quite comfortably in 2013. We are now decisively steering towards our next milestone of two million deliveries. This is why we are keeping our foot on the gas regarding investments and why we are hiring new employees in 2014.”

In all, the Ingolstadt-based company will invest around €22 billion in new models, innovative technologies and its worldwide production infrastructure in the next five years. Investment

in fixed assets will amount to €16 billion. In addition to the fixed assets, the new investment program includes €6 billion in capitalized development costs.

“With this investment program we are launching our next stage of growth,” said Axel Strotbek, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Finance and Organization. “In the future, we will be investing increasingly in new products: 70pc is intended for the modernization and expansion of the model range and for our portfolio of technologies.”

To achieve its goal of two million deliveries per year, the manufacturer of premium cars wants to expand its product range from the current 49

models to 60 different models by 2020. In addition to developing new models and alternative drive concepts, the current investment program also provides for the next generation of fuel-efficient engines, which will enable Audi to meet stricter emissions legislation worldwide.

In addition to the innovative Audi A3 Sportback e-tron and A3 Sportback g-tron, the brand with the four rings plans to launch the third generation of its design icon, the Audi TT Coupé, on the market in 2014. Just a few weeks ago, Audi also announced that it will be producing the new Audi Q1 in Ingolstadt starting in 2016. At the same time, Audi is expanding its production facilities around the world.

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TECHNOLOGY

Ford’s 3D-printed auto parts save millions, boost quality Ford has ushered in the next manufacturing revolution by 3D-printing parts to represent production components. 3D printing improves quality in Ford vehicles by providing engineers more time and freedom to optimise and test parts. Ford’s 500,000th printed auto part is a prototype engine cover for the all-new Ford Mustang The next steps in Ford’s 3D printing strategy are auto industry firsts – mixed material applications, continuous 3D sand printing and direct metal printing One day, millions of car parts could be printed as quickly as newspapers and as easily as pushing a button on the office copy machine, saving months of development time and millions of dollars.

Recent examples of Ford’s use of 3D sand printing include: 1.

2.

3.

Engine cover for all-new Ford Mustang Rotor supports, transmission cases, damper housings and end covers for new HF35 hybrid transmission for Ford C-MAX Hybrid, Fusion Hybrid Four-cylinder EcoBoost

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4.

5.

engines for new Ford Fusion Brake rotors for Ford Explorer; the rotors were modified using 3D printing late in development to fix a brake noise discovered in durability testing, which could have delayed initial launch Exhaust manifolds for 3.5 litre EcoBoost in Ford F-150

“For the customer, this means better quality products that also can be weight-optimized to help improve fuel efficiency,” explains Paul Susalla, Ford section supervisor of rapid manufacturing.

3D printing technology is making that day come sooner at Ford Motor Company. The development of the engine cover for the all-new Ford Mustang is the most recent example of the use of this technology.

Ford uses 3D printing to quickly produce prototype parts, shaving months off the development time for individual components used in all of its vehicles, such as cylinder heads, intake manifolds and air vents.

“This technology provides immense return for Ford and the entire manufacturing industry,” said Bill Russo, global director, Ford Powertrain, Manufacturing and Engineering.

With

traditional methods, an engineer would create a computer model of an intake manifold – the most complicated engine part – and wait about four months for one prototype at a cost of $500,000.

With 3D printing, Ford can print the same part in four days, including multiple iterations and with no tooling limits – at a cost of US$3,000.

3D printing saves millions of dollars in the product development process by eliminating the need for special tooling, or dedicated molds, for parts likely to change. The technology also allows engineers to experiment with more radical, innovative part designs inexpensively and quickly.

Ford now is looking to what’s next in its 3D printing strategy, including opportunities to print production parts in metal, rather than just plastic, for prototypes.3D printing works by printing one thin layer at a time from plastic, sand or other material, then gradually stacking the layers and building a finished piece to create a 3D object, similar to assembling a spool of CDs. “Today, 3D printing is not fast

enough for the high-volume direct production manufacturing we do,” said Harold Sears, Ford additive manufacturing technical specialist. “But it is ideal for test parts, or niche production applications, that go through frequent development changes.”

Ford has been at the forefront of 3D printing for 25 years and was involved with the invention of 3D printing in the 1980s. In 1988, Ford purchased the third 3D printer ever made. Today, Ford uses selective laser sintering, fused deposition modeling and stereolithography 3D printing applications. Ford also works with suppliers to bring more technologies to market, including 3D sand printing.

“Many have referenced this technology as ushering in a third industrial revolution,” said Sears. “While that is yet to be determined, what we do know is manufacturing is continuing to go digital, the speed of these technologies is increasing and the variety of materials is expanding – all of which leads us to believe 3D printing presents a great opportunity for overall manufacturing.”

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INDUSTRY OVERVIEW PASSENGER VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA (Total Domestic Sales + Exports - November 2013) 1,84,404 Units

COMPANY

%

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

42.41

Hyundai Motor India Pvt. Ltd.

26.90

Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd.

6.64

Honda Cars India Ltd.

5.49

Tata Motors Ltd.

4.46

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd.

3.83

Ford India Pvt. Ltd.

3.20

Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd.

3.15

General Motors India Pvt.Ltd.

1.98

OTHERS

1.94

Skoda Auto India Pvt. Ltd. (0.81%) Fiat India Automobiles Pvt. Ltd. (0.55%) Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (0.28%) Renault India Pvt. Ltd. (0.23%) Hindustan Motors Ltd. (0.07%)

UTILITY VEHICLES MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA (Total Domestic Sales + Exports - November 2013) 62,076 Units

COMPANY

%

Mahindra & Mahindra

30.47

Maruti Suzuki

22.44

Tata Motors

10.98

Toyota Kirloskar Motor

9.90

Ford India

9.16

Renault India

7.19

Nissan Motor

4.82

General Motors

4.14

OTHERS

0.90

Force Motors (0.32%) Ashok Leyland (0.18%) Hindustan Motors (0.18%) Honda Cars India (0.12%) Skoda Auto India (0.07%) Hyundai Motor India (0.03%)

Based on SIAM figures

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INDUSTRY OVERVIEW TWO WHEELER MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA (Total Domestic Sales + Exports - November 2013) 14,18,427 Units

COMPANY

%

Hero MotoCorp

37.40

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India

22.50

Bajaj Auto

19.65

TVS Motor Company

10.97

India Yamaha Motor

4.03

OTHERS

3.14

Mahindra Two Wheelers (1.71%) Royal Enfield (1.28%) Piaggio Vehicles (0.14%) H-D Motor Company India (0.01%) Suzuki Motorcycle India

2.31

THREE WHEELERS IN INDIA (Total Domestic Sales + Exports - November 2013) 65,017 Units

COMPANY

%

Bajaj Auto Ltd.

49.04

Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd.

25.26

TVS Motor Company Ltd.

9.70

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

9.38

Atul Auto Ltd.

4.93

Scooters India Ltd.

1.69

Based on SIAM figures

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INDUSTRY OVERVIEW LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA (Total Domestic Sales + Exports - November 2013) 36,748 Units

COMPANY

%

Tata Motors Ltd.

49.34

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

36.12

Ashok Leyland Ltd.

6.94

Force Motors Ltd.

2.87

Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd.

1.77

VECVs - Eicher

1.58

Mahindra Trucks & Buses Ltd.

0.74

SML Isuzu Ltd.

0.60

Hindustan Motors Ltd.

0.04

MEDIUM & HEAVY COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA (Total Domestic Sales + Exports - November 2013) 13,142 Units

COMPANY

%

Tata Motors Ltd.

58.55

Ashok Leyland Ltd.

20.66

VECVs - Eicher

12.65

SML Isuzu Ltd.

3.39

Asia Motor Works Ltd.

3.18

Mahindra Trucks & Buses Ltd.

1.30

VECVs - Volvo

0.26

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

0.01

Based on SIAM figures

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Jamna Auto Industries is India’s Largest and World’s 2nd Largest Tapered Leaf Spring and Parabolic Spring manufacturer with focus on heavy commercial vehicles. JAI products are trusted by prestigious brands like Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, Mahindra Trucks & Buses, Bharat Benz, Ford Motors, Volvo, Toyota Kirloskar Motors to name a few. JAI has also diversified into Lift Axle and Air Suspension Systems. JAI has taken the Suspension Systems to a new level in terms of technology, quality and unmatched customer support.

RNI No DEL ENG/2010/34562