Procurement show with JETRO in Chennai, a big success

The Indian automotive sector currently witnessing a downtrend, particularly affecting the future prospects of the auto components industry. In order to revive the industry, the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), along with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) as part of its action plan, has urged the Government to announce various stimulus packages.

This was revealed by Mr. Harish Lakshman, ACMA President, while addressing a press conference in Chennai during the Automotive Parts Procurement Exhibition 2013 jointly organised by JETRO and ACMA on November 26 and 27.

Basically, the proposal made to the Government for stimulus packages mainly for commercial vehicles which is the worst-hit segments of the industry. It has also sought Government help for scrapping of old vehicles in order to encourage buying of new ones.

It is in order to boost the country’s auto components exports that the Association regularly conducts as well as participates in interactive meetings all over for the benefit of its members.

Mr. Lakshman also observed: “The automotive supply chain is a truly global one today, and it is imperative that the Indian auto component suppliers become an integral part of it. ACMA has continuously striven to bring about greater co-operation and better integration of Indian suppliers with their global counterparts. I am hopeful that this event will provide the right opportunity to the Indian and the Japanese suppliers to integrate better and discover new opportunities to work together.”

According to Mr. Vinnie Mehta, ACMA Executive Director, the Association has identified the ASEAN region as a major focus area for export of components. This is in view of India’s strategic locational advantage as part of the ASEAN countries.

The recent visit by an ACMA delegation to Indonesia and Vietnam assumes special significance in this context.

He also said that in order to encourage its small and medium entrepreneur-members, ACMA has started a new initiative with the help of UNIDO known as the ACMA-UNIDO Cluster Programme. The first session under the programme was recently launched in Jamshedpur with the participation of eight member-companies. The cluster programme will be expanded to other cities like Chennai, Bangalore, Pantnagar, Ludhiana, etc., covering 400 member-companies (Tier-2 and Tier-3) within the next three years. The basic idea of the joint initiative is to generate awareness about a cost-effective approach among the SMEs. The total cost of each programme will be Rs. 2 lakhs per annum.

Of course, the ACMA Vision is to focus solely on macro-level activities to increase the export volume, Mr. Mehta added.

Earlier welcoming the media, Mr. Hidehiro Ishiura, Director General, JETRO Chennai, disclosed that since the size of the Indian domestic automotive market is very huge, Japanese companies are more keen to tap it. The expo was organised against the backdrop of the Joint Statement issued by the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Shinzo ABE, on May 29. The exhibition which attracted 46 companies from Japan was organised at a time when both the countries are keen to deepen their bilateral trade relationship. The show also attracted eminent suppliers from India such as the Rane Group, Raunaq Automotive, Sundaram Clayton and Sundaram Brake Linings.

Presenting the perspective of the event, Mr. Hidehiro Ishiura said: “We hope that this event could contribute to favourable development of an integrated automotive industry supply chain for both Japan and India. A larger localization ratio of auto parts shall bring down import costs. At the same time, collaborations among Japanese and Indian suppliers will improve quality standards, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of the entire Indian automotive industry in the global market. We expect that this will open new avenues for exports by India-based manufacturers and result in an increase in foreign exchange earnings.

At the inaugural function, Mr. M. Velmurugan, Executive Vice-Chairman, Guidance Bureau, Government of Tamil Nadu, gave an overview of the role played by the State Government in attracting investments as well as its strength in the automotive sector.

Mr. Masanori Nakano, Consul General of Japan, in his special address, dwelt upon the growing bilateral relationship between the two countries.