Focuses on ‘Make Quality & Technology in India’ to achieve global competitiveness
The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), the apex body representing the Indian auto component Industry organised the New Delhi Automotive Summit 2016 on the theme “Make Quality & Technology in India” in the backdrop of the ‘Make in India’ campaign at New Delhi, alongside the 13th Auto Expo Components Show, which is celebrating its 30th Anniversary.
The summit witnessed participation from several leading global and domestic automotive leaders such as Mr. Ramesh Mangaleswaran, Director, McKinsey & Company, Inc., Mr. Jayant Davar, Past President, ACMA & Co-Chairman & Managing Director, Sandhar Technologies Ltd, Mr. Srivats Ram, Past President & Chairman-ACT & Finance Committee, ACMA & Managing Director, Wheels India Ltd, Mr. Manoj Solanki, Purchasing Leader-India ABO, Cummins India Ltd., Mr. P. Kaniappan, Managing Director, Wabco India Ltd., Mr. Ashok K. Taneja, Past President & Chairman-KP Engagements & OEM Interface Committee, ACMA & Managing Director & CEO, Shriram Pistons & Rings Ltd., Mr. C. V. Raman, Executive Officer – Engineering, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Mr. Abraham Joseph, Chief Technology Officer, Bajaj Auto Ltd., Dr. Tim Leverton, Head Advanced & Product Engineering CVBU Pune, Tata Motors Ltd., Dr. S K Shivakumar, Prof. Vikram Sarabhai Professor & Former Director, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Ms. Rita Teaotia, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India and others.
Speaking at the New Delhi Automotive Summit, Mr. Anant Geete, Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises of India said, “I want to instil confidence in the industry and reiterate the fact that our Ministry will contribute and do whatever it takes for fighting the challenges faced by the Indian Automotive Industry to ensure its desired growth. We have a mammoth challenge and an opportunity too, in the form of scaling up to BS-VI by 2020. I am happy to see that the components industry is already ready to adapt to the technology being demanded for. To further fuel this zeal, I would strongly urge the Finance Ministry to introduce a Technology Fund in this year’s budget. I truly endorse the theme of the New Delhi Automotive Summit, Make Quality & Technology in India, which is imperative for the true success of the Make in India Campaign.”
On the occasion Mr. Arvind Balaji, President, ACMA said, “globally, the auto component industry is a strong USD 1.75 trillion industry with USD 500 billion as its contribution in value-addition. Last year top-100 component manufacturers invested close to USD 50 billion in R&D. Moreover, in the last one-decade, 50% of total innovations in the automotive sector were co-developed by the auto component sector. Clearly the auto component industry is the engine of growth and development not only for the automotive nations but also for the global economy.”
“While today, the Indian Auto Component sector contributes 3.8% to the national GDP and is a USD 38.5 billion industry, with exports worth USD 11.2 billion” added Balaji.
Addressing the audience, Mr. Deep Kapuria, Past President & Chairman, Globalisation Committee, ACMA & Chairman, The Hi-Tech Group, “The Automotive Mission Plan 2026 envisions the Indian Automotive Industry ranking among top 3 in the world, contributing to over 12% of India’s GDP and providing for an additional 65 million jobs. To achieve this grand vision and to be ably support the vehicle industry, it is imperative for our component industry to enhance and augment the existing ecosystem by building higher value added capabilities. Globally, the industry is undergoing transformation, which will require us to develop capabilities for in-house design, harness frugal engineering and create product differentiation through innovation and move towards zero defect quality. To ensure a robust automotive manufacturing value chain, we need to create an ecosphere wherein each member will have to contribute in creating technology that makes us globally competitive.”
Dr. Pawan Goenka, Past President, SIAM & ED & President (Automotive Sector) Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “Technological Excellence is very important to have a place in the global automotive industry. Our focus should be on developing Tooling Quality & Engineering Quality. We also need to work towards building our ‘Quality’ brand because in today’s world Perception is Reality. It is important to move towards developing capabilities to an extent that we can design, develop and validate a car on a turnkey basis in India. The day is not far when the Indian Automotive Industry will have arrived on the technology front. Today, Airbags and ABS are being offered as an option in base variants of cars, the industry is progressing further and will soon make these technologies more affordable. With the component industry all set to be BS VI compliant, I am confident that the OEMs will be able to reduce the huge import costs while making vehicles, which are compliant to BS VI as compared to today’s costs for delivering a BS IV vehicle. With this achievement, the year 2020 will mark a true success of the Make in India campaign.”
Speaking about the Indian Automotive Industry, Prof. Shoji Shiba, International Expert, Total Quality Management & Breakthrough Management said, “The progress of the automotive industry of any country represents the development of its people. The Indian Automotive Industry has drastically improved its competitiveness in the last 10 years. I would also like to appreciate the industry’s efforts in improving Operational Excellence while delivering world-class products. India now needs a new direction for Excellence. It is important to sustain the already gained momentum in Operational Excellence and move to focussing on Market Excellence. The industry can only achieve these by having a perfect flow of operations and rigorous focus on integration while implementing an effective business strategy. The industry now needs to envision in order to scale up the technology graph to match with the quality graph.”
The summit also witnessed an in-depth presentation by Mr. Ramesh Mangaleswaran, Director, McKinsey & Company, Inc. on Automotive Sector in India: Trends and Path Ahead. The presentation highlighted key trends of Electrification, Emissions, Safety, Connectivity & Convenience, Autonomous Driving, Advanced Manufacturing & Advanced Materials. It further suggested imperatives for the industry to succeed, making winning portfolio choices across Product, Marketing & Technology, continue to master the essentials of Cost, Quality & Delivery, Innovate and Re-invent offerings, Business Models & the organisation if needed. The presentation also highlighted important facts like 1.8 Million recalls in India since 2012, which was also endorsed by Mr. Pawan Goenka while stating the importance of focus on ‘Quality’. Quality needs to be embedded by any organisation into the operating systems, management systems and most importantly people systems with a deep focus on culture.
One of the key highlights of the discussion was the Indian Government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign resulting in defence modernization plans and enhanced focus on the aerospace sector. These possible diversification areas are poised to result in immense business opportunity for the Indian Automotive Components Industry.
The New Delhi Automotive Summit 2016 concluded with the various action points which will harness new synergies for the growth of the auto components sector in India.