In April 2019, APF celebrated its 14th Anniversary tracking Indian auto industry's readiness to meet the new safety and fuel efficiency norms. While the changes in regulatory standards will result in new business opportunities for the suppliers, domestic component makers may not be able to take full advantage of the situation due to lack of technological capabilities and limited scope for backward integration. Chinese auto parts and raw material suppliers are likely to gain the most from the rise in sales of vehicles (having latest emission and safety features) in India as many of the auto OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers rely on components sourced from China. With India aiming to scale up production of electric vehicles and given China’s dominance in EVs (about 60 per cent of global volumes) and battery technology, imports of EV components from China will to go up in future as India does not have a well established EV parts making ecosystem. 

So how can Indian component makers gain a competitive edge? Can India reduce its dependence on imports? Is vendor consolidation the way forward? The APF Anniversary Edition attempts to answer these questions and much more. More than 14 industry experts offer insight into strategies to be adopted to tap Indian automotive industry as the regulatory changes present sizeable opportunity for both OEMs and component suppliers.

Among others, the highlight of the April Edition is interviews of Nagesh Basavanhalli (MD & CEO, Greaves Cotton Ltd) and Prashanth Doreswamy (MD, Continental Automotive India).