Rising vehicle ownership levels, incorporation of advanced engine, continuous growth in investment in infrastructure projects, robust two-wheeler sales, increase in number of women driving scooters, etc

Regulations such as Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), new emission norms, etc are forcing auto makers in India to accelerate research and capability improvement activities.

The Indian auto industry accounts for 7.1 percent of the country’s GDP and is poised to become fourth largest auto market globally by 2020 after China, the US and Japan.

In conversation with Rakesh Rao, Kadam says that Schaeffler sees big opportunities in the country in areas of automotive and other sectors like wind energy, railways, steel, etc.

With governments around the world pursuing more stringent norms on emissions and fuel economy, companies are gearing up with new energy-efficient powertrain systems, says Rakesh Rao. With market for auto booming in Asia, global auto component companies are eyeing for bigger share of the market. Meanwhile, in India, the new emission norm (BS VI to be rolled out from April 1, 2020) is forcing companies to modify their powertrain systems. The demand for new products is also getting a boost with auto makers making their next generation powertrains.

With the deadlines inching closer, demand for certain technologies are gaining prominence, which is forcing the auto industry to be ready and be upto scale. Be it BS VI norms, electrification or technology disruptions in terms of IoT, much like a universe, the industry is expanding from all sides. The Indian automotive industry has been through some major upheavals, but none like the recent couple of years. From financial to technological disruptions, the industry, which comprises of a healthy blend of OEMs and tiered suppliers, has been either scrambling or sailing smoothly through the tides of change. Certain trends prove to be beneficial to some manufacturers while some others will be washed away with the tides of change.

The ever-changing auto industry moves quicker than ever. Can an industry like bearings keep up? The wheel might be the oldest human invention, but bearings come a close second. As the world of motion takes a faster track, a time-tested invention would have to keep up with it. Whether it is improvement in lubrication or in the bearings material itself, manufacturers are looking into how bearings can contribute to the industry trends as well developing intelligent bearing solutions for various automotive applications.

The global automotive composites market, valued at $ 6.81 billion in 2016, is projected to reach $ 13.14 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 12.26% between 2017 and 2022, according to MarketsandMarkets (MnM) report.

With the new engineering center in Pune, International Automotive Components (IAC), a leading global supplier of automotive components and systems (including interior and exterior trim), aims to deliver innovative vehicle interiors to Indian customers and expand its footprint in the country’s automotive industry. Automotive interior components’ supplier, International Automotive Components (IAC) recently opened a new regional and global engineering centre (GEC) in Pune to support vehicle interior needs of domestic and global customer programs. With this new centre, IAC has increased its presence in India to six locations.