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.

“Luxury cars are huge area of opportunity for Asahi India Glass” Asahi India Glass (AIS) has a dominant presence in both OEMs as well as aftermarket segments of the country's automotive glass industry. With increase in awareness about safety and quality, the company expects the demand for high quality and value-added solutions to increase in the country. To meet the growing demand, AIS is setting up its fifth automotive glass plant in Gujarat with a proposed investment of Rs 500 crore in two-phases

The growth of the tooling industry is an effort that needs to be realised by associations like TAGMA, which is why it has undertaken the reskilling of MSME labour.

The year 2017 was a challenging year for the automotive industry in India due to several policy fluctuations. In spite of this, BMW Group India reported 25 per cent increase in car sales in 2017 compared to 2016

As robots are taking on more 'human' capabilities and traits such as sensing, dexterity, memory and trainability, Universal Robots' cobots (collaborative robots) are helping companies to raise productivity by combining human skill with robotic technology.

Facing heavy competition from China, while being heavily dependent on imports, the Indian tooling industry needs to gear up significantly to cater to customer and OEM demands.

Zoomcar, India’s largest self-drive mobility platform, was founded in 2013 and has now even expanded to include cycles in its shared mobility model. Greg Moran, Founder and CEO, originally from New York City, has observed and traveled in India on account of his prior job. This has allowed him to have a good handle on some of the commuting challenges present in big cities. Moran tells APF about the changing scenario in terms of mobility and how it shapes the urban and rural spaces in India, including fixing the last-mile and first-mile connectivity problems.

Mention braking solu-tions and the usually quiet Sriram Viji, the young Deputy Managing Director of Brakes India Pvt Ltd is quick to start sharing fascinating insights into the vertical. The company is ready to launch its product for the intermediate commercial vehicle (ICV) segment this year, informs Viji. On the issue of introduction of autonomous vehicles on Indian roads he feels that the existing complexities will make any immediate shift challenging. Manufacturer and supplier of braking applications for automotive and non-automotive applications, Brakes India is also the largest component manufacturing company within the TVS Group, which has its international headquarters in Chennai. In conversation with Manish Pant, Viji shares insight into emerging trends in automotive industry and its impact on braking systems.

Although it won’t be easy to phase out diesel engine, Arnd Franz, Member of Management Board & Corporate Executive Vice President, Sales & Application Engineering and Aftermarket, MAHLE is still very bullish on the potential for electric mobility in the world’s fifth largest car market. The Stuttgart-headquartered firm is one of the leading manufacturers of engine systems, filtration and engine peripherals, thermal management products, and mechatronics, globally. With a presence in 18 locations across India, MAHLE is poised to undertake a major expansion of its Pune technical centre and significantly add to its engineering pool, tells Franz to AFP’s Manish Pant in an exclusive interview.