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.

Says Satish Godase, Director, Nu-Vu Conair Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company between the Ahmedabad-based Nu-Vu Engineers and the US-based Conair Group - a leader in auxiliary equipment for plastic processors.

Altair develops simulation technologies that allow OEMs to accelerate next generation mobility solutions development. Known for its 3D applications, its products help to match the vehicle development phase, allowing to improve designs and enhance the efficiency of productions. R Srikanth, Senior Director, Altair India, speaking to APF, believes that electromobility is an inevitable future of the auto industry and with the pace at which it is moving, it is important to reduce the time spent in production cycles, while ensuring safety and preformance.

As the Indian automotive industry is disrupted more and more, it needs to find innovative ways to combat the problems that are arising due to the transition phase. Continental, the world’s foremost technology solutions provider has been labouriously researching and developing intelligent solutions to ease the OEMs’ transitioning of vehicles to lower or zero emission applications. Be it ICE or BEV, Soorajith Radhakrishnan, Head of Powertrain solutions for Continental explains how the company is gearing up for both segments.

Transworld, since its inception, has been involved in providing robust data solutions for the first and last mile issues in supply chain and logistics. Vikram Puri, CEO, Transworld is an industry veteran with over 20 years of extensive experience in developing IoT backbone infrastructure and providing fleet management and data acquisition solutions. Known for winning several government contracts for solid waste disposal and even working with HPCL, Puri’s IoT company demonstrates how connectivity can facilitate shared mobility concepts and business models.

A few weeks ago, the unveiling of a long-range electric concept sedan at the Geneva Motor Show by India’s largest automaker sent all social media channels aflutter. Built on a modified Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced (OMEGA) electric vehicle architecture, the ‘E-Vision Sedan Concept’ is capable of attaining a top speed of 200 kilometre per hour, according to the company. It can also reach 0-100 kilometre per hour in less than seven seconds. The adaptation of electric mobility in India is going to be gradual, predicts Rajendra M Petkar, who took over as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Tata Motors from April 1, 2018, in an interview to APF’s Manish Pant. However, there is a need to simultaneously evolve conventional vehicles and internal combustion engines during the transition period, he adds.