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.

The Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles whose members comprise of electric four-wheeler, three-wheeler, buses, two-wheeler and auto component manufacturers has been instrumental in the formulation of the FAME scheme which is the real turbocharger to the electromobility trend in India. Speaking to APF, Sohinder Gill, CEO, Hero Eco and Director of Corporate Affairs, SMEV, talks about what kind of policies and business models are needed to incentivise and provide a good growth platform for EVs.

Recently, Mahindra Trucks and Buses Division announced a slew of guarantees to their customers on its Blazo models. Some of these guarantees include fuel efficiency and lower engine oil changes, which are beneficial to fleet owners in terms of cost of ownership. In conversation with APF, Vinod Sahay, CEO, MTBD talks about the growing use of technology to make trucks fuel efficient which can result in lower downtimes and engine overhauling, reducing TCO for fleet managers.

Samvardhana Motherson Group (SMG), established in 1975 by Vivek Chaand Sehgal along with his mother, is today a $9.1-billion group having presence in 37 countries with over 230 facilities across the globe.