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Editorial.............................................................................................................................. 8Auto industryChanging dynamics in the Indian CV segment................................................................ 10Vehicle zoneReady for the future - Indian CV manufacturers gear up for fiercer competition ............. 14Tata Motors all-out bid to retain market share ................................................................. 16Ashok Leyland focus on consolidation ............................................................................ 32M&M vehicle sales spurt despite several odds................................................................ 48Anand Mahindra appointed Mahindra Group Chairman .................................................. 51Force Motors looking at fast-growing segments ............................................................. 56Hinduja Automotive’s new initiatives paying off ............................................................... 62Eicher sales, profit up despite market challenges ........................................................... 68Nissan-AL Technologies setting up state-of-the-art plant near Chennai ....................... 102Mahindra & Mahindra launches New Bolero Maxi Truck ............................................... 116Parveen Travels’ Mercedes Benz service for DICV ....................................................... 118component zoneGabriel India setting high standard in ride control ........................................................... 26NORMA India’s expanding customer base ...................................................................... 42HJS footprint in India positively essential ........................................................................ 52KCI’s modern bearings plant coming up in Gujarat ......................................................... 66Bosch’ new injection system to cut CV fuel use, emissions ............................................ 70Impact Glass’ customer-centric approach for market expansion ..................................... 98Luminator Technology Group takes over Mobitec ......................................................... 120Bharat Forge all set to forge ahead ............................................................................... 124

Contents

4 MOTORINDIA l September 2012

56 14 116

tyresApollo Tyres’ higher outlay on widening product range ................................................... 60ApplicAtionsTRF targets Rs. 2,500-crore turnover by 2013 ................................................................ 72iAA preViewIAA special meet to discuss India’s CV industry status ................................................... 78Voith to showcase latest product at IAA .......................................................................... 80IAA symposium will focus on benefits of modern telematics systems ............................. 82Continental technologies for greater economy and efficiency ......................................... 84IAA Commercial Vehicle Fair to witness Gala Awards presentation ................................ 88LAMILUX high-tech materials for lightweight vehicle design ........................................... 90VDMA discusses role of automation in reducing overall cost of production .................... 92logisticsVRL logistics leading the way in service quality and work ethics ................................... 94Vehicle finAnceShriram Transport Finance empowering Indian trucking industry ................................. 104AftermArketGenuine or spurious parts: A choice of life or death ...................................................... 108Urgent need to enforce EU model ELV directive in India ............................................. 122ACMA to hold ‘India Day’ at Automechanika Frankfurt ................................................. 128IndianOil gross turnover up 12.4% at Rs. 101,936 crores ............................................. 130EVENTS ........................................................................................................................ 131How redBus has revolutionized Indian bus ticketing ..................................................... 140MEN AT THE HELM ...................................................................................................... 142


Contents94

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The temporary setback in industrial activ-ity due to general slowdown notwithstand-ing, India is still reckoned a vibrant indus-trial world power. Ranked the 19th largest exporter, the country registered the highest growth rate among developing nations dur-ing mid-2000s, thanks primarily to the grow-ing number of middle class customers, abun-dant availability of skilled labour and a good inflow of foreign investments into different industry sectors. India’s industrial growth in the modern sense of the term originated pre-cisely in 1991 with the globalisation com-pulsion for opening up of the economy. The Indian automotive industry, the lifeline of the economy as elsewhere, proved the real engine of growth attracting attention of almost all MNCs. The entry of Maruti signalled a thorough transformation of the automobile technology. This was followed by the foray of other foreign players into every segment of the auto sector by setting up operations alone or in associa-tion with their Indian counterparters. Today, India has emerged the second largest manufacturer of two-wheelers, the fifth in commercial vehicles and the seventh largest manufacturer of passenger cars in the world. A supplier-driven market hav-ing not more than a handful of vehicle models two decades ago, it now offers more than 160 models and variants by way of customer options. In PPP terms, the country is expected to be the third largest economy by 2020.

An investor-friendly automobile policy, a highly indigenised vehicle technology developed over the last few years and the special R&D initiatives by both auto-mobile and component manufacturers have kept the sector in good stead. Nay, the overall encouraging performance of the industry was behind the formulation of the Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) by the Government, which envisages the auto sector’s annual turnover growth to $145 billion from the current $45-50 billion and its contribution to GDP shooting to 10 per cent from five per cent by 2016.

The targets fixed are within easy reach as can be inferred from the Indian auto industry’s comparatively quicker recovery from the worst-ever world recession of 2008 that destabilised the individual economies across the globe. Further, the production and sales figures released by SIAM are pointer to the industry potential for an earlier upswing, despite deterrents to expansion. The industry witnessed a 7.10 per cent growth in cumulative production of vehicles during April-July 2012. It turned out 17,46,840 vehicles in July 2012 as against 16,56,014 vehicles in July 2011. The overall growth in domestic sales also registered a 9.34 per cent growth during April-July 2012 over the previous year. All this confirms that India is still the best bet.

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Edited & Published by R. Natarajan on behalf of Gopali & Co., Quanta Zen Building, No.38, Thomas Road, 2nd Street, T.Nagar, Chennai-17, and Printed by B. Ashok Kumar at Rathna Offset Printers, 40, Peters Road, Royapettah, Chennai-14

Editorial

www.motorindiaonline.com

india, still the best bet

R. Natarajan, Managing Editor & Publisher

MOTORINDIA



Changing dynamics in the indian Cv segment

However an extended period of European readjust-ment, slower growth in key markets such as the US and China as well as a period of misguided policy deci-sions in India lead to significant short-term challenges. As shown in figure 1, quarterly GDP growth has come down to an unsatisfactory level of 5.3 per cent, the In-dex of Industrial Production (IIP) is weak, inflation and interest rates are high as is the fiscal deficit, and business confidence is at a record low.

This is very well reflected in a contraction of the MHCV market. Sales this financial year have fallen by about 13 per cent. LCVs have grown by 18 per cent driven by strong demand in the sub-3.5T segment, while the 3.5-7.5T segment has witnessed a significant con-traction.

Market weakness coincides with a dramatic increase in competitive intensity. From a duopolistic market, India has evolved to a stage where nearly every inter-national player of repute is present across segments, as shown in figure 2. While some new entrants such as Scania or Hino follow niche strategies, all other entrants – MAN, Mahindra Navistar, AMW, Volvo-Eicher and BharatBenz – have volume aspirations.

As figure 3 shows, new players have made their pres-ence felt and somewhat reduced market shares of the dominant players. However, aspirations regarding mar-ket share have perhaps not been met so far. Ambitious targets – BharatBenz’ strategic objective to become the No.2 in the Indian commercial vehicle space or Mahi-ndra Navistar’s announcement to grow to 50,000 MH-CVs over the next few years – are clear indications that competitive intensity will remain high over the next

Auto industRy

By Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Partner, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai

the mid- to long-term pros-pects of the indian com-mercial vehicle market are

encouraging enough. Growth for mhCvs stands at a CAGR of six per cent over the last five years and for LCvs at a very impressive CAGR of 21 per cent.

Dr. Wilfried Aulbur

MOTORINDIA l September 2012 11

three-five years.Players such as Volvo-Eicher

have revamped their product port-folio with a firm view to gaining market share in the MHCV seg-ment. Moreover, India has been chosen as the global hub for Volvo’s 5 and 8l engines – a move that not only strengthens India’s global rel-evance for the company, but also positively impacts Volvo-Eicher’s competitiveness within India. MAN has brought out a new LITE range of trucks for rated load applications, while BharatBenz will launch 16 trucks over the next 1.5 years.

Leading Indian players are under attack not only from a product but also from a service perspective. New networks are being rolled out with considerable speed. BharatBenz, for example, has rolled out about

70 dealers in the first phase with a strong focus on southern India where it intends to challenge Ashok Leyland’s dominance. Mahindra Navistar has set up state-of-the-art dealerships across the country and invests in service innovations such as 24x7 hotlines, a 48-hour response guarantee to get trucks back on the road, extended warranties and the like.

With a market contraction and

a lot of new capacity being added in the market, margin pressure is likely. Companies will resort to discounts to achieve market shares. Even today, discounts in the indus-try are reported to be in the range of Rs. 60,000 per truck.

Financial pressures will not re-main limited to OEMs. With large new investments and volume pres-sures coming their way, dealers may find their viabilities challenged as well.

The winners in this complex and challenging environment will be companies that combine strong cost focus, superior execution capabil-ity and relentless focus on customer needs. Cost and superior execution are vital to protect margins in an environment in which escalating input costs and investments as well

Roland Berger Strategy ConsultantsFigure 1

Established companies such as Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland react with product offensives of their own. While Tata Mo-tors announced investment of about Rs. 2,000 crores, Ashok Leyland will invest about Rs. 800 crores.

Auto industRy



as sales measures to support volume targets prevail.

Also, the change in consumer preferences is likely to be slower than anticipated in certain areas. As a matter of fact, resilience of truck

customers has forced a number of new entrants to introduce cowl ver-sions of their trucks.

Thus, the Indian consumer will benefit from an industry that will move up on the efficiency curve.

However, to fully reap the benefits of a trucking revolution, strong sup-port from the Government (GST, infrastructure investments, etc.) is absolutely necessary.

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Auto industRy


Ready for the future

The year 2012 was a challenging and interesting one for the Indian commercial vehicle segment. The most turbulent at that, the year posed bigger challenges with its adverse impact on production as well as sales in most categories. Still the CV seg-ment, with its immense growth po-tential, continued to consolidate its presence in the market by attracting more global vehicle manufacturers.

The multinationals in operation in India made their presence felt by sending across clear indications of what one could expect from the market. Daimler is one such with its peerless approach towards what is considered one of the most com-

petitive and dynamic markets in the world. MAN, now with complete management control over the Indian business, is another global name ready to start afresh in the Indian market. Volvo has almost become a synonym of ‘luxury’ in the bus seg-ment, while its Swedish neighbour Scania has begun construction of its plant which would make it Volvo’s neighbour in India too. And Foton, the Chinese giant, has entered the fray with its plant in Pune.

Having anticipated a potential for-ay by multinationals, the prominent domestic players like Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland are aggressively expanding their product portfolio

and upgrading technologies, making it an intense battle for market share. AMW is another Indian company to watch out for, following its strong showing in the mining and construc-tion segment, while Kamaz Vectra, the Indian face of the Russian mar-ket leader Kamaz, is also doing quite well in the segment.

SML Isuzu, buoyed by Japanese technology, is also in the running. In addition, there are two powerful joint ventures in the reckoning – Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV), a strong partnership with big expansion plans in offing, and Mahindra-Navistar, which recent-ly sold its 5,000th truck, attracting

greater public attention. Competition in the Indian

commercial vehicle segment is hotting up, with several players in the field expanding their individual operations. Tata and Ashok Leyland, the Indian market leaders for long, are keen on maintaining their share somehow. How the two modify their strategies to suit the changing scenario will be watched with both interest and anxiety. w

vehiCLe zone (CoveR stoRy)

indian Cv manufacturers gear up for fiercer competitionBy R. Natarajan, Managing Editor & Publisher


Says Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman: “Tata Motors will strive to retain its market prominence domestically and in-ternationally and will continue to be a responsible corporate citizen wherever it operates and do the right thing for all its stakeholders and the communities which it serves.”

The automobile sector impacts the lives of millions worldwide. It creates a huge number of direct and indirect jobs and drives the quest for new technologies, lighter, stronger materials as well as new processes and business models. It has resulted in some of the most important infra-structure investments in many countries – highway systems which connect cities, connect production centers to markets

and rural areas, and connect communities separated by water and mountains through bridges and tunnels. While commer-

cial vehicles constitute one of the main forms of competitive


the year 2011-12 proved a mixed bag for tata motors. the company retained its market leadership in

commercial vehicles and gained further market strength through the highly suc-cessful Ace and magic, its new line of light pick-up trucks. on the other hand, passenger car sales were below expec-tations, even though sales of the nano increased over the previous year.


goods transport, based on a business proposition, the pas-senger car is probably one of the most emotive products in the world today.

Despite the much greater interest in performance, ad-vanced technology and reliability, the acquisition of a car continues to have an important element of emotional buyer attraction based on design, style and visual appeal which results in a sale.

In the coming years, Tata Motors’ dominance in com-mercial vehicles will be challenged by international brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Navistar which have already entered or in the process of entering the Indian market. A new line of very competitive, fuel-effi-cient vehicles is being developed by Tata Motors to meet the competition head-on. In passenger cars, the company will face even greater competition from the many automotive

Mr. Ratan N. Tata



brands that are in the country. Of course, it has to address the marketplace more effec-tively with its existing and future products in order to re-gain the level of market share that it earlier enjoyed.

The automotive industry has been, and probably will always be a barometer of the economic health of a na-tion and remains a symbol of its prosperity. It will play an important role in the develop-ment of India. It will strive to retain its market prominence domestically and internation-ally and will continue to be a responsible corporate citizen wherever it operates and do the right thing for all its stakehold-ers and the communities which it serves.

The Tata Motors Group sales stood at 12,69,483 vehicles in 2011-12, higher by 17.7 per cent over the previous year. Global sales of all commercial vehicles were at 5,99,913 units, while global sales of all passenger vehicles were at 6,69,507 units.

The company recorded sales of

8,63,248 vehicles, a growth of 10.9 per cent over the previous year in the Indian domestic market. With the industry growing at a moderate 7.2 per cent, the improved sales resulted in an increase in the company’s mar-ket share from 24.3 per cent to 25.2 per cent, in the Indian industry. The company exported 63,105 vehicles from India against 58,089 vehicles the previous year.Commercial vehicles

Within the domestic market, Tata Motors continued to strengthen its presence in commercial vehicles, with sales of 5,30,204 units, grow-ing 15.7 per cent over from the pre-vious year – an all-time high for the company. This represented a market leadership share of 59.4 per cent in the domestic CV market.

Sales in the M&HCVs segment grew moderately at 5.3 per cent. Volumes at 2,07,086 units reflect-ed a market share of 59.4 per cent.

This segment also saw the entry of new players, which put pressure on the market share. However, sales of the Tata Prima, the next generation truck, continued to grow. A much sharper focus on network develop-ment and customer initiatives laid the foundation for future growth in M&HCVs. Passenger vehicles

In a year where the domestic car industry grew only by 3.6 per cent, Tata Motors sales of passenger ve-hicles in the domestic market (inclu-sive of Tata, Fiat and Jaguar Land Rover brands) was at its highest ever of 333,044 units, representing a growth of four per cent over that of the previous year. In an intensely competitive passenger vehicles mar-ket, a market share at 13.1 per cent was the same as the previous year.Exports

Focused efforts in select ASEAN and Africa markets helped interna-

TATA MoToRs PoWER sTATs• Rs. 170,678 crores consolidated revenues in 2011-12• over 6.5 million Tata vehicles running on Indian roads since the first one rolled out in 1954• 59,000+ consolidated team strength• 6,600+ sales and service touch points for Tata Motors and JLR• 129 country footprints (across six continents)



tional exports from India grow by 8.6 per cent to 63,105 units in the fiscal year. The company exported 55,079 commercial vehicles and 8,026 passenger vehicles, a growth of 9.6 per cent and 2.3 per cent re-spectively over the previous year. A CKD plant was set up in South Africa for assembly of commercial vehicles. Another plant is being set up in Indonesia which is expected to start operations next year. The company continues to have a special focus on expanding its global foot-print and is targeting product actions specifically to cater to international geographies.

Sales of Tata Daewoo Commer-cial Vehicle Company (TDCV) at 9,531 units were higher by nine per cent over the previous year. Tata Daewoo Sales company, which was established in FY 2010-11 to dis-tribute TDCV products, has stabi-lized its operation during the year, enabling TDCV to focus on key ac-counts and fleet customers.

Tata Hispano Motors Carrocera, S.A. (Tata Hispano) was seriously affected by the economic downturn in Europe, particularly in Spain. Sales for 2011-12 were at 368 units, down by 27 per cent from the previ-

ous year. Tata Hispano successfully executed a prestigious CNG series hybrid low floor bus order for EMT Madrid during the year, demonstrat-ing its technological capability. The company made a provision for in-vestments in Tata Hispano, arising from continuous under-performance in challenging market conditions.

Tata Motors (Thailand) Ltd. (TMTL) was affected by floods in Thailand during the year, which negatively impacted supply chain partners and the overall demand scenario there. As a result, volumes of TMTL at 4,978 units in 2011-12 were down by 17.5 per cent from the previous. TMTL launched TDCV CNG tractors and Super Ace to boost volumes. The Nano, also be-ing tested for sale in Thailand, has a potential to boost volumes.

Tata Motors (SA) (Proprietary) Ltd. launched the Prima range of trucks in South Africa alongwith the TDCV range of tractor trailers and the Indigo Manza at the Johan-nesburg Motor Show with a view to increasing the product offerings in that country. Commercial vehicle segment

During the year, the domestic commercial vehicle market record-

ed a growth of 19.2 per cent with the highest ever sales of 892,349 vehicles. The medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) segment grew by 6.5 per cent, while growth of the light commer-cial vehicle (LCV) segment was at 29.1 per cent. The lower growth in agriculture, manufacturing and con-struction sectors mainly contributed to lower growth in the commercial vehicle segment at 19.2 per cent as compared to 27.3 per cent in 2010-11. Further, M&HCV demand was mainly affected by higher interest rates and restricted financing due to tight RBI monetary policy.

The LCV segment continued to drive growth for the company whose sales increased by 23.5 per cent to 323,118 units from 261,637


The company’s sale of commercial vehicles in the domestic and interna-tional markets 2011-12 was 585,283 units, representing a growth of 15.1 per cent over the previous year. The growth was driven by focused product actions, enhancement of quality serv-ice network, expanded service outlets and financing options suited to cus-tomer needs.


units in 2010-11, thanks to im-proved performance in the pick-up segment and ramp-up of production at the Pantnagar plant. Commercial production has commenced at Dhar-wad. The major launches in 2011-12 were the Ace Zip and Magic Iris. Uptrend in the Tata Ace sales con-tinued.

However, the entry of new players in the small commercial vehicle cat-egory and the expanding market size in this segment resulted in lowering of the company’s market share in the LCV segment to 59.4 per cent in 2011-12 from 62.1 per cent in 2010-11. In the M&HCV category, the company sold 207,086 units during 2011-12, marking a market share of 59.4 per cent. The economic crisis in the Euro Zone and political unrest in the Middle East led to a global slowdown. The real GDP growth in the Euro Zone dropped succes-sively in every quarter of the year. The SAARC and ASEAN countries, however, continued to grow stead-

ily. In particular, the growth in the small commercial vehicle segment in these geographies was robust. The new launches during the year included the Tata Divo, a super-lux-ury inter-city bus, and new variants in the Tata Starbus Ultra range.Stiff competition ahead

The company faces competition from various domestic and foreign automotive manufacturers in the Indian automotive market. Improv-ing infrastructure and robust growth prospects compared to other mature markets are now attracting a number of automotive OEMs to India. These companies have either formed joint-ventures with local partners or have established own operations in India.

The global competitors bring inter-national experience, global scale, advanced technology and significant financial support, for the operations in India. The competition is likely to further intensify in the future.

The company has designed its products to suit the requirements of the Indian market based on specific customer needs such as safety, driv-ing comfort, fuel efficiency and du-rability. The company believes that its vehicles are suited to Indian roads and climate and comply with the current environmental regulations in force. The company also offers a wide range of optional configura-tions to meet the specific needs of its customers. It is also developing products to strengthen its product portfolio in order to meet customer expectations. Indian market outlook

The Indian economy is likely to grow moderately at 7.6 per cent. In-put costs continue to remain under pressure from increasing commod-ity prices. With higher intensity in the competitive scenario, pricing power remains limited and mar-gins are likely to be under pressure. Against this backdrop, Tata Motors will continue to focus on providing new products and solutions to the customer with a view to reducing the total cost of ownership. Along with initial acquisition price, the fo-


With a view to maintaining its advantage of reach and penetration, the company will also expand its sales and service network with its focus on upcountry markets. Aggressive cost reduction continues to be a focus area to offset the increased input costs and continuously improve margins. The company is also actively pursuing opportunities in international markets, including the possibility of CKD and sKD assembly to offset high import costs.


cus would be on improving fuel ef-ficiency and reducing maintenance costs of vehicles.The global scenario

The European economy continues to struggle, with austerity measures in place in a number of countries. The economic situation and recent national election results continue to create uncertainty around European zone stability, the Euro and borrow-ing costs. Credit continues to be dif-ficult to obtain for customers and the outlook remains volatile.

Initial figures suggest that the UK economy has re-entered recession in the last three months. Trading condi-tions in the UK remain difficult. The US economy has recovered as com-

pared to other mature economies since the economic downturn, with GDP growth and falling unemploy-ment, although the position remains fragile. The Chinese economy con-tinued to grow strongly throughout 2011-12. Its growth is likely to slow in future, although it may remain above eight per cent.

Japan, Australia and New Zealand in the Asia Pacific region were less affected by the economic crisis com-pared to Western economies, and are recovering a little faster, often due to increased trade with China and other growth economies.

The major constituents in other markets are Russia, South Africa and Brazil, alongside the rest of Af-

rica and South America. These econ-omies were not as badly affected by the economic crisis as the Western economies and have continued their GDP growth in the last few years, partly on the back of increased com-modity and oil prices.

Tata Motors has been the top In-dian automotive player over the last few decades. The commercial vehicle segment has seen the com-pany battle it out with only a few competitors, a scenario which is fast changing with the entry of big global names. As competition gets more intense, Tata Motors is really aggressive in its approach to main-tain its markethold.

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karl slym takes over as tata motors mdTata Motors has appointed Mr. Karl Slym as Managing Director with

effect from October 1. He succeeds Mr. PM Telang who superannuated from the company in June this year.

Mr. Slym would lead all operations of Tata Motors in India and in-ternational markets, including South Korea, Thailand, Spain, Indonesia and South Africa. However, Jaguar Land Rover would continue to be managed independently.

An alumnus of Stanford University and a Sloan Fellow, Mr. Slym has been the Executive Vice President & Board Member, SGMW Motors, China. Prior to this, he was President, Managing Director and Board Member of GM in India. He has had a 17-year career with General Mo-tors in different capacities in different regions.

Mr. Karl Slym



GAbRieL indiA setting high standard in ride control

Gabriel india Limited, a leading name in the indian auto component industry, has completed five decades of its exist-ence. the company pro-vides the widest range of Ride Control prod-ucts in india with shock Absorbers, struts and Front Forks, catering to Passenger Cars, util-ity vehicles, Commer-cial vehicles and two Wheelers.

The pioneer of Ride Control prod-ucts in the country, ‘Gabriel is a renowned brand synonymous with shock absorbers. Its products have established a significant presence in all automotive segments, viz: OEMs replacement markets and exports. Over the last fifty years. Gabriel In-dia has earned the reputation of be-ing a complete solution provider of innovative and proprietary products that have become the company’s hallmark.

The flagship company of Anand,

ComPonent zone

By R. Natarajan, Managing Editor & Publisher

Mr. Manoj Kolhatkar, Managing Director, Gabriel India


Gabriel commenced operations in 1961 with a single plant in Mulund, Mumbai and has grown manifold since then with seven manufactur-ing facilities spread across the coun-try (Pune, Nashik, Hosur, Dewas, Gurgaon, Parwanoo, Sanand). The Motor India Editorial team recently visited Gabriel Corporate office at Pune and manufacturing facility at Chakan to witness the state of the art manufacturing facilities and process adopted by Gabriel.

Discussing with Mr. Manoj Kol-hatkar, Managing Director of Gabri-el reinforces the company’s direc-tion towards technology superiority to remain competitive. Over the last 50 years, Gabriel has developed a high level of technical competence and skills. In addition, Gabriel has technology collaboration with KYB Corporation, Japan and KYBSE

Spain for 4 Wheeler and Yamaha Motor Hydraulic Systems Japan for two wheeler product development. This has enabled Gabriel provide futuristic products to global OEMs in India.

Gabriel’s focus is on innovation to provide cost effective solutions to customers, says Mr. Manoj Kol-hatkar, Gabriel has so far filed 16 patents covering products and proc-

ess apart from winning the Golden Peacock Award for Innovation twice during 2007 and 2012.

Continued focus on R&D has set the path for future. Gabriel has three well equipped state of art R&D cen-tres located in Chakan, Hosur and Nashik to develop new products and carry out comprehensive testing and validation so as to optimize perform-ance and enhance capability of its

ComPonent zone

The Gabriel team at Chakan plant: (Top row) From left, Mr. Atul Jaggi, General Manager-Quality, Mr. S. Sengupta, Director (Strategic Sourcing), Mr. Manoj Kolhatkar, Managing Director, Mr. Rajendra G. Abhange, Technical Director, Mr. Kawal Jaggi, Sr. VP-Finance. (Bottom row) From left, Mr. R.B. Joshi, General Manager (R&D), Mr. Umesh Shah, VP-Strategy & Business Planning, Mr. Nalin Kumar Jaini, VP-HR, and Mr. C. S. Sub-ramanian, Director-Marketing


Ride Control products. These facili-ties provide value added services to all customers in areas of noise meas-urement, value engineering improv-ing product quality by root cause analysis of customer complaints as

well as cost reduction through local-ization efforts. These R&D centres also provide customers with a facil-ity to conduct ride tuning exercise on site through custom built mobile ride tuning vans.

This apart, Gabriel is setting up a new Tech Centre for 2 Wheeler product developments at its Ho-sur plant. This facility, expected to

be ready in 2013, would have unique and futur-istic facilities for prod-uct design & validation. Gabriel is also setting up a ride evaluation facility for customer vehicle evalu-ation. This is would be over and above the onsite ride and handling facil-ity already available with Gabriel. Says Mr. Manoj Kolhatkar, Gabriel would continue to invest a part of its sales in R&D and prod-uct development year on

year as part of its strategy and way forward.

Gabriel way forward is on focus-ing and building sustainable manu-facturing process through reduced carbon foot print and bringing in green technology in all its manu-facturing locations. Gabriel’s manu-facturing footprint enables timely deliveries to customers while op-

ComPonent zone


timizing the availability of material. With a com-bined capacity of over 24 million Shock Absorbers and Struts and 2.7 million Front Forks, these facili-ties cater to the require-ments of all segments of the market, making Gabriel the leading Auto-motive OEM supplier in the country. Gabriel also services the requirements of Defence, Railways and the Aftermarket segments in India.

The Anand Group firmly believes that Business is 90% people as the Chairman Emeritus Mr Deep C. Anand proudly asserts that his key asset is the Group’s dedicated work-force. Gabriel has taken this initia-tive forward laying great emphasis on employee development through training of people both at the in-

house Anand University (Anand-U) and by deputing to external train-ing. Gabriel is proud to receive the recognition from Great Places to Work as the third best place to work in the Indian auto component industry dur-ing 2012, a unique honour for inspiring trust among

people and instilling pride, creating an environment with the workplace that promotes camaraderie.

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ComPonent zone


As was predicted last year, the commercial vehicle industry grew well, albeit at a slower pace, com-pared to the previous year, having recovered to higher base volumes. The industry also saw a substantial amount of competitive activity and recorded 18 per cent growth dur-ing 2011-12 to post its highest-ever volume of 8,09,532 units. Medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCVs) grew by eight per cent, posting volume of 3,48,701, again recording highest-ever sales. Light commercial vehicles (LCVs) post-ed a growth of 27.4 per cent and reached a volume of 4,60,831 units.

The contribution of M&HCVs

declined to about 43 per cent of the overall CV segment, compared to 47 per cent the previous year. The LCV segment continued to grow steadily. It has, in fact, been one of the strongest growing segments in the entire automobile space. The small commercial vehicle segment (trucks of less than 3.5 tonnes GVW within LCVs), which accounts for over three-fourth of the LCV mar-ket, is driving growth on the back of strong demand for transportation of consumer goods within cities and re-placement demand from upper-end three-wheelers.Medium and heavy commercial vehicles

Ashok Leyland delivered mixed results in 2011-12. It registered its highest-ever sales of 94,397 vehi-cles, with a marginal growth of 0.3 per cent compared to the previous year.

In the domestic market, the com-pany sold 81,147 M&HCVs, two per cent less than the previous year. These included 20,635 M&HCV buses and 60,512 M&HCV trucks, one per cent more and 3.5 per cent


the year 2011-12 was one of continuing consolida-tion for Ashok Leyland. the key challenge was to concurrently lay emphasis on the short-term ac-tions to restore the market position and the long-term initiatives for growth. the company is pursu-ing the vision to be, in volume terms, among the top 10 truck manufacturers and top 5 bus players globally. in that journey, the year goneby witnessed a series of steps taken by Ashok Leyland that bol-stered the confidence of realising its goals.

Mr. Dheeraj G. HindujaChairman, Ashok Leyland


less respectively, com-pared to the previous year. The company lost 2.4 per cent market share in the Indian medium and heavy CV market during the year.

Sales of multi-axle ve-hicles, the largest segment in trucks, contracted by 13 per cent in southern India. On the other hand, the intermediate com-mercial vehicles (ICV) goods segment grew na-tionwide by nearly 21 per cent and Ashok Leyland did gain market share in ICV goods, a fast-growing seg-ment in which the company has its nascent presence. To sum up, con-traction of the company strongholds and rapid growth of segments where it has limited presence resulted in a mixed outcome in the domestic market. However, it demonstrated substantial growth in exports, clock-ing 12,852 vehicles in 2011-12, a 25 per cent growth compared to the previous year. Besides performance in the SAARC markets, it benefited through strategic expansion into several new geographies. Sales in the Middle-East grew substantially, despite the overall uncertainty in the region, bolstered by the company’s capability to locally manufacture buses at Ras-al-Khaimah.

While the Jan Bus is the world’s first single step, front engine, fully

flat floor bus, the 10x2 will be a pio-neering product for the Indian CV industry. The 10x2 MAV represents a significant product introduction into the largest truck segment, in-dicating further movement towards higher tonnage vehicles.

The launch of Solo is further evi-dence of the company’s capabil-ity to bring world-class passenger transport products to the growing Indian market. The company’s con-tinued investments in Research and Development through 2011-12 will also result in several launches in the next fiscal. The New Generation Cab and the Neptune Engine pro-grammes will see market introduc-tions. ICV, the fastest growing seg-ment in the M&HCV range, will see the company come up with a brand new product with inputs from AVIA

Ashok Leyland Motors in the Czech Republic.

The company has fixed challeng-ing targets in all focus areas and has kicked off a host of ambitious ban-ner projects. In summary, it has pre-pared well for the challenging eco-nomic scenario expected in future, as well as the upcoming competition in the M&HCV space.Light commercial vehicles

Taking advantage of the prolifera-tion of the hub-and spoke model and the strong demand originating from the rural segment, Ashok Leyland entered the LCV segment with the launch of DOST last year. The prod-uct has been well accepted by cus-tomers, with 7,593 vehicles having been sold in the last fiscal and a total of 14,841 vehicles sold from launch till June 2012.

Within six months of launch, DOST is already the second highest selling model in the 2-3.5T GVW segment and has achieved a pan-India market share of 16.6 per cent.


Ashok Leyland has lined up several ground-breaking products for core segments in the upcoming fiscal. Three such new products – the Jan Bus, 10x4 multi-axle truck and the 8m ICV bus named ‘solo’ – will be launched shortly.


This is despite DOST having been launched in only six States (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat). The vehicle, being sold through an all-new dedicated distribution net-work, continues to enjoy tremen-dous pull, particularly for its high end variants that offer extra features such as power steering, air-condi-tioning, etc. The company is ramp-ing up production at its Hosur fa-cility to meet the rising demand for DOST. The dealer network will also be expanded and the product will be launched in other States this fiscal. Further variants of DOST are in the pipeline.Group companies and JVs

Hinduja Leyland Finance Ltd. (HLFL) promoted by Ashok Ley-land commenced its operations in March 2010. HLFL now has op-erations in 440 locations with an employee strength of 1,199 (588 in 2010). In 2011-12, HLFL contin-

ued to grow rapidly and made a dis-bursement of Rs. 2,107 crores, a rise of over 70 per cent from the previ-ous year, across a wide range of seg-ments, including medium and heavy commercial vehicles, light commer-cial vehicles and three-wheelers.

Ashok Leyland John Deere Construction Equipment Com-pany Private Ltd., the 50:50 joint venture with John Deere Construction & Forestry com-pany of the US, successfully launched its first product, the 435 Backhoe Loader in No-vember 2011. It sold 221 units in four months in the current fiscal. Its product has been well accepted by customers due to its superior positioning as com-pared to its competitors.

Development of the distribu-tion system is apace, starting with the southern market. As many as 18 dealerships have already been rolled out and an-

other 27 are planned in the coming year. New service benchmarks are being set with 100 per cent achieve-ment of completing running repairs on the same day and 100 per cent parts availability within 24 hours. The JV company is planning to



launch the wheel loader this year.Automotive Infotronics Ltd., the

50:50 joint venture with Continental AG, aims to become an innovation centre for delivering automotive infotronics solutions at value price points. The JV showcased its capa-bility and products like the Telemat-ics OBU (On-Board Unit) at the Continental booth at Auto Expo 2012 in Delhi to fleet operators, IT/BPO personnel, transporters, etc. The company is working with sev-eral OEMs for both OEM and after-market solutions.

Albonair GmbH, Germany, was established with the vision of being a complete SCR solution provider for reducing automotive emissions. The company is actively marketing its products to global automotive and construction equipment OEMs and holding business discussions with various global OEMs. With increase in demand due to stricter emission norms, Albonair is expanding its production base in Germany and In-dia. In Germany, it has received the quality certificate ISO 14001.

Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Ltd. (ALDS), the newly-formed as-sociate company, will have greater focus on addressing the opportuni-ties in the Indian and overseas de-fence markets. ALDS participated in DEFEXPO’12, and the vehicles

displayed were well received by customers. ALDS which exhibited a Light Tactical Vehicle on the new COLT platform is in discussion for technical collaboration with over-seas producers of equipment.

Ashley Alteams India Ltd. (AAIL), the 50:50 JV partnership between Ashok Leyland and Al-teams OY, Finland, aims to be a world-class aluminium die-casting manufacturer and become a ‘partner of choice’ for a customers by pro-viding innovative product solutions. AAIL has set up an electroplating facility which is now ready and un-der evaluation. Its surface coating facility was inaugurated in August

2011, and TS 16949, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 Surveillance Audits have been successfully completed.

Defiance Technologies Ltd. is a leading provider of engineer-ing, ERP and IT services to global customers leveraging the Global Delivery Model. Headquartered in Chennai, Defiance has world-class development centres in Chennai and Bangalore in India and state-of-the-art testing facilities at Troy and Westland, Michigan. Apart from serving many global MNCs in India and abroad, the company is also pur-suing many significant opportunities from leading companies, including multi-country, multi-lingual Web Content Management System mi-gration.The way forward

Though the Indian CV market continues to grow, reduction in load availability due to industrial slow-down, increase in interest rates and fuel price increases could dampen demand. Ashok Leyland is address-


AVIA Ashok Leyland Motors (AALM) in Prague has been producing trucks in the total weight class of 6.5 to 12 tonnes. In 2011, the Letòany manu-facturing plant produced 600 trucks for the markets of Europe, the Us, and Asia. The company recorded a growth of 34 per cent during this year. This increase was primarily attributable to recovery in Eastern Europe, expansion into the Commonwealth of Independent states and the Middle East. Avia is expanding the market reach further to Latin America and the Us.


ing this through continued thrust on international markets and on non-cyclical businesses such as spares, defence and engines. Further, its entry into the relatively less volatile LCV business will further de-risk the business. The company is also continually optimising fixed costs as well as working capital, to stay pro-tected in case of a downturn. In case of surge in demand, it has adequate capacity to manufacture the vehicles and engines required for the busi-ness.

Further, Ashok Leyland is review-ing the production plan at regular intervals and has the ability to add modules of capacity at short cycle times to meet demand increases. To mitigate any risks due to material cost increase, the company contin-ues to work on material cost opti-misation through deep dives, value

engineering and alternate sourcing to sustain profitability to the extent feasible.

Legislation would continue to put pressure on improving the technol-ogy resulting in higher investment and product cost. To address this issue, its associate company Albo-nair is working on a competitive emission treatment system. In ad-dition, the company has proactively launched programmes with its stra-tegic partners to develop power-trains to meet upcoming emissions

norms such as Euro 5. To capture, measure and address

strategic as well as operational risks, the company has created an Enterprise Risk Management function. Having completed the first round of risk assessment, it has prepared a dashboard to track movement on these risks. Measures to be taken have been identified for risk mitigation and incorporated into the company’s operating plans. Going forward, quantified risk metrics will be tracked by the risk management function and the Audit Committee and action taken based on it.

The tepid economic environ-ment, as well as the high base, is bound to have an impact on TIV in 2012-13. Several industry ana-lysts have projected growth rates

at 3-8 per cent, while SIAM has pro-jected an annual growth rate of 5-7 per cent for medium & heavy duty vehicles and about 14-16 per cent for light commercial vehicles.

Ashok Leyland seems to have the right balance to keep up its growth curve with its presence in various business areas. However, in the coming years, all eyes will be on the M&HCV business which is the company’s primary focus area. The domestic market in the segment is going through a massive global in-vasion with nearly half-a-dozen new players coming in.

Ashok Leyland has been a long-time No.2 in the Indian commercial vehicle segment, and it will be in-teresting to watch how the company adapts its approach to survive the growing market competition.

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Ashok Leyland has also en-sured that all its upcoming products meet all norms ex-pected in the near future, such as the bus body code safety norms for trucks and upcoming requirements for on-board di-agnostics.


noRmA india’s expanding customer base

NORMA Group Products India Pvt. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidi-ary of the NORMA Group, offers a variety of products like clamps, connectors and fluid systems for industries. The company is ramp-ing up its operations by investing in a new facility in Pune. With the localization of customer services in India, the company expects a posi-tive development of its business ac-

tivities as well as rapid expansion of its customer base in the country.

In a free-wheeling discussion with MOTORINDIA, Mr. Sacheen Lathkar, General Manager, NOR-MA India, not only explains a number of vital points related to the company raised, but broadly outlines the production technology, capacity hike, export performance and prospects, etc.

Excerpts: MOTORINDIA (MI): To begin

with, kindly give us an update on Norma’s journey in India since your entry in 2009.

SAcheeN LAThkAR (SL): NORMA India, founded in 2008, commenced production in Pune as a 80:20 joint venture with Taurus Flexibles, a manufacturer of hoses for commercial vehicles. In 2011,

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Upcoming Pune plant to further boost sales

From left, Mr. Chandan Sovani, Business Development Head (EJT), Mr. Sacheen Lathkar, General Manager-India, and Mr. Ajit Wankhede, Business Development Head, Norma Group Products India Pvt. Ltd., at the company plant


we decided to take over the 20% share of our joint venture partner and to invest in a new site. NORMA India manufactures and provides joining solutions to OEMs such as automotive and industrial clients. We manufacture fuel line assem-blies, crankcase ventilation sys-tems, urea lines, vent lines, clamps and connectors to a wide range of industries. NORMA introduced

nylon instead of steel tubes with a view to reducing weight and emis-sions. NORMA India now supports several Indian and foreign OEMs with its unique Engineered Joining Technology providing solutions for commercial and passenger vehi-cles, agricultural and construction equipment, trains, shipbuilding, aviation, infrastructure and water pipelines.

The NORMA Group in India has been exceptional. We have grown significantly year over year. Being a technology-driven partner, we have established ourselves with major Indian OEMs within a short span of time. Currently we are driving our Distribution Services activities by setting up a strong distribution net-work that involves our distribution centre and dealership co-operation. Providing a uniquely wide range of engineered joining technologies, the group is a one-stop shop to cus-tomers across all industries.

MI: What is the current prod-uct range you offer to the auto-motive industry?

SL: The NORMA Group offers all product categories to the auto-motive industry: clamp, connect and fluid. This includes plastic fuel lines, transmission oil cooler tube systems and other fluid systems, quick connectors and worm-drive hose clips for charge air and exhaust systems. NORMA Group prod-uct solutions help make engines lighter in weight and reduce assem-bly time. Due to tighter emission standards for the automotive indus-try and other sectors, the demand for the group’s engineered joining technology is growing consistently. These standards also apply increas-ingly to the Indian market, which offers considerable growth poten-tial. The group products also help customers to comply with tighter emission norms (Bharat Stage V norms).

MI: Do you have any import-substitution products on offer?

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SL: NORMA India has success-fully localized one group product family for the Indian market by the brand TERRY. There are a few more products in the pipeline for localization during Q4 2012 – Q1 2013.

MI: What is the share of your automotive business as between OeMs and the aftermarket? Are you a single source of supply for any company?

SL: In 2011, NORMA Group products sold directly into passen-ger vehicles contributed around 28 per cent of global sales. Including commercial vehicles, indirect sales and sales to the aftermarket, the total contribution is estimated at around 40 per cent.

The NORMA Group serves cus-tomers from both automotive (pas-senger and commercial vehicles) and non-automotive sectors such as agricultural and construction ma-chinery. Our clients include Mahin-dra & Mahindra, Fiat, Volkswagen, Ashok Leyland, Kirloskar Group, Cummins Engineering, M&M Tractors, etc.

As part of our growth strategy for the Indian market, we are also ex-panding our distribution network. Now wholesalers, suppliers of spare parts to OEMs and hardware stores in eight States have had ac-cess to NORMA Group products. Since December 2011, the group has being consistently adding to its local distribution team in order to meet growing demand. With more than 30 distributors, major indus-trial regions have already been cov-

ered.NORMA India is a single source

to customers such as VW and Fiat for their fuel line applications. The company is also expanding its share of business with other OEMs like M&M, Ashok Leyland-Nissan, Cummins, Kirloskar, etc.

MI: An update on the new Pune plant. how is the work progress and when will it be operational? What product range will it make and what capacities does it have?

SL: With the new plant, the NORMA Group is enhancing its production capacity to keep pace with the growing Indian market demand for connectors and joining elements. Production is expected to start in October. The new plant is expected to increase the group’s production capacity fivefold.

MI: how are the export pros-pects for your products made in India?

SL: India’s dynamic market of-fers us huge growth opportunities. Our stronger local presence brings us closer to our clients in India and gives us the opportunity to meet their individual

needs. Besides serving our local Indian clients, we will leverage the new plant’s capacity in order to de-liver our joining technology solu-tions to our customers around the globe.

MI: how have the last year and the first half of this year been in terms of numbers? could you give us your turnover figures and targets?

SL: The year 2011 was an out-standing one for the NORMA Group. We had set new sales and earnings records during the year. In the first quarter of 2012, we re-ported a rise in sales and earnings, thereby continuing the growth mo-mentum.

NORMA Group’s steady growth shows that it is moving the right di-rection and that its business model is working most successfully. We

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will continue to invest in our com-pany and actively increase capaci-ties to ensure further growth.

MI: could you give us a brief on your current sales and service network? how are your expan-sion plans unfolding?

SL: Based on many years of ex-perience, the NORMA Group offers state-of-the-art technology. NOR-MA India focuses on customizing the engineered joining technology to the local market. We achieve this by local manufacturing and by dis-tributing our products and solutions via our distribution centre as well as various local dealers.

NORMA India is currently set-ting up a distribution network across India where dealers of its products sell to a wide range of in-dustries. NORMA India also cus-tomizes its technology to suit local Asian markets. This includes local manufacturing of engineered join-

ing technology products and solutions which are well-estab-lished in the mature mar-kets around the world.

MI: Finally, could you up-date on your R&D structure for developing In-dia-specific products?

SL: The NORMA Group provides engineered solutions tai-lored to the customer needs for re-ducing emissions, leakage, weight, space requirements and assembly time. Compatibility with modular-ized production processes and re-duced assembly times of our prod-ucts help them to optimize their production processes. For this rea-son, we have developed a compre-hensive basic research and devel-opment division.

New legislation has led to lower emissions thresholds with

which our customers have to comply. The only way to

do this is by conducting intensive research and developing new products and solutions. Against this backdrop, we work together with our custom-

ers to find innovative and high-performance joining

technology in order to open up new areas of application for

the existing products. The abil-ity to directly address the require-ments of the market and integrate

them seamlessly into new, innova-tive products is a key part of our success. We provide products for current applications to meet the needs of our customers while keep-ing an eye on long-term develop-ments and trends.

We recognize the needs of the market ahead of time and develop solutions which can guarantee our customers an advantage in terms of innovation. Committed teams of sales employees and technicians work jointly on these development projects.

We take a flexible and innovative approach to developing the optimal solutions to meet the requirements of our industrial customers, no mat-ter whether it’s a standardized join-ing element, a multi-component section or a complex piping system.

NORMA India has recently started “Global Engineering” ac-tivities to support global innovation projects. We have a team of six en-gineers involved in R&D activities and expect the team to be strength-ened in due course. w

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m&m vehicle sales spurt despite several odds

The year 2011-12 was a very dif-ficult and challenging one. There were problems during the year stem-ming from the state of sovereign debts of many advanced economies, turmoil in the Middle East, weaken-ing global economic environment and India’s rising fiscal and current account deficits.

Addressing the 66th annual gen-eral meeting of Mahindra & Mahin-dra, Mr. Keshub Mahindra, the out-going Chairman, said that in spite of the turbulence and uncertainties, the company business continued to grow. In the automotive sector, it registered a growth of nearly 29 per cent, while in the case of tractors, the growth was 10 per cent despite the sluggish conditions in the year

gone by.The company acquired majority

holding in South Korean SsangYong Motor Company and opened its world class engineering and re-search and development centre, the Mahindra Research Valley (MRV), in Chennai. Spread over 125 acres, this facility was set up at an invest-ment of Rs. 650 crores and presently has a workforce of 1,500 persons.

Gross revenues and other income of the company for the year, together with MVML, is Rs. 10,003.9 crores as against Rs. 7,400 crores during the corresponding period last year, showing a growth of 35.2 per cent. Net profit of the quarter is Rs. 778.5 crores (Rs. 618.3 crores), a growth of 25.9 per cent.

The company’s strong results have been attained through a disciplined strategy, cutting costs, curbing ex-penditures, and maintaining growth by meeting the ever-changing con-sumer demand.

However, Mr. Mahindra said, the economic uncertainties of the year under review aggravated further in the current year, with the Indian economy facing a persistent infla-tion, a volatile currency, lower GDP growth of below six per cent, high interest rates, the price of oil re-maining high, and the threat by the rating agencies to downgrade the country’s rating.

The risks of a full-fledged crisis in Europe remain high, Greece is in a dire state, Spain is showing signs of recession and Italy is showing unacceptable figures of stability. China too is also showing signs of slowing down and oil markets are in a flux. At the same time, weak do-mestic macros – high inflation, large fiscal and current account deficits – continue to constrain policy actions critical to supporting growth.

According to Mr. Mahindra, though the future indeed looks challenging, there is hope that in

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Mr. Keshub Mahindra

The company recorded total sales of 1,22,571 vehicles, as compared to 95,238 vehicles in the previous year, registering a growth of 28.70 per cent.


the latter part of the current year, one might see a change leading to growth and containment of revenue and fiscal deficits. “I also expect that the Government will move to clarify the uncertainties in many sections of our economy and to bring back focus on providing a platform for the growth of our economy which is critical for bettering the quality of life of the people. All political par-ties should move with one objective

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navistar to use Cummins engines for trucksNavistar International Corporation has announced that it is set to deploy Cummins 15-litre engines in its own

trucks and use Cummins Emissions Solutions’ DEF-based aftertreatment system, combined with the company’s own in-cylinder engine to create ICT+ for its existing MaxxForce engines.

The two companies have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU), and Navistar expects that by combining the two systems, it will be able to meet 2010 US EPA emissions regulations and position the company to meet greenhouse gases (GHG) rules in advance of the 2014 and 2017 re-quirements.

Navistar plans to offer Cummins ISX15 engines as part of its North American on-highway truck line-up be-ginning January 2013 and to begin the introduction of ICT+ in its MaxxForce 13-liter in early 2013.

It also provided an outlook on the third quarter of 2012, and withdrew its full-year guidance based on its transition to ICT+. The company’s overall market share for the fiscal third quarter 2012 is seen to remain flat at 17-18 per cent for Class 8, 35-36 per cent for Class 6-7 trucks and at 48-49 per cent for school buses.

of creating an environment in which the economic growth of the country continues.

“After having enjoyed the privi-lege of serving as a Director of your company for 64 years, and the hon-our of being Chairman of the Board for 48 years, I have decided to hand over the baton to the younger gener-ation. I am deeply moved by the sen-timents expressed by the Board and the management in requesting me

to accept the position of Chairman Emeritus, which I do with humility. The Board has selected Mr. Anand Mahindra to be the next Chairman. As you all know, Anand is a leader of great acumen, moving in step with technological advances and, above all, passionate about preserv-ing what is ‘core’ to the company – integrity, ethics and inclusiveness”, Mr. Mahindra added.

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Anand mahindra appointed mahindra Group Chairman

Mr. Anand Mahindra was appointed Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. in 1991 and was given the additional responsibility of Vice Chairman in 2003. Under his stewardship, the $15.4 billion group has evolved into a socially and environmentally responsible global federation of companies with a leading presence in each sector in which it is present.

Mahindra is present across the automotive spectrum, from two-wheel-ers, three-wheelers, commercial vehicles, SUVs and MPVs to sedans, tractors, and even powerboats and aircraft. In addition, the group’s diver-sified nature of business spans many frontiers – automotive components, finance, insurance, IT, retail, real estate, hospitality, logistics and after-market, to name a few.

Fortune magazine has named Mr. Anand Mahindra one of the top 25 most powerful business people in Asia for 2011. During his tenure, the Mahindra Group has also grown inorganically, seizing opportunities across the globe. Recent acquisitions include Ssangyong Motors, Reva Electric Car Company, Satyam Computer Services, Aerostaff Australia and Gippsland Aeronautics, among others.

A thought leader in Indian business, Mr. Anand Mahindra serves many industry confederations, national and international, and was co-Chair of the WEF Davos in 2009. He represents In-dian industry at several global meets. Appointed in November 2011 as Honorary Ambassador of Foreign Investment Promo-tion for Korea for a period of two years, he also serves as a member of the International Advisory Board of Singapore’s Economic Development Board.

He also served on the Boards of the National Stock Ex-change of India (NSE) and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), and was President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in 2003-04 and also President of the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). w

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mr. Anand mahindra, vice Chairman and managing director, mahindra & mahindra Ltd., has been appointed Chairman of the mahindra Group. he takes over from mr. keshub mahindra who has retired after 48 years at the helm and will continue to guide the group as Chairman emeritus on the request of the board.


hJs footprint in india positively essential

HJS Emission Technology, a German manufacturer and innova-tor of emission control equipment, operational in India since 2008, has recently moved its offices from Bangalore to Gurgaon (New Delhi) where its subsidiary HJS Emission Technology India Pvt. Ltd. uses the location also for purchasing activi-ties for its European business.

HJS Emission Technology India benefits from its German parent company with over 35 years of ex-perience as an EGT systems suppli-er. Over 500 employees are engaged in developing and manufacturing original and retrofit equipment for passenger cars and commercial ve-hicles as well as for a wide range of non-road mobile machinery and sta-tionary applications.

In an exclusive interview to MO-

TORINDIA, Mr. Peter Neumann, Director Sales - Indian Projects, ex-plains in detail the company’s ambi-tious plans.

Excerpts:MOTORINDIA (MI): hJS be-

came functional in India in 2008, while hJS emission Technology India Pvt. Ltd. was established in March 2011. Please give us an update on your Indian operations thus far.

PeTeR NeuMANN (PN): It is true that HJS started the process of exploring the Indian market at the close of 2008, which was then fol-lowed by a step-wise setting up of its Indian subsidiary in Bangalore. Today, just two years down the line, we are happy to announce that we have set up our own warehouse in Gurgaon, with its close proximity to

Delhi, and also some of our custom-ers and associates.

HJS is delivering a series prod-ucts to two OEMs already and has projects running with many other customers. The pace of business is no doubt a calculated

and moderate one, since the na-tionwide move from BSIII to

BSIV legislation is still u n d e r w a y . But, neverthe-

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An exclusive interview by MOTORINDIA

Mr. Peter NeumannDirector Sales - Indian Projects


less, HJS is increasing its customer base in the “On-road” and “Non-road” segments, the latter being for the export market in Europe and the US. It has already signed contracts for starting local production in India.

MI: With expertise in exhaust after-treatment systems for over three decades and having studied the Indian market for few years, what is your strategy for the mar-ket?

PN: We learned a lot over the years to make it easier and more cost effective, thanks to our prior experi-ence in Europe where we have been successful with our products during the shift from Euro III to Euro IV.

HJS is following a long-term strategy to bring products to India which were already developed in Germany, but will adjust these prod-ucts to the Indian market in technol-ogy and cost, without compromising on quality. Therefore, localization is one major step together with the common development of customer need. Depending on market increase for BS IV and BSV products, the company will also establish the re-quired resources in India to provide the most effective service to cus-tomers.

MI: considering the host of new models developed by manufac-turers, specifically for the Indian market, are you looking at India-specific products and solutions?

PN: Yes, India-specific prod-ucts and solutions are our impor-tant concern. We are working on the development of new products for the Indian market, especially in market segments which do not ex-ist in Europe. A good example is

the 3&4-wheeler segment which is very important in India but with no presence in Europe in significant numbers. For this segment, we are developing particulate filters. An-other aspect is the very cost sensi-tive market. Therefore adjustments to the products are required to make them competitive.

MI: how are your expansion plans unfolding? could you give us an update on your venture to set up a manufacturing base in Delhi (NcR)?

PN: Expansion depends on busi-

ness growth. With the increase in numbers for BS IV vehicles in India, our expansion plans will automati-cally follow. As mentioned earlier, everything is prepared to start pro-duction in India, and discussions are on, to be ready for higher quantities.

MI: has hJS achieved breakeven in its Indian opera-tions? And what, according to you, have been the high-points in your Indian run till date?

PN: As mentioned above HJS has a long-term strategy. When we are talking about quantities in BS III

hJs tailor-made products for indiaIn India HJS is offering Partial Flow SMF (Sintered Metal Filter) and

complete systems to achieve BS IV legislation commercial vehicles. Further HJS has been participating in development projects with all ma-jor OEMs of vehicles and diesel engines for emission control. A new Partial Flow Particulate Filter for the small 1&2 cylinder diesel engine segment will be launched by the end of 2012. This new development will broaden the application range for open particulate filters from 5 kW engines up to 350 kW. All these Partial Flow SMF sizes can be used un-coated or with a catalytic platinum coating. Single housing design which includes an upstream Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) and the filter in one box and a two-box housing design, where the DOC and the Filter are canned in separate housings, are possible.

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and BS IV market, more than 95 per cent of the commercial vehicles will be sold in BS III. The business with BS IV vehicle is yet to start in inter-esting quantities, and clear bound-ary conditions in legislation is still on its way, as to when BS IV will get into force, nationwide.

A large percentage of our products are designed to meet BS IV legisla-tion. But the future potential of this segment looks very encouraging and, therefore, many of our devel-opment and application projects are in progress. But in spite of all chal-lenges, HJS has now sold over the last 1½ years approximately 3,000 particulate filters and filter systems which include a Diesel Oxidation

Catalyst. And our footprint in India is positively essential!

MI: A few words on your pres-ence in the aftermarket segment. how have your products fared against competition?

PN: As mentioned above, the product is made to achieve BS IV legislation limits. The market just started using these products and af-termarket is not in focus today. It is also clear that our products will be sold through OEMs to the aftermar-ket because of the present contract situation and since many of the products are customized.

MI: Many German companies have established their R&D cen-tre in India to focus on Indian

operations. What are your plans on these lines? Please throw some light on your R&D infrastructure and also on patented products or solutions, if any.

PN: Depending on business in-crease and customer requirements we establish resources for develop-ment and application locally. At the moment the product development is based in Menden, Germany, and testing will be done at the custom-er site. This split is working very well, and we do not see any need to install a local R&D and support immediately. With increasing busi-ness this will change for sure. HJS is prepared to support its customers locally, in future. w

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FoRCe motoRs targeting fast-growing segments

Force motors, known for its iconic brands such as tempo, matador and traveller, is planning to roll out a new range of prod-ucts soon. the company registered an average growth of around 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2012-13 as com-pared to the same quarter the previous fiscal. With its existing products such as the market-leader traveller and the trax doing very well, the company is keen to enter the rapidly-growing 26-seater bus segment with the traveller-26. the huge sCv project up its sleeve could give the company a good share of the fastest-growing segment in the country.

Mr. Prasan Firodia, Managing Director, Force Motors Ltd., talks to MOTORINDIA on the new developments the company is working on by way of expansion of over-all operation.

Force Motors has many segments to venture into but is quite conscious of the steps being taken. Says Mr. Prasan Firodia: “There will be strong growth in the SCV, MHV and HCV segments without doubt. It is important for us to decide our focus areas and identify key segments. The van segment will definitely be one of them. This year, we are investing a total of Rs. 500 crores on different projects.”Promising product

The Traveller-26 which comes as an extension to the existing Traveller range could certainly boost the compa-ny business. The existing Traveller model is available in 13 to 21-seater configurations, giving Force a 60 per cent

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Traveller-26 and a few more new products in offing

Mr. Prasan Firodia, Managing Director, Force Motors Ltd.


share in the relevant market with a size of 25,000 vehicles annually. In contrast, the size of the 26-seat-er segment is around the targeted 70,000 vehicles per year. The new vehicle will roll out of the Pitham-pur plant with its monthly produc-tion capacity of 700 units.

The vehicle, powered by a Daim-ler-licensed common rail, turbo in-ter-cooled engine, delivering 130Ps with 295 Nm torque, also comes with a Daimler-licensed G-33/5 gearbox that offers low friction and smooth transmission. It also has the highest power to weight ratio in its category. The best-in-class fuel ef-ficiency lowers operating and main-tenance costs.

The vehicle boasts of many firsts in its category. It has a monocoque body from pressed steel panels, with outstanding structural strength and unmatched durability. It is the only

vehicle in its category with Cathodic Electro-deposition (CED) painting. The company’s latest (sixth genera-tion) dip painting plant ensures the highest level of rust protection.

The vehicle also offers the low-est floor height and lowest centre of gravity, thereby ensuring best-in-class handling and stability. The ride quality, noise vibration harshness (NVH) levels and the most modern interiors with 2x2 seating set a new benchmark for buses with a seat-ing capacity of 26. Disk brakes on all wheels ensure top-class braking under all load and operating condi-

The Traveller-26 has been designed, developed and tooled up in-house by Force Motors R&D. Around 40 vehi-cles have already hit the roads for customer trials.

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tions. The company is quite confi-dent that the vehicle would be the ultimate choice for the hospitality sector, schools, corporates, BPOs, and for tour and travel fleet opera-tors.New offerings

Another new product expected to be rolled out next year by Force is a nine-seater van with technical a license from Mercedes. In fact, a completely new facility is being set up at Pithampur for manufacturing the van. The facility would have an

exclusive body shop, paint shop and press shop for the product. The com-pany makes its common-rail engine, gearbox and axle at the Pithampur plant which would be its focus plant in the coming years, with all main products rolling out from the facil-

ity. Its another man-ufacturing facility is located in Pune.

As for the other successful prod-uct, the Trax, 1,000 units are produced every month. A variant of the Trax and also one of the Trax Gurkha will be launched soon.

Force Motors cur-rently has around 150 main deal-ers and almost the same number of additional service outlets. At present, exports contribute only around eight per cent of sales, but the company is keen on raising the level by tapping potential markets like Africa and the UAE.

The company reg-istered a turnover of Rs. 2,400 crores in 2011-12 and is

all set for an impressive growth of 30 per cent this fiscal. With new projects gathering momentum, Force Motors is very well focused on the highly potential segments in the Indian market.

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In the fast-growing sCV segment, Force offers the Trump 40. With the segment evolving well over the last year, the company has plans to de-velop a completely new line of products with a new engine, chassis and body. If the project gets the management nod, the company would most likely come up with a new facility for the platform.

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Apollo tyres’ higher outlay on widening product range

the year 2011-12 has been one of laying a strong foundation to pursue Apollo tyres’ growth strategy for the next five years. it seemed the perfect time to undertake this exercise, given the un-certainty in the global economy. however, the global and the indian economy will both re-cover soon. Growth will be back and so will job opportunities.

Overall, Apollo Tyres’ revenues have grown by 37 per cent during the year over the previous one, with profits continuing to remain de-pressed due to higher input costs. On an operational level, the company’s manufacturing bases in India, Neth-erlands and South Africa have un-dergone substantial investments and product expansion. There has been a restructuring in the critical area of research and development to create greater focus and customer-centrici-ty. Business Quality as a process has

been deployed across geographies to create higher efficiencies and to ensure that the customer’s voice is heard and suggestions implemented.

There are four strategic directions Apollo Tyres is globally pursuing with vigour – deepening its presence in the home markets, expanding into new markets, a clear focus on the environment, green technologies

and society, and finally growth to achieve these objectives. Deepening presence in home markets

Through a combination of the right products and focus on spe-cific categories, the company plans to further consolidate its position in each of its home markets of India, South Africa and the European Un-

tyRes

By Onkar S. Kanwar, Chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd.*

* A summary of the speech delivered at the 39th AGM of Apollo Tyres Ltd. at Kochi.

Mr. Onkar S. Kanwar, Chairman, Apollo Tyres Ltd.


ion. This would be balanced with a focus on profitable segments of the tyre market. For example, in India where the company is already the No.1 tyre manufacturer and a leader in both passenger car and truck-bus radial tyres; the focus would be on widening the gap between the com-pany and its competitors with a larg-er and more meaningful portfolio for customers. This would include the entry of the Vredestein brand to take on a leadership position in the ultra-high performance tyre and car segment. This would also include a higher penetration of mining and specialty tyres in South Africa.

In Europe, the focus for the next two years will continue to be on strengthening the passenger car tyre brands of both Apollo and Vredes-tein. Currently in Europe, demand outstrips supply. Therefore, the company is actively looking at ways in which it can meet this increasing European demand for passenger car tyres.

To lend greater focus to these markets, the company’s commer-cial vehicle Research Centre is be-ing recreated in Chennai, while the

entire passenger tyre Research and Development Centre has been relo-cated to Netherlands. This reorgani-sation will enable the company to address evolving car and customer requirements more effectively. As hubs, they will work with country-level research centres to further cus-tomise product ranges to address lo-cal needs actively.

Expanding into new markets In each of the home markets,

Apollo is growing at a rate higher than the local industry rate, espe-cially India. Currently Apollo tyres are sold in over 118 countries. The company has been seeding many of these markets through exports for some years now. But over the course of the past year, it has iden-tified the specific geographies of the Middle East, South-East Asia, Australia and Brazil as potential future home markets, some with

manufacturing bases. This presupposes a firm commit-

ment to further expand the product range, sales and service network and also to a substantial capital expendi-ture to create fresh infrastructure of new manufacturing bases and peo-ple. Over the short term, the capital outlay might put further pressure on margins. However, this is a much-needed expenditure to enable the company to build a future of growth.

The company investments in com-munity development, education and skill building of young people have increased 150 per cent during the year. The company has also started

setting up driver training schools for commercial vehicles in India to cre-ate a strong pool of safety and health conscious drivers.

The company core duty is to ag-gressively pursue business growth, tempered with a keen eye on the society’s well-being. This involves appropriate investments in people, processes and plants for future busi-ness needs. And, of course, Apollo Tyres is ready to move to the next level in its journey around the world.

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tyRes

In each of the home markets, Apollo is growing at a rate higher than the local industry rate, especially India. Current-ly Apollo tyres are sold in over 118 countries.


hinduJA Automotive’s new initiatives paying off

Though there is widespread con-cern over industrial slowdown hit-ting all the industries, the auto sec-tor, for one, has its special scope to bounce back with redoubled vigour. This is more than evident in the growing freight movement with its closer link to GDP. A possible 6 to 6.5 per cent growth in GDP and the recent portfolio changes in the Union Ministry are pointer to rapid economic growth with greater em-ployment opportunities, more per capita buying power, etc. The over-all scenario would change for the better and the Indian economy will

be restored to health sooner than later.

This optimistic view came from none other than Dr. V. Sumantran, Executive Vice Chairman, Hin-duja Automotive, and also the Vice Chairman of Ashok Leyland, while reacting to the fast-changing de-velopments since last few months which have adversely affected the economy.

In an exclusive interview to the MOTORINDIA Editor & Publisher, R. Natarajan, Dr. Sumantran, an au-tomobile expert himself, referred to various key initiatives taken by Hin-

duja Automotive and pointed out that though there is an overall drop in medium and heavy commercial vehicles, sales of Ashok Leyland’s first ever LCV, the DOST, reflected an upward trend. In fact, DOST, which is considered his pet project, has proved a runaway success with-in few months of its launch. Inter-estingly, DOST has emerged the most popular and leading brand in six out of the eight states where the product was rolled out. Currently, the vehicle has a waiting period of three months, as the company ramps up production capacity to meet the growing demand.

On the issue of product diversifi-cation, Dr. Sumantran said the com-pany foray into the Defence vehicle segment with the Stallion model has not only been a welcome expansion for Ashok Leyland, but also made the company emerge the second most successful nameplate holder after Hammer. Today, there are as many as 70,000 Stallion vehicles in the Indian Army alone, apart from a few vehicles supplied to the United Nations and Thailand.

Further, according to him, the Hinduja Group has also gone in for vertical expansion as in the case of Hinduja Foundries by setting up a state-of-the-art plant at Sriperum-budur, introduction of indigenously

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An exclusive interview with Dr. V. Sumantran, Executive Vice Chairman, Hinduja Automotive

Dr. V. Sumantran, Executive Vice Chairman, Hinduja Automotive


developed Neptune series engines, expansion of transmission products manufacturing at its Bhandara plant, as well as establishing high pressure aluminium castings through Al-teams. Similarly, in order to expand its global footprint, the company had acquired Avia in the Czech Re-public and recently bought out ma-jority stake of 76 per cent in Optare in the UK.

Later on, the company felt the need for its own LCV platform and decided to establish a joint venture with Nissan of Japan. The JV’s first LCV product has not only been suc-cessfully conceived with its indig-enous design, higher payload capacity and better fuel economy, but has also been very well positioned to meet the requirements of the Indian mar-ket conditions. The success of DOST is mainly due to the com-pany’s highly skilled engineers who had de-veloped the product three and a half years ago with strong support from the Nissan management team.

As for the sales strategy of DOST, Ashok Leyland had identified an en-tirely different customer approach that offers a car-buyer experience to an LCV customer. For instance, it has set up a separate call centre facility through which the DOST

customer would receive a call on the third as well as the 30th day of pur-chase of the vehicle, which is a first of its kind in the commercial vehicle segment.

Moving on, with an impending massive expansion in the country’s construction and mining segment, Ashok Leyland had decided to for-ay into the segment by establishing a joint venture with John Deere of USA. Following the good response to the Leyland Deere backhoe load-er, the company is now working on a wheel loader as its next product.

Outlining the long-term prospects for the Hinduja Group business ac-

tivities, Dr. Sumantran referred to the group’s entry into three major critical areas – electronics, environ-mental technology and IT data link-age. For electronics, it has a tie-up with Continental of Germany; for environmental technology it has es-tablished Albonair in Germany; and Defiance Electronics has been set up to meet the requirements of IT and data linkages. All the three com-panies now meet different require-ments of the fast-growing Indian auto sector.

Stressing the need for cost control, he cited the economically priced,

fully integrated and sophisticated environmental system currently made by Albonair. The company has already obtained a few patents for its innovative product and has also has bagged major contracts from a leading commercial vehicle manufacturer and an off-highway vehicle manufacturer in Europe.

Apart from providing CAD/CAM design development, Defiance pro-vides an array of solutions to cus-tomers such as Telematics, Analyt-ics, Bluetooth, etc. The company also does market research for Nissan at the global level through its Social Media Analytical Centre which is

basically used for tracking customer opinions at various levels, and has become a rich source of instant feed-back.

In conclusion, Dr. Sumantran ob-served that, with increasing compe-tition in the commercial vehicle seg-ment in the country, acceleration in technology growth and product ma-turity as well as a well-designed de-livery system, it will be the end cus-tomers who would benefit from the growing competition, as they would have much better quality products on offer, which would certainly be a customer delight. w

started with just 23 engineers for the development of DosT, today the com-pany has 450 engineers extending their all-round support for the product in India.

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kCi’s modern bearings plant coming up in Gujarat

Outlining the company’s journey as well as success over the years in an interview to MOTORINDIA, Mr. Rajeev Hiwale, Vice President - Sales & Marketing, KCI Bear-ings, said that, though started in a humble way, the KCI bearings have today become one of the well ac-cepted and preferred brands in the country. The company’s overall performance is well reflected in the growing acceptance of its products by the major automobile OEMs in the country. Today, out of total 40 crore revenue for the year 2011-12, Rs. 24-crore sales revenue came from the OE business and CV seg-ment accounted for almost 70 per cent, of it.

Currently, KCI supplies Needle roller and Cylindrical roller bear-ings to almost all commercial vehi-

cle manufacturers like Tata Motors, VECV, Mahindra Navistar, MAN and Force Motors, apart from meet-ing the requirements of Maruti, Es-corts, ITL , ZF, Rane-TRW, Lucas etc. In fact, for the Tata Motors Gear Box Division, HVTL Jam-shedpur, KCI has emerged one of the most preferred suppliers, and has even won overall recognition, including the Value Engineering Award from Tata Motors. KCI has also received Best Supplier award twice from Rane TRW in the year 2007 & 2012.Expansion plan

With growing demand for KCI bearings in the automotive sector, the company is setting up a mod-ern plant at Surendranagar under its expansion plan. Though the mother plant at Surendranagar produces

bearings for both automotive and textile sectors, the new plant will be fully dedicated to automotive bearing manufacturing with semi automation. The company endeav-our is to supply high technology products at sustainable cost. It has successfully developed Needle Roller bearing cages from com-pound material of engineering plas-tics, like PA 46 for the first time, which can make the product, cost

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Record aftermarket sales in a short span of time

Gujarat, from where mahatma Gandhi hailed offers a lot of manufacturing opportunities. in fact, the state is known as a major hub for production and export of a variety of industrial and automotive products, mainly bearings. For instance, kCi bearings (india) Pvt. Ltd., promoted by the well-known Gadani family, was set up at surendranagar 35 years ago. however during last two years under able leadership of, its managing direc-tor, mr. hasmukh Gadani the automotive division is growing at more than prevailing industry growth rate.

Mr. Rajeev HiwaleVice President - Sales & Marketing


effective and lighter but matches the performance of steel cage bear-ing. This explains the company’s business philosophy and logo ‘De-signed for Life’.

The new plant, which is being set up at an outlay of Rs. 10 crores will be ready for production by the third quarter of this year. It will have an overall capacity of 15 million bearings per annum to be attained within the first six months of its op-eration. A flying start in aftermarket

According to Mr. Hiwale, though the KCI foray into the automotive aftermarket business by establish-ing the marketing headquarters in Pune is less than two years old, it has had its flying start in the sense that the company’s sales revenue in the aftermarket segment has gone up from just Rs. 3 crores in the first six months to Rs. 8.5 crores in one year. For the current year, the com-pany is aiming at a Rs. 14-crore revenue from aftermarket bearing sales.

In order to serve the growing mar-

ket requirements, KCI has already introduced 450 different bearings, including Needle Roller, Taper roll-er, Clutch and Kingpin bearings. In order to become closer to custom-ers, the company has opened offic-es in different parts of the country. Currently, with the dedicated mar-keting team and brand loyalty, the company has established a wider network of 120 dealers and stock-ists all over India, which reach out to about 5000 retailers directly. Since the southern States are more quality conscious, the company had initially started with aftermarket sales in south to prove the quality of the product. After its success in test marketing its bearings in this region, KCI expanded the dealer network and product availability to cover the other parts of the country.

As a testimony to product quality, KCI happens to be the only manu-facturer offering a warranty for its bearings up to two lakh kilometres in the aftermarket, a rare practice among companies. This clearly brings out the quality-driven tech-

nology of the company, which also ensures it never compromises quality to reduce the cost. Of the planned overall sales revenue, the OE and aftermarket would account for 40 per cent each, and exports for the remaining 20 per cent. The main export markets for its bearings are Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangla-desh, and the company is trying to expand to other Asian markets such as Malaysia, Indonesia, as well as European nations.

The success of aftermarket sales is mainly attributed to the manage-ment’s dedicated efforts of grass root canvassing to generate de-mand for its products and also by constantly raising its overseas mar-ket share. Though known for its low-profile, conservative approach, the company is now coming out in open more aggressively by creating greater awareness of its products through participation in different fairs and exhibitions, to consolidate its brand image in the market.

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eicher sales, profit up despite market challenges

Eicher Motors Ltd. (EML) registered total income from operations at INR 3,253.2 crores for the half year ended June 2012. Operating EBIDTA was INR 319.7 crores and PAT INR 276 crores.

For the Q2 ending June 2012, total income from op-erations was INR 1,585 crores, with an operating EBID-TA of INR 139.5 crores and PAT of INR 112.6 crores.

Speaking on the results, Mr. Siddhartha Lal, Man-aging Director & CEO, Eicher Motors Ltd., said: “At Eicher Motors the last quarter has been very significant both in terms of strategic direction and focused execu-tion. Our continued focus on product strategies and

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Mr. Siddhartha LalManaging Director & CEO, Eicher Motors Ltd.

“VECV’s Eicher Trucks and Buses Division continues to grow even when the industry at large has slowed down due to the tough economic environment. In Q2 2012, ETB has registered a volume growth of 8.8% to outpace the industry that has dropped by 11.3%. This surge is attributed to our focused strategy of driving growth and improved market share in the heavy duty and bus seg-ments that has particularly done well for ETB in this quarter.”

– Mr. Siddhartha Lal


operational efficiencies in both the businesses – VECV and Royal En-field – has helped us achieve growth in sales and profits, despite challeng-ing market conditions, especially in commercial vehicles. Our half-year-ly total income grew by 22.5% and profits after tax grew by 15.7%.”

VECV’s Eicher Trucks & Buses Division (ETB) continued its mo-mentum with robust growth figures, selling 11,864 units in Q2 2012 as compared to 10,907 units in the cor-responding period last year. In the 5-14T segment ETB has improved its market share to 31.7 per cent in Q2 2012. In the heavy duty segment, it improved its Q2 2011 perform-ance by 35.5 per cent at 1,906 units sold in Q2 2012, thereby improving its market share from 2.7 per cent to 4.8 per cent. In the bus segment, ETB’s quarterly volumes stood at 2,784 units being sold in Q2 2012, a growth of 30.8 per cent over the corresponding period last year. The market share in the bus segment in Q2 2012 has gone up to 13.4 per cent from 12.4 per cent in the same period last year.

“In Q2 2012, ETB has recorded the highest-ever quarterly market share of 4.8% in the heavy duty seg-ment. Further, in the bus segment ETB has registered the best-ever quarterly volume with 2,784 units being sold. The quality and reliabili-ty of our products at ETB has helped us secure a big order of 1,019 buses from the Gujarat State Road Trans-port Corporation in June 2012”, he added.

“At Eicher Motors Ltd., we are committed to exploring and pursu-ing opportunities for long-term prof-

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itable growth and value creation for our stakeholders. As a strategic ini-tiative in that direction, the company signed in July an equal representa-tion (50:50) joint venture agreement with Polaris Industries Inc. to set up a greenfield project. The joint ven-ture company will design, develop,

manufacture and sell a full new range of personal vehicles suitable for India and other emerging mar-kets. Currently, we are present in the commercial vehicle and motorcycle categories. The collaboration with Polaris will allow us to enter into a new vehicle segment”. w


bosch’ new injection system to cut Cv fuel use, emissions

Bosch is increasing the maximum injection pressure of its common-rail injection systems for commer-cial vehicles to 2,500 bar. Higher injection pressures means lower fuel consumption and emissions. Even a one per cent reduction in fuel con-sumption of heavy commercial ve-hicles means a more than one metric ton reduction in annual CO

2 emis-sions per vehicle.

In its latest variant, the CRSN3-25 injection system for medium and heavy commercial vehicles deliv-ers a maximum injection pressure of 2,500 bar. With its pressure-bal-anced interior, the innovative in-jector concept offers an especially high level of hydraulic efficiency. Since its exterior geometry remains unchanged, the injector used in the CRSN3-25 is compatible with its predecessor system.

Another advantage of the new system is an improved diagnostic capability. Thanks to an integrated pressure limiter, a comprehensive system check can be carried out when the vehicle is being serviced.

Combined with exhaust gas recir-culation and SCR systems, Bosch high-pressure injection systems make a significant contribution to reducing fuel consumption and ni-trogen oxides. However, the com-bustion processes that this involves require high injection pressures in order to prevent a rise in particulate raw emissions. Common-rail sys-tems already deliver high injection pressures in part-load operation, as the system pressure is generated practically independently of engine speed. As a result, common-rail die-sel engines have high torque even at low rpm.

With the CRSN3-25, up to seven individual injections are possible. This increases flexibility in terms of engine design, promotes lower ex-haust and fuel consumption levels, and results in even quieter opera-tion. Thanks to a software learning feature, the amount of fuel injected can be adjusted. This makes it possi-ble to meet strict emission standards over the entire vehicle life cycle, even when annual mileage is high. As a result, Bosch is making a sig-nificant contribution to meeting the Euro VI emissions standard, which

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Bosch injection systems with even higher injection pressures are cur-rently in the pipeline. The company is also working on additional systems to reduce fuel consumption and emis-sions. For instance, it has developed CNG injection systems for commercial vehicles as well as the Denoxtronic and Departronic exhaust gas treat-ment systems. It is also active in the areas of powertrain hybridization and waste heat recovery systems that serve to recover energy in the exhaust tract.

will come into force in 2013, as well as other comparable strict standards, such as US 10 in the US.

For heavy duty vehicles, a new generation of the CPN5 high-pres-sure pump can be applied. In addi-tion to generating pressures of up to 2,500 bar, it is especially compact, robust, and lightweight. The pump has a service life of 1.6 million km and 15,000 operating hours in off-highway applications. Its service life is thus longer than that of the average vehicle.

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tRF targets Rs. 2,500-crore turnover by 2013

TRF has emerged a pioneer in providing solutions for material handling equipment and process-ing systems required in infrastruc-ture development. In quest of rapid growth, the last few years have seen the company diversify into automo-tive applications business with stra-tegic acquisitions and joint ventures.

Despite challenging market condi-tions, TRF has set ambitious targets, envisaging a five-fold growth in five years to become a Rs. 2,500-crore company by 2013 with its greater focus on material handling and auto applications businesses.

The year 2011-12 was marked by a difficult market environment char-

acterized by slowing down of over-all economic growth, high inflation impacting costs adversely, foreign exchange volatility and high inter-est rates resulting in delays in deci-sion making and clients suspending project execution in several instanc-es and almost total choking of the fresh order booking specially during the second half of the fiscal.

The financial results of the com-pany on standalone basis for 2011-12, despite the uncertain economic environment, reflected significant improvement over the previous year with sales at Rs. 802.31 crores (pre-

APPLiCAtions

Mr. Sudhir Deoras, Managing Director, TRF Ltd.

Tata Robins Fraser (renamed TRF in 1984) was established in 1962 at a time when Tata steel had expanded its production capacity to two million tonnes and started feeling that it re-quired in-house capabilities to take care of it bulk material-handling needs. The company was set up as a joint venture by Tata steel, Robins Engineers and ACC Ltd. (formerly Associ-ated Cement Companies Ltd.).


vious year: Rs. 723.58 crores), a growth of 10.88 per cent. The con-solidated TRF Group performance also improved, recording sales of Rs. 1,327.41 crores (previous year: Rs. 1,113.56 crores) achieving a growth of 19.20 per cent. During the year, TRF earned foreign exchange worth Rs. 439.32 crores through ex-ports, including deemed exports of Rs. 436.44 crores, as against the pre-vious year’s earnings of Rs. 461.72 crores through exports (including deemed exports worth Rs. 452.76 crores).Infrastructure sector

The Indian infrastructure sector, in which TRF operates, has passed through a difficult period during the year under review. Key industry indicators like GDP, inflation, in-terest rates and rupee depreciation reflected adverse trends resulting in monetary tightening. Land acqui-sition, environmental clearances, shortage of coal and rising imported coal prices continued to be areas of concern. This resulted in a number of planned investments being post-poned, both by the private and pub-

lic sectors. However, some key initiatives in

the Budget for 2012-13 as well as in the 12th Five-Year Plan have given rise to expectations that there would be a turnaround in the infrastructure sector. Investment in infrastructure in the 12th Plan is estimated at Rs. 50,000 bil-lion. The Gov-ernment had also announced a National Manu-facturing Policy with the intent of increasing the share of manu-facturing in GDP to 25 per cent within the next decade. With the increased investments in the port, power, steel and mining sectors, the com-pany is expected to make good progress as it op-

erates in all these sec-tors, while new prod-uct development and enhancement contin-ues to be a focus area.

The port & yard equipment business

has turned around, and the growth prospects here are very encourag-ing. TRF’s subsidiaries in the auto-motive sector continued to register a healthy growth.York Group

In March 2012, York became a

APPLiCAtions

TRF’s in-house R&D facil-ity has been approved by the Department of scien-tific & Industrial Research (DsIR) which entitles the company to tax benefits on R&D expenditure.


wholly-owned subsidiary of TRF. York grew its business by over 36 per cent during 2011-12, achieving sales of Rs. 335.07 crores (previous year: Rs. 246.18 crores). The market share of York improved in all key markets, including Australia, Indo-nesia, South Africa, Thailand, China and India. Two new models of axle and suspension were launched at the beginning of 2012. The products were well received, and commercial production of these will commence shortly.

Manufacturing of axles at the new plant in Pune commenced in May 2011. This facility includes suspen-sion assembly, special axles and R&D centre. Axles for hydraulic trailers, which were previously im-ported, are now being manufactured at the Pune plant. With a view to making suspension products more competitive, the focus is on indi-genization and value engineering which would help the company in the next financial year. Efforts to work with and support the custom-ers on application, maintenance and installation continued at the Pune Training Center as well as at various customer sites across the country.DLT Group

Dutch Lanka Trailer (DLT) be-came a wholly-owned subsidiary of TRF Singapore Pte. Ltd. towards the end of 2011. The slowdown in the global economy and the con-sequential decline in International trade and container traffic, adversely impacted DLT sales during 2011-12 as the company depends heavily on sale of ‘port terminal trailers’. Road trailer sales also remained stagnant. Sales at Rs. 126.63 crores were

2.86 per cent lower than Rs. 130.36 crores the previous year. However, in the last quarter of 2011-12, there were signs of improvement in the order book.

During the year DLT had entered into purchase agreements with AP Moller Terminal and DP World, two large port operators. The company also entered into dealership arrange-ments in Japan and India to market its trailers.

Dutch Lanka Engineering Ltd., a 100 per cent subsidiary of DLT in Sri Lanka, engaged in maintenance, service and trailer manufacture for the local Sri Lankan market, had im-proved its performance significant-ly, recording its highest-ever sales since inception of Rs. 21.70 crores against the previous year’s Rs. 14.29 crores, achieving growth of 48.78 per cent and further increasing its market share in Sri Lanka.

Adithya Automotive Applications

TRF Ltd. had entered into a share-holders agreement with Tata Capital Ltd. and Jasper Industries Pvt. Ltd. to form a joint venture company, Adithya Automotive Applications Private Ltd. (AAA), engaged in the business of automotive applications to provide end-to-end solutions through fabrication and machining for vehicles to be used as tippers, load bodies, trailers, refrigerated bodies, etc. 2011-12 was the first full year of operations for AAA. Dur-ing the year it supplied 3,038 tipper bodies against 1,245 in the previ-ous year. Sales at Rs. 73.73 crores

APPLiCAtions

AAA had also completed the first phase of capacity expansion from 10 tippers to 15 tippers per day while the next phase of expansion to 25 tippers per day is underway.


(previous year: Rs. 29.35 crores) increased by Rs. 44.38 crores.

The company had de-livered the first proto-type of SS fuel bowser specially developed and manufactured for the In-dian Army. More proto-types are planned in the current financial year.

During the last fiscal, the company had suc-cessfully achieved com-mercial production of a new tipper variant ‘10 cubic meter standard box tipper on LPK 1618 chassis’.HRIL

The acquisition of Hewitt Robins International Ltd. (HRIL) in 2010 represented a significant progres-sion in the direction of rapid growth and globalization by TRF. HRIL has continued to perform well in diffi-cult European markets, improving its turnover and profitability. How-ever, the European market continues to depend substantially on replace-ment orders only. HRIL was suc-cessful in transferring technology to

TRF India and introduced new prod-ucts in the Indian market.The road ahead

In order to widen its product mix, TRF has successfully entered into tie-ups and continues to explore further opportunities for collabora-tions to upgrade its technology. The Operations and Maintenance Serv-ice business has been identified as a potential for growth, and a team has been formed to pursue this business.

During the last fiscal the company had also invested in enhancing its fabrication capabilities to cater to

the increasing demand. The subsidi-aries in the auto application business have also expanded their operations through setting up of manufacturing facilities in India and expanding the existing capacities. The threat of ris-ing costs of inputs without commen-surate increase in net realization is being addressed by focused cost re-duction measures. While TRF does not perceive any major threats, in-tense competition and Chinese sup-plies in the Indian market calls for a different strategy to be adopted in competitive bidding.

APPLiCAtions

The start of 2012-13 had gave some signs of improvement with a some-what higher level of enquiries for the company. However, any significant change may be towards the year end only, and therefore the focus of Team TRF will be on an aggressive busi-ness development drive targeting higher new order bookings coupled with timely, efficient and cost-effec-tive execution of orders and projects on hand. w


China built 6.2 million com-mercial vehicles in 2011. This makes it the world’s

largest producer of commercial ve-hicles, with a share of 44 per cent of total global production. India and Turkey are also among the top five in the world ranking. India’s produc-tion of commercial vehicles in 2011 rose by more than one-fifth (+22 per cent) to 887,000 units, while Turkey built 549,000 commercial vehicles, an increase of 12 per cent.

The German Association VDA recognises this development by putting these countries at the focus of three events with top-level guests at the 64th International Motor Show (IAA) in Hannover.

The “IAA India Day” on Septem-ber 21 will take a close look at the market and co-operation prospects in India. The main speaker will be the Indian Minister for Heavy In-dustries, Mr. Praful Patel. Together with the Automotive Component Association of India (ACMA), the Society of Indian Automobile Man-ufacturers (SIAM), Indian Ministry

try representatives will speak on the development and prospects of the Indian commercial vehicle market. The ACMA President, Mr. Surinder Kanwar, will give an overview on the supply industry in India. This will be followed by the SIAM Presi-dent, Mr. S. Sandilya, speaking on “Prospects for the Indian automo-

iAA PRevieW

of Heavy Industries, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) and the corporate consultants Manage-ment Engineers, VDA is organising the India Day for the seventh time at the motor show.

After the welcome address by VDA President Matthias Wissmann and a lecture by the Minister, indus-

Mr. Matthias Wissmann, VDA President


tive industry.” Then Mr. Marc Llis-tosella, CEO & Managing Director of Daimler India Commercial Ve-hicles, will talk on “Challenges for Indo-German co-operation in the automotive industry.”

Mr. Michael Rüger, of Manage-ment Engineers, will speak on “Technical challenges for the com-mercial vehicle industry”, while Mr. Jacques Esculier, Chairman and CEO of Wabco, will report on the “Next stage in customer partnership in India.” To finish off, Mr. Ambuj Sharma from the Indian Ministry of Heavy Industries will report on the Indo-German Working Group on Automotive Sector. The Turkish scene

Turkey, as a significant commer-cial vehicle market and production location, will be the focus on the “IAA Turkey Day” on September 24. It is expected that around 1.2 million vehicles will be produced in the country in the current year. About 1,000 automotive supply businesses form a major branch of industry as they account for around 45 per cent of all exports.

VDA and its co-operation partners – the Turkish suppliers’ association Taysad and the association of ex-porters in the Turkish automotive industry – will examine opportuni-ties resulting from Turkey’s grow-ing importance as an automotive market. After the welcome address by VDA Managing Director Klaus Bräunig, Mr. Ömer Burhanoglu, Vice President of the Association of exporters in the Turkish automo-tive industry, Taysad President, Dr. Mehmet Dudaroglu, and Mr. Emre Pinarli, Project Director, Prime

Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency, will provide an overview of the Turkish vehicle market.

Promotion and R&D development activities will be covered in the fol-lowing lectures to be delivered by Mr. Burhan Kurt, CEO of Aktas Holding, and Mr. Martin Panzitt, Director of International Tech Cent-er Management.

The largest group of 147 foreign exhibitors at the 64th IAA Commer-cial Vehicles is from China. This number reflects the importance of China as a commercial vehicle mar-ket and location. The China event on September 26, which VDA is or-ganising with the support from the law firm Hengeler Mueller, will give participants an overview of the Chi-nese market and the challenges and potentials of manufacturers and sup-pliers there.The Chinese competence

After the welcome address by VDA Managing Director Klaus Bräunig, there will be a presenta-tion by Dong Yang, Executive Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Chinese Association of Au-tomobile Manufacturers (CAAM), on “China’s new role in the global economy.” Michael Dong, President of MAN Truck and Bus China, will talk on “Challenges for a European OEM in the Chinese market.” The topic “Obstacles and surprises when investing in and from China” will be discussed by Dr. Changfeng Tu of Hengeler Mueller, while Leon Liu, President Asia at Wabco, will reveal the latest “Commercial vehicle in-novations in China.”

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iAA PRevieW


For the globally active com-mercial vehicle supplier, the future of public transport lies in the increased efficiency of drive systems. With its eyes firmly on emission-free driving, Voith is presenting the ElvoDrive, a se-rial hybrid drive that transmits the required power as 100 per cent electrical energy, so that the combustion engine can always be operated within its lowest specific fuel consumption range. Future de-sign stages will also allow purely electric drives, range extender or plug-in concepts. The advantages of the ElvoDrive in future city buses are thus highly diverse: from simply reducing fuel consumption to emission-free electric driving over short distances.

Savings potential lies also in a new efficiency package presented by Voith in Hanover. It consists of the new DIWA.6 automatic trans-mission, the topography-dependent SensoTop gear-shifting program and the DIWA SmartNet telemet-

ric system. The basis is the new DIWA.6, which can save another five per cent of fuel compared to its predecessor model. These sav-ings can be achieved by control-ling the operating pressure in the transmission. It can be lowered to up to five bar, saving nearly three per cent of diesel. This is added by an intelligent start-up management, as well as the SensoTop gear-shift-ing program. In combination with a new torsional vibration damper, the program allows gear-shifting at even lower speeds and thus cuts down on consumption.

The efficiency package is com-pleted by the SmartNet telemet-ric system. In order to minimize downtimes, the bus is sending its operating data to a server via GPRS. In the event of a transmis-sion fault, the operator is informed and can react instantly before the bus breaks down. Preventive main-tenance keeps buses longer on the road and cuts down on workshop stops.

iAA PRevieW (ComPonent zone)

under the motto “efficiency on the road” voith will be presenting its latest prod-ucts and solutions for trucks, buses and coaches at the iAA Commercial vehicle show to be held at hannover during september 19-27. the focus is on higher ef-ficiency, reduced emissions and lower operating costs. Among the highlights are the new elvodrive technology concept and the Aquatarder sWR, the world’s first secondary water retarder.

Another product making its debut at the show is the perfect solution for buses and other com-mercial vehicles with high air con-sumption: with the LP 725 Voith offers the three-cylinder com-pressor now also in an aluminum


retarder, increases its application spectrum: from the start of series production it is available in the new Mercedes-Benz Antos distri-bution truck. The water retarder operates with the cooling agent of the engine and is thus main-tenance-free: compared with oil retarders, between 6 and 12 litres of oil can be saved annually per vehicle. There is also no need for waste oil disposal and workshop stops for oil changing. With its ex-tremely compact design it uses 50 per cent less installation space and is 35 kg lighter than a comparable oil retarder.

Retarders can assume up to 90 per cent of all vehicle braking op-erations. This protects the service brake and reduces brake dust emis-

sions by up to 80 per cent.Voith Turbo, the specialist for

hydrodynamic drive, coupling and braking systems for road, rail and industrial applications, as well as for ship propulsion systems, is a Group Division of Voith GmbH.

Voith sets standards in the mar-kets for energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transportation & automotive. Founded in 1867, it employs almost 40,000 people, generates Euro 5.6 billion in sales, operates in about 50 countries around the world and is today one of the biggest family-owned com-panies in Europe.

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lightweight construction. From 2013, the LP 725 is intended for the new generation of Euro 6 en-gines. Voith air compressors stand out against single-stage compres-sor by higher specific displacement volumes. They consume less en-ergy and reach the end pressure at lower compression temperatures, thanks to intermediate cooling.

The Aquatarder SWR, the world’s first secondary water

iAA PRevieW (ComPonent zone)


iAA symposium to focus on benefits of modern telematics systems

Telematics is a crucial instrument for trans-port companies when it comes to increasing efficiency and reducing costs. Telematics

systems not only allow positioning, but also serve communication between the driver and the dispatch office and carry out automatic route planning and truck navigation. They evaluate data about the driv-er and the vehicle, plan maintenance and provide lo-gistical support for the transport job.

All this helps reduce the money spent on fuel, person-nel and the vehicle itself, and save CO

2. However, there are still many transport companies that so far have not decided to invest in this technology. The reasons given include too many providers, too many different system

functions, plus the costs of acquiring and operating the systems.

This is where the IAA symposium on “Purchasing advice for telematics: on the path to the right system – costs and capabilities of telematics systems”, to be joint-ly organised at Hannover on September 24 by the trade magazine “VerkehrsRundschau” and the VDA, assumes significance.

The symposium is aimed at all decision-makers in for-warding and transport companies and in industry and commerce who are responsible for fleets or IT. An intro-duction to the topic from the VDA Managing Director, Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn, will be followed by Karl-Heinz Neu, Director of Schmitz Cargobull Telematics, Mün-ster, talking about “The capabilities of modern trailer telematics.” He will explain the functions and system components illustrated with examples from actual prac-tice.

Bernd Schoob, Managing Director of Fleetconsult GmbH, Geldern, will speak on the “Return on invest-ment in telematics projects.” Alexander Németh, ANE Projektmanagement & Training, Berlin, covers the topic “Digital tachograph and telematics – system interplay in archiving.” Prof. Heinz-Leo Dudek, of the Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW), Ravensburg, will present “Exclusive study results: an overview of the telematics systems market”, including a current overview of providers with their services and prices.

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iAA PRevieW

Dr. Ulrich Eichhorn, VDA Managing Director

The symposium will offer some orientation to companies interested in telematics. Following the success of the first event of this type at the 63rd IAA Commercial Vehicles in 2010, now telematics experts are again helping out with information that is both practical and user-oriented to show which system is the most suitable for a particular company and which system will pay off over the total period of use.


economy and efficiency are the focus of the international automotive supplier Continental at this year’s iAA. in hall 17 booth A06/b05,

on an area of 600 m2, Continental presents numer-ous innovative technologies, products and services, with which the manufacturers of commercial vehi-cles can make their vehicles safer, more economical and cleaner, as well as network them more intel-ligently for easier operation. the motto of the pres-entation is “one Goal: efficiency”.

The automotive supplier presents its technological innovations for the automotive megatrends of Safety, Environment, Information and the industry trend of Efficiency. Innovative driver assistance and braking systems, vehicle networking and operating concepts, drive technologies, sensors, interior trim materials and tyres are just some of the innovations on display.

“Only when trucks, vans or buses are less involved in accidents, keep their fuel consumption as low as possible and have clever data exchange with the driver and environment, can they actually be oper-ated economically with reduced operating costs and thereby achieve the effectively lowest overall costs,” explained Dr. Elmar Degenhart, Chairman of the Executive Board of Continental. “With our IAA participation this year, with the focus on the industry-relevant topic

iAA PRevieW (teChnoLoGy)

Dr. Elmar Degenhart, Chairman of the Executive Board of Continental


‘Efficiency’, we would like to show that, thanks to our wide product range and our systems expertise, we can offer our customers solutions that improve the efficiency of com-mercial vehicles.”

The highlight as far as Efficiency is concerned is the preview of the forthcoming Continental tyre gen-eration for omnibuses and trucks. For the first time at IAA, Continen-tal will display tyres of the 3rd gen-eration. With the new tyres, which will be gradually introduced to the market from mid-2013, the compa-ny will incorporate state-of-the-art tyres as regards efficiency, safety and comfort into its world-wide product range. With tyres of the 3rd generation, customers will have products at their disposal that have been developed and optimized for the target group, which simplify the work of those in charge of vehicle

fleets, from tire selection to service solutions.

As an important service solu-tion, Continental presents the fleet management system Conti 360° Fleet Services. The system offers modular services which enable individual and expert tyre management specific to the needs of customers. The fleet operator thus ensures that the condition of his vehicles’ tyres is constantly optimized, the administrative workload and expenses are low, and the costs are easily calculable. Meanwhile, the mobility service for fleets with international operations is available in 13 European countries.

In the “Safety” megatrend area of the trade fair booth, the focus is on driver assistance and braking sys-tems. The highlight is the MK 100

ESC XT electronic braking system which Continental will present at IAA for the first time. Volume pro-duction of the system is slated to get underway in 2015. It is an extension of the modular and scalable MK 100 product family, which allows the use of the anti-lock braking system

MK 100 ESC XT Base

SCR Technologies



(ABS) and electronic stability con-trol (ESC) in all vehicle categories and thereby even saves space and weight.

Products and solutions aimed at reducing CO

2 emissions are present-ed in the “Environment” megatrend area. Continental thus demonstrates systems expertise with innovative solutions for exhaust gas aftertreat-ment, which help in complying with exhaust standards such as Euro VI (2013) and US10 /Tier4f. The selec-tive catalytic reduction (SCR) of ni-trogen oxides (NOx) and diesel par-ticulate filters (DPF), which remove particulate emissions from truck exhaust fumes, play a key role here. In SCR, a watery urea solution (Ad-Blue) is injected in the exhaust gas flow to be able to transform nitrogen oxides in a catalytic converter.

Continental delivers important components for this purpose: From 2013 onward, newly developed Ad-Blue injectors with air cooling for light-duty use will enter mass pro-duction. At the same time, Conti-nental is developing a water-cooled version for use in trucks. Cont-iTech’s heatable hose line modules also form part of the SCR systems expertise.

Other trade fair highlights also aid environmental protection: For example, the newly developed fuel quality sensor can be used to de-termine the quality of fuel and thus optimize fuel injection. New types of air spring systems with plastic pistons save up to 12 kg of weight per axle and thus cut fuel consump-tion. The use of renewable resources for interior trim materials in driver’s cabs is an additional contribution to

a more environment-friendly vehi-cle.

The “Information” megatrend area is primarily devoted to vehicle networking and operating concepts. For the first time, Continental will be presenting an intelligent camera system for commercial vehicles at IAA. With this camera system, the driver receives 360-degree visibility around his commercial vehicle in real time. This will help truck driv-ers during manoeuvring, bus drivers during safe departure from crowded bus stops and drivers of construction vehicles in the centimeter-accurate positioning of their machines.

An efficient control computer that adds up the digital signals of the cameras to a 2D or 3D image works

in the background. The new system thus gives the commercial vehicle driver a bird’s eye-view of critical situations.

With sales of Euro 30.5 billion in 2011, Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers world-wide. As a supplier of brake sys-tems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumen-tation, infotainment solutions, vehi-cle electronics, tyres and technical elastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving safety and glo-bal climate protection. It is also an expert partner in networked automo-bile communication and currently employs approximately 169,000 persons in 46 countries.

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Fuel Quality Sensor


Within the scope of the megatrend Information, Continental also presents numerous product developments related to intelligent transport systems (ITs), tire pressure monitoring systems and new studies for the commercial vehicle cockpits of the future.


iAA Commercial vehicle Fair to witness Gala Awards presentation

One highlight of the first Press Day will be the “Evening of the commercial vehicle press,” to which the German Association of the Au-tomotive Industry (VDA), the IAA organiser, traditionally invites rep-resentatives of the German and for-eign media, board members of the commercial vehicle manufacturers

and suppliers, association presi-dents, managing directors and com-munication and press chiefs from the exhibiting companies.

The judges are well known trade journalists and editors-in-chief from all over Europe, who give the prod-ucts a thorough testing. The evening will be hosted by Christina Surer,

herself a racing driver.Beyond all doubt the engines of

the future – but also of the present – include electrical drives. This key technology is an essential milestone on the way towards sustainable and modern mobility for tomorrow, as it promises intelligent solutions for ef-ficient and environmentally-friendly transport of passengers and goods. The latest concepts and develop-ments of hybrid and electrical drives in the commercial vehicle sector will be on show at IAA.

The performance show on the stands will be complemented by the possibility of test drives with trucks, vans and buses during which visi-tors can experience the electrically powered vehicles hands on for the first time. This thematic focal area at IAA will be rounded off by the

iAA PRevieW

Dr. Peter Ramsauer, Federal Minister of Transport

the 64th iAA Commercial vehicles in hannover will be officially opened on september 20, by the Federal minister of transport, dr. Peter Ram-sauer (Csu). “Commercial vehicles: driving the future” is the motto of

this year’s event being held in hanover from september 20 to 27. more than 1,800 exhibitors will present technological highlights in the commercial vehi-cle, transport, trailer and supply industry at the world’s most important trade fair for transport, mobility and logistics.

The ‘oscars’ of the commercial vehi-cle industry will be presented for the fifth time: the awards ‘Truck of the Year,’ ‘Bus of the Year’ and ‘Van of the Year.’


“Electric Mobility Congress” being held at the Hanover Fairgrounds on September 26, organised by VDA jointly with BDEW, BDI, BITKOM, VDMA, VCI and ZVEI.

The congress, which pre-miered successfully at the IAA Cars with some 500 par-ticipants last year, will be exploring the entire value chain of the electric mobility system and will thus offer a platform for exchanges between all participating branches of industry. High-ranking representatives from the industry, academia, research and politics, including Germany’s Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, Dr. Philipp Rösler, will be examining a range of issues such as: where does Germany stand in the development of this future tech-

nology? What has been achieved so far? What hurdles have still to be overcome?

A second trend in the future of the automotive industry is networking. The vehicles of tomorrow will com-municate – with the internet, with other vehicles, with infrastructure. Opportunities, challenges and poten-tials of these new IT systems form the focus of the “CarlT – Mobility 3.0” being presented by the branch association BITKOM on September

25. Top-flight experts from the commercial vehicle, transport and supply industry will be ex-amining the themes of Car-to-X-communication, navigation and telematics of the future, driver assistance systems, traffic man-agement, infotainment, apps and operation, as well as e-mobility

& IT.Both congresses are being held in

Room 1 of the Convention Center (CC) at Hanover Fairgrounds. Par-ticipation is free of charge for jour-nalists. The detailed programme and registration form can be downloaded from the IAA website at Opens in-ternal link in current windowhttp://www.iaa.de/besucher/veranstaltun-gen/veranstaltungen/fachveranstalt-ungen/.

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iAA PRevieW

diesel emissions meet during september 12-14

Diesel prices in India are heavily subsidised by the government, but with a growing budget deficit plans are being worked out to reduce this subsidy.

Dr. Kirit Parikh, Chairman of the National Low-Car-bon Strategy Group, will be addressing the Diesel Emis-sions Conference India to investigate possible methods of implementing diesel fuel price reform in India and the impact that this could have on the automotive industry.

To be held in New Delhi during September 12-14, In-teger Research’s third Diesel Emissions Conference will bring together senior stakeholders from the global au-tomotive industry and investigate the industry progress

in meeting Bharat Stage IV legislation for on-road and non-road vehicles and fuel economy requirements.

The conference will address emissions control tech-nologies for high sulphur diesel fuel, the potential of alternative fuels and dual fuel technology, and advance-ments in hybrid technology for light-duty vehicles, and also give an update on the current BS IV legislation.

This is the region’s leading diesel emissions event at-tracting over 200 representatives from OEMs, technol-ogy providers, and aftertreatment distributors and sup-pliers from India and overseas.

Global Media Partner: MOTORINDIA


LAmiLux high-tech materials for lightweight vehicle design

Carbon- and glass-fibre-reinforced composites are smoothing the way for tomorrow’s green, energy-effi-cient mobility. As highly sturdy, re-sistant, yet very light materials, they offer a wide range of potential uses in construction, thus accelerating the global trend towards lightweight de-signs for commercial vehicles.

Whether they are featured as outer and inner face sheets in side walls and roofing or as extremely resilient floor covering, LAMILUX composites are used across the sur-faces of almost all essential body sections which give vehicles their stabil-ity. Europe’s lead-ing manufacturer of fibre-reinforced composite sheeting, LAMILUX, will be providing a com-prehensive, detailed insight into the vari-ety of materials and applications that it offers at IAA Com-mercial Vehicles in Hannover. LAM-ILUX products and ideas will be show-cased in a life-size, dry-freight truck body which visi-tors can enter on the company exhibition stand.

As a result of their light weight combined with optimum stability and resistance to UV light, corrosion and weathering, fibre-reinforced composites far outperform conven-tional materials used in commercial vehicles, such as aluminium and sheet steel. These high-tech materi-als can be used as inner and outer sandwich face sheets on side walls. They are also ideal in their numer-ous variants for use in roofs and floors.

The CFC optimally meets the re-quirements of lightweight design

as a material featuring optimum strength and resistance combined with a very low mass per unit area. The potential of this material lies mainly in the construction of walls and roofs on lightweight truck bod-ies and trailers. CFC is up to 50 per


With its High strength X-treme Car-bon, LAMILUX is the first manufac-turer worldwide to produce carbon fibre-reinforced composites (CFCs) with a width of up to 3.20 metres in a continuous flat sheet manufactur-ing process.


cent lighter with a tensile strength three or four times greater than that in steel or aluminium.Light but strong materials

The fibre-reinforced composite LAMILUX High Strength has been specially developed for extreme commercial vehicle applications exposed to very high mechanical loads. Thanks to its resistance to hail storms and UV light, and its low heat expansion, it is eminently suitable as large-scale roof sheeting. The mate-rial’s optional transparent property allows daylight to stream into vehicle body and trailer interiors, highly useful when loading and unloading.

With its GRP material LAMILUX Anti Slip, LAM-ILUX focuses on flooring in commercial vehicles. It unites the advantages of fibre-reinforced composites and low mass per unit area with a universal product fea-ture which is extremely ben-eficial for the transport in-dustry: anti-slip protection. Quartz sand or granite gran-ulate is applied to the surface

of this extremely robust resin and glass-fibre com-posite during the lamination proc-ess, ensuring the product achieved top ratings re-garding its anti-slip properties (up to Class R13) when tested in accordance with DIN 51130.

The composite LAMILUXplan High Impact has managed to com-bine the design advantages of three structural materials for commercial vehicle construction. Used as the inner and outer face sheet in side walls, this material features the im-pact resistance and surface finish of coated metal facings. It also pos-sesses the low thermal conductivity and elastic deformability found in thermoplastic materials while offer-ing the high resistance to UV light, weathering and corrosion of thermo-

setting polymers. Thanks to its extremely impact-

resistant behaviour and tensile strength, LAMILUX High Impact is even able to withstand the effects of strong frontal forces, such as those encountered when loading and un-loading.

LAMILUX supplies customers around the globe in a wide range of sectors such as the construction industry, the automotive and recrea-tional vehicle industries, refrigerat-ed store room and cell construction and many other industrial sectors.

In 2011, LAMILUX, the family-managed company based in Rehau, Bavaria, achieved a turnover of 143 million euros. w


LAMILUX Composites GmbH has been producing fibre-reinforced compos-ites for about 60 years. This medium-sized company is Europe’s leading producer, thanks to its technological-ly advanced continuous manufactur-ing process, large production capaci-ties and wide product range.


vdmA discusses role of automation in reducing overall cost of production

The members of the VDMA Com-posite Technology Forum and of the partner organisations AVK, Carbon Composites e.V. and CFK Valley Stade e.V., recently met in Frankfurt to discuss affordable manufactur-ing automation solutions along the entire process chain to help bring about the required reduction in the cost of finished products.

In his welcome address at the ses-sion, Frank Peters of KlaussMaffei Technologies GmbH Board high-lighted the importance of close co-operation between machinery and plant manufacturers and the industry using fibre composites as well as among their various networks.

In his keynote address on the challenges of automation, Klaus Drechsler, Professor of Carbon Composites at Munich Technical University, identified carbon fibre-reinforced plastics (CRP) as having the greatest potential of all material

systems in lightweight construction, with a possible 90 per cent saving in process costs.

“Use of carbon fibre- reinforced plastics in industrial-scale produc-tion does however still require con-siderable research efforts, from the material sciences through structural mechanics to process engineering. Automation solutions from machin-ery and plant manufacturers are the

key drivers for industrialisation,” he said.

Composite component manufac-turing will have to be overhauled completely if large-scale produc-tion is to be introduced in the motor industry, explained Heinrich Timm of AUDI AG. “Lightweight con-struction goes far beyond reducing consumption and emissions. Light-weight construction is also about the

AutomAtion

More than 150 delegates discussed approaches to automation and what was required of plant and machinery manufacturers, stressing the benefits of knowledge transfer for the neces-sary joint developments.

Mr. Frank Peters, spokesman of the Composite Technology Forum and Krauss-Maffei Technologies GmbHboard member.


sustainable saving of resources and driving safety. That is why the fo-cus is on lightweight more than ever before, inspiring ideas in composite construction ranging from steel and aluminium to fibre-reinforced mate-rials. The best material for the pur-pose is the smallest possible quantity and in the right place: that is the way to economic lightweight construc-tion. This means developing and

automating the manufacturing and joining processes for the production line. VDMA’s current practice of exchanges between machinery and plant manufacturers and user indus-tries is of utmost importance here.”

There is no series manufacture without automation solutions. The use of fibre composites in series pro-duction requires reliable processes with short cycle times and a high degree of accuracy. At the same time, the prices of high-performance fibres will have to come down in order to be competitive. The chal-lenges of automated manufacture arise at every stage: textile moulded part manufacture, cutting, handling of limp fabricated materials, injec-

tion and hardening processes, tool design, joining and assembly tech-niques, working and testing of com-ponents.

For all these questions, the Com-posite Technology Forum brings to-gether more than 130 VDMA mem-ber-firms from eight associations to pursue the necessary developments jointly with the customer indus-tries. With thermo process technol-ogy, textile machinery, garment and leather technology, plastics and rubber machinery, robotics and au-tomation, machine tools, precision tools and testing machines, the en-tire process chain is covered, from fibre to finished component.

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From left, Mr. Frank Peters, KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH, Dr. Rolf Bütje, Nordex SE, Mr. Prof. Klaus Drechsler, TU München, Mr. Volker Mathes, AVK, Dr. Begemann, VDMA, Mr. Thomas Waldmann, VDMA, Dr. Elmar Witten, AVK, Dr. Michael Effing, AVK, Mr. Lothar Gräbener, Schuler SMG GmbH & Co. KG, Dr. Markus Lang, Voith Composites GmbH & Co. KG, Mr. Christian Meiners, BRÖTJE-Automation GmbH, Dr. Thomas Bischoff, Groz-Beckert KG, Mr. Thorsten Kühmann, VDMA, and Mr. Heinrich Timm, AUDI AG

Lightweight components are increas-ingly being used for the new gen-eration of motor vehicles in particu-lar, especially to compensate for the weight of electric vehicle batteries and to cut fleet consumption overall.

AutomAtion


vRL Logistics leading the way in service quality and work ethics

vRL Logistics is one of india’s largest lo-gistics companies with a fleet strength of over 3000 vehicles. From a humble begin-ning in 1976, with a vision that was way ahead of its time, vRL currently has pres-ence in almost every state in the country and has grown into a nationally-renowned logistics and transport company.

Over the years, VRL has pioneered in provid-ing a safe and reliable delivery network in the field of parcel service. It has spread its opera-tions to Courier Service, Express Cargo & Air Chartering to meet the growing demand of the burgeoning customer base.

In an exclusive interview to MOTORINDIA, Mr. Vijay Sankeshwar, Chairman and Manag-ing Director, VRL Logistics, highlights the key aspects of his company’s growth and certain se-crets behind the apparently unparalleled success of VRL. Power of people

VRL is known for its extremely good manage-ment-employment relationship. The company offers high salary packages to its employees which helps build an easy-to-retain and loyal employee base.

Mr. Vijay Sankeshwar says: “We attribute our success to each one of our employees. We always look at the long-term and believe in long-term relationship with our employees, customers and financiers. We are not affected by the price war in the market because we never compromise on quality. We deliver what we promise.”

Mr. Anand Sankeshwar ably supports his father as the Managing Director of VRL. The company values the service of experienced campaigners with abundance of knowledge on the industry and is known for employing retired people who have the drive left in them to work for the indus-try. Mr. Bhatt is its CTO and is with the company for 15 years.

Mr. Umesh is its COO, serving the company for over three decades. Mr. Vijay Sankeshwar was indeed very humble in attributing his com-pany’s success to the dedicated and sincere serv-ice of the workforce over the years.

LoGistiCs

Mr. Vijay Sankeshwar, Chairman & Managing Director, VRL Logistics


VRL is currently the largest pri-vate fleet owner in India with a fleet size of 3860 vehicles which includes 550 tourist buses and 3310 goods transport vehicles. The company finds mention in the Limca Book of Records as the single largest fleet owner of commercial vehicles in the private sector in India. The passen-ger carrier fleet includes 130 Volvo coaches while the cargo carrier fleet includes nearly 2500 Ashok Ley-land vehicles, which reflect its trust and confidence on the Ashok Ley-land and Volvo brands.

The company has recently bought 20 BharatBenz trucks which are cur-rently plying between Mumbai and South India. It has a good number of Tata Aces for last mile transport and is likely to place an order for some Ashok Leyland DOST vehicles soon. With 85 per cent of its total turnover coming from goods trans-portation, the company is looking to consolidate its presence in the seg-ment, while continuously expanding its passenger carrier fleet.

VRL has also entered the car-carrier segment and currently has 102 car carriers in its fleet. Though

initially the segment attracted good response, owing to the slump in car sales off late, the demand has slowed down. The car-carrier seg-ment though being a very important one reveals some shocking num-bers. Out of the 14,000 car carriers in the country, less than 500 are in compliance with the Motor Vehicles Act. Legally speaking, the car car-riers should at most be 18.75 metre long, while most of the carriers are over 22 metre long which is a huge

cause of concern. Despite adhering to the rules, organised players face the heat owing to the various loop-holes in the industry which are ex-ploited by unorganised and unethi-cal players.Unique policy

When it comes to targets and plans, VRL is a company which has its own unique way of operation. In fact, the company does not have huge business targets and turnovers. The main targets are fixed for its drivers who are given an incentive bonus for every punctual trip. The reward increases if he manages to cover the distance before the stipu-lated time. The company operates on a strategy of catering to the lo-gistics requirements of clients in dif-ferent fields which reduces the risk of high dependence on a particular sector.

A fleet of over 3,500 vehicles calls for around 7,000 drivers. Though VRL has rarely faced driver short-age, thanks to its high salary pack-

LoGistiCs

‘An entrepreneur in his own right’Mr. Anand Sankeshwar, Managing Director, VRL Logistics Ltd. is an entre-

preneur in his own right. A multi-faceted personality, he has been recognized as a ‘Youth Icon’. A man of vision, well-tuned to changing times and emerging trends in the publishing world, He has been instrumental in scripting the suc-cess story of a popular Newspaper. Major achievements:n Mr. Anand Sankeshwar’s landmark achievement is in print media. In testi-

mony, he was honored with the prestigious ‘Youth Icon Award’ by ABCI of Mumbai, which reads: “He never had legacy of Newspaper industry passed on. To him the creation of Newspaper is entirely his own. He has set an ex-ample of a youth icon”.

n He was honored as the ‘Marketing Professional of the year’ by the Indira Group of Institutes, Pune.

n He was also honored by TIE as the ‘Best IInd Generation Entrepreneur’ from Mr.Gururaj Deshpande, Trustee for Deshpande Foundation in Hubli.


ages and good relationship with the driver community, the industry is in a spot of bother when it comes to drivers. Expressing his views on the issue, he says: “The number of drivers needed is twice the vehicle production count and currently there is a 40 per cent driver shortage in In-dia. The vehicle manufacturers and the government need to act quickly as the dearth might rise to 80 per cent and result in making the indus-try come to a standstill.” The exist-ing rule that a driver could drive a heavy vehicle only after a period of three years after obtaining a light ve-hicle license is far from justified and as a result, poses a big threat to dis-suading people from taking to com-mercial vehicle driving.IPO deferred

Despite fluctuating market conditions, VRL has maintained a growth of 15 per cent in the last year. The company has been constantly expand-ing its fleet strength and network size and in a move to fuel further ex-pansion, the company decided to go for an IPO four years ago. However as the public issue dates neared, the market was badly hit, forcing the IPO to be shelved. A second IPO bid in March 2011 did not fructify either, after which the company dropped the decision of going public.

Following the IPO deferral, New Silk Route (NSR), an American company had invested Rs. 175 crore in VRL few months ago which came as a shot in the arm for the com-

pany’s growth prospects. Says Mr. Sankeshwar: “We are not worried about the financial factor because we always follow a fair policy and our relationship with finance com-panies is very good. We have about 25 banking companies, NBFCs and co-operative companies who of-fer us good support. Following the recent Rs. 175 crore investment by NSR, we are not looking at IPO for the next three years.”Warehousing solutions

Third-party logistics and ware-housing solutions offered by VRL are tailor-made and cater to unique needs of various customers of the industry. With the largest network in India, the VRL parcel service is indispensable for a large number

of corporate houses. The compa-ny’s network spans the length and breadth of the country and is sup-ported by large number of tranship-ment hubs.

VRL has a 43-acre transport-cum-warehouse complex at Varur, Hubli. The unique facility has all the essen-tial back-up services under one roof, including a transhipment godown, workshop, canteen, drivers’ rest

room, own diesel bunk and parking area. The company has a total of 42 warehouses at different locations catering to different regions across India. Focal point of activity

VRL has a warehouse in Banga-lore which acts as a connectivity hub for the north, east, west and south regions. The three lakh sq. feet large warehouse, spread over seven acres of land is the company’s largest and perhaps the country’s too. The warehouse is buzzing with activity, more during the nights and towards the wee hours of the morning when most of the transaction takes place.

Being one of VRL’s largest ware-houses, it receives consignments from across the country which are

segregated for dispatch according to the region and as per priority. The Express Cargo division, whose ve-hicles are given first priority, has a dedicated team servicing the entire country through 15 primary routes. The division is known for its prompt service, with vehicles departing ex-actly on time immaterial of condi-tions and circumstances.

Operational since October 2008,

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the warehouse normally has close to 1,000 people in its premis-es round the clock as vehicles keep moving in and out. On an average, the centre receives around 460 vehicles every day with a transaction of nearly 4,000 tonne, 50 per cent of which caters to the requirements of Karnataka. The state’s capital Bangalore is served through 23 delivery points and 35 booking points us-ing a local fleet of 107 vehicles. The warehouse primarily uses forklifts and hand-trolleys to move the consignments while it also has a crane to transfer huge ones. With business growing rapidly, VRL is looking to expand the warehouse to four lakh sq. feet area, to be able to cope up with the rising logistics de-mand.

The warehouse has a workshop for in-house repairs where around 40 vehicles are serviced every day. A fleet of 150 spare vehicles is lined up in the centre for emergency use. The centre has a huge inventory of spare parts and also has a spare engine and additional tyres for emergency. It also has a tyre section for inspection of tyres, where 25 to 30 tyres are replaced every day. The huge fleet strength expectedly consumes huge volumes of fuel every day, 18,000 litres to be precise, amounting to a whop-ping Rs. 8,00,000 per day! The company has IndianOil Corpo-ration (IOC) as its primary fuel partner, catering to 95 per cent of the requirement. w

VRL Logistics added two more feathers to its cap by bagging national awards at the recently held CEAT ‘India Road Transportation Awards-2012’ (IRTA) presentation ceremony in Mumbai.

CEAT India Road Transportation Awards seeks to reward excellence and innovative thinking in the various aspects of road transportation. It attempts to ensure fair play in the selection of award winners and does not have parameters of size and scale.

Out of the nearly 800 entries received for the third edition of the award, 13 national awards were an-nounced. VRL Logistics was awarded for ‘The Best Customer Experience in HTV Category’ in the Southern region.

More significantly, Mr. Vijay Sankeshwar. Chair-man and Managing Director, VRL Logistics, has been honoured with the ‘Transport Personality of the Year 2012’ Award at a glittering ceremony held recently. w

vijay sankeshwar bags ‘transport Personality of the year’ Award

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Division in the Bangalore Warehouse:• Express Cargo Division• Door Delivery Division• Karnataka state Division• other states Division (states other than Karnataka)• Local Division (within Bangalore)


Currently, the company is fo-

cussed on the bus segment, which

has witnessed entry of new play-

ers in the domestic market. With

a decade of experience in the

segment, demand for Impact’s

glasses has been growing, and the

company continues adding to its

customer list. It is in fact working

with all leading bus manufactur-

ers in the country, including Tata

Marcopolo, Ashok Leyland, Eich-

er and Mahindra Navistar, through

reputed bus-body builders such as

MG Automotive, Veera Vahana

and S.M. Kanappa. Impact glass-

es are also supplied to the Volvo

and Daimler range of buses, while

ComPonent zone

impact safety Glass Works Pvt. Ltd., a bangalore-based company, has emerged a popular supplier of glasses meeting the requirements of many leading companies in the country’s highly competitive automo-tive market. the company is working with prominent manufacturers of buses, trucks, construction equipment and also passenger vehicles, supplying quality glass as per customer requirements. it also supplies glasses for the automotive aftermarket.

Corona Bus Mercedes-Benz


talks are in progress for supply to

MAN and AMW.

In the truck segment, the com-

pany is in discussion with Tata

Motors, AMW, Scania and Fo-

ton while supplies have already

started to MAN. Impact is also in

discussion with Ashok Leyland-

Nissan for LCV glasses and offers

aftermarket products for the Hino

range of vehicles. In the construc-

tion equipment segment too, it

works with some of the leading

manufacturers.

Impact has a 35,000 sq. metre

production facility in Bangalore

with a daily capacity of 100 large

glasses to cater to the bus segment

and 500 small wind screens for

smaller vehicles. High-tech ma-

chines are imported from Finland,

and the plant is capable of making

glasses with printing of designs

being done in-house.

“Currently we have glasses

which can provide a complete

solution for buses and trucks.

We are investing close to Rs. 30

crores for a 30-acre facility near

Kolar in Bangalore which would

cater exclusively to the passenger

car segment. We are also keen

on penetrating into the truck seg-

ment”, says Mr. Vikram Dutt, Di-

rector, Impact Glass.

Unlike others, the company

does not insist on a sizeable mini-

mum order from customers. This

approach has attracted a lot of

new customers.

The company gets automotive Mr. R.K.Dutta, President & Managing Director, Impact Safety Glass Works Pvt. Ltd.

ComPonent zone


quality glass as the raw material on which operations such

CNC cutting, grinding and washing are performed in a sin-

gle flow line. This is followed by printing and bending of

glass. The glasses are laminated using a poly vinyl butyral

(PVB) film, which is imported from Solutia of the US.

Impact is capable of making glasses of different stand-

ards such as American, Japanese and Korean to meet spe-

cific customer requirements. Its quality control lab where

the glasses are tested for compliance to required quality

standards has an R&D team with technical know-how to

make finished glasses from the drawing stage. Recently,

the company installed a new machine for making side

glasses for buses that is capable of making 200 pieces per

hour or 100 sets of bus glasses per day, of sizes 1.7 to 2.4

metres.

The company is currently focusing on the domestic mar-

ket. It has also started exporting to Sri Lanka, while discus-

sions are in progress with Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Impact has a TS 1649 certification which is a benchmark

for any automotive glass supplier. The company also has

the privilege of printing ISI on the glass, to give additional

insurance benefits for customers. It holds the E Mark cer-

tification, a premium quality assurance mark and is also

accredited by the United States Government Department of

Transport DOT certification.

In 2011-12, Impact registered a turnover of Rs. 70 crores

which is expected to go up by 10 per cent this year. Almost

40 per cent of the total turnover comes from the automo-

tive OEM segment, 20 per cent from the automotive after-

market and the remaining 40 per cent from the industrial

sector.

With the entry of global players into the commercial ve-

hicle segment and consistent growth in demand for pas-

senger vehicles

in the Indian mar-

ket, Impact Glass

certainly is well

poised to make

an impact on the

fast growing do-

mestic market. w

ComPonent zone

BMTC

MG Auto

Tata Marcopolo Volvo

Tata (LCV)

Tata Marcopolo (MCV)


nissan-AL technologies setting up state-of-the-art plant near Chennai

Nissan Ashok Leyland Technolo-gies Ltd. is a joint venture set up in 2008 by Ashok Leyland of the Hinduja Group and Nissan Motor Company of Japan. The main ob-jective of the joint venture was the development of vehicles for both the partners in a phased manner. Inter-estingly, the DOST, with an Ashok Leyland badge, the first product to roll out of the JV project, was a re-sounding success. This achievement was possible with the all-out efforts of Nissan-AL Technologies, which has also seen the new vehicle gar-ner impressive market share figures in the eight states where the product was launched dur-ing the

vehiCLe zone

Dr. N. SaravananChief Executive Officer, Nissan Ashok Leyland Technologies Ltd.

An exclusive report from MOTORINDIA


last one year. To know more about the success of the LCV, MOTORINDIA recently spoke to Dr. N. Saravanan, Chief Ex-ecutive Officer, Nissan Ashok Leyland Technologies Ltd.

Dr. Saravanan revealed that his firm has several ambi-tious plans for the future. For instance, the second product from the AL-Nissan stable, namely, Nissan Evalia, is ex-pected to hit the Indian roads by the end of September 2012. This will be followed by the CNG variant and the passenger version of the DOST. Towards the close of 2013, Ashok Leyland will introduce Stile, the JV’s next LCV model, followed by the launch of a variant of the Evalia. In two years’ time, the JV will also develop buses and trucks in the 6-tonne category with the main objective of custom-ising all the vehicles with local components.

According to Dr. Saravanan, the indigenisation drive

has helped in considerably reducing the vehicle cost. He attributed the success of DOST to its technology, design and the wide sales network, supported by Nissan’s proc-ess technology.

Also, the JV has richly benefited Nissan for the devel-opment of vehicles of Japanese quality at Indian cost in the shortest possible time. Ultimately, what has driven the success of the joint venture is the frugal engineering system. The products developed at the JV plant also of-fer scope for export of vehicles to different countries. For instance, Ashok Leyland has plans to export ve-hicles to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, whereas Nissan can tap the potential of markets like Thailand and In-donesia.State-of-the-art new plant

Dr. Saravanan further disclosed that under the JV agreement, products have been initially developed at

AL’s Hosur and Renault Nissan’s Oragadam plant. In order to meet the requirements of the company’s new product development, another state-of-the-art manu-facturing plant is planned at Pillaipakkam on the out-skirts of Chennai. This plant will have all the required facilities, including a modern lab, test shop, production shop, etc. The company is awaiting final approval for the scheduled construction at the new plant next year. w

Even before the launch of the DosT, the company put the vehicle through a two million kilometre test-run, apart from vigorous testing of around 5,000 components.

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shRiRAm tRAnsPoRt FinAnCeempowering indian trucking industry

Commercial vehicle financing is perhaps the oldest retail financing segment in the country. it is a highly fragmented segment because though there are a large number of people buying trucks, most of them have poor bank-ing habits. so unorganised money lenders meet the financing needs of several buyers of used trucks.

The CV financing market in India is estimated to be more than Rs. 100,000 crores with vehicles more than five years old accounting for half of it. STFC has been a leader in the organised financing of pre-used trucks for over three decades. The company has carved a niche for itself by catering to one of the most potential yet apparently ig-nored segments in the country.

Established in 1979, Shriram Transport Finance Co Ltd. (STFC) is the largest asset financing NBFC with as-sets under management of Rs. 40,213.90 crores. The company is a leader in

vehiCLe FinAnCe

Pre-owned vehicles account for 70% of India’s CV sales

Mr. Arun DuggalNon-Executive Chairman


organised financing of pre-owned trucks with strategic presence in 5-12 year old trucks and a market share of around 25 per cent. It has a pan-India presence with a network of 502 branches along with over 500 private financiers, and has built a strong customer base of over 8.5 lakhs.

Used or pre-owned vehicles ac-count for almost 70 per cent of the total commercial vehicle sales in the country. Small road transport operators, who typically own less than five trucks, largely control the freight movement on road. And eve-ryday more people join this expand-ing group of truck entrepreneurs, and mostly their first buy is a used vehicle. On an average, a commer-cial vehicle is resold three times during its operational lifecycle of approximately 12 years.

A major challenge faced by buy-ers and financiers of used vehicles is lack of established platforms for trading such vehicles and proper as-set valuation norms. This harbours a perception of increased risk with the financiers. However, an encour-aging sign is that yields are much higher than on new vehicle financ-ing and the loan tenure is much less. Also, there is room for penetration

by organised companies as the seg-ment is currently dominated by un-organised players.

Challenging FY12The year 2011-12 was marked by

tightening liquidity and higher cost of funds leading to a negative im-pact on infrastructure investments and deferred investment plans. But

inflation was kept under control since October last year, while the Reserve Bank of India had eased its tight monetary policy by cutting the short-term lend-ing rate for the first time in more than two years.

Commercial vehicle sales in India increased by 18.2 per cent year-on-year

in 2011-12, but sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCVs) rose by just 7.9 per cent as compared to 37.2 per cent in 2010-11. This decline was on ac-count of high interest rates on loans, cut in industrial production and a hike in vehicle prices. Several fleet operators applied brake on their expansion plans due to slowing in-dustrial activity and tough operating environment where freight rates re-mained stagnant despite increasing operating costs.

Light commercial vehicle sales, however, increased 27.4 per cent in 2011-12, driven by increasing de-mand from rural areas, emergence of the hub-and-spoke model and the need for last-mile connectivity.

Currently the Indian trucking in-dustry is undergoing changes. In the M&HCV segment, the share of heavy-duty, long-haulage trucks (16T+) is increasing on account of improving road and highway infra-structure as well as greater avail-ability of such vehicles. In the LCV goods segment, the share of sub-1T segment is on the rise with the emer-gence of the hub-and-spoke model

Mr. Umesh Revankar, M.D.

vehiCLe FinAnCe

Versatility at its bestservices offered by sTFC• Financing of pre-owned and new commercial and passenger vehicles, tractors, 3-wheelers, multi-utility vehicles, etc.• Finance for working capi-tal, engine replacement, bill discounting, credit cards and tyre-loans as holistic financing support.• Financing of pre-owned and new construction equipment through shriram Equipment Fi-nance Ltd. (subsidiary)• owns, operates and man-ages Automall, India’s first physical auction platform for pre-owned commercial vehicle through shriram Automall In-dia Ltd. (subsidiary)• sale of refurbished commer-cial vehicles through shriram New Look


and increasing demand for last-mile connectivity.

As for STFC’s performance in 2011-12, its total income increased by 9.12 per cent to Rs. 5,893.88 crores as compared to Rs. 5,401.05 crores in 2010-11. The net profit stood at Rs. 1,257.45 crores (Rs. 1,229.88 crores).Penetration into rural centres

Having established a scalable business model in term of organisa-tion structure, the year 2011-12 wit-nessed STFC’s foray into rural areas. During the year, it opened 14 new branches with a focus to increase its customer base. Having created 502 branches across India, the company took the opportunity to replicate its business model in the now regions at lower incremental cost and with-out compromising on the asset qual-ity. These centres resulted in lower capex as well as commanded lower operation expenses. However, these centres enabled the company to remain consistently in touch with its cus-tomers and provided it an edge over banks and other competitors. At the same time, it continued to offer new products and services to leverage its existing infrastructure in line with the growth ambi-tions of its clients. Technology as key differentiator

STFC believes that technology not only helps in tracking and protecting asset qual-

ity, but also allows it to reach to newer customers with convenience and better service. To ensure bet-ter service, the company invested in replicating access of key infor-mation on mobile platforms for its customers as well as field officers and branches. This leads to consid-erable reduction in turnaround time between transactions, provides real-time access to required information and also ensures highest standards of transparency in the customer-com-pany relationship. STFC have been able to leverage its well-established technology systems to maintain trust

and transparency with its clients.With the depletion in economic

conditions, the company continued to critically scrutinize each asset class and ensured lower delinquen-cies. With the economic uncertain-ties profound, STFC chose to grow responsibly rather than grow rap-idly. As a result, it reduced Loan-to-value (LTV) ratio by 5 per cent to mitigate any doubts in earning capacity. This led to reduced busi-ness but proved a huge fillip for the company’s asset quality. STFC also passed over the increased interest rates to its customers to protect its margins amidst uncertainty.Subsidiary companiesShriram equipment Finance company Ltd.

India’s earthmoving and construc-tion equipment industry is expected to grow six times to $22.7 billion by 2020 from total revenues of $3.3 bil-

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Key hurdles to industry growth:• Lower availability of road freight due to lower IIP growth• Increase in freight rates• Vehicle price hike• Higher fuel prices• Rising interest costs


lion in 2010. The growth potential is expected to drive demand for con-struction equipment such as crawl-ers, excavators, loaders and compac-tion equipment, and boost the heavy equipment rental and leasing busi-ness, which is a highly fragmented industry dominated by unorganised small construction equipment op-erators. There was a growing trend among small road transport opera-tors to diversify into construction equipment, owing to impending in-frastructure investments in India.

To capitalize on the opportunity and continue nurturing its exist-ing relationships, STFC floated a subsidiary - Shriram Equipment Finance Company Ltd., in 2010, comprising of an independent team of professionals, having intensive product expertise. Through Shriram Equipment Finance, it offers a wide range of pre-owned and new com-mercial construction equipment in-cluding forklifts, cranes and loaders. During 2011-12, Shriram Equip-ment Finance Company Ltd. regis-tered a topline of Rs. 210.11 crore and a net profi t of Rs. 51.62 crore.Shriram Automall India Ltd.

During its second year of opera-tions, Shriram Automall India Ltd., operates eight Automalls. Automall is the first-of-its-kind mall that of-fers a common meeting platform for the potential buyers and sellers

where the valuation of the vehicle is determined through a transpar-ent public auction process. Till date, more than 1,200 auctions have been conducted and more than 45,000 ve-hicles have changed hands with over 35,000 bidders. The value proposi-tion of each Automall is absolute transparency in valuation process, backed with assured title, quality and performance of the vehicle.

Shriram New Look is a novel initiative taken by STFC that aims at empowering vehicle owners to transact refurbished vehicles by ad-dressing and correcting few mainte-nance issues. This facility is availa-ble in the Automalls and is managed by a dedicated team.Brighter prospects

The industry is expected to per-form better than the last year as lead-ing indicators suggest turn around in IIP growth. The overall domestic growth outlook for the current year looks a little better than last year. According to RBI’s baseline projec-tions, the GDP growth for the cur-rent year 2012-13 should be 7.3 per cent. The global outlook also looks

slightly better than expected earlier.Domestic passenger MHCV sales

volume growth is likely to witness flat growth in FY13 due to the expi-ration of the Jawaharlal Nehru Na-tional Urban Renewal Mission (JN-NURM) scheme in December 2011. Under this scheme, state transport undertakings received funding for purchase of buses. The JNNURM scheme had contributed 7 per cent of average annual sales volumes for passenger MHCVs over FY07-FY11.

Meanwhile, domestic cargo MHCV sales volume growth is likely to moderate to 7 per cent in FY12 on account of moderation in IIP growth. The correlation between growth in IIP and road freight was as high as 75 per cent over FY07-FY11. An encouraging sign though is the RBI decision to cut lending rates by 0.5 per cent which is ex-pected to revive overall business activity in the country, hopefully leading to increased movement of freight and higher demand for com-mercial vehicles, both new and old.

w

vehiCLe FinAnCe

The pre-owned commercial vehicle segment, which is sTFC’s primary focus area, is largely driven by aspirations of a unique customer segment – either first-time users or driver-turned-owners. This, aided by the lower deal size, results in a potent combination that has largely eluded eco-nomic downturns. The company is the market leader in lending to this segment and therefore remains least affected by economic downturns.


Death trapYet we have the ubiquitous dealer

who makes or distributes spurious or duplicate goods. An expert who creates death traps! His products spell danger, conducts his clients to the chamber of horror. There are

fine drivers and finer automobiles, yet somewhere lurks the fear of a hidden part or component that could bring disaster without a sec-ond’s notice. For example, critical components like brake parts which contribute directly to road safety

or friction surfaces much maligned and abused, which actually stop the vehicle, have the dice loaded against them. Any deficiency can mushroom to zero braking when needed most. Most drivers are una-ware of the potential danger. Lives

AFteRmARket

By B.S. Khurana, Road Safety Practitioner: METASAFE - Driving Safety Sense

The World Health Organization and the United Nations recognize road deaths as a “killer disease” and a major health issue of modern times. Seventeen deaths an hour

on Indian roads! This is not acceptable in any civilized society. Every life we lose counts – bread-winners, pedestrians, cyclists, school children, at greater risk than ever before. All stake-hold-ers have a moral responsibility to make roads safer. Man, ma-chine, road, industry, State and society – a lethal combination of these elements, not disregarding inferior or counterfeit parts.The homicidal capacity increases with the power and tonnage of the vehicles. The line between “death and life” is becoming thinner by the hour.“Remember, upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all” – Alexander the Great.

Mr. B.S. Khurana


of millions depend upon braking efficiency.

Constant quest for higher speed, modern trends in vehicle design, high torque engines and grow-ing traffic hazards should make manufacturers worth their salt to remain aware of quality and reli-ability. Safety items like brakes are selected after many months of destructive testing on computerized rigs and dynamometers, equivalent of thousands of miles of gruelling work. Brake temperatures can rise to 300-350 degree C when braking down a hill. Inferior materials break down resulting in abnormal fade, high wear and inability to provide the required braking power. There are no short cuts to quality!Price tag

That spurious materials in the guise of “genuine” brands are flooding the market is a serious matter – the unscrupulous working hand-in-glove with dubious deal-ers behind a mask of respectability.

The unwitting user falls a prey to the attractive price tag without real-izing the consequences. The dealer is willing to make a quick buck with scant regard to safety. Imag-ine taking chances with inferior or spurious materials, pure and simple suicide!

Initially easy to disguise reduc-tion in quality that this entails as the outward appearance is much the same. Eventually cheap parts can be exposed only by cutting and analyzing them that their cosmetic worth is revealed. They fall apart extremely quickly and often barely cope with the situation for which they were intended.

So, pulling in one direction in the

market is extreme price conscious-ness and pulling in the other direc-tion is the need to maintain quality and high level of service that should go with it. The discerning customer should know the fact from fiction!Deadly risk

Nobody gets too concerned about counterfeiting T-shirts and blue jeans with brand logos. But safety-related automotive parts are no laughing matter!

What is counterfeiting? Basically, it is a broad term that covers any form of deception designed to trick end users into believing the parts they purchased are produced by an OEM or a reputable and reliable after-market manufacturer. The

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key to deception lies in the fact that the counterfeit part or packaging closely resembles the real thing. No attempt is made to identify its source of manufacture.

The three general rules to guard against being fooled into buying counterfeit parts:v Know your after-market

supplier. As a regular and loyal customer, chances are he would not knowingly sell you counterfeit parts.v Do not shop by price alone,

unless you have a way of evaluating it before buying. Looks and packag-ing can be completely deceptive. It is intended to be that way; parts look as good as and sometimes even better than a well-known name. It is what is on the inside that really counts. Counterfeiters count on your weakness for the price tag and not taking the precaution of adherence to rigid specification of known and reliable after-market manufacturers.Suggestionsv Firstly, the manufacturer must

maintain his reputation of putting “quality and safety” first and guard the end-user in turn, irrespective

of what he procures from market or service station. OEM and brand sector should intensify garage con-tacts and warn the users of ills of counterfeit parts.v A parts dealer is no longer

merely a merchant trading his wares. He has professional status and importance. He will be respect-ed if he shows utmost sincerity, skill and guidance in identifying completely with customers’ best in-terests. A manufacturer’s reputation depends on how the dealers and distributors conduct themselves to create satisfied and grateful clients.v Motor parts dealers asso-

ciations could frame a code of “business ethics’ [prominently displayed] to say that the members shall refrain from stocking or sell-ing spurious parts. Any member violating it may be suitably penal-

ized.v Awareness need be created

against use of spurious/counterfeit parts fraught with risk and publicity posters, in local language, displayed in every town, and through cinema slides. Consumer protection socie-ties, industry chambers and OEMs could be involved in campaigns to discourage entry of doubtful materi-als and tracking down the culprits. Once identified, such middlemen or suppliers are reported by the associations for expeditious legal action. Media is encouraged to do investigating reporting and expose the culprits.v Motor owners’ clubs be en-

couraged in small towns, a warn-the-motorist campaign be launched by the organized sector, regional transport authorities, traffic police and social organizations.v Society must condemn those

indulging in manufacture and sale of counterfeits endangering safety, and the State and the industry together must deal with this social evil with a heavy hand.

“Accidents don’t happen, they are made” – Earnest Greenwood

AFteRmARket

Minimum norms for testing equipment ought to be laid down for critical items. Inde-pendent organizations should carry out spot checks. Dealers associations can draw samples voluntarily; this will create a sense of alertness.


FAiAsPdA plea against hike intaxation on auto spares

The proposed introduction of GST will surely be a major step towards taxation reforms. Associations like the Federation of All India Automo-bile Spare Parts Dealers’ Associa-tions (FAIASPDA) have appealed to the Government to outline the roap map for introduction of GST, a purely computer-based system, to ensure smooth transition to the new tax system.

Addressing the FAIASPDA con-ference held in Bangalore recently, Mr. U.K. Bhaskaran Nair, its Presi-dent, said VAT was introduced in April 2005 under which the taxation rate was kept at as high as 12.5 per cent because of which the trade suf-fered a lot. It also proved detrimen-tal for a growing country like India. Its present form is quite cumber-some and complex, involving a lot

of paper work. Hence the VAT laws should be made simpler and more transparent, enabling the State Gov-ernments to garner more resources.

According to him, the States have been successfully implementing VAT and reaping positive benefits thereof, as is evident from the buoy-ancy in tax revenue after its intro-duction. No State would lose its po-sition of advantage by allowing the trade to be diverted to other States where VAT is lower.

Mr. Bhaskaran Nair went on to disclose that according to press re-ports the State Governments have urged that the Central sales tax (CST) be raised back to four per cent from the current two per cent if the Centre refuses to compensate them

for revenue losses. CST, a tax on inter-State movement of goods, was reduced from four to three per cent in 2007-08, and further to two per cent in 2008-09 after the introduc-tion of VAT.

Most of the States, which have been adversely affected, strongly felt that in case the Government is not able to continue compensating States for the CST loss, it should in-crease the CST rate from two to four per cent.

On its part, FAIASPDA has stressed the need to exempt automo-tive spareparts from the ambit of the above rules on the ground that they are engineering items with their own peculiar problems.

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AFteRmARket

Mr. U.K. Bhaskaran Nair, FAIASPDA President

Introduction of four per cent VAT would bring many traders within the tax net. Any loss in VAT would be compensated by the greater volume of trade, and the states would start garnering more revenue. There is thus need to bring down the rate of VAT on automotive spare parts & ac-cessories from 12.5 per cent to 4 per cent and make it uniform all over the country, so as to save the trade and customers from the extra burden.


ACmA meet discusses global aftermarket opportunities

The global automotive market varies significantly across regions driven largely by contrasting trends in vehicle-parc growth. On the one hand, there are emerging economies with lower density of vehicles, and, on the other, traditional high income matured markets such as the US,

Europe and Japan, characterized by higher per capita vehicle ownership and almost saturated with over 500 vehicles per 1,000 persons on an av-erage.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Arvind Kapur, ACMA President, observed: “The auto component in-

dustry in India has over the years, through continuous improvements, surpassed stringent international quality standards and requirements. Today almost 80 per cent of our ex-ports are to the Global OEMs & Tier 1s, and the rest to aftermarkets. With significantly well defined and domi-

AFteRmARket

Mr. Soumitra Bhattacharya, Chairman of the Consumer Affairs Committee & Anti-Counterfeiting Committee, ACMA, addressing the ACMA international conference in New Delhi. The others (from left) are Mr. Vinnie Mehta, Mr. Arvind Kapur, Mr. Jayant Davar, Mr. Ambuj Sharma, and Mr. C.K Mishra

the Automotive Component manufacturers Association of india (ACmA) recently hosted an international conference on the global au-tomotive aftermarket in new delhi to address growth opportunities

in the current environment and the need to explore the new export dimen-sions.


nant aftermarkets in the US and Europe, I am confident the Indian auto component industry will focus attention on these and will carve a niche for itself.”

A concept note on opportunities and challenges in the global after-market tiled ‘The Automotive Af-termarket: A Bright Spot in a Sea of Change’, by Frost & Sullivan, the Knowledge Partner of the confer-ence, was also released on the oc-casion.

Some of the salient points on the behaviour of mature and emerging

markets highlighted in the paper included:

• The size of the global automo-tive aftermarket is around $400 bil-lion. In mature automotive markets, the aftermarket generates a big slice of the profit-pie while in emerging markets the aftermarket is a minor contributor.

• Large aftermarket players, in-cluding multi-brand service and specialty chains, dominate mature markets

• In mature automotive aftermar-kets strong service brands and parts

brands have visible footprint, of-fering differentiated services and product choices to the end user. In emerging markets strong aftermar-ket brands, differentiated on quali-ty-price matrix, do not exist.

• In markets like Western Eu-rope and the US a strong regulatory mechanism ensures level playing field for all the industry players thus encouraging competition and offer-ing many choices to the end user, whereas, the regulatory framework for aftermarket is weaker in emerg-ing markets.

• Efficient and well-managed sup-ply chain & logistics have contrib-uted to aftermarket development in mature markets. On the other hand, emerging markets are yet to achieve efficiency in warehousing, transportation, inventory manage-ment and related services.

• Fake and counterfeit parts are another major challenge for af-termarket players in the emerging economies, especially China and India. Mature markets, while not entirely free from fake and coun-terfeit parts, are not adversely im-pacted by this menace to the same extent owing to legal framework, industry activism and maturing of markets.

Mr. Josef Frank, Senior Advisor, Aftermarket CLEPA aisbl, addressing the gathering

AFteRmARket

several eminent international speakers from south-East Asia, Europe, the Us and south Af-rica gave detailed insights into various markets with key chal-lenges and opportunities, key distribution channels and the emerging trends. w


mahindra & mahindra launches new bolero maxi truck

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. has announced the launch of the ‘New Bolero Maxi Truck’, an addition to its ‘pick-up’ portfolio. The new truck has undergone a makeover to become more stylish, and delivers a superior driving experience. It is powered by the trusted and proven 2523cc MDI engine, for ease of driveability in any terrain and effort-less load carrying ability. The ve-hicle sports elegant new headlamps and a stylised front grille, and has power steering for driving conven-ience.

The Bolero Maxi Truck is compet-itively priced at Rs. 4.08 lakhs (ex-showroom BS3 Karnataka, Standard version).

The category of commercial ve-hicles, especially the 2-3.5 tonne

pick-up trucks, is witnessing greater growth than passenger cars since last year. This is mostly due to the increasing demand in view of the growing urbanization and the need for efficient movement of materi-als from cities to satellite towns and neighbouring villages. Here pick-ups trucks have a greater role, and this need has been well understood by Mahindra, the largest player in

the category.The new Bolero Maxi Truck is

aimed at the transportation needs of stand operators and small and medi-um-scale businessmen and traders across India to ensure last-mile con-nectivity. The customer needs are seamlessly met by the brand in its new avatar.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Arun Malhotra, Senior Vice

President, Sales & Customer Care, Automotive Division, Ma-

hindra & Mahindra Ltd., said: “Being

the dominant leader in the pick-up segment, the onus

has always been on us to offer su-perior and upgraded products to our customers for their utmost con-venience. The all-new Bolero Maxi Truck is a step in that direction as it further enhances value to our cus-tomer by being more stylish, power packed and comfortable.”

He added: “I am sure that this new Bolero Maxi Truck, with its power steering option, will cater to the needs of the stand operators and businessmen alike by offering them efficient cargo movement and driv-ing comfort. With a comprehensive portfolio of products we hope to further consolidate our leadership position in the commercial vehicle industry.”

Coming from the Mahindra sta-bles, the new remodelled Bolero Maxi Truck promises to be a power-packed performer. w

vehiCLe zone

Mahindra has long been the leader in 2-3.5 tonne pick-up category with its clear under-standing of the segment re-quirements. Its entry-level of-fering in this segment is the Bolero Maxi Truck, which has enjoyed preference among cus-tomers since its launch.


heb’s strong bid to expand market sharehigh energy batteries india Ltd. (heb), a late entrant in the field of lead acid batteries, is all set to expand and increase its share in the after-market for automotive and stand-by applications.

HEB, a leading manufacturer of hi-tech batteries used by the Armed Forces and in launch vehicle appli-cations since 1979, also exports its products to different countries.

The company has its strong ‘in-house’ R&D wing to design and produce batteries like Silver Oxide-Zinc, Ni-Cd and Silver –Chloride

Magnesium for stringent applica-tions like underwater propulsion, control guidance, communication, emergency starting, etc. It recently launched its automotive and mo-torcycle range of batteries for the after-market segment and has also started addressing the growing de-mand for standby batteries (tubular

and VRLA) used for UPS and inverters. In a short span, the company has expanded the range of products from 2.5 Ah to 200 Ah capacity, as also the market network across India.

Perhaps this is the only company, apart from a few others engaged in manufac-turing the Ca-Ca range of bat-teries, with its manufacturing capacity of over a million batteries. It is also catering to the PL business of a few es-tablished brands in India. The new generation Panther and high energy brands are manu-factured to address ‘long life’ and ‘maintenance-free’ oper-ations under any conditions.

Channel partner appoint-ment is in progress, and the company feels that service to the end-customer is the real driving force behind im-provement of after-market business. w

bAtteRies


PARveen tRAveLs (P) Ltd., a unit of Ab business enterprises has been a pioneer in indian transportation services since its inception in 1980. holding the eminent status of being india’s

first iso 9001:2008 certified transport company, the company has signed a deal with daimler india Commercial vehicles (diCv) for trans-porting the latter’s employees to and from its facility at oragadam. the well-established bus operator will cater to diCv’s needs with its fleet of mercedes benz coaches. Parveen also offers transportation solutions for various other companies such as tCs, Cts, Wipro, sam-sung, Renault-nissan and hyundai.

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The company has been in the trans-portation sector since the last four decades and has been constantly im-proving the standard of bus transpor-tation in the country with its quality service. It has a fleet strength of over 750 coaches which shuttle more than 22,500 employees in the manufactur-ing and IT sectors every day. Parveen gives special focus to accident-free driving by conducting regular driver training programmes with a view of improving the standard of the driver community in the country.Bridging the gap with IT

Parveen Travels has gone a long

way in implementing IT solutions to improve the standard of bus trans-portation. The company has a 24X7 helpline which includes a dedicated operation team in its clients’ campus to ensure perfect time management by monitoring the on-road position of all its vehicles. All its vehicles are fitted with GPRS equipment which constantly transmits information about the vehicles’ position, speed, distance and duration of each halt. It also has a backup fleet which acts as replacement during emergency.

The company is effective in com-municating with its customers and is also open to feedback for taking cor-rective actions if necessary. Its online

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) module facilitates transparent and seamless communication and is ably guided by its dedicated service support team.Transport Management System

Over the years Parveen has suc-cessfully developed and implement-ed transport management solutions that encompass complete design and operations for corporate houses. The company undertakes the complete set of tasks right from planning of routes, organizing the fleet, schedul-ing, monitoring, and maintenance of vehicles. This packaged service not only relieves its corporate custom-ers from the cumbersome task of transport management, but also helps them in saving operational costs in

a big way. Leveraging on years of experience in providing transport management solutions, the company effectively collaborates with its cus-tomers to achieve optimal results.

Parveen Travels, through the AB Group, works with an integrated serv-ice facility called Motorzone where heavy vehicles like buses, mini buses, tempo travelers, and other transport vehicles are serviced and maintained. AMC support is also offered to cus-tomers. The company also caters to manpower requirements by bringing up well-trained professional drivers and cleaners through its Professional Consultancy Services.

The AB Group has a Professional

Driver Training Academy (PDTA), a unit of Professional Consultants, is a combination of modern infrastruc-ture and highly-skilled trainers. The state-of-the-art facility is equipped to give training to both amateurs and experienced drivers. While the amateurs are taught the importance of safety and acquire the experience to commute, the experienced drivers will find PDTA a hub that refreshes and updates them. With an array of awards and accolades such as Global Leadership Award 2011, India To-day Award 2011, Apollo CV Award, and National Tourism Award for five consecutive years, Parveen Travels has set a benchmark for fleet opera-tors and continues to raise the stand-ard of bus transportation in the coun-try. w

Parveen’s transport management system encompasses• Understanding the operational needs of clients.• Active partnership/consultation with clients.• Route studying and optimization for cost control.• Vehicle Monitoring System.• Staff Tracking System.• Management Information system (MIS).

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Luminator technology Group takes over mobitec

The Mobitec Group, which is based in Herrljunga, Sweden, and maintains four additional locations around the world, was taken over by the US-based Luminator Tech-nology Group on July 10. Mobitec, which manufactures electronic pas-senger information systems, be-longed to the DRI Corporation. It was acquired in full by the Lumi-nator Technology Group. Mobitec has thus joined a leading group of companies specializing in electronic in-formation systems.

Mobitec and its sister com-pany Twin Vision, which is based in the US, now belong to a group of companies that operate on a global scale. The Luminator Technology Group includes Luminator, Lawo and Focon, three com-

panies that are known for their passenger in-formation and lighting sys-tems. The tech-nologies devel-oped by these

companies are used in buses, trains and airplanes around the world.

“We’re delighted that Mobitec has become part of the Luminator Tech-nology Group,” says Oliver Wels, Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing at the Luminator Tech-nology Group.

At the same time, the group plans to develop new technologies and a

new global service network. “The merger will help make the Lumina-tor Technology Group even more capable and customer-oriented in the future and will give our custom-ers access to the full range of exper-tise available in the group”, adds Wels.

In the 2011 calendar year, the Lu-minator Technology Group generat-ed $186 million in turnover and em-ployed 600 workers. Turnover at the acquired company DRI totalled $82 million with over 260 employees in 2011. Its customers include numer-ous well-known bus manufactur-ers and transit operators around the world. w

ComPonent zone

“Mobitec and all the other brands will continue to exist at their new parent company. For our customers, this means that we can continue to offer the products from the expanded group of companies and maintain the same high level of service quality.”

– Mr. Oliver Wels


urgent need to enforce eu model eLv directive in india

There is growing awareness of environmental issues, includ-ing pollution and recyclability of manufactured goods. One of the biggest polluters has been used cars disposed at junk yards. In order to tackle this issue, the Eu-ropean Union (EU) has taken an initiative to address these issues by enforcing an End-of-Life Ve-hicles (ELV) directive which fo-cuses on reducing the hazardous substances and improving the re-cyclability of the car.

The ELV directive also requires OEM and other stake-holders to establish several collection cent-ers to collect old cars and dis-mantle / recycle as per the direc-tive listed standards / targets. The directive requires automotive manufacturers to prove that their car meets the recyclability target (95 per cent by 2015) and restrict the usage of hazardous chemicals such as Pb, Cd, Hg and Cr6+.

There is a strong need to have such kind of Indian ELV directive to manage the growing automobile population. A few automotive in-dustry bodies have been reportedly working to frame a similar directive and get it approved by the Indian Government.

ELV directive 2000/53/EC was is-sued by the European Union in 2000 with an aim to reduce hazardous substances such as lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium in M1 (cars with less than eight pas-sengers, excluding the driver seat) and N1 (trucks less than 3.5 ton-nage GVW) category vehicles. This directive has also enforced strict norms on recyclability targets such as 95 per cent recyclability / recov-erability by 2015 for all the vehicles

which are placed in the European market.

The maximum allowable per-centage for lead, mercury and hexavalent chromium is 0.1 per cent and cadmium is 0.01 per cent by weight. In order to meet this regulation, OEMs require all their suppliers to provide detailed material breakdown analysis re-ports (Material Data Sheets) on

the parts and assemblies they sup-ply. OEMs such as Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, Opel, Porsche, VW and Volvo formed a consortium for automotive manufacturers to regis-ter Material Data Sheets of all their products in an online database called the International Material Data Sys-tem (IMDS). The rest of the OEMs and suppliers gradually joined the group. Now it has more than 55 OEMs and all of their suppliers.

In this IMDS database, every sup-

teChnoLoGy

Focus on pollution control, vehicle recyclabilityBy P. Parthasarathy, President ES, APA Engineering

Mr. P. Parthasarathy

Japan, Korea and China have en-forced legislations similar to ELV directive 2000/53/EC, while many automotive oEMs in North America are voluntarily following the EU ELV directive which also requires setting up of recycling infrastructure and collection centers to collect the End of Life vehicles from the end consumers.


plier and OEM has to register their company in order to report their IMDS sheets. Once registered, sup-pliers will be able to submit the IMDS data sheet to their customers with the complete part, material, ba-sic substance details and recyclate information.

Close to 90,000 suppliers are now registered in IMDS, with 170,000+ active users. Started with 7 OEM participation in IMDS in 2000, cur-rently 55+ auto companies partici-pate as OEMs in IMDS. Almost 99 per cent of OEMs and auto supply

chain use the IMDS database as a tool to the meet ELV requirements.

It requires all the materials used in the vehicle to categorize into seven material families as per ISO 22628 – metals, polymers, excluding elas-tomers, elastomers, glass, fluids, modified organic natural materials (MONM), and others (components, materials where a detailed break-down cannot be established).

2015 type approval target – recy-clability >85 per cent and recover-ability >95 per cent.

APA Engineering, a Chennai-based engineering and sourcing company, has a very strong team to support the automotive OEMs and supply chain to meet the ELV direc-tive requirements for the automo-tive industry, especially by giving

end-to-end IMDS compliance sup-port. Recently APA won two ma-jor orders from leading global auto MNCs.

The recent happenings in India towards ELV directive for vehicles are NATRiP establishing the Re-cycle Demo Center in Chennai and a few automotive industry bodies working towards framing the ELV directive. The purpose of the Demo Center is research in ELV recycle in India. Indian OEMs have provided old vehicles for the center.

Maruti has already taken an ini-tiative to make its vehicles ELV-compliant and launched a few ELV-compliant cars already in the market.

There is every likelihood of a sim-ilar ELV being introduced in India soon. w

ELV global scenario

The ELV directive has two major re-quirements – improving the recy-clability of the vehicle parts and minimizing the use of hazardous sub-stances such as Pb, Cd, Hg and Cr6+.

teChnoLoGy


BFL’s performance in 2011-12 represented a big step forward. It was one of the most challenging years for the global economy. After achieving consistently high growth over the past eight years, the Indian economy has apparently run into a turbulent weather over the last few months. The global economic uncer-tainty, coupled with lack of political consensus in India for implementa-tion of major economic reforms, posed challenges to BFL.

“I am confident that if the Govern-ment is able to take the initiatives in certain key areas and kickstart eco-nomic reforms, the economy will turn around in this fiscal to grow at about 6.5-7 per cent. This would provide a platform to return to 8-9 per cent growth in the medium term.

Implementation of reforms, cou-pled with removal of bottlenecks that have stifled economic growth, would restore investor confidence and revive the momentum for sus-tained high economic growth”. – Baba. N. Kalyani, Chairman.

BFL has been focusing on build-ing state-of-the-art forging and ma-chining facilities, investing on new technologies and R&D, opening up new growth sectors as key verticals, and developing new markets, geog-raphies and customers for products as well as solutions. Over the next few years, Bharat Forge is expected to consistently leverage these to cre-ate much higher levels of customer delight and cement its leadership po-sition in the market.

Despite the sluggish external en-

vironment, Bharat Forge put up an impressive performance in FY 2012 on the back of robust growth in the commercial vehicle industry globally and sustained ramp-up of non-automotive business. The ma-jor highlights of the standalone busi-ness in FY2012 were the significant growth of 42 per cent in exports to Rs. 17,347 million and the contin-ued traction in non-auto sales, both domestic and exports, rising by 32 per cent to Rs. 12,885 million.Growth in automotive markets

BFL is a leading supplier of criti-cal & safety components for the automotive market globally with a well-diversified customer base across all geographies. The focus of the automotive business has been

ComPonent zone

bharat Forge Ltd. (bFL), the flagship company of the over $2.5 bil-

lion kalyani Group, is vigorously working on development of a busi-

ness model that is better insulated from the vagaries of the exter-

nal environment. the company has invested in creating capacities

and global manufacturing footprint to maximise growth opportuni-

ties across sectors and geographies.


limited to the medium & heavy com-mercial vehicles due to the company focus on technologically advanced product requirement. However, BFL has started addressing the light and small commercial vehicle seg-ment which is witnessing a shift in product requirement on the back of change in emission norms.India

The Indian automobile industry witnessed a slowdown in growth, with total four-wheel automobile production, including passenger cars and CVs growing by 7.8 per cent. Slowdown was mainly in pas-senger cars, which grew by only 4.7 per cent. The CV segment, which is the company’s primary market, re-corded a healthy growth of 19.8 per cent. This was driven primarily by light CVs (LCVs), which grew by 27.3 per cent, while medium and heavy CVs (M&HCV’s) grew by 10.8 per cent.USA

However, the revival witnessed in CY2010 continued in CY2011. Total four-wheeler production grew by 10.8 per cent. Passenger car sales remained robust with a growth of Mr. Baba. N. Kalyani, Chairman, Bharat Forge

ComPonent zone


10.4 per cent, while LCVs grew by 9.4 per cent. The largest growth was seen in the M&HCV segment that recorded 57.4 per cent growth in CY 2011. BFL has strong relations in the US CV market and has signifi-cantly increased its auto exports to the US on the back of supplies to the M&HCV segment. It is important to note that the US now has an aging truck fleet which augurs well for the market.Europe

Driven by economic uncertainty and the wor-risome fate of the Euro zone, Europe remains a very volatile market with no long-term trends and developments in the ho-rizon.

The total four-wheeler market grew by a meagre 0.4 per cent in CY2011. Passenger cars, by far the largest segment of European mar-kets, witnessed a 1.4 per cent drop in sales – with the high end seg-ment faring better than the middle and low end. Coincidentally, Bharat Forge largely supplies products for higher end passenger cars. Despite

uncertainties, however, the sales of both MCVs and HCVs were robust, growing at 25.2 per cent and 35.8 per cent respectively.

It needs to be noted that a large share of component suppliers in Eu-rope are owned by small entities. It is often difficult for them to main-tain steady supplies in such volatile markets. The OEMs have increas-ingly realised the risks of relying on such companies for their regular business needs and are looking at

vendor consolidation and focusing on developing relationships with technologically strong and finan-cially stable suppliers. Bharat Forge is discussing with European OEMs for better alignment, and devising a strategy of dealing with the opportu-nities arising out of this uncertainty to increase its market share or add new customers.

The outlook for FY13 looks a bit murky with slowdown in the Indian automotive industry and the Eurozone debt crisis

impacting sentiments and demand. However, Bharat Forge is in a good shape with lean Indian operations, strong balance sheet and a balanced business model to weather any un-certainty. BFL believes that its next round of growth will be propelled by creating opportunities through innovation, which can be supported by the strength of its customer rela-tionships.

Over the years, Bharat Forge has invested in new technologies, R&D

and solution-providing capabilities. Combining such competencies with the company’s best-in-class, world-scale manufacturing capacities and skills will result in Bharat Forge be-ing an innovation-led, end-to-end solutions provider and a dynamic partner of its customers, forging ahead as always.

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ComPonent zone


ACmA to hold ‘india day’ at Automechanika Frankfurt

The Automotive component Manufactur-ers Association of India (AcMA) is the apex body representing the interest of the

Indian auto components industry. It is an ISO 9001:2008 certified association that is actively in-volved in trade promotion, technology upgrades, quality enhancement and collection & dissemina-tion of information. Its charter is to develop a glo-bally competitive Indian auto component industry and strengthen its role in national economic devel-opment. It also initiates steps to promote business through international alliances.

The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), set up by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in 1955, is the largest trade promotion organization in India. Out of its 13,000-plus members, nearly 2,000 come from the auto component industry. It participates in major engineering exhibitions all over the world and through its wide network of international partners, and acts as a trusted link between the Indian and foreign companies.

ACMA returns to Automechanika Frankfurt and will once again occupy prime space in Hall 6.2. In the forth-

coming edition, around 30 ACMA member-companies spread over 651 sq.m. of exhibition space in Hall 6.2 and 48 EEPC member-companies spread over 517 sq.m. of exhibition space in Hall 1.2, Hall 6.3 and Hall 3.1 will showcase the potential and technology of the Indian auto component industry in a competitive environment.

The industry aggregate around the globe is expected

AutomeChAnikA PRevieW

Mr. Arvind Kapur, ACMA President


to cross $1 trillion by 2012 with a growth rate of over 5 per cent. However, the growth of the au-tomobile industry and the auto-mobile aftermarket in emerging economies is more promising and is forecasted to outshine the ma-ture markets in the coming years. In this scenario, the Indian after-market has a promising future and is valued at EUR 4.85 billion; the auto components aftermarket in India is valued at EUR 3.65 billion and EUR 1.18 billion for services.

In the coming five to seven years, the auto components after-market of India is expected to be a global chartbuster. Currently, the total number of ‘on-road’ vehicles in India stands at over 94.7 million. Out of this two-wheelers constitut-ed 76 per cent, PVs 15 per cent and the remaining 9 per cent are consti-tuted by CVs and three-wheelers.

With this background, ACMA, EEPC and Messe Frankfurt coin-ciding with Automechanika Frank-furt are organising ‘India Day’ on September 13. Eminent speakers from the industry will be address-ing on: Perspectives of the Indian Automotive Industry – Opportu-nities and Challenges with a spe-cial presentation on the recently-launched ACMA Automechanika New Delhi to be held from Febru-ary 7-10, 2013. ‘India Day’ will also provide networking opportu-nities within the automotive com-munity.

For details, e-mail to: Ms. Smeeta More, smeeta.moreatindia.messefrankfurt.com

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At the Automechanika Innovation Award 2012 special show, the prize-winners’ innovations will

be on display. Launched in 1996, the internationally recognised Award will be given for nine categories – parts, systems, tuning, accessories, repair/diagnostics, repair/maintenance, IT & man-agement, service station & car wash, OE products & services.

A jury of renowned experts evaluates entries in accordance with the criteria of innovative content and quality of solution, economic efficiency, user benefit, aftermarket relevance, safety & quality and contribution to environmental protection, resource conservation and sustainability.

truck CompetenceThere’s a great deal of ‘Truck Competence’ to be found at Au-

tomechanika. And, for the first time, visitors to the fair are able to discover exactly what and how much with the ‘Truck Competence’ visitor guide. The new brochure provides visitors interested in the truck sector with an overview of all exhibitors, including location at the fair, arranged by Automechanika product groups.

And the subject of ‘Truck Competence’ is also online, so that visi-tors are able to search for exhibitors and products specialising in the truck business by clicking on the ‘Truck Competence’ filter in the online search engine. Additionally, an event for truck aficiona-dos is also planned.

international b2b eventsDuring Automechanika Frankfurt, there will be a b2b events

organized by HA Hessen Agentur GmbH, the Automotive-Cluster RheinMainNeckar, FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH, the Enterprise Eu-rope Network and regional partners, and it is a convenient and ef-fective opportunity to make interesting contacts, to come to know about foreign markets and to catch up on intellectual property as-pects of international business.

Suppliers, manufacturers, service providers and research insti-tutes from the automotive industry are welcome to use the Interna-tional b2b Events for Automotive Suppliers during Automechanika as platform to meet potential business and technology partners.

For details, visit: www.b2match.eu/automechanika2012

AutomeChAnikA PRevieW


indianoil gross turnover up 12.4% at Rs. 101,936 crores

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. has suffered a loss of Rs. 22,451 crores for the first quarter of the current financial year ended June 2012 as compared to a loss of Rs. 3,719 crores for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The losses in the current quarter are mainly due to unmet under-real-isation of Rs. 17,485 crores on sale of HSD, SKO (PDS) and LPG (do-

mestic) in the absence of sanction of budgetary support from the Govern-ment, foreign exchange loss of Rs. 3,187 crores, inventory valuation loss of Rs. 4,062 crores affecting gross re-fining margin, and to higher interest cost of Rs. 1,849 crores following de-lay in receipt of compensation from the Government. The gross turnover for the first quarter of the current year ended June 2012 has increased by 12.4 per cent to Rs. 101,936 crores from Rs. 90,713 crores during the same period last year.

Mr. RS Butola, Chairman, said: “IndianOil sold 19.443 million tonnes of products, including ex-ports, during the first quarter of 2012-13. Our quarterly refining through-put was 13.579 million tonnes and the throughput of the Corporation’s countrywide pipelines network was 18.583 million tonnes. The gross re-fining margin during the first quarter was $4.81 per bbl which was mainly on account of Inventory valuation loss of Rs. 4,062 crores which trans-lates to $7.54 per bbl”.

Lubes & FueLs

hPCL sales exceed industry average growth

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) has registered gross sales of Rs. 46,406 crores for April-June 2012 as against Rs. 43,899 crores in the corresponding previous period, an increase of 5.7 per cent. Domestic sales of petroleum products increased to 7.44 million tonnes, registering a growth of above 6.9 per cent over the first quarter of the previous year, as against the industry average growth of 4.2 per cent. Sales of high-speed diesel increased by 12.2 per cent and that of LPG by 8.2 per cent.

The refineries at Mumbai and Vi-sakh processed 3.58 million tonnes of crude during April-June as against 3.97 million tonnes during the same period in 2011. The thruput was low-er because of shutdown at both the refineries.

On the financial front, the loss for April-June 2012 was Rs. 9,249 crores (Rs. 3,080 crores). The loss during the quarter was primarily on account of absorption of under-recoveries on sale of sensitive petroleum products amounting to Rs. 7,321 crores. The interest cost for the period was also higher at Rs. 549 crores (Rs. 264 crores).

During the quarter the Corporation also incurred inventory loss because of a decline in international prices of crude and petroleum products.

The diesel hydrotreater projects at Mumbai and Visakh refineries are at an advanced stage and are expected to be completed by September end. w

Mr. RS Butola, Chairman, IndianOil


nAmAkkAL Auto FAiR

evokes good responseThe Namakkal Auto Fair 2012 organised by the Namakkal Motor Spare

Parts Dealers Association (NMSPDA) provided a perfect platform for com-panies to showcase their latest offerings to the automotive community. Several reputed component manufacturers made their presence at the show which had good response not only from the local region but from all over India.

The fair provided a good opportunity for enthusiasts in the industry to meet, discuss and share their views and opinions and to transact good busi-ness.

Mr. R. Dinesh, Jt. Managing Director, TVS, who was the chief guest at the inaugural function, gave some interesting insights into the automotive fraternity gathered at the event. Apart from his optimistic view that the au-tomotive industry would soon be back on track, he also highlighted the fact that the aftermarket segment is one which does not depend much on the economy and that the spareparts business would flourish as long as vehicles keep running on roads.

He also felt that the only challenge ahead for the aftermarket segment would be to keep up with the rapid technological upgradation that the in-dustry is undergoing.

events

Mr. R. Dinesh, Jt. Managing Director, TVS, delivering the inaugural address at the Namakkal Auto Fair.

Media Partner: MOTORINDIA

Mr. Sambit Dash, Manager - Sales, Wheels India Ltd., receiving Mr. Dinesh at the company stall

Mr. S. Muthukrishnan, Consultant - Marketing (Adv. & Publicity), Delphi-TVS Diesel Systems Ltd., (extreme right), explaining the product features to Mr. Dinesh


events

The trusted Leyparts teamThe triumphant duo of Brakes India at the well-decorated stall

The young and energetic Bosch teamMr. Jeevan Rao, Marketing Department, Rane Brake Linings Ltd., (centre), with his colleagues

A stall visitor showing keen interest in Firestone TVS products

Mr. Jatinder Pushkarna, Dy. General Manager, Jamna Auto Industries, (extreme right), with his team


events

The prize-winning Wurth sales & service team

Team Meritor posing with the company products

The jubilant Fenner team with a fine display of products

Mr. Arnob Guha, Dy. G.M. - Product Development, Gibral-tar Airsprings Pvt. Ltd., (extreme right), with his sales team

The WABCO sales team explaining the safety features of the company products

Mr. H. Venkataramani, Dy. Manager - Marketing, Lucas-TVS, (extreme left), attending to stall visitors


events

Mr. R. Janarthanan, Head - Market Development, Roots Industries India Ltd., (fourth from left), with his team

Mr. Janardhanan Iyer, Regional Sales Manager – India, Alcoa Wheel Products, (second from right), along with the team from Channel Partners - SKM Alucom

Mr. Seetharamarao Sura, Dy. Manager - Marketing, LuK India Pvt. Ltd., (extreme left), with his colleagues at the Schaeffler stall

Mr. P. Ramaswamy, Manager - Marketing, Alkraft, (second from right), demonstrating a company product

Mr. K. Soundara Rajan, Sales Officer, Talbros, (second from right), with his colleagues at the company stall

Mr. K. Ramesh Babu, Asst. Manager - Sales, Madras Engi-neering Industries, (second from right), and company ex-ecutives explaining product features to visitors


events

The Turbo Energy stall, a main attraction for exhibition visitors

Mr. Tarun Bhatnagar, General Manager (Distribution), Orbit Bearings, getting ready to receive stall visitors

The stall visitors seem quite impressed with the gaskets from Sankar Sealing

The enterprising InterPump staff at the company stall

Zoomol Lubricants’ sales team attending to stall visitors

Mr. K.M. Johnson, Regional Manager Sales - South, Hella In-dia Lighting, explaining the features of the latest product


Cii President outlines strategy for economic revival

Addressing a press conference in Chennai, Mr. Godrej, who took over as its President recently, said that CII’s Theme for 2012-13 will be “Reviving Economic Growth with a strong focus on Reforms and Gov-ernance”. Structural reforms, both at the Central and State levels, need to be undertaken on a war footing.

CII has been continuously engaging with the Government and political parties in its bid to promote reforms in critical areas such as banking, in-surance, land acquisition, manufac-turing, mining, etc. This has been stepped up in the current year as certain reforms have the potential to be game-changers for the economy.

“Opening up of foreign direct in-vestment in critical sectors such as single brand retail, civil aviation and defence and allowing FDI in multi-brand retail will also go a long way in improving the sentiments on eco-nomic growth and also help increase capital flows”.

Mr. Godrej further observed fur-

eConomy

Mr. Adi Godrej, CII President, addressing the CII members at an Interactive Session held in Chennai. The oth-ers (from left) are Mr. Sujith Haridas, Regional Director, CII-SR, Mr. R. Dinesh, Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu State Council, Mr. B. Santhanam, Deputy Chairman, CII - Southern Region, Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, CII Director-General, and Mr. Narayan Sethuramon, Vice Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu State Council.

the deteriorating macro-economic conditions and worsening growth out-look cause widespread concern. it is essential therefore that measures for economic revival, reforms and good governance are accorded the high-est priority to get back to a high GdP growth trajectory, according to mr. Adi Godrej, President, Confederation of indian industry (Cii).


ther that to stimulate investments, CII is advocating further reduction in interest rates by 100 bps by De-cember 2012 and easing banks’ re-serve ratio, accompanied by meas-ures to unclog the supply side to control inflation.

The next generation of economic reforms is at the State level. Some of the key reforms that CII would ad-vocate relate to agriculture, power, land acquisition and procedural & clearance issues faced in setting up new businesses. CII proposes to set up a Central task force to monitor State-level reforms.

On the energy front, while CII will continue to advocate coal and

hydrocarbon reforms to alleviate fuel shortages which have proved a key bottleneck for the power sector, distribution reforms in this space are another critical area. There is also a need to explore implementation of renewable energy-based power projects to reduce power deficit in the country.

Manufacturing can and should become the engine of growth for the Indian economy. For this, CII is engaging with the Government to identify and promote four-five large manufacturing zones in resource-en-dowed States with a focus on green manufacturing.

In the agriculture sector, States

must facilitate reforms such as strengthening legislation around contract farming; de-notification of vegetables and other perishables from the APMC list and long-term land leasing of agricultural land for cultivation with farmers still retain-ing their ownership rights.

According to Mr. Godrej, India’s infrastructure deficit is widely ac-knowledged as a critical impedi-ment to achieving higher growth. Therefore, to step up the pace of infrastructure development, CII has launched a task force to monitor im-plementation of projects of national importance.

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AL supplier Award for orbit bearingsOrbit Bearings received an Award for its “Out-

standing Support” from Ashok Leyland at the Sup-plier Summit 2012. This Award further strengthens the relationship between the two companies.

Orbit engineers work with its OEM customers to define application problems and provide solutions that help end-users get the most out of their products. Orbit Technology Center invests in design develop-ment, testing facilities and friction management. This has helped in having the shortest lead time for developing customized bearings.

In order to meet the demand of its existing OEM customers, Orbit is doubling its production capac-ity to 10 million taper and cylindrical roller bearings annually. It is also setting up a state-of-the-art plant with all fully automatic manufacturing lines import-ed from Europe.

Orbit’s commitment to quality has made it a pre-ferred supplier to different national and international companies. It exports its bearings to North America, Europe and Latin America.

Mr. Vinesh Patel, Managing Director, Orbit Bearings, (right), receiving the Award from Mr. Vinod K. Dasari, Managing Di-rector, and Mr. Anuj Kathuria, Executive Director, Sourcing & Supply Chain, Ashok Leyland

eConomy

AWARds


Ashok Leyland bagged the Top Exporter Gold Award for the third consecutive year from the Engi-neering and Export Promotion Council India (EEPC) - Southern Region under the ‘Large Enterprise’ cat-egory. Mr. Antony Lobo, Special Director - Inter-national Operations, received the Award on behalf of the company from Dr. M.M. Pallam Raju, Union Minister of State for Defence, at a function held in Hyderabad.

Commenting on the recognition, Mr. Vinod K. Dasari, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland, said: “It is indeed a matter of great pride for us to be recog-

nized as a top exporter for the third consecutive year. This shows our constant endeavor to understand the customer requirements of different geographies and deliver best-suited and world class transportation so-lutions for those markets.”

Ashok Leyland exports for 2010-11 grew by 72 per cent compared to the previous year. In 2011-12, the company achieved a new high in international opera-tions of 12,852 numbers, a rise of 25 per cent over 2010-11. Currently, it exports its range of products to over 30 countries.

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AWARds

Mr. Antony Lobo, Special Director - International Operations, Ashok Leyland, receiving the Award from Dr. M.M. Pallam Raju, Union Minister of State for Defence, at a function held in Hyderabad

Ashok LeyLAnd once again bags eePC top exporter Award


In a casual chat with MOTORINDIA, Phani, as he is known among his friends, talks on how redBus commenced op-erations in a small way, but gathered momentum soon to grow into its present size.

True, in those days there was no organised way of making available seats for passengers in buses which plied on a particular route. Travel agents would make phone calls to bus op-erators to find out seat availability, a long and tedious process. Phani was quick enough to find an IT-based solution to vastly improve bus ticketing and travel facilities in the country.

Jointly with a couple of his col-lege mates, he worked on a software for bus operators which was later named Bus Operator Software Sys-tem (BOSSTM). Initially, the soft-

ware did not have much response from operators as they were not convinced of its viability. Phani had to be content with selling bus seats through ‘quotas’ on www.redBus.in.

The first bus operator to sign up with redBus was Jabbar Travels, while Rajesh Travels was the first operator’s seat to be sold through

the site. Both of them are Bana-glore-based operators. For three years, the quota-based selling con-tinued. However, with the growth in number of customers, BOSS was relaunched. The operators soon re-alized the benefits of technology, and buoyed by the prospects of an online ticketing portal, hundreds

innovAtion

how redbus has revolutionized indian bus ticketingTowards the close of 2005, a senior design engineer at Texas Instruments was left strand-ed in Bangalore, without being able to join his family for a festival in Hyderabad owing to unavailability of bus seats. This was none other than Mr. Phanindra sama, who was prompted then to find some means of improving the unorganised way of bus-ticketing in the country and who became the CEo of India’s largest bus-ticketing company today, namely, redBus.

Mr. Phanindra Sama, CEO, redBus


of them boarded redBus within an year.

Now the country’s largest bus-ticketing company, redBus is cur-rently present in 25 States with 26 offices and seven call centres. It employs around 500 people, offer-ing close to 19,000+ services every day. It has 800+ bus operators, 700 of whom use BOSS. Among them are two government operators, RSRTC in Rajasthan and Goa Ka-damba. With many awards already under its belt, redBus had more than doubled its revenue last year. With a turnover of about Rs. 300 crores last year, the company expects this year’s growth to be much better.

Apart from redBus and BOSS, for consumers and bus operators respectively, SeatSellerTM is the company’s face for travel agents. The three brands together provide a well-knit eco-system for the coun-try’s bus transportation industry whose annual worth is $2.5 billion, with 220 million seats being sold every year. Big IT power

With the entry of multinationals, especially Volvo, and improvement in road infrastructure, the Indian bus industry is witnessing rapid growth. redBus seems to have arrived just at the right time to catalyse the seg-ment’s growth by providing a one-stop portal for bus operators, travel agents and, most importantly, pas-sengers. Information technology seems to stir up a revolution in most fields, including bus transport. Over the last decade, the number of bus operators and bus routes in India has grown exponentially.

redBus has created a level play-

ing field among large and small bus operators, the quality of service provid-ed deciding the operators’ suc-cess. The star-rating feedback given by trav-ellers reflects the bus quality, punctuality and staff behaviour. This comes in handy for other customers who visit the site. Also, bus op-erators have complete trust in the genuineness of feedback re-ceived that drives them to improve quality standards in order to rope in more customers. All this has result-ed in the whole bus industry in the country moving to a higher level in terms of quality of service, custom-er satisfaction, comfort, safety, etc.

Another powerful and interesting outcome of the IT-based solution is the identification of potential new routes. When a customer searches for buses on a specific route but fails in his bid, redBus conveys the information over a period of time to bus operators. This system could lead to introduction of new routes, a boon to bus operators as well as travellers. Another possibility through redBus has been to set right the supply-demand mismatch which could divert buses from routes that attract less demand to those which require more buses. Again, it is ad-

vantageous both to operators and travellers.

Company statistics reveal that almost 25 per cent of redBus users are first-time bus travellers. Even then the company is expanding the bus industry consumer base by 25 per cent every year. One third of the passengers, around 33 per cent, have switched over to multi-axle vehicles since their entry into the Indian market a decade ago.

redBus has a dedicated team working on new initiatives to im-prove customer service. One of the latest additions to the site is the ‘tips’, a feature that helps travellers to provide simple and valuable in-formation about the buses to other users.

On the whole, redBus.in has brought about an IT revolution in the Indian bus industry.

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Why the bRAnd nAme ‘Redbus’?! • Phani was inspired by Richard Branson’s auto-biography. The logo of Richard’s company, Vir-gin Atlantic, is RED.

• The founders wanted a color in the brand name, so that people could link to the brand whenever they came across the color! RED was closer to being chosen!

• Being a website company, the color had to be short and easy to type - RED was frozen!

• Just ‘red’ was incomplete, so they wanted to improve upon it. ‘Redline’ was the first choice adopted from the ‘redline’ buses which oper-ated on Delhi roads, but the domain redline.in was unavailable!

• BUS obviously related directly to the industry which they would operate in. Thus came into ex-istence the brand ‘redBus’.

innovAtion


Philippe divry is new volvo india mdThe Volvo Group has announced the appointment of Mr. Philippe Divry

as the new Managing Director of Volvo India Pvt. Ltd. (VIPL) and Senior Vice President, Truck Joint Ventures India, Volvo Group.

As Managing Director of VIPL, one of the three legal entities of the Volvo Group in India, besides Volvo Buses India and VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), Mr. Divry will oversee the resourcing and optimization of the Volvo Group’s 4,000-plus workforce in India and support the ambi-tious growth plans of the group’s different business areas and functions. In this role, he becomes the statutory head of the Volvo Group organisation in India. A Senior Vice President at the group level, he is the highest ranking executive of the Volvo Group ever positioned in India.

Mr. Divry also joins as a Board Member of the Volvo Group’s joint venture company VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), which comprises the entire Eicher Motors truck and bus operations and the distribution of the Volvo Trucks vehicles. He will therefore be responsible for the overall performance of the truck business in India.

Mr. Divry has over two decades of experience in the commercial vehicle and automotive industries, both at Renault Trucks and in the Volvo Group. He has rich background in operations and project management and was head of Volvo Powertrain France from 2003 to 2008. He has been part of sig-nificant co-operations with international partners and has exercised responsibilities as Board member in companies such as Prevost Cars in North America, Sunwin Bus Corporation of China and Volvo Logistics of Sweden.

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international transport Forum’s new secretary-General

Internationally renowned academic Mr. José Viegas, a Portuguese national, has taken over as Secretary-General of the International Transport Forum.

Mr. Viegas, who was elected by Ministers from the Fo-rum member-countries at their summit in May, joins the Forum from an internationally recognised career as an aca-demic and consultant. As a professor of civil engineering at the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and chairman of TIS.pt, a transport consultancy firm, he has worked in all transport modes and managed collaborative networks across coun-tries and economic sectors to advance better solutions in transport.


sanjay Chakravarty appointed bosch Asia Pacific head

Mr. Sanjay Chakravarty, Senior General Manager & Head of Corporate Com-munication, Bosch India, has been appointed Director - Corporate Communica-tions, Brand Management and Sustainability of Bosch GmbH for the Asia Pacific region based in Shanghai. He will be heading this function as part of the Center of Competence for the APAC region overseeing countries from Japan to Australia.

Mr. Dhiraj Singh will be the successor to Mr. Chakravarty. With his wide ex-perience both in PR and Marcom, Mr. Singh will enhance the Bosch brand equity in India.

Mr. Chakravarty has been instrumental in bringing about the brand transforma-tion of the erstwhile company Mico to Bosch through a series of internal and ex-ternal communication and branding tools running over a span of over three years. He is also responsible for the brand equity that Bosch currently enjoys in India.

A post-graduate from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication - Delhi, Mr. Chakravarty is a hard core com-munication and brand professional with extensive industry experience.

Commenting on this, Mr. V.K. Viswanathan, President, Bosch India, said: “I am extremely happy to see our Indian managers are in demand for such global responsibilities. As part of our well-structured HR programme, Bosch India will continue to groom potential managers to take up such challenging responsibilities.”

Anand krishna joins hella india Lighting as General manager (marketing & sCm)

Mr. Anand Krishna has joined Hella India Lighting Ltd., Independent Aftermar-ket Division, as General Manager - Marketing & SCM. Prior to this, he was head-ing winning teams for Fleetguard Filters, Purolator India Ltd., and HBA & Co., UK.

A management graduate from University of Wales (UK.) with over 19 years experience in planning and development of marketing and sales teams, design and implementation of successful marketing strategies and product promotion plans, Mr. Krishna is keen on increasing sales revenues, developing profitable and pro-ductive business relationships, co-ordinating with decision-makers, and building an extensive client base. He executed the Six Sigma Green Belt project in Marketing, applied TOC principles for business reengineering and successfully implemented the QCDGP System for retail business to improve productivity and profitability of manufacturing, sales and marketing functions of the company.

With exceptional communication skills, Mr. Krishna has demonstrated his abili-ties in training and driving sales teams. He has also an extensive track record of training and mentoring people and special knowledge about Application of TOC Principals, Six Sigma Project Management and Export & Import / Inter-national Business (Africa, Europe, CIS and Asia).

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