Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)) and Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) have worked out a ‘Localization Roadmap’ with a target to further increase localization by about 15-20pc in the next 2 to 5 years.
The Heavy Industries Ministry is working consistently for the growth of the automotive sector, said Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Heavy Industries at a recent conference organised by SIAM. He acknowledged that increased localization supported by the PLI initiatives of government that would make the industry more robust. He also emphasized the need for developing EV charging infrastructure and focus on manufacturing quality products so that the Indian automobile industry could be one of the best in the world.
For India to be a $5trillion economy by 2025-26 if it is provided with the right kind of policy support. For Atmanirbhar Bharat to be successful, it is important that the Indian manufacturing sector is strong, and for that, the Indian auto sector plays a pivotal role, said T V Narendran, President, CII & MD, Tata Steel. The auto sector should focus on six key areas going forward; electric vehicles, circularity, urbanization, resilient supply chain that is not affected by extreme weather and geopolitical issues, reap in functionality and embed sustainability, he continued.
Due to the impact of COVID-19, sales were subdued for the automobile sector. The current mission is to take advantage of localization, PLI scheme and EV charging infrastructure, said Vipin Sondhi MD, Ashok Leyland. He added that all of this will contribute to supporting the initiative of Make in India and self-reliance.
Personal mobility segment has the potential to grow by 30pc and the freight segment will grow by 50pc over the next decade, said Arun Goel, Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry, who is very optimistic about the Indian auto industry. All segments will grow in the coming times.
The government is targeting to install EV charging infrastructure across 50,000 retail outlets in the next 3 to 4 years said Tarun Kapoor, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
The auto industry has been witnessing comparatively slower growth in the last 18 months. The government and the industry need to take necessary action collectively to revive the sector. If India were to follow the European standards then the vehicle cost may rise. He said the focus should be on how to make the vehicles affordable to the masses. If the affordability factor is addressed, then the Indian auto industry can certainly recover in the short term, according to R C Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India.
Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor said that we are also facing a crisis of existence as the world is witnessing severe climate change impact. Therefore, India needs to be on the cutting edge of zero carbon emissions. We must go beyond electrification, move towards a circular economy and look at the life cycle and carbon emissions of future products.