Aftermarket - November 2011

I N D I A ’ S F I R S T M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E A U T O M O T I V E A F T E R M A R K E T

Vol. 1 No. 5 November 2011 68 Pages `50

Brought to you by Auto Monitor

NEWSShell

SPECIAL REPORTWabco

INTERVIEWArvind Kapur, President, ACMA


RetailThe Effect

RetailThe Effect

NOVEMBER 2011 AFTERMARKET 5

THE hardening of interest rates has moderated the growth of the passenger car and the commercial vehicle segments. Nevertheless, these segments did not witness negative growth. The two-wheelers segment continues to grow. While it is good news for the vehicle and component manufacturers, the increasing vehicle parc results in two things—one, increasing the traffic flow and two, the customers face problems in getting quality aftersales service of vehicles. Individuals cannot do anything to manage traffic or create more space on the roads, as it is for the government to create the requisite infrastructure.

However, servicing the vehicles can be managed by creating more outlets. While it is easier to set up service centres, the availability of skilled manpower is an issue. Despite vehicles, becoming modern and technologically advanced, the men carrying out service are largely the uneducated lot. Can this work in the future? It will not. As the vehicles are getting more tech-intensive, calling for skilled and experienced hands to handle servicing is crucial. Secondly, the customer expectations are high—not only in terms of high quality service / repair, but also for a shorter turnaround time at the garages. And this is possible with the people who organise education and training. Therefore it calls for a stream of education in vehicle servicing.

Currently the service centres recruit people—matriculation passed or failed—and train them on the job. However, it is not effective since certain parameters of servicing / repair calls for knowledge of basic science and mathematics, which the current level of new employees at the service stations may not possess. This segment also needs customised curriculum to educate and train people. The government can think of introducing a curriculum on automobile servicing in industrial training institutes and other technical institutions. Industry and academia can partner to address the issue. Presently, it is being done in a very small way in a few states, however, these are miniscule when compared with the demand.

When the Indian automotive industry reaches $145 billion in the next five years, as per the Automotive Mission Plan 2006-16, it needs to add at least 25 million people. Of this estimate, skilled workers will contribute to 15.5 million (or 62 percent of the requirement), while unskilled workers will number about 2.5 million. Thus the need of the hour is to create as many streams of education as possible to cater to the increasing demand. Creating specialised courses in automobile servicing will spur more employment opportunities and also help the auto industry to witness healthy growth. Besides, it will also help the society at large, since handling the vehicles in a systematic way will help conserve precious fuel.

Wishing you much pleasure reading. Do send us your feedback.

Train the Truant

T. Murrali [email protected]

EDITORIAL

7

NEWS

NOVEMBER 2011 AFTERMARKET

NEWS

IN CONVERSATION

REARVIEW CUTTING EDGE

COVER STORY

CONTENTS

12 Mercedes-Benz opens 3S Transcar India in Chennai

13 AIS to expand portfolio in aftermarket

16 ALL Dost enters Kerala, four dealers chosen

22 Toyota launches free checks across India

26 Comet, Aquila to get support from Garware Motors 27 SKF provides solutions for Indian grand prix

34 ACMA President, Arvind Kapur on plans to take the auto component industry to the next level

39 Bosch launches next-gen exhaust analyser, diagnostic station

33 Driving guidance device to reduce carbon emission

Retail The

Effect

16

26 27

30

34

39 33

30 Maruti’s certified spare parts initiative, MGP shows the way for OEM-backed retail network Maruti Genuine Parts has not only been a success but has led to fellow car makers following in Maruti’s footsteps

I N D I A ’ S F I R S T M A G A Z I N E F O R T H E A U T O M O T I V E A F T E R M A R K E T

Vol. 1 No. 5 November 2011 68 Pages `50


NEWSShell

SPECIAL REPORTWabco

INTERVIEWArvind Kapur, President, ACMA


RetailThe Effect

RetailThe Effect

Cover DesignMahesh Talkar

22


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10 AFTERMARKET NOVEMBER 2011

NEWS

AT the maintenance paddock, in the

heart of the Ferrari garage, when driv-

ers and other members of the team

where busy preparing for the fi rst

Formula One of India, three scientist s

from Shell were working hard towards

the same goal in a makeshift lab trying

to make both fuel and engine oil work

to best of their capabilities in order to

make the speedy engines of the team

even more speedy.

Shell, the group of energy and pet-

rochemicals companies, works closely

with the Ferrari team in Formula One

to develop the highest performance

Shell V-Power race fuels and gain the

best reliability from Shell Helix Ultra

racing lubricants for the Ferrari team.

“Engines of Ferrari rev upto 18,000

RPM. Th ere is a lot of frict ion produced

during the rubbing of components dur-

ing the process. Out of the eight engines

that every team gets for one season,

each engine has to run for around two

and a half thousand kilometres. So it

is extremely necessary for each engine

to perform to the best of their capabili-

ties. And for that to happen our fuel

and engine oils have to be of impeccable

quality,” Ferrari Technology Manager,

Cara Tredget said.

By test ing and analysing the Shell

V-Power race fuel and Shell Helix

lubricants, the scientist s at Shell can

tell the health of the engines and pre-

dict failures that might occur. Th ey

take samples of the oil from the fuel

tank after the engine has been driven

and inform Ferrari about the condition

of each engine. “It is really important

for Ferrari to know the results of the

analysis,” Tredget added.

Apart from the analysis of the sam-

ples of oil from the fuel tank, the team

also analyses samples from other st or-

age areas such as tanks and drums. “We

NEWS

Shambhavi Anand

Shell takes learning from F1 track to everyday usage

Cara Tredget, Ferrari Technology Manager

at trackside laboratory of Shell in Indian GP


NEWS

check for any sort of anomaly from the

ideal samples that was approved by FIA.

Any sort of anomaly might not be mali-

cious, but may also st orage issue,” she

informed. Th e Fédération Internationale

de l’Automobile (FIA) is the govern-

ing body for world motor sport and the

federation of the world’s leading motor-

ing organisations. It has specifi cations of

components and their proportions that

fuel and engine oils can have. Th e test

done on these samples are known as gas

chromatography, which basically test s

for the fi nger print of the oil.

Th ese learnings from the track are

used to develop Shell V-Power fuels

for road cars, to help power and protect

them worldwide by powerful cleansing

and frict ion modifi cation technology.

“While these test s and other act ivi-

ties in the lab are important for Ferrari,

they are extremely important for Shell.

We take the learning from here and

share it with our colleagues in the main

laboratory and other offi ces around the

world. Our oils help in minimising fric-

tion and increasing the performance

of engine. We use various new various

additives and components in diff erent

proportions here for and we like them

to migrate those learning into our eve-

ryday programmes,” Tredget informed.

Talking about the learnings from

this season she elaborates, “We use two

types of biofuel for Formula One (pri-

marily because of FIA mandate), which

can be employed for commercial usage.”

Th e Formula One track also act s as a

test track with extreme conditions for

test ing the performance of the oils.

Trackside laboratory of Shell

12

NEWS

AFTERMARKET NOVEMBER 2011

MERCEDES-BENZ, inaugurat-

ed its 3S (Sales, Service and Spares)

facility, Transcar India in Chennai

recently. Th is is the luxury car

manufact urer’s largest dealership

in south India, which can accommo-

date 20 cars and has three bays

for service.

Addressing the press during the

launch of the showroom, CEO &

Managing Direct or, Mercedes-Benz

India, Peter Honegg said, “Th e lux-

ury car segment in India is growing

fast er and consumers in Chennai are

exposed to the global lifest yle and

are looking for the best in luxury and

technology. Th e multi-st oreyed show-

room has the capacity to display 20

cars and has been designed in such a

way that at every level, there is a dif-

ferent experience zone for displaying

various segment cars along with the

accessory sect ion.”

Mercedes-Benz is also planning to

st art leasing its cars in India to attract

entry level luxury car buyers and

st art its used car business. It hopes to

attract people who want to buy cars

that are priced below `20 lakh and

will st art in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune

and Kolkata.

Th e company recorded a growth of

12 percent in September 2011 over last

year and aims to sell over 7,000 units

this year compared with 5,600 units

last year. Honegg also indicated that

the company has plans to introduce the

diesel version of some of its models.

Bhargav TS

Mercedes-Benz opens3S Transcar India in Chennai

Transcar India; (Inset) Peter Honegg, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz


NEWS

AIS Glass Solutions, one of lead-

ing automobile glass manufact urers in

India, is looking at enhance its pres-

ence in the aftermarket, especially in

the commercial vehicle segment by

expanding its product portfolio.

Th e manufact urer of laminated

windshields and tamper-proof glasses,

is working on including a broader range

of innovative product s, including intro-

ducing a type of glass that reduces the

intensity of sunlight into the car. Such

a glass will eventually enhance the fuel

AIS to expand

portfolio in aftermarket

Arvind Singh, President, Asahi India Glass

Nabeel A Khan


NEWS

effi ciency of the vehicle by means of

reduced pressure on the air condition-

ing among other advantages.

A foresightful endeavour towards

the vision is its in-house develop-

ment of manufact uring equipment

and processes, which consecutively

lowers cost s, decreases lead times and

processes while boost ing competi-

tive st rength. It has developed a range

of product s that provide value added

features such as water repellent glass,

which enables the driver better vis-

ibility during rains, a radio antenna

printed on the glass rather than in the

form of traditional antenna syst ems,

rain sensors fi tted onto the glass,

which automatically act ivates the

windshield wiper syst em.

“Th e main reasons for the sinking

profi t margin and st agnation in the PV

segment are infl ation in price of input

material and cost of energy in terms of

elect ricity”, AIS India Glass, Arvind

Singh told Aftermarket. However, the

commercial vehicle segment has main-

tained a sust ainable demand that made

the company think of increasing its

focus on CV aftermarket.

Its cust omers include all the major

car makers and in the commercial vehi-

cles segment, Volvo, Daimler and Tata

Ace are among the major takers of its

glasses. Th e glass-maker is continu-

ously seeking expansion of aftermarket

business by enhancing its presence in

the value chain in a manner in which it

can meet cust omer demand at the indi-

vidual level throughout the country. A

signifi cant way is by expanding its net-

work such that its dist ribution footprint

covers an increasing part of the vehicle

population of the country.

AIS has clocked a turnover of

`1,556 crore in FY11 of which, `900

crore came from the automotive glass

business. Th e company snapped around

18 percent of the total automotive

business from the aftermarket and 70

percent from OE and the rest from

other earth moving equipment, metro

coaches and exports. It may be noted

that the company has recently supplied

glasses to new metro coaches in Delhi.

Th e glass-maker has witnessed st agna-

tion in the passenger vehicle segment,

while the commercial vehicle segment

regist ered a growth of 20 percent in

July-August compared to last year in

the same period.

Expanding HorizonsAIS is mulling options to increase

its product ion volume by at least 25

percent each year as the company envis-

ages a growth of 15 percent in revenue

in FY2012 compared to last year. Th e

company is weighing the pressure on

the profi t margins and is getting into

lean manufact uring with the help of

low cost automation. Towards this, it

has invest ed about `30 crore during the

last two years.

Exports contribute seven percent to

its automotive business, which comes

primarily from the European markets,

in the aftermarket space. While this

business is a fast expanding, the compa-

ny also is evaluating other markets and

segments for growth.

AIS manufact ures a wide range

automotive safety glass, fl oatglass,

architect ural processed glass and glass

product s. It is transforming itself to a

solutions provider by moving up the

value chain of auto glass and archi-

tect ural glass and providing design,

product s and services that make glass

more versatile and user-friendly.

Brownfi eld ExpansionExpansion plans will not be through

the greenfi eld route. Inst ead, it is

looking at ramping up capacity at its

exist ing facility. “For the next cou-

ple of years, we will meet the demand

growth by expanding capacities in

these locations. Our capacity expan-

sion programme also ensures that we

are continuously upgrading technolo-

gy—whether it is for greater product

range or for product ivity enhancement,”

President, AIS India Glass, he added.

Currently, the company has

manufact uring facilities for automo-

tive glass at four locations—Bawal

(Haryana), Chennai (Tamil Nadu),

Roorkee (Uttarakhand) and Taloja

(Maharashtra). All the locations have

the required infrast ruct ure includ-

ing suffi cient space for brownfi eld

expansion. Th is allows AIS to plan

its expansions in the shortest possible

way rather than the normal cycle time,

besides being cost eff ect ive.

Th e glass manufact urer has inst alled

robotics in the drilling procedure and

also introduced other forms of automa-

tion at its facilities to help in revival of

dipping profi t margins. Th e company

used to have a profi t margin of 20 per-

cent which slipped to 18 percent last

year. However, with upgraded tech-

nology it hopes to rest ore the same

profi t level soon. Th e product ivity of the

human resource has been going up by

10 percent every year.

The manufacturer is working on a range of

innovative products, in-cluding a type of glass that

reduces the intensity of sunlight into the car. This

will eventually enhance the fuel effi ciency of the vehicle by means of reduced pres-

sure on the air conditioning. Other products developed

are a water repellent glass, which enables the driver

better visibility during rains and a radio antenna printed

on the glass

15 NOVEMBER 2011 AFTERMARKET

NEWS

FORD India recently launched ‘Ford

Figo Bharat Yatra.’ Th e carmaker’s

largest act ivation drive successfully

culminated in Jalandhar, Kochi and

Bhubaneshwar, close to Diwali fest ival.

Th e pan-India drive covered 1000

towns across 20 st ates of India in a

short span of 100 days. Th e Yatra cre-

ated an experiential opportunity for

consumers to connect to Ford Figo,

‘India’s Most Awarded Car Ever’

resulting in over 17,000 test drives.

Th e Ford Figo Bharat Yatra was

kicked off in July 2011 to celebrate the

phenomenal success of Figo including

the milest one of 100,000 sales within 15

months of launch, growing exports to 27

international markets, and indust ry-wide

recognition as a value-for-money vehi-

cle. “An impressive number of enquiries,

on-spot bookings and thousands of

test drives conduct ed during this Yatra

clearly suggest that Figo’s proposition

of being a value-for-money vehicle con-

tinues to fi nd resonance in the market,”

said General Manager, Marketing, Ford

India, Sriram Padmanabhan.

Endeavour 4x4 launched

Gearing up to the fest ive mood,

Ford India has introduced a limited

edition of Endeavour 4x4 Hurricane.

Th e Endeavour 4x4 Hurricane

Limited Edition will be available

at an attract ive price of `20,13,244

(ex-showroom Delhi) and will be

equipped with a new muscular Front

Nudge bar that adds to the muscular

and tough look, specially designed

Chrome exhaust trims, 5th-door

convex mirror and the contemporary

Hurricane body decals.

VOLKSWAGEN has recently

launched Planet Volkswagen in Delhi.

According to the company, this is the

biggest digital initiative so far. Th e

Planet Volkswagen will not only act as

a platform for product and brand infor-

mation and services, but also a universe

of fun and entertainment for every car

enthusiast from all age groups.

Th is digital initiative will not only

showcase the world of Volkswagen in

a 3D digital space, but also allow and

engage the user to explore information

on automobiles, drives, games and con-

test s. It will enable them to build their

own community using social media

channels like Facebook, Twitter and

Youtube. Th e OEM hopes that this

would enable Volkswagen to generate

positive word-of-mouth publicity.

Our Bureau

Bharat Yatra to increase festivity VW launches Planet Volkswagen


NEWS

OCTOBER 21 marked the entry

of Ashok Leyland’s small com-

mercial vehicle— Dost in Kerala,

otherwise called as God’s own

country. Th e Hinduja Group fl ag-

ship company launched its vehicle in

Kochi and Kozhikode followed by

Th iruvananthapuram the next day. Th e

ex-showroom price of the vehicle rang-

es from `3.79 lakh to ` 4.39 lakh.

As part of the company’s st rategy,

the vehicle is being initially launched

in the four southern st ates (Tamil

Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh

and Kerala), Maharashtra and Gujarat.

It will be made available across the

country in a phased manner as the pro-

duct ion ramp up is executed. To reach

out to the cust omers in Kerala, Ashok

Leyland light vehicles have appoint-

ed four dealers Malayalam Motors

and Indus in Kochi, EVM Motors in

Th iruvananthapuram and Indus

in Kozhikode.

Dost is entering the Small

Commercial Vehicle (SCV) market

(below 3.5 tonne) which is witness-

ing a perceptible upward shift in terms

of features, performance and payload.

Th e overall LCV market (up to 7.5

tonne) is growing robust ly, fuelled by

the increase in urbanisation, organised

retailing, improved rural connect ivity

coupled with growth in rural demand.

Aiding this growth are fact ors like

increased focus on the hub-and-spoke

model.

Th e vehicle, which has a payload

capacity of 1.25 tonne, will be available

in three versions with the top-end ver-

sion featuring air-conditioning, power

st eering, dual-colour beige-grey trim

NEWS

T Murrali

Ashok Leyland Dost enters Kerala, four dealers chosen

Dr V Sumantran , Executive Vice Chairman, Hinduja Automotive

and Chairman, Nissan Ashok Leyland Powertrain, inaugurating the

3S facility of Malayalam Motors in Kochi


NEWS

and fabric seats. It is equipped with

55 HP, three-cylinder 1.5 litre com-

mon rail TDCR engine, tuned for fuel

economy as well as the driveability and

gradeability required for Indian roads.

Th e company is also off ering ready-to-

use-vehicles on the Dost platform for

various applications such as refrigerated

containers, st eel containers, ambulance,

aluminium fi xed side decks and service-

at-site vehicles.

At a media conference, the

Executive Vice Chairman, Hinduja

Automotive and Chairman, Nissan

Ashok Leyland Powertrain, Dr V

Sumantran said, “With the commercial

launch of Dost , Ashok Leyland fi lls

an important gap in its product lineup.

Th e vehicle embodies our attempt to

deliver to the Indian LCV cust omer,

Japanese technology at Indian cost s. It

is a true refl ect ion of the evolving needs

of today’s Indian LCV cust omer and

we are happy that we have been able

to manufact ure a product that will be

attuned to the growing expect ations of

the LCV market. We have attempted

to pack a lot into DOST—increased

payload, improved fuel effi ciency as

well as class-leading performance,

comfort and safety, all aimed at off er-

ing a uniquely superior experience at a

very competitive cost of ownership.”

Chennai headquartered automo-

bile dealership group MPL, which

is celebrating its 25th anniver-

sary this year has forayed in to the

neighbouring st ate, Kerala by fl oat-

ing a separate entity—Malayalam

Group. Th e Chairman MPL Group,

S Ravindranathan, told Aftermarket

that the Malayalam Group would be

responsible for all the dealership busi-

ness in Kerala. Th e object ive is to

leverage local resources to cater to the

cust omers thereby growing its over-

all business. It began its business in

the st ate by kicking off 3S facility for

Ashok Leyland Dost called Malayalam

Motors in Kochi. Within a span of

ten days it has received more than 75

bookings for Dost .

Th e group is also setting up anoth-

er 3S facility in the southern part of

the Kochi for Ford India. Th e facility,

called Malayalam Cars will be opera-

tional before the end of this calendar.

Interest ingly the group’s foray into

passenger cars came in 1996 by becom-

ing the fi rst dealer for Ford vehicles in

India. It currently has dealerships in

Chennai and Pondicherry.

Ravindranathan, who was selling

Toyota cars in the Middle East close

to three decades ago had debuted in

vehicle dealership business in 1986 by

selling earthmoving machineries such

as front-end loaders, rear dumpers,

hydraulic excavators and bull dozers,

under the brand MPL.

After selling earthmoving machin-

eries for sometime, MPL expanded

its business in late 1980s by foraying

in to ‘surface miners’ that are used for

excavating lime st ones. Almost all the

cement manufact urers are its cust om-

ers. Th e group then became a dealer

for Mahindra & Mahindra to sell

utility and commercial vehicles. With

MPL Adventure Sports Vehicles,

it has entered in to selling off -road

and all terrain vehicles. MPL will be

completing the spect rum automobile

dealerships with the opening up of

its two-wheeler showroom for HMSI

in Chennai. Th e showroom is get-

ting ready and will be operational in a

month’s time.

MPL Floats Malayalam Group

S Ravindranathan, Chairman, MPL Group

Dost is entering the SCV market (below 3.5 tonne)

which is witnessing a perceptible upward shift in

terms of features, performance and payload


NEWS

ASHOK LEYLAND and Gulf Oil

joined hands to launch a co-branded

range of lubricants for the new range of

Ashok Leyland light vehicles includ-

ing Dost , which is the fi rst vehicle from

the Ashok Leyland-Nissan joint ven-

ture. Th e exclusive range of co-branded

lubricants, branded as the next genera-

tion or 'NxG' series, has been specially

blended by Gulf Oil and has been

jointly test ed for superior performance.

Th e NxG series is the fourth range

of co-branded lubricants launched by

Gulf Oil in association with various

OEMs in the past one year. Th e launch

adds to Gulf Oil’s exist ing broad port-

folio of co-branded product s. It is also a

refl ect ion of the confi dence that OEMs

repose on Gulf Oil for their technical

prowess, dist ributions st rengths and

equity of brand ‘Gulf ’, which is one of

the fast est growing in recent years. In

a scenario, where operating economics

are so crucial, the 'NxG' series of lubri-

cants will go a long way in lowering

operating cost s for light vehicle owners.

Speaking at the Dost launch in

Mumbai, President, Lubricants, Gulf

Oil, Ravi Chawla said, "We are delight-

ed to introduce this new range of

high-performing lubricants that will add

value to the users of Ashok Leyland's

light vehicles. Th e new NxG range

reaffi rms the commitment of both the

organisations towards their cust omers.

Gulf Oil is proud to be associated with

the Ashok Leyland-Nissan joint venture

and looks forward to a long and mutu-

ally benefi cial association."

Executive Direct or, LCV

Marketing, Ashok Leyland, Nitin Seth

st ated, "Gulf Oil leads the indust ry in

terms of technology as well as dist ribu-

tion and have proven st rengths across

segments. Th ey have been pioneers in

creating long drain engine oils which

allow the consumer to get the maxi-

mum out of his vehicle. We are pleased

to jointly launch the NxG series of

co-branded lubricants with them to

cater to our cust omers." Th e NxG series

has eight product s in various cust omer

friendly pack sizes.

In a previous initiative of a similar

nature, Ashok Leyland and Gulf Oil

jointly launched the'Max' range of co-

branded lubricants for the medium &

heavy commercial vehicle segment pio-

neering the trend of long drain lubricants

in India.

Gulf Oil Corporation is an est ab-

lished player in the lubricants market

in India and markets a wide range of

product s/services for the automotive

business including lubricants, car

care, fi lters, lubrication syst ems and

recently launched two-wheeler batter-

ies. Today, the Gulf brand is present in

more than 80 countries with operations

in fi ve continents.

Our Bureau

Ravi Chawla, President, Gulf Oil Lubes, Dr Sumantran, Vice Chairman, Hinduja Automotive & Nitin Seth, ED, LCV, Ashok Leyland

Ashok Leyland,Gulf Oil MoU oils way for new lubricant


NEWS

THE Society of Automotive Engineers

India (SAE India) recently host ed

the 16th Asia Pacifi c Automotive

Conference (APAC 16) in Chennai

in a bid to bring together the indus-

try, the academia and the government

to draw a roadmap for the automo-

tive indust ry. Th e conference created a

platform for an exchange of ideas and

insights on contemporary challenges

for sust ainable technologies for safe

and smart mobility. Th e event wit-

nessed a participation of about 1,000

people from the global and domest ic

automotive community, Around 140

technical papers were presented, and

the event witnessed the participation of

100 exhibitors from SAE USA, Japan,

Korea and other countries.

Th e conference highlighted the areas

of engine technologies, green vehicles,

safety, automotive infotronics, frugal

engineering, collaborative innovations,

IPR policy and regulations. Patron-

APAC 16, R Seshasayee and Executive

Vice-Chairman, Ashok Leyland, said

that the conference has provided the

platform to address burning issues like

public transportation, sust ainable mobil-

ity, vehicle safety apart from developing

upon the usual technical areas of dis-

cussion. “We need to integrate the best

pract ices in design and development. It

is only right that expect ations are met

with act ion,” he added.

Th e Chairman, Steering

Committee, APAC and President,

Automotive & Farm Equipment

Sect ors, Mahindra & Mahindra,

Pawan Goenka, said that in the world

of automotive engineering today, there

is a lot of st ress on fi nding sust ainable

solutions. APAC 16 has provided a

platform on how the automotive world

can contribute towards the environ-

ment and conservation of resources.

Clearly, innovation is what will take the

indust ry to the next paradigm, he said.

“In the future,” st ated the Chairman,

Exposition Committee, SAE India and

Direct or of ARAI, SR Marathe, “there

will be a need for the Indian auto-

mobile indust ry to work closely with

infrast ruct ure development.” He added

that elect ric mobility and hybrid elec-

tric vehicles will be the game changers

in the market. “By building a seamless

mobility network in the country, we can

tap the complete potential of sust ainable

mobility and make a larger impact on

the environment,” he opined.

Earlier, inaugurating the three-day

Our Bureau

APAC 16 aligns industry with global standards, collaborate on innovations

(L-R) Prof Thanakom, Senior VP, SAE Thailand; Dr Pawan Goenka Chairman, Steering Committee, APAC & President, Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors,

M&M; R Seshasayee, Patron-APAC 16 (Executive Vice-Chairman, ALL); SR Marathe, Chairman, Exposition Committee, SAE India (Director, ARAI)

(L-R) Asit K Barma, Chairman Southern Section, SAEINDIA; David Schutt, CEO, SAE International; R Dayal, President SAE India, Chairman, Steering Committee

APAC16; Venu Srinivasan, Chairman,TVS Group; R Seshasayee, Patron, APAC 16 (Executive Vice-Chairman, Ashok Leyland ); Ted Robertson, President, FISITA

& President, Magna International, Canada & Aravind Bhardhwaj, Chairman, Organising Committee, APAC 16 (CEO, Automotive Infotronics)

The event has set the roadmap for sustainable technologies for safe and smart mobility


NEWS

conference, Chairman, TVS Motor,

Venu Srinivasan said India is securing its

spot in the global automotive landscape

and has a global responsibility towards

taking measures in reducing emission of

CO2 and encouraging usage of cleaner

energy. “Indian cities are growing at

a rapid pace and we will need to focus

on sust ainable technologies as a core

part of the business. Cust omers are also

increasingly aware of the benefi ts of such

initiatives and are making wise choices.

Technology off ers enormous possibili-

ties to address problems not only in the

manufact uring st age but also through

the entire product life cycle.”

Seshasayee said there are a number

of fact ors that are accelerating change

in the Indian automobile indust ry. Th e

impetus from the government has helped

the indust ry clock a phenomenal growth

rate. Th e Indian automobile indust ry, is

est imated to have a turnover of $73 bil-

lion, accounting for six percent of the

GDP, and is expect ed to hit a turnover

of $145 billion by 2016. Th e depletion of

natural resources has alerted the indus-

try to look at producing “no more wast e”

than the planet’s rest orative capabil-

ity. India brought in a radical change

in manufact uring with its cost eff ec-

tive frugal engineering. Th e acceptance

of sust ainable transportation is gain-

ing wide acceptance and has become a

competitive advantage for automobile

manufact ures. Sust ainable technology

will change design and operational char-

act erist ic of mobility in the country.

Th e President of FISITA and the

President of Magna International, Ted

Robertson, felt that APAC 16 is a sig-

nifi cant initiative towards India being a

collaborator in innovative technologies,

which will transform the sust ainable

mobility in the country. Th e event has

been a successful platform provider for

the world’s automotive engineers to share

knowledge for the advancement of every

aspect of automotive technology and

indicate the future direct ion of automo-

tive engineering worldwide. During his

presentation he said that the global vehi-

cle product ion is set to increase to 102

million units by 2017 from 72 million in

2010. While the share of North America

will dip from 19.7 percent in 2010 to

18.4 percent in 2017 and Europe will

drop from 27.9 percent to 26.7 percent

the share of Asian region will increase

from 52 percent to 54.4 percent dur-

ing the same period. Th is, according to

Robertson is due to increase in wealth

and soaring global population. Share of

vehicle product ion in India will increase

from nine percent to 13 percent during

the period. He also viewed that uncon-

ventional technologies will exceed 40

percent of the new vehicle sales by 2035.

According to the CEO of SAE

International, David Schutt, the glo-

bal automotive indust ry faces a new

challenge of creating equilibrium

between manufact uring and environ-

ment. Th e indust ry is being sensitised

on the emerging trends that will aid in

sust ainable mobility. Th is will help in

identifying the best pract ices and help

st andardise technologies for the future.

At the valedict ory session, the

Chairman, Organising Committee,

APAC 16 and CEO, Automotive

Infotronics, Aravind S Bharadwaj said,

“Sust ainable technologies are poised to

make an impact in the automotive indus-

try and mobility network in the country.

APAC 16 has provided the opportunity

for various st akeholders to come under one

roof and chalk out a plan for the future

direct ion of the automotive indust ry. Th e

event has provided a platform for the

Indian automotive indust ry to be aligned

with international st andards and collabo-

rate on innovative technologies.”

The delegates present at the conference

One of the stalls displaying interesting innovations at APAC 16


NEWS

TOYOTA Kirloskar Motor (TKM)

recently launched its fest ive campaign

‘Q Celebrations’—a service campaign

with free check ups for all Toyota mod-

els across its dealerships in India.

Th e month-long campaign will

be conduct ed across Toyota dealer-

ships between 10 Oct ober and 10

November, 2011. Toyota has launched

this service campaign in 125 deal-

erships across India, wherein, all

Toyota cust omers visiting Toyota

dealerships during the period will

be eligible for a free 20-point check,

which will ensure road worthiness of

the vehicle and a trouble free journey

for Toyota cust omers.

Speaking on the occasion Deputy

Managing Direct or, TKM, Sandeep

Singh said, “Based on Toyota’s

‘Cust omer First ’ approach, we are very

happy to off er our cust omers more

reasons to be happy this fest ive season.

We have timed this service campaign

to correspond with the fest ive season

in India.”

Th e cust omers will also be able

to avail cust om made off ers, which

include impressive discounts on

accessories, body and paint repair

discounts, insurance renewal off ers,

pre paid maintenance off er and serv-

ice discounts. Apart from all of these,

there will be a daily lucky draw for the

chauff eurs visiting the dealership dur-

ing this campaign.

Our Bureau

Under this campaign, all Toyota customers visiting Toyota Dealerships during

campaign period will be eligible for a free 20 point check, which will ensure

road worthiness of the ve-hicle & trouble free journey

for Toyota customers

Hyder Ali, COO Garware Motors

Toyota launches free checks across India


NEWS

THE home-grown tyre manufact urer

MRF is opening its eighth plant in

Tamil Nadu at an invest ment of around

`800 crore. Th e maker is also looking

to acquire plants overseas, preferably in

some rubber producing countries.

Th e new plant in Tamil Nadu is

expect ed to st art operations early

next year. It is likely to help MRF

generate 15 percent increase to its

yearly sales.

However, in terms of overseas leap

the company would preferably look at

acquisitions abroad rather than taking

the usual organic growth path. Th e tyre

maker, which crossed `10,000 crore

sales in the fi nancial year ending this

September (FY Oct 2010-Sept 2011)

says the current fi scal is likely to see

lower profi t margin due to the rising

raw material prices.

Th e company has earmarked a

capex plan of around `900-1,000

crore, out of which, `800 crore would

be spent on the new plant in Trichy.

At present, the company has seven

plants across the country.

Th e tyre maker recently launched a

new series of high performance, tube-

less radial tyres—MRF zlo series,

which can be fi tted on more than 35

models of both domest ic and import-

ed cars running on Indian roads.

MRF zlo tyres are made of advanced

polymer compound with st able ring

const ruct ion to enhance cust omers’

confi dence at high speeds. All these

features add to optimum grip in both

wet and dry conditions. Th ese tyres

are meant for premium vehicles like

Audi Q7 and BMW X5. Th e price of

the tyre goes upto `20,000 per unit.

Th ese tyres will be initially available

in select MRF outlets including the

premium MRF Tyres & Service fran-

chisees across the country.

Our Bureau

MRF looks at overseas acquisition


NEWS

GARWARE Motors is looking to

off er support to owners of Kinetic

Aquila and Comet in a bid to earn

goodwill and revive the Hyosung brand

name in the Indian market.

As per the company’s est imates,

there are around 1,000 odd cust om-

ers of the erst while motorcycle “We

are communicating with the exist ing

cust omer base of these two motorcycle

brands for service and spares support

through our channel. Th is initiative

is aimed at revising Hyosung’s brand

image in India that took a beating with

abrupt withdrawal of the bikes from

Indian market in the middle of the last

decade,” said Chief Operating Offi cer,

Garware Motors, Hyder Ali Khan,

who was part of the team that launched

the Comet from Kinetic Engineering’

st able around 2004. He added that

even though the Kinetic cust omers

could not be given any ‘belated’ war-

ranties regarding spares, the company

is looking to off er support and assist -

ance to such cust omers as it is now in a

position to do so.

“Around 80-85 percent of parts and

aggregates in the Comet and Aquila

are identical to the current generation

of 250 cc motorcycles from our techni-

cal partner S&T Motors and hence, we

are in a position to off er our support

for these bikes. We have been com-

municating with owners of these two

models through our dealers as well

as on consumer websites like Team

BHP for off ering support,” elaborated

Khan. Garware Motors is gearing up to

launch three variants of 250 cc motor-

cycles from Hyosung’s st able in India

by the end of current fi scal.

It may be recalled that the erst while

Pune-based two-wheeler manufact ur-

er, Kinetic Engineering had launched

the Comet 250 and the Aquila 250

from the Hyosung

Motor’s st able as part

of a technical collabo-

ration between Kinetic

and Hyosung drawn up

around 2003. Th e bikes

were launched in the

price range of `1.5 to

1.75 lakh.

Th e Hyosung brand-

ed bikes were developed

using the latest tech-

nology inspired from

motorsports including

engine built using roll-

er bearing camshafts,

chain-driven DOHC

valve gear operating on

four valves per cylin-

der head, dual squish

combust ion chambers

for optimum volumet-

ric effi ciency and twin

down draught Mikuni

CV carburettors. Th e bikes were sold in

all major cities with 500 units of each

model imported from Korea as CBUs.

Financial mismanagement and the

shrinking market eventually led to

Kinetic’s motorcycle business being

sold to Mahindra & Mahindra, provid-

ing the latter with a launching pad in

the two-wheeler business around 2008.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Hyosung

Motors itself was acquired by S&T

Motors to help the former st ave off

bankruptcy and revive the brand in

the global market. Currently, Hyosung

branded bikes, sold by S&T Motors,

hold around seven percent global mar-

ketshare in 250 cc and 650 cc segments

in around 20 countries globally.

Our Bureau

Comet, Aquila to get service support from Garware Motors

Around 80-85 percent of parts and aggregates in the Comet & Aquila are identi-

cal to the current generation of 250 cc motorcycles from our technical partner S&T

Motors and hence, we are in a position to offer our sup-

port for these bikes

Hyder Ali, COO, Garware Motors


NEWS

SKF has partnered with Scuderia

Ferrari to provide components compris-

ing bearings and seals to reduce frict ion,

weight and improve overall effi ciency of

Ferrari F150th Italia at the fi rst

ever Formula 1 race in India at the

Buddh International circuit that was

held recently.

Th e modern Formula One cars often

set the indust ry benchmark through

const ant innovation and experimenta-

tion in machinery and technology. In

addition, each F1 track has a unique

layout and provides a diff erent set of

challenges for the cars to handle high

speed cornering and st raights. SKF’s

Racing Unit supports Scuderia Ferrari

F1 cars to address these challenges

with around 150 critical components in

bearings and seals for engines, gearbox-

es, wheels and suspensions to increase

effi ciency, reduce frict ion, weight and

manage power density, which optimises

the bearing performance through max-

imising fatigue performance.

SKF’s dedicated Racing Unit has

enabled Scuderia Ferrari to endure

technically demanding challenges by

providing a range of solutions—ce-

ramic balls and rollers to reduce car’s

weight, increase st iff ness and sust ain

the temperature as high as 200 degree

Celsius; NoWear coatings to enable

car in sliding frict ion by 80 percent as

compared to conventional un-coated

st eel, needle roller bearings with a coat-

ing that can sust ain high temperatures

with a reduced fl ow of oil and bearing

beacons and a computer-based bear-

ing simulation tool to check the risk of

development of new components.

Th e company has recently launched

a new seal range for large size bear-

ings in wind turbine drive trains, at the

Power Transmission and Control exhi-

bition in Shanghai. In addition, SKF

also displayed a range of machined

sealing solutions.

Our Bureau

SKF provides solutions

A range of SKF solutions

for Indiangrand prix


SHRIRAM Transport Finance

Company launched its fourth branded

used vehicle outlet ‘Shriram Automall’

in Panvel, near Mumbai.

Th e facility spread across two lakh

sq ft provides a platform for trading

used or pre-owned trucks to the coun-

try’s large community of truck-owners.

Apart from trading pre-owned trucks,

the truck-operators/owners will also

be able to explore fi nancing and insur-

ance options as well as minor and

major repair facilities. Th e company has

launched its fourth Automall at Panvel

near Mumbai, over the weekend. It

already has three such centres opera-

tional in NCR, Baroda and Chennai.

Th e facility houses Shriram One-

Stop, a computerised touchscreen

kiosk, which will be a virtual truck

market, providing real time informa-

tion about used commercial vehicles

available for sale and simultaneously

facilitates regist ration of individual

buyer’s requirements.

‘Shriram New Look’, a part of

the automall, provides refurbished

pre-owned commercial vehicles with

fi nancing options to cust omers. Th e

company acquires vehicles (not

older than seven years) and sells them

after refurbishing them for commer-

cial usage.

Th e overall plan is to have 50 such

st rategically located facilities on impor-

tant highways and logist ics centres/

intersect ions across the country. Th e

company plans to open two more simi-

lar automalls in Hyderabad and Jaipur

by the end of this fi scal and is eyeing

around `30 crore revenue from the ini-

tiative by FY12. It is planning to open

50 automalls by 2013 with an invest -

ment of around `100 crore.

“Automall will benefi t truckers in

promptly replacing their vehicles, lead-

ing to modernisation of the country’s

trucking fl eet. Th is is the fi rst Automall

in Maharashtra and we hope that it

brings progress and ease in the life of

the truckers” said Deputy Managing

Direct or, Shriram Transport Finance

Company, UG Revankar. He added

that the company is anticipating major

opportunities to unfold with pick-up

in used-vehicle auct ions and refurbish-

ment business. Th e company procures

the truck to refurbish and subsequently

sells the truck as a pre-owned asset

to buyers.

Shriram Transport Finance

company is the fl agship company

of the Shriram group, which has a

major presence in consumer fi nance,

life insurance, general insurance,

st ock broking and dist ribution

business. Incorporated in 1979,

Shriram Transport is the largest

asset fi nancing NBFC in the country

and fi nance provider for the com-

mercial vehicle indust ry and seeks

to partner small truck owners. It has

nationwide presence spanning 494

branch offi ces. Based in Mumbai, it

manages assets over `37,000 crore

and has a cust omer base exceed-

ing eight lakh. It has helped replace

nearly 20 lakh trucks by providing

aff ordable acquisition credit to the

small truck operators over the last

three decades.

Th e company is expect ing to grow

its incremental disbursement or vehi-

cle loan book by around 10 percent

this fi scal from around `18,000 crore

in the last fi scal. Th e key focus for the

company would continue to be com-

mercial vehicle fi nancing, though it

is looking to have a major presence in

the farm equipment and const ruct ion

equipment segment.

Our Bureau

Shriram kicks off

Automall in MumbaiUG Revankar, Deputy MD, Shriram Transport Finance

Company lighting the lamp at the inauguration

SPECIAL REPORT


NEWS

Logica offers real time vehicle tracking systemLOGICA recently launched ‘Logica

Meg’—a solution that enables safe

school transportation. Th e syst em has

completed successful pilots with a few

schools in Bangalore.

Logica Meg enables numerous busi-

ness models and value-added services

to be built around it with applications

by educational inst itutes, corporate

offi ces, private passenger fl eet or public

transportation.

Th e new launch is targeted for

schools—school authorities, transport

providers and parents. School authori-

ties gain visibility and control over the

school transportation, transport pro-

viders improve operational effi ciencies

and parents gain awareness of their

children’s whereabouts.

Th e syst em is powered by an on-

board GPS based device. Th e device,

which is fi tted in the school bus,

keeps transferring real-time location

details to the Logica Meg application.

In addition to this data, the device

also monitors driver behaviour. Th e

Logica Meg application processes this

information and displays it on a web

interface.

It includes a single view dashboard

of the entire school bus fl eet, real time

live tracking of each and every school

bus, proximity alerts for parents, on-

demand location request by parents and

rule-based alerts in case of deviations

such as—over speeding, route devia-

tion detailed audit trails and advanced

analytics.

Th e solution is provided on an SaaS

model, making it all the more cost

eff ect ive and convenient to use. It ena-

bles numerous business models and

value-added services to be built around

it for improved intimacy and loyalty—

whether they are educational inst itutes,

corporate offi ces, private passenger fl eet

or public transportation.

“It not only addresses the needs of the

school authorities for enhancing safety in

school buses, but also provides visibility

& control over transportation, leading

to operational effi ciencies. At the same

time, it empowers the parents by provid-

ing on-demand location and proximity

alerts. Th e same solution can be extended

further to address other market opportu-

nities like offi ce transportation and public

transportation,” said Head of Innovation,

Logica India, Rakesh Aerath.

Logica is a business and technol-

ogy service company, employing 41,000

people globally.

It provides business consulting,

syst ems integration and outsourcing

to clients around the world, includ-

ing many of Europe’s largest business.

It is list ed on both the London Stock

Exchange and Euronext (Amst erdam)

and domiciled in the UK.

Our Bureau

School authorities gain visibility and control over

school transportation, transport providers improve operational effi ciencies & parents gain awareness of

their children’s whereabouts


COVER STORYCOVER STORYCOVER STORY

IMITATION is the sincerest form of

fl attery. If one has to witness this phrase

literally playing out, one need not look

beyond the automotive aftermarket.

When Maruti began appointing

dist ributors for MGP (Maruti Genuine

Parts), the company certifi ed spare parts

brand name—outside its car dealership

network in around 2006, few competi-

tors took note. However, fi ve years down

the line, the initiative has not only been

a success but has led to fellow car mak-

ers following in Maruti’s footst eps.

Even as Maruti has been expand-

ing its MGP dist ributor’s network

and increasing its retail presence, Tata

Motors (TML) has also st epped up its

off ensive by launching its branded spares

in the aftermarket.

Even as its cust omers are coerced

into visiting authorised service st ations,

TML has already kicked off its dist ri-

bution network for company certifi ed

‘genuine’ spares—‘Tata Original Parts’

(TOP) for its passenger vehicles a few

months ago. Hyundai Motor too has

begun relaxing rest rict ions on its genu-

ine spares available from its authorised

service network in the aftermarket,

according to spares dealers. It may be

a matter of time before the Korean car

maker goes the whole hog in organised

dist ribution of the company certifi ed

spares in the aftermarket.

Abhishek Parekh

Retail The

Effect

COVER STORY


COVER STORY

With more than 50 percent of mar-

ketshare in the passenger car segment,

Maruti Suzuki can ill aff ord binding

cust omers to its service network for

spares and service. MGP has st ood out

as one of the most visible and fi rst -of-

its-kind OEM driven initiatives for

spares dist ribution in the aftermarket.

Th e company has now upped the ante

and has been act ively setting up a retail

network to sell MGP branded spares

through its exist ing MGP dist ributors

and other exclusive spare parts dealers

in major markets.

“We want to ensure availability of

genuine parts to all the cust omers close

to their residences. Given our concern

about the performance of the vehicle and

the safety of passengers in it, we have

focused on usage of genuine parts and

made them available in the aftermarket,”

said Executive Offi cer (SPD, SND and

Logist ics), Maruti Suzuki, RS Kalsi.

Th ere are around 10 million Maruti

cars on the road currently, according to

the company’s est imates, making the

task of delivering quality service and

genuine spares logist ically diffi cult, if

such spares and services are rest rict ed to

authorised channels alone.

Th e company currently has more

than 1,140 dealer workshops and over

1,800 MASSs (Maruti Authorised

Service Station) providing services

and spares support across the country.

Apart from these authorised work-

shops, the company has also identifi ed

over 23,000 workshops/garages, which

are frequently approached by cust omers.

Th ese garages are provided complete

support through periodic or need-based

availability of MGP through company

appointed dist ributors.

Th e company has also been operat-

ing a ‘hub and spoke’ dist ribution syst em

through which, MGP is made available

in the aftermarket through a network of

exclusive dist ributors and retail outlets.

Still in its early phase, the aftermarket

network already spans over 77 dist ribu-

tors and 100 retail outlets across the

country. Most of the retail outlets are

owned and operated by MGP dist ribu-

tors. A regular ‘milk run’ is carried out by

the concerned MGP dist ributor on daily

or weekly basis, depending on market

demand, to supply spares to the exclusive

and non-exclusive dealers.

“Our network helps provide MGP

conveniently to the cust omers. He/

she should not be tempted to buy non-

genuine and spurious parts that can

sabotage vehicle performance and the

driving experience,” according to Kalsi.

Th e company has notched up a growth

of around 34 percent, in value terms, in

the spares and service business, accord-

ing to the company spokesperson.

Th ough the company refused to

divulge the revenues from MGP sales,

it notched up revenues of around

`2,413.3 crore from spare parts, dies

and moulds last fi scal (2010-11). It is

expect ing to grow in double digits in

the current fi scal as well.

“While we prefer that the cust om-

ers bring their cars for service to the

Maruti Suzuki network, our network

also caters to cust omers who may prefer

MGP retail st ore in Andheri, Mumbai


COVER STORY

to get their cars serviced from outside

Maruti Suzuki’s dealer and MASS

network,” added Kalsi. Th e network is

continually expanding and is upgraded

to ensure easy availability of MGP to

cust omers and off er a dist inct ively per-

sonalised buying experience.

“Few cust omers go to authorised

service network after the expiry of the

warranty period. It is in the manufac-

turers’ interest to make their certifi ed

genuine spares available to cust omers in

the aftermarket,” said Vice President-

Aftermarket, Anand Automotive

Syst ems, Sachin Puri in an earlier inter-

act ion with Aftermarket.

As per indust ry est imates, auto spare

parts market is around `24,000 crore

per annum of which, fake parts would

be around 35-40 percent. “We need to

work together with our network and take

initiatives that ensure that the cust omer

can access spares and are aware about

genuine parts and can procure them with

convenience and ease,” added Kalsi. He

further said that initiatives like expanding

the dist ribution network and educating

cust omers against spurious spares will

help reinforce with the cust omers that

non-genuine parts jeopardises safety and

performance of the vehicle.

Even as Maruti has st epped on the

gas and is looking to meet demand for

spares through authorised as well as

unorganised channels, the spare dealers

appear to be unhappy with the com-

pany’s overdrive mode. Th ey point out

that with MGP made available to local

garages on a more favourable terms

coupled with setting up of retail out-

lets, the company appears to be pushing

out the spares dealers from the sup-

ply chain. Some are even moving away

from selling MGP parts.

“Credibility of an MGP dist ribu-

tors/retailer is much higher than ours,”

admitted Shammi Th apar of Laxman

Automobiles, a Mumbai-based spares

dealer. He added that the attract ion of

selling MGP on exclusive basis may

wane with competitors like Hyundai

and Tata Motors also looking at deeper

penetration in the aftermarket.

Currently, Hyundai is dist ributing

spares through its automobile deal-

ers with up to eight percent discount

available to the spare parts dealers on

the MRP. Market sources add that

the Korean car maker may be looking

to appoint exclusive dist ributors with

or without the right to sell Hyundai

branded spares in the retail market

depending on the ongoing experience in

the aftermarket.

Tata Motors, for its part, has

appointed exclusive and non-exclusive

dist ributors for ‘TOP’. It is looking

to set up exclusive st ores in addi-

tion to enrolling more spares dealers.

“Cust omers would prefer to buy OEM

certifi ed spares if these are easily

available,” said a Mumbai-based auto

spares dist ributor.

Th ough commercial vehicle and

two-wheeler manufact urers have always

been receptive to the idea of wider dis-

tribution of spares in the aftermarket,

passenger car manufact urers are only

now opening up to the idea. It may be

a while before the cust omers are able to

witness a retail revolution.

MGP delivery van ready to roll on

Spare part racks

33

CUTTING EDGE

EG Gas, Kolkata-based marketing and

dist ribution company of LPG for the

road transport sect or and gas conver-

sion kits has developed a carbon e-pod,

which will be able to measure the effi -

ciency of the drivers in terms of fuel

effi ciency and emission of CO2. Th e

e-pod will also provide guidance to the

driver to maintain the highest level of

fuel effi ciency and cut on the pollu-

tion levels by employing ideal speed and

handling of the vehicle. Th e company is

waiting for the patent of the product in a

couple of months.

Th e device will be able to measure

every movement of the vehicle with

the help of sensors fi xed just above

the wheels and will not depend on the

ECU. Th e e-pod will be mounted on

the dashboard like a navigation device.

Th e device will also be connect ed with

onboard computer, which will be based

on the specifi c set of vehicles. What’s

more, the e-pod will have a GPRS sys-

tem that will enable it to suggest the

ideal route to reach the dest ination in

real time.

“Th e device will caution the driv-

er through voice inst ruct ion like the

navigation devices do; it will warn the

driver if any inappropriate way of driv-

ing is taken up that will increase the

emission of carbon or consumption of

fuel,” CEO, Kailash Mishra, said dur-

ing a presentation at a technology show

in the capital recently.

Th e device will also have ribbon-like

display unit where the details of the

effi cient driving will appear like, the

savings made by the user or the emis-

sion level reduced.

Th e company plans to launch the

e-pod in the southern part of the coun-

try fi rst and will target the bus, taxi

fl eet owners and regulators to sell the

product s. Looking at the fact that

most of the fl eet drivers don’t under-

st and English, the company will have

all the inst ruct ions in south Indian

regional languages like—Telugu and

Malayalam.

At present, EG Gas is marketing and

dist ributing LPG for the road transport

sect or and gas conversion kits in East ern

and Northeast India. It is setting up EG

gas energy st ations at prime locations,

both in st ate capitals and Tier II and

Tier III cities in this region.

Th e company currently has four mar-

ket product s, which include st andalone

AutoLPG energy st ations, conversion

kits facilities (to retrofi t all types of vehi-

cles to LPG from the forecourt, monitor

the CO2 emissions from vehicles to claim

carbon credits), non-fuel retail services

like ATMs and convenience st ores.

Th e company off ers converters for

the exist ing four-st roke motorcycles,

autorickshaws or cars to run on LPG

by inst alling an Auto LPG Conversion

Kit into a vehicle. EG Gas off ers

conversion kits from both local and

internationally approved suppliers.

Nabeel A Khan

Driving guidance device to reduce carbon emission

The new device will help control fuel consumption and carbon emission


34

IN CONVERSATION


“The government should not

curb growth”Managing Director, Rico Auto Industries, Arvind Kapur, has taken over recently as the President of Automotive Component Manufacturers’ Association (ACMA), the apex body of the auto component manufacturers in India. He sees that developing Tier II and Tier III companies are vital for the growth and development of not only the component industry, but also OEMs. He spoke to T Murrali on his agenda and plans to take the auto com-ponent industry to the next level.


IN CONVERSATION

Can you tell us your agenda for the

component indust ry?

Th e primary agenda is to see the

auto component indust ry do well.

Th ere are some blips now due to fuel

price increase, infl ation and harden-

ing of interest rates. Th ese issues are

going on and we are trying to see how

to tackle them.

What are the issues that you see in the

immediate future?

Due to petrol price increase, a major

change has happened in the percentage

of petrol vehicle sales. Earlier, about 70

percent of the cars sold were petrol, but

now it has reversed. At the moment,

diesel engines are not available to meet

the demand and this is the challenge

that the auto indust ry is facing and

auto component indust ry will have to

support it.

What about two-wheelers?

Two-wheeler segment is not show-

ing recession. From about 13 million

units reported last year, it is expect ed

to grow to around 20 to 22 million by

2020. Th us, the growth of the auto com-

ponent indust ry has to keep pace. While

the Tier Is do have challenges of invest -

ments, the bigger challenges are with

Tier IIs and Tier IIIs. And if they do not

come up to the mark and make similar

invest ments, success will not be there. I

think the challenge for us is to take Tier

IIs and Tier IIIs along.

What are the other challenges you

perceive?

Th e other challenge is that OEMs

are setting up plants in multiple

locations and they want the Tier I

companies to follow suit. However,

the issue for Tier I companies is to

take Tier II and Tier III along with

them so that the whole chain is

st rengthened. Some of the OEMs are

not only doubling up capacity, but the

exports are also going up; therefore

it is necessary to triple the capacity.

Th e auto component indust ry will be

three to three-and-a-half times in

2020 than what it is today. And the

car indust ry will be number two or

three in the world by then. And the

OEMs can produce cars only if the

component indust ry matches

the demand.

What about concerns like manpower

availability and technology?

Yes, manpower availability is an

issue; managerial depth is also an

issue. We have been discussing about

what we should do and what direc-

tion to take.

With respect to technology, cur-

rently the Indian component industry

largely follows the build to print

model. The next step is to get into

research and development mode

to develop new products. We have

identif ied it as RTD—Research,

Technology and Development. The

Indian companies are good at devel-

opment but it’s a long way to go in

terms of technology. We would like

to leave the basic research to the

institutions, while we have to master

technology. Once it is done, we need

to take it to the next level.

What is the roadmap for upgrading

technology?

We are regarded as frugal

manufacturing companies; fru-

gal engineering is the strength of

the component industry in India.

We need to set up an R&D base

and prove that affordable research

and development is possible. This

is one of the initiatives that we are

encouraging our members to pursue.

ACMA Centre for Technology has

already set up an engineering cluster;

we are initiating another cluster for

new product development.

What initiatives do you plan for Tier

IIs and Tier IIIs?

We are working on the modali-

ties on how we can support them.

About three decades ago, Maruti

came in to the country to make cars

while Hero Honda came in to make

motorcycles. Th at is the time when the

OEMs held the hands of Tier I com-

panies. Now the Tier Is will have to

hold Tier IIs and Tier III companies

and bring them to a level and that is

the cycle that we have already st art-

ed. We are not only supporting them

as far as technology is concerned but

also handholding them to manage

the skills, training people and even

fi nance.

Th e auto indust ry in India and all

over the world is experiencing a

gloomy atmosphere due to reces-

sionary trend. How do you view this

situation and prepare the component

indust ry?

If you look at the 2008-09 collapse

that took place in the US, we in India

bounced backed within two months

or so. Th is is primarily because we are

driven by the domest ic economy. It did

not pertain only to automotive but also

every segment including white goods.

Even now, there are some worries in

the short term; but we will be 5.5 mil-

lion car indust ry by 2015. Th ere will

be ups and downs but its all fi ne in the

long term.

What according to you can be the role

played by the government to encour-

age the auto component indust ry?

Th e government should not

curb growth. Th e interest rates have

become a major cause of worry for

us—we need to fi nd a solution

for cheaper sources of funds. We

keep on interact ing with the govern-

ment. Hopefully something good

should happen.


IN CONVERSATION

36

“Integrating CRM into social media will increase customer size”

Like any other industry, information technology and software have been playing a crucial role in the automobile aftersales as well. SAP (System Analysis and Products in data processing) India has brought a number of features to help in supply chain management and enhance customer satisfaction through effi cient servicing. With social networking media like Facebook and Twitter gaining impor-tance as sales and marketing tools, they have been integrated into a software launched by SAP. Th e software maps customers’ responses and post the same into the SAP CRM system thus helps the automobile dealers access consolidated information. Head, Strategic Solution, SAP India, Neeraj Athalye, speaks to Nabeel A Khan in an interview.

What is the current market size for

software in the automotive space and

what kind of position do you want to

acquire?

IT software is playing a major role

in the growth of the Indian automotive

indust ry and SAP holds a prominent

share in this market. SAP has pres-

ence in some of the major automotive

companies in India. We have our solu-

tion footprints in Carnation, Hyundai

Motors, TVS Motor, Hero Motors,

Ashok Leyland, Bajaj Auto and Aditya

Auto Product s among others.


IN CONVERSATION

What is the potential of CRM in the

Indian automobile market?

SAP currently off ers two software

solutions—SAP CRM (Cust omer

Relationship Management) and SAP

DBM (Dealer Business Management).

We are at present witnessing phenom-

enal growth in the sales of both of

the solutions. Th e future of CRM in

the Indian automotive market seems

extremely buoyant. We are committed

to India and the Indian

automotive market.

How has SAP helped automotive

companies and dealers to serve the

end consumer better?

SAP maximises the value for each

cust omer by decreasing service cost s

through greater effi ciency, and increas-

ing service revenue. With SAP CRM,

automotive cust omers can provide

service professionals with the informa-

tion and tools they need to eff ect ively

and profi tably plan, execute, and ana-

lyse service processes. Th is helps to

track service contract entitlements, to

eliminate service leakage and achieve

service-level performance metrics. It

equips agents with the tools they need to

resolve cust omer issues on the fi rst con-

tact , boost ing cust omer satisfact ion. Th e

application supports fi eld service profes-

sionals for quick and eff ect ive resolution

of problems in remote locations and

provides 24x7 self-service for online

cust omer support at a fract ion of the

price of regular phone support. With the

application’s service analytics and SAP

BusinessObject s’ Business Intelligence

(BI) solutions, automotive cust omers can

make smart business decisions.

What is your st rategy of expanding

the reach of CRM in the country?

Seeing the tremendous growth

potential of small companies becom-

ing big very soon, SAP has launched

RDS (Rapid Deployment Solution) for

CRM and Business Communication

Management (BCM), which can get

deployed within a period of six weeks

and hence help st rengthen the sales,

marketing, service and call centre busi-

ness of various automotive companies.

Is there any special focus on main-

taining supply chain?

With SAP automotive solutions

like supply chain management, manu-

fact uring and cust omer relationship

management, the automotive cust omer

can control profi t drivers, tightly link

st rategic plans to operational perform-

ance and enable a single analytical

platform for your business. Analytic

tools enable them to defi ne fi nancial

targets, develop realist ic business plans,

and monitor cost s and revenue during

execution. From a single source, auto-

motive cust omers can identify which

product s, technologies, cust omers and

processes will drive top-line growth

and bottom-line earnings.

SAP has launched excellent low cost

fast speed rapid deployment solutions

in CRM and software-based call cen-

tres—this shall lower the total cost of

ownership of the OEMs and help them

grow fast er.

What is the relevance of software in

vehicle sales management?

With eff ect ive vehicle sales manage-

ment and delivery using SAP CRM,

coupled with sales force automation

using mobile sales solution and high

end analytics—SAP CRM empowers

the sales personnel as the 21st centu-

ry sales warrior—who is always agile,

mobile and is empowered with analyt-

ics to make the right decision.

With SAP CRM, marketing and

lead management, leakage of leads

(primary information about a cust omer)

is drast ically reduced thus increas-

ing the sales and increasing the overall

revenue. Also, the end cust omer is left

satisfi ed, which is crucial for the com-

pany as well.

Is there any way to develop integra-

tion between dealers and OEMs?

Most dealers in India have their own

home grown local syst ems or some-

times no syst ems at all. Th is creates

a huge disconnect between what the

parent automotive companies want to

deliver to their end cust omers and what

fi nally happens at the dealership level.

With SAP, dealer business manage-

ment syst em is integrated with SAP

cust omer relationship management, the

integration unites the parent company

and all its dealers into one single entity.

Th ere is a unifi ed holist ic experience


IN CONVERSATION

for the end consumer—thus resulting

in the ultimate cust omer satisfact ion—

hence more sales for the dealers and in

turn for the parent organisation.

Can SAP help dealers retain their

exist ing cust omers?

Th e best mantra to retain exist -

ing cust omers is to keep them happy

by providing them with excellent

aftersales service. However, it’s easi-

er said than done. To reach the truth

of cust omer delight—the automotive

companies will have to automate and

st reamline their service/ dealer centres.

Also, all the other channels like web-

sites, SMSes and call centres through

which, an exist ing cust omer can reach

out to the company has to be inte-

grated and synchronised. SAP CRM

and SAP Business Communications

Management (BCM) helps the auto-

motive companies to deliver exceptional

aftersales service, which helps them to

retain more cust omers.

Social networking sites are emerging

and playing a vital role in business.

Does your software help in this way?

According to a recent news release,

40 million Indians are using online

reviews to make their purchase deci-

sions. We at SAP, had already predict ed

the same much earlier. Today, any

sales and marketing person cannot

ignore the growing might of Facebook

and Twitter. Th us SAP has launched

some excellent software that integrates

Facebook, Twitter and other such social

networking media, which maps cus-

tomer responses and post s into the

SAP CRM syst em and then helps the

automotive clients to reach out to the

cust omer using the same medium of

social networking. In the paint indus-

try, we already have Asian Paints in

India doing the same.

What do you off er for the multi-brand

service providers? Who are your cur-

rent clients?

Multi-brand service providers need

eff ect ive CRM and DBM syst ems

to cater to various kinds of cust om-

ers—both key corporate accounts and

retail consumers. One of our clients

is Carnation—a branded, nationwide

network of cust omer-oriented service

centres off ering high-quality mainte-

nance, repairs, and parts for all makes

and models. To help roll out this net-

work—and to leverage the data needed

to provide outst anding cust omer serv-

ice, Carnation has deployed the SAP

DBM and CRM. Th ey are using these

two powerful solutions to fuel their

rapid expansion plans.

How do dealers with the help of soft-

ware, optimise business across the

dist ribution network of vehicles and

parts?

Confi gured for automotive com-

panies, SAP solution helps them

st reamline and automate processes

for demand and order scheduling.

Specifi cally, they can integrate key

processes similar to those used to

manage fi nances, purchasing, and

product ion. As a result, they can proc-

ess forecast delivery schedules and

use the forecast s as the basis for their

product ion planning. Th e sales team

can quickly and accurately deter-

mine the order st atus, its pricing and

check product availability. Th is helps

to satisfy cust omer requirements more

quickly and consist ently, reduce inven-

tory through increased visibility, and

increase your on-time delivery rate.

As this solution provides the cus-

tomer with integrated processes across

the entire order-to-cash lifecycle, they

have continuous document fl ow and

support for monitoring for every st ep

from order entry to transportation.

Dealers can mast er diverse logis-

tics processes, such as just -in-time/

just -in-sequence (JIT/JIS) processing,

subcontract ing, and third-party order

procurement. Th e sales team can track

and manage invoices, and you can gen-

erate credit memos for retroact ive price

changes when act ual material prices

diff er from previously contract ed pric-

es. Th e solution helps you reduce order

lead time, lower administ ration cost s,

and improve logist ics through real-time

transact ion processing.

How does the dealer increase cust om-

er satisfact ion to ensure brand loyalty?

Brand and dealer loyalty can only

exist if the end consumer gets uniform

experience with every touch-point of

the brand—everywhere and every-

time. So if a cust omer calls up the call

centre, walks into a dealer showroom,

visits the website or meets a sales

agent—the company should capture

all of these interact ions and feed them

into a single central syst em. We at

SAP call it the single source of truth

and this can only happen when all the

solutions at the back-end and at the

front-end are not just meagre home

grown solution but part of one single

integrated family of Business Solution.

Th is is what SAP has provided for

the automotive indust ry—one single

source of truth and one single integrat-

ed business solution value chain.

SAP India is the subsidiary of SAP AG, based in Walldorf, Germany and a provider of business software solutions globally

Est ablished in 1996

Headquarters in Bangalore and offi ces in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, and has marketing associ-ates in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

SAP India has a st rong network of 200+ partners for its diff er-ent solutions and verticals across geographies

Quick Look

39

SPECIAL REPORT


BOSCH recently launched its new

PC-controlled generation of BEA

exhaust gas and diagnost ic st ations.

Based on a modular device concept, the

diagnost ic st ation encompasses single

test ing modules to mobile devices for

test organisations to complete exhaust

gas analysis st ations thereby covering a

variety of workshop requirements.

Th e syst em can be extended to be a

test line or be combined with the Bosch

Vehicle Syst em Analysis (FSA). Th e

BEA exhaust gas test ing syst em can be

used to perform the st atutory exhaust

gas analysis for gasoline, diesel and gas

engines. Th e new BEA devices have the

advantage of being easier and more con-

venient to use, which is why it is quicker

to perform exhaust gas analyses using

the largely automated test sequence with

optimised test ing procedure.

Th e BEA 950 is the top model among

the new Bosch exhaust gas analysers,

which provide comprehensive exhaust gas

analyses of gasoline and diesel engines.

Th e individual syst em components as

well as PC, monitor, keyboard and print-

er are housed in a robust device cart.

Th e BEA 055 4/5 gas test ing mod-

ule forms the heart of the gasoline

engine test ing syst em; its gas detect ors

measure CO, CO2, HC and O

2 as well

as NOx (optional) to the high degree of

accuracy in line with OIML Class 0.

Th e BEA 070 opacimeter is on hand to

test the opacity of smoke coming from

diesel engines. Having this type of

connect ion facilitates application with

commercial vehicles and buses.

Depending on the model, the Bosch

BEA 950 comes with a KTS 540 and

KTS 515 with wireless module to per-

form On Board Diagnosis (OBD)

and to measure the temperature and

speed. Alternatively, the tempera-

ture and speed can be measured using

the new BEA 030, which is housed in

the handy KTS 5xx housing and also

equipped with wireless data trans-

mission. Furthermore, the BEA 950

features the BDM 300 speed mod-

ule, therefore providing it with all key

opportunities to record speed.

Bosch’s Automotive Aftermarket

division (AA) provides the aftermarket

and repair shops worldwide with a com-

plete range of diagnost ic equipment and

a wide range of spare parts for passenger

cars and commercial vehicles.

In its ‘Diagnost ics’ operations, AA

supplies test ing and repair-shop tech-

nology, diagnost ic software, service

training and information services. In

addition, the division is responsible for

the ‘Bosch Car Service’ repair-shop

franchise with some 15,000 franchises.

In addition, AA is responsible for more

than 500 “AutoCrew” partners.

Th e Bosch Group is a leading global

supplier of technology and services. Th e

group employs around 285,000 associ-

ates and generated sales of Euro 47.3

billion in fi scal 2010.

Our Bureau

BEA exhaust gas and diagnost ic module

REARVIEW

Bosch launches next-gen exhaust analyser, diagnostic station

40 AFTERMARKET OCTOBER 2011

SPECIAL REPORT

GEARED to break traditions,

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles

(DICV) is set to change the way the

market perceives the importance of

a wide network of service support to

being the key to success. Th e German

CV manufact urer plans to bring out

a paradigm shift in the way of doing

business of heavy commercial vehi-

cles in India. It hopes to off er robust

vehicles that would have fewer service

requirements. Another radical change

that the German automaker is bringing

about is the use of information technol-

ogy for the shopfl oor workers to reduce

their dependency on supervisors.

“We will break the paradigm created

by exist ing players that a huge network

of the service st ations is required for

the success of the business. Th ey have a

deeper penetration in the country, but

our st rength will be completely diff er-

ent. Our vehicles will be produced in

such a manner that it would not require

to be serviced before one lakh kilome-

tres of running,” said Vice President,

Marketing, Sales & Aftersales, DICV,

VRV Sriprasad.

Th e vehicle maker is set to chal-

lenge the conventional wisdom and

bring about a paradigm shift in com-

mercial vehicle space. DICV would be

introducing the next generation trucks

designed by the Indian engineers and

for the Indian market at competitive

prices within a year, to challenge the

near duopolist ic charact er of Indian

commercial vehicle indust ry. Th e com-

pany has been test ing its vehicle for

over one lakh km and st ill going to

check the life of the vehicle on its own

test tracks. However, the price will not

be very far below as it could dilute the

Nabeel A Khan

Radical service model on Daimler’s agenda

REARVIEW


OCTOBER 2011 AFTERMARKET 41

REARVIEW

brand image.

DICV attributes the move to the

radical changes that are sweeping the

Indian market—the way people com-

municate, travel, work or spend their

leisure time. Th e changing preferences

and lifest yles as well as ever increasing

expect ations of the cust omers are driv-

ing the vehicle technologies and service

st andards to the next level. Superior

product s are necessary but will not be

a suffi cient for brand diff erentiation.

Consumer experience will play a bigger

role as product diff erentiation will cease.

Sriprasad emphasised that the deal-

erships’ pattern is set to change as

they face the increasingly demanding

OEMs and the cust omers. Th e compa-

ny will not just be focusing on selling

the vehicle, but would like to develop a

participating relationship with the cus-

tomers in the complete life cycle of the

product . Looking at the crucial role of

the manpower and lean manufact uring,

the company is adopting a closer focus

on the use of information technology

for the shopfl oor workers. It has devel-

oped a set of touchscreen inst ruct ions,

with 3D visuals, guiding the workers

to take up assignments that help reduce

or even eliminate the requirement of

any supervisors. Th e inst ruct ion on this

screen is completely pict orial and hence

can be handled by all classes or sect ions

of workers on the shopfl oor regardless

of literacy or expertise levels.

DICV has planned a total invest -

ment of `4,400 crore over the next

fi ve years. Th e company will manu-

fact ure light, medium and heavy

duty trucks at its 400-acre facility in

Oragadam, near Chennai.


VRV Sriprasad, VP, Marketing, Sales & Aftersales

Image for representation purpose only


SPECIAL REPORT

LEADING supplier of safety and

control syst ems for commercial vehi-

cles, Wabco is ready with ABS for

the aftermarket and it will gear up its

plans once the safety feature becomes

mandatory in India, according to

the Vice President (Business Leader,

Trailer Syst ems) Aftermarket, of

Wabco Europe BVBA-SPRL, Nick

Rens. “For us it is a little bit of a

proact ive approach. Our mission is

to train and educate people before

ABS becomes mandatory,” he said.

Training is typically done on two

ways—globally as well as locally. Th e

company will depute experts from

T Murrali

Wabco banks on training to grow its aftermarket business

SPECIAL REPORT


Wabco University to India to train

people in specialised training cen-

tres equipped with several diagnost ics

tools. It will also impart training at its

cust omers’ place, he said.

Th e $2.2 billion Wabco has three

plants in India and 15 across the rest

of the world. Est ablished in 1962 as

Sundaram Clayton, the joint venture

between TVS and Clayton Devandre

to manufact ure braking syst ems, the

company was de-merged into Wabco-

TVS (India) in 2008. Wabco picked

up majority ownership in the follow-

ing year.

Rens observed that currently India

may not have more number of trail-

ers but the situation can signifi cantly

change in the next ten years, eventu-

ally creating more demand for several

safety critical components and sys-

tems, including ABS.

“I have visited a few organised

trailer manufact urers and found that

they follow several syst ems including

EU regulations,” he said. Currently,

majority of the trailers are manu-

fact ured by the unroganised sect or.

Wabco’s role will be in explain-

ing these companies on the required

braking syst ems, the ways and means

to measure braking performance,

act ion and others.

“We help the manufact urers to

make sure that the braking syst ems

are correct ly inst alled in trailers,” he

said.

Wabco’s Aftermarket network is

well organised since the network has

been built by TVS and subsequently

by Wabco in the last 40 years.

Th e independent network in India

is at par with West ern Europe and

better organised than China, South

America and East ern Europe, he

said. “You can be successful only if

you build long last ing relationship

with local people. You have to think

locally—you cannot build something

in, say Belgium, and apply here. Th e

secret to success is to underst and the

local people and the cust omers and

slowly grow the network; this I think,

was very well done over the last 40 to

50 years in India. I am ast onished to

see that this network model is almost

the same as in Europe; although

technology of vehicle is completely

diff erent, the concept and the network

are the same,” he said.

Asked about the roadmap for

aftermarket in India, he said that

technology in India will move to

higher levels and there is going to

be increased requirements for high

technology syst ems from the Indian

OEMs. Th e aftermarket will grow

along with it.

To leverage the opportunities it is

necessary to connect with people and


SPECIAL REPORT

grow the network, he said. Currently

Wabco India has 7,000 dealers and

300 authorised service centres direct -

ly operated by the company itself.

According to Whole-time Direct or of

Wabco India, P Kanniappan, the com-

pany plans to increase the authorised

service centres based on the potential

and the business viability.

At present, it has one authorised

service centre in every 100 km, which

carries out high quality service for

trucks, for the product s that are manu-

fact ured by Wabco. Recently, Wabco

India unveiled its plans to consolidate

its brand under Wabco name as part

of a st rategic initiative to st rength-

en the company’s market position in

the country. Th e company, a subsidi-

ary of Wabco Holdings, manufact ures

air-assist ed and air-brake syst ems for

commercial vehicles and continues

to expand its technology portfolio to

manufact urers of trucks, buses and

trailers.

Unveiling the new brand the

Chairman and CEO of Wabco,

Jacques Esculier said, “we will con-

tinue to support cust omers in their

pursuit of vehicle safety and effi ciency

by off ering optimal technology solu-

tions while st riving world class service

levels. We are passionate about three

pillar st rategy – technology leadership,

global capability and excellence.”

Could you tell us about the new

branding initiative?

Th e new brand is not going to mod-

ify the current positioning of Wabco

India as a centre for manufact uring;

it is just more on the alignment of

the branding across all regions. Th is

is because the company sells product s

manufact ured in India in other parts

of the world. And we obviously want

to feature our brand when we sell our

product s elsewhere in the world.

What would you be looking at from

your India operations?

We will continue to focus on three

verticals—engineering, manufact uring

and sourcing, and these verticals will be

st rengthened because of the branding.

How do you see these three verticals

change in the next fi ve years?

In the case of engineering centre, we

currently have about 300 people and

we have ambitions to grow way beyond

than what it is now. First ly, we do not

want to dilute the exist ing knowledge

resources. Also, the race for hiring

talents is high, though highly talented

people are available in India.

Th e pillar of engineering centre has

a clear st rategic purpose; it is to man-

age and develop more traditional and

conventional product s, which were

done in Germany. Secondly, to adapt

the technologies developed outside

India to the local requirements. As the

local requirements are growing big-

ger, we need more and more engineers

since the design developed in and for

a particular market can be adapted to

other markets too. For inst ance, the

automated-manual transmission is

primarily developed for emerging mar-

kets. Th e project is lead by people from

Germany and supported by China in

terms connect ing to the market and

identifying the specifi c requirements

of cust omers, is supported heavily by

Indians in terms of design and soft-

ware. By the way, the product ionion

has st arted in China for such a com-

plex and sophist icated product .

What is the roadmap for manufact ur-

ing in India?

While we continue to manufact ure

product s for this country, the latest tech-

nologies that we develop globally, will be

brought to India as and when the cus-

tomers require them. And these product s

will be manufact ured once the volumes

reach certain level as our philosophy is

that we have to manufact ure nearer to

our cust omers. We are also integrat-

ing India in the network of Centre of

Excellence, for some of the key product s

like compressors. India, for example, will

support the compressor requirements

of few countries including the US and

Brazil. It is just a matter of optimising

the network.

What is your plan for sourcing in

India?

We have a set of suppliers supporting

our manufact uring facilities in India.

We are currently exploring opportuni-

ties to source for our facilities outside

India too. We are already doing in a

small way now. Currently, 45 percent of

the material sourced is outside of tradi-

tional markets, which is very signifi cant

for company like ours. Our vision is to

increase it signifi cantly.

Jacques Esculier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Wabco


SPECIAL REPORT

BOSCH is celebrating 125 years of

its exist ence by st aging roughly 850

act ivities worldwide in 2011 to mark

the 125th anniversary of the company

and the 150th anniversary of the com-

pany founder’s birth. Th e aim was

to compare present shifts in society,

technology and thought, with those

of the past and to draw inspiration for

the future from them. Th e company

Bosch marks 125 years; to invest Euro 50 million

(L-R) Dr Werner Plumpe, Dr Norbert Lammert, Dieter Kosslick, Franz Fehrenbach, Winfried Kretschmann and Rüdiger Safranski


SPECIAL REPORT

has marked its anniversary this year by

invest ing Euro 50 million in

an international university

development programme.

A Berlin conference organised

recently as part of the anniversary

was on ‘Courage, Curiosity, And

Change In Times Of Upheaval’ in the

Friedrichst adt-Palast in Berlin. Th e

subject matter of the conference traced

an arc from the 19th to the 21st

century. Th e focus of the conference

was to place the connect ion between

education, technological progress,

and economic development in a his-

torical context.

Th e event was attended by guest s

from politics, business and culture.

President of Bundest ag, Norbert

Lammert and Minist er-President

of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried

Kretschmann, spoke about the chal-

lenges facing politics, business and

society. Other prominent participants

and speakers included philoso-

pher Rüdiger Safranski, Chairman,

German Hist orians’ Association,

Werner Plumpe, and Chairman of

the Bosch board of management,

Franz Fehrenbach. Fehrenbach’s main

concern is to exchange views with

partners from diff erent areas of soci-

ety. Following their presentations,

Direct or, Berlin International Film

Fest ival Dieter Kosslik, was reported

to have facilitated a discussion among

the speakers.

In his keynote presentation, Franz

Fehrenbach outlined the major chal-

lenges of the present, while keeping an

eye on the past . He described Robert

Bosch as someone who upheld liberal

and pan-European views at a time when

Germany had severed its ties to its

neighbouring countries. He felt, “More

democracy and more Europe, not less.”

In his view, European unity has for far

too long appeared to be a foregone con-

clusion, something for the elite. Now it

is becoming more than clear that “what

happens in one country aff ect s every

other country.”

Fehrenbach called for a return to

a democratically mandated path of

European development: “We have to

fi ght for European unity.” Fehrenbach

also saw technological changes, such

as the move to renewable energy, as

a source of opportunity. However,

fundamental decisions such as these,

which aff ect infrast ruct ure, call for

persist ence and st amina. In taking

these measures, it is, he said, especial-

ly important not to neglect the issue

of energy effi ciency. More specifi cally,

he called for increased subsidies for

work to improve the energy effi cien-

cy of buildings. He pointed out that

buildings st ill account for some 40

percent of the primary energy con-

sumed in Germany. “Th is is one of the

biggest levers for more energy effi -

ciency and climate protect ion—a lever

that must not be left unused,”

he added.

Th e Bosch Group is a leading glo-

bal supplier of technology and services.

In the areas of automotive and indus-

trial technology, consumer goods, and

building technology, some 285,000

associates generated sales of Euro 47.3

billion in fi scal 2010. For 2011, the

company forecast s sales of more than

Euro 50 billion and a headcount of

300,000 by the end of the year. Th e

Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch

and its more than 350 subsidiaries and

regional companies in over 60 coun-

tries. If its sales and service partners

are included, then Bosch is represented

in roughly 150 countries. Th is world-

wide development, manufact uring,

and sales network is the foundation for

further growth. Bosch spent Euro 3.8

billion for research and development in

2010, and applied for over 3,800 pat-

ents worldwide.

Th e company was set up in

Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch

(1861-1942) as a “Workshop for

Precision Mechanics and Elect rical

Engineering.” Th e special ownership

st ruct ure of Robert Bosch GmbH

guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom

of the Bosch Group, making it possible

for the company to plan over the long

term and to undertake signifi cant up-

front invest ments in the safeguarding

of its future. Ninety-two percent of the

share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH

is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung

GmbH, a charitable foundation. Th e

majority of voting rights are held by

Robert Bosch Indust rietreuhand KG,

an indust rial trust . Th e entrepreneur-

ial ownership funct ions are carried

out by the trust . Th e remaining shares

are held by the Bosch family and by

Robert Bosch GmbH.

The company has marked its anniversary this

year by investing Euro 50 million in an international

university development programme. The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch as a ‘Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical

Engineering’

A Berlin conference or-ganised recently as part

of the anniversary was on ‘Courage, Curiosity, And Change In Times Of Up-

heaval’ in Berlin. The sub-ject matter of the confer-

ence traced an arc from the 19th to the 21st century


SPECIAL REPORT

THE aftermarket is rapidly growing as

the infl ux of new vehicles has expand-

ed the total Indian car parc, resulting

in new requirements for high quality

OEM-st yle repair and maintenance

parts. In order to cater to the demand

from the aftermarket as well as OEMs,

Federal Mogul will soon commence

commercial operations at the new facil-

ity coming up in Chennai.

Th e global company recently

announced a new manufact uring facil-

ity coming up at an invest ment of about

$15 million, to make brake frict ion

material. Th is is the eighth manu-

fact uring facility for the company in

India. It has manufact uring facilities in

Bangalore, Bhiwadi, Parwanoo, Patiala

and Radrapur.

According to President and Managing

Direct or, Federal-Mogul Group of

Companies, India, Jean de Montlaur,

“Th e demand in India for technology is

increasingly becoming sophist icated as

the world’s vehicle makers are all com-

peting for a share of this expanding

market. India is a st rategic market for

Federal-Mogul and we have invest ed in

the capacity and infrast ruct ure to main-

tain and grow our leadership position in

India and globally.”

Th e Chennai facility will initial-

ly produce non-asbest os organic disc

brake pads for light vehicles, half block

linings for commercial vehicles and

brake blocks for railway and indust rial

cust omers. Th e company expect s to

employ approximately 300 people when

the facility is in full operation. “Th e

combined Indian automotive, commer-

cial and railway markets are expect ed

to grow on average by 14 percent per

year over the next fi ve years,” he said

“India is one of Federal-Mogul’s

st rategic bases of operations for serv-

ing the fast -growing Indian automotive

market in Southeast Asia and other

global markets,” said President and

CEO, Federal-Mogul, José Maria

Alapont. He made the st atement after

the offi cial announcement of the new

manufact uring facility.

Federal-Mogul, through one of

its Indian subsidiaries, broke ground

earlier this year on a 10-acre site for

const ruct ion of the new 38,000-sq

mt facility to manufact ure the com-

pany’s broad portfolio of leading-edge

technology, environmentally-friendly

brake frict ion materials for the OE and

aftermarket segments for automotive,

const ruct ion, railway and indust rial

cust omers. Product ion is scheduled to

begin before the end of 2011.

“When we bring the Chennai man-

ufact uring facility on-line later this

year, Federal-Mogul will have the abil-

ity to manufact ure product s in every

major geographic automotive market

around the world, complemented by

our st rong base of regional technology

and engineering centres supporting our

brake frict ion cust omers,” Alapont said.

“Bringing the product ion of new

frict ion technologies to India

supports the company’s sust ainable

global profi table growth st rategy,

which is based on delivering lead-

ing high-tech and innovative solutions

for improving fuel economy, reducing

emissions and enhancing vehicle safe-

ty,” Alapont added.

Federal-Mogul est ablished joint

venture operations in India in the

1950s. Th e company has since est ab-

lished several wholly owned operations

and majority joint ventures in the coun-

try. Th e company has grown its revenue

from its Indian operations to approxi-

mately $250 million and currently

employs more than 6,600 employees.

Federal-Mogul’s Indian head-

quarters is in Delhi, and one of the

company’s 18 globally-networked tech-

nical centers is in Bangalore. Together

these facilities design, develop and

manufact ure a broad range of vehi-

cle powertrain components, including

pist ons, pist on rings, engine bearings,

ignition and sintered product s, for both

OEMs and aftermarket cust omers.

Federal-Mogul Corporation is a

global supplier of powertrain and safe-

ty solutions to the world’s foremost

OEMs of automotive, commercial,

aerospace, marine vehicles; indust ri-

al, agricultural and power generation

equipment as well as the worldwide

aftermarket. Founded in Detroit in

1899, the company currently employs

about 45,000 people in 35 countries.

Our Bureau

Federal-Mogul’s Chennai plant to start production soon

Jean de Montlaur, CEO, Federal-Mogul India

48

Nabeel A Khan

48

SURVIVING two major downturns in

his early days—fi rst one in 1998-99

and 2008—has been an enriching

experience for Anil Bagaria, a fi rst

generation dealer and promoter of KB

Motors, a Tata Motors dealership in

Kolkata.

“If you service your cust omers, you

will survive, whether it’s a downturn

or a normal phase. If you don’t serve

your cust omers, you might get benefi ts

in short term but eventually you will

fail,” emphasised Bagaria. Traditionally,

his family was into iron and st eel busi-

ness but in 1995, when he was st ill a

fi rst -year st udent in a college, his joint

family st arted splitting. He inherited

a piece of land in the central Kolkata.

Th is is what ensued into plans to set up

a car dealership.

Around 1995, Daewoo came to

India in collaboration with DCM and

launched the Cielo, one of the early

premium sedans launched in the coun-

try. Th is gave him the opportunity to

st art the dealership. In those days his

outlet was the fi rst to have the marbled

and decorated showroom of the cars

in the city. Daewoo went into bank-

ruptcy, dealing a major blow to the likes

of Bagaria but he had earned a number

of valued cust omers based on which he

continued in the business and st arted

Tata Motors dealership in 2001.

Notably, he continued serving the

Daewoo cust omers for over four years

even after the OEM downed the shut-

ters solely to retain the cust omer loyalty

and ensure that they were not subject ed

to hard times. He sourced compo-


“Quick response is key to

customer satisfaction”Ph

otog

raph

s: N

ilaya

n D

utta

OCTOBER 2011 AFTERMARKET 49

EXTRA MILE

nents from diff erent places and even

imported them to provide services to

the cust omer. He st ated that present-

ly, he knows over 1,000 cust omers by

their fi rst name. He has been through

numerous ups and downs over the last

15 years. Th ere were times when he sold

just a single vehicle in an entire month

and during more cheerful times, he sold

as many as 400 vehicles in a month.

“In order to satisfy your cust omers you

need to satisfy your st aff fi rst ; they are

your internal cust omers. If they are

happy, you will have satisfi ed cust om-

ers. Although this is very challenging,

we have st rived to manage it,” Bagaria

opined. By-and-large, he has been able

to get the attrition rate under control

which is important for the successful

running of the business.

Over the last decade, Bagaria has

built three dealerships and one

workshop at st rategic locations in

Kolkata to tap the maximum pos-

sible business. Now the company is

expanding towards smaller towns

within the st ate.

From 1995 to 2007, the dealership

was being operated from a 3,000 sq ft

showroom near Park Street, but due to

space const raints it st arted a new out-

let in Alipore and another one at Park

Circus. Its workshop in Kolkata is

spread across 7,000 sq ft and can serv-

ice over 50 vehicles a day. Th e company

is planning to put up a new workshop

in Kalyani and an outlet in Kharagpur

and in few other dist rict s. Th e dist rict

cust omer will not walk that extra mile

to buy the cars hence it is going near to

their home towns. Th e nature of growth

in these small cities is far more impres-

sive than that of metropolitan cities.

Giving top priority to cust omer

service, Bagaria considers that the

earliest possible response to the cus-

tomers is of prime importance. Th e

cust omers’ concern should immedi-

ately be addressed while keeping in

mind dealers’ limitations. Bagaria felt

that success looks good only when

reached after facing challenges. Today,

it makes around `80-100 crore turno-

ver annually with a profi t margin of

around two percent. Th ere has been

a complete transformation over the

years. Earlier, it sold only what it had

but now it sells what the cust omers

want. Th e dealers now explain the best

possible off ers and product features to

every individual cust omer.

Th e cust omer’s expect ation and

knowledge has increased thanks to

technology and global exposure, thus

the service centre also has to increase

its ability to service. Th e dealer is pre-

paring its people to respond to the

exceeding demand of the cust omers

through training.

Of late, it has also got the oppor-

tunity to diversify into new business

like—real est ate and st eel. However, it

is further planning to expand its auto-

mobile business in the aftermarket and

sales and exploring options. At the end,

“relatively, I consider my dealership a

success because I have seen two down-

turns but, by grace of god, survived

both and now we are on the expansion

mode,” Bagaria concluded.


Anil Bagaria


AUTO POINT

RADIALISATION is yet to make

inroads in the T&B tyre category

with just 12-13 percent penetration

in the total T&B tyre product ion,

as compared to 98 percent in pas-

senger vehicle segment. However,

during last three-four years, there has

been sudden jump in the demand for

T&B radial tyres mainly because of

improvement in road infrast ruct ure

and st rict implementation of ruling

given by Supreme Court in 2005 on

rest rict ing overloading. In addition to

this, fl eet operators have also realised

the comparative advantage of radial

tyres over cross-ply in terms of cost

over the life of the tyre, which has

boost ed the demand for radial tyres

in the replacement market. CARE

Research est imates that the proportion

of radial tyres in T&B tyre produc-

tion to increase by approximately four

times from current levels to around

48-50 percent by FY16.

Radial tyre demand is at infl ection point and set to

spurt in T&B categoryRevati Kasture Head, Industry Research, CARE Research

Vishal Srivastav Deputy manager, CARE Research

Source: CARE Research, ATMA and Indust ry Note:F: Forecast ed

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

FY07 FY11 FY16F

Units (in mn)

CAGR 36%

CAGR 25%

Projected rise of T&B radial tyre production


AUTO POINT

MAV can save around `1.3 per km Th e initial price of radial tyres is

around 20-25 percent more than cross-

ply tyres and it is feasible to retread

them only twice as compared to the

cross-ply tyres, which can be retreaded

three times. However a Multi-Axle

Vehicle (MAV) can save around `1.3

per km by switching over to the radi-

al tyres from cross-ply tyres. Th is is

mainly because the running life of a

radial tyre is est imated to be around 40

percent more than a cross-ply tyre and

it gives higher fuel effi ciency because

of lower wear and tear and higher

resist ance levels.

CARE Research expects the

only hindrance a truck operator has

in buying radial tyres is its initial

price. However, the manufacturers

are aggressively making attempts

to educate customers about the ben-

efits of radial tyres in terms of better

fuel economy and higher running

life that ultimately benefit the truck

operators. CARE Research estimates

that a truck operator can break

even initial cost difference between

cross-ply and radial tyres at around

28,000 km of the travel, which means

within f ive-six months of usual oper-

ating time.

EBDITA Margins Under PressureTh e tyre indust ry’s top-line is

expect ed to regist er a healthy growth

of 15-16 percent from `24,400 crore

in FY11 to around `33,200 crore

in FY13, mainly driven by growth

in replacement demand. However,

EBDITA margins are expect ed to

drop due to rise expect ed in prices of

key raw material. Tyre manufact ur-

ers enjoy limited pricing fl exibility due

to intense competition from domes-

tic players as well as imports, which

rest rict them to fully pass on the price

increase to the cust omers.

Challenging Time Ahead CARE Research expect s the next fi ve

years to be challenging for the indust ry

as it has to encounter change in st ruc-

tural as well as competitive scenario.

For inst ance, on one hand, the indust ry

manufact urers have to keep pace with

the rising demand for radial tyres as well

as encounter the increasing competition

from the domest ic manufact urers as well

as imports, whereas, on other hand they

have to face margins pressure due to vol-

atility in raw material prices and interest

rates. Although healthy demand scenario

from replacement market would help in

keeping utilization levels at a decent rate,

players have to be aggressive in cost cut-

ting and enhancement in product ivity in

order to minimise the impact of rising

operating cost on overall profi tability.

(Th e report is prepared by CARE

Research, a division of Credit Analysis &

Research. Views expressed are personal.)

Auto Monitorwww.amonline.in

1-15 July 2011

Vol. 11 No. 12

40 Pages ` 50

I N D I A ’ S N O . 1 M A G A Z I N E F O R A U T O M O T I V E N E W S , V I E W S & A N A LY S I S

NEWS IN BRIEF

Toyota Introduces

Corolla Altis

In a bid to toughen the compe-

tition in the C segment sedan,

Toyota Kirloskar Motor recent-

ly re-launched its Corolla Altis in

New Delhi.

The company has upgrad-

ed the design with new pricing.

The petrol variant comes with

an all new powerful engine—2-

ZR Dual VVT-i 1798 cc engine.

The variant is also availa-

ble in both-super CVT-i with

seven-speed sequential shift-

matic or six-speed manual

transmissions. The four-speed

AT in this car has now given way

to the super CVT-i with 7 speed

sequential shiftmatic.

The car will be available in

seven colours and is priced from

`10,53,300 onwards in petrol and

diesel variants.

BRIDGESTONE STARTS PRODUCTION OF

TRUCK, BUS RADIAL TYRES INTERVIEW Pg 08

H Gonzalez Mori, Director, Sales & Marketing, Bridgestone India

Pg 14OUTLOOK FOR DEAL ACTIVITY

IN INDIA: 2011 AND BEYONDAUTOPINION

Abhishek Parekh

Mumbai

Suprajit Engineering has

set up an internal team to

evaluate and prepare entry

strategy for plastic moulded

body parts, extrusion products,

tank units among other value

added synthetic or plastics based

components. Bangalore based

control cables manufacturer,

Suprajit Engineering is hoping to

leverage its expertise in plastics

processing technology in its bid

to diversify its revenue base.

‘We are hoping to supply

value added products to existing

and new customers and are also

hoping to maintain our leader-

ship position in control cables

business,’ said Vice Chairman

and Managing Director, Suprajit

Engineering, K Ajith Kumar Rai.

He added that the overall sales in

the automobile sector is likely to

moderate around 10 to 15 percent

over the next couple of years with

the two-wheeler segment grow-

ing faster than the overall rate.

‘There is a reluctance in case of

most buyers now on the decision

to opt for a car, especially petrol

powered ones given the high fuel

prices. It will be a while before

buyers return to the market in a

major way,’ he said. Moreover, the

growth in the vicinity of around

25 percent in the two-wheeler

segment over the last couple of

years has made it diffi cult for

component suppliers to meet the

demand from OEMs.

The company has embarked

on a programme to increase the

overall capacity by around 50

percent from 100 million cables

per annum to 150 million cables

per annum across facilities. It

is setting up a cable plant at

Pathredi in Rajasthan, to meet

the requirements of custom-

ers in North India. Additionally,

the company has acquired addi-

tional land in the Bommasandra

Industrial area to set up a cable

plant to meet the requirements of

its south India-based customers.

Its capacity expansion plans

at 100 percent EOU for the non-

automotive cable segment is in

the fi nal stage of the implemen-

tation. The company is also in the

process of shifting a major part of

production from its UK subsidi-

ary Gills Cables (now renamed

Suprajit Europe) to take advan-

tage of the low manufacturing

base in India. It is also establish-

ing another facility in Chakan

to cater mainly to four-wheeler

segment. The Chakan facility

is expected to start commercial

production by around September

this year. The Company has

bagged new orders during the

year from customers like BMW,

Volkswagen, Nissan, Brose, John

Deere and additional orders from

existing domestic and interna-

tional customers.

Moreover, the company is

evaluating setting up a facil-

ity in Sanand for its next phase

of growth, but is yet to draw

up a concrete plan in terms of

investment and products to be

manufactured there. The com-

pany is investing around `40-50

crore in the current expansion

programmes in Bangalore and

North India to raise its capacity

by around 50 percent.

The company’s consolidat-

ed sales grew by 42.66 percent

to `379.17 crore from `265.78

crore in the last fi scal. The PAT

increased by around 50 percent

to `33.3 crore from `22.16 crore

in the same period.

T Murrali

Detroit

Detroit headquartered $6.3

billion automotive Tire 1

major BorgWarner has

fi rmed up its plans to develop

automatic transmission for small

cars focusing on few markets in

Asia. This is to primarily offer

technologies that the company

has harnessed over a period of

time for the small car segment.

At a recent interaction here,

the Chairman and CEO of

BorgWarner, Tim Manganello

said vehicle manufacturers

across the globe have constant-

ly been looking at technologies

that could offer better fuel econ-

omy coupled with minimal

emissions but at the best cost. In

order to develop a ‘tropicalised’

sort of automatic transmission

addressing different markets, the

company will be leveraging tech-

nologies that it has developed so

far and season them with inputs

from its operations in Europe,

China and Japan in addition to

its North American operations.

The new transmission will be

manufactured in China and will

initially be catered to small car

segments in India, China and

Japan. Commercial production

will commence in about four

years, he said.

Auto transmission in India is

yet to see a signifi cant presence

as the end users are apprehensive

of poor fuel economy. Though

these issues are addressed

through a host of new technol-

ogies, similar improvements

happen simultaneously in man-

ual transmissions also. Currently

an insignifi cant percentage of

the passenger vehicles sold in

India have automatic transmis-

sion. Few companies including

Hyundai, Mahindra, Honda Siel,

Toyota Kirloskar and Maruti

offer automatic transmis-

sions. However, the automatic

transmission is set to grow grad-

ually in the next fi ve years due to

increasing traffi c and customers’

need for better and hassle free

driving comforts.

BorgWarner is present in 19

countries globally manufac-

turing automotive components

under two divisions—engine and

drivetrain. The engine division

that comprises turbo systems,

thermal systems, emissions

systems, Morse TEC and Beru

systems accounts for 72 percent

of the total sales while the drive-

train division represents the rest.

Currently, the major share of 51

percent revenues come from

Europe while Americas account

for 26 percent of the sales and

Asia accounts for 23 percent. The

company has an optimistic out-

look for Asia due to natural growth

of auto industry in addition to

government regulations like

emission standards and increas-

ing customers’ expectations for

fuel economy. The company will

seek to offer up to 15 percent more

fuel economy through automatic

transmissions, close to four per-

cent improvements through its

thermal systems, between 15 to

30 percent increase in light tur-

bochargers and up to fi ve percent

increase in VCT.

Manganello said the compa-

ny hopes that turrbocharges will

witness about 148 percent growth

in the next fi ve years followed by

diesel segment of 102 percent

supported by vehicle production

growing by 66 percent.

BorgWarner to develop automatics for small cars

Suprajit to supply moulded components, expand capacity

DATA MONITOR

Domestic Top 5 PV-makers

Sector May-10 May-11 Change

MSIL 90,041 93,519 3.86%

HMIL 27,151 31,123 14.63%

TML 25,035 22,718 -9.26%

M&M ^ 14,518 18,515 27.53%

GMI 8,214 8,292 0.95%

Domestic Top 5 2W-makers

Sector Apr-10 Apr-11 Change

HHML 425,058 485,122 14.13%

BAL 191,726 218,321 13.87%

TVS 136,621 158,829 16.26%

HMSI 132,090 135,745 2.77%

IYM 17,614 27,959 58.73%

Domestic Top 5 CV-makers

Sector Apr-10 Apr-11 Change

TML 27,766 34,044 22.61%

M&M 8,211 8,145 -0.80%

ALL 5,973 5,082 -14.92%

VECV

Eicher

2,488 3,206 28.86%

FML 1,696 1,658 -2.24%

* Source: SIAM/ ** Excluding exports/ *** all sub segments

considered/ ^ excluding MRPL

Tim Manganello, Chairman

& CEO, BorgWarner

Dual tronic clutch system

K Ajith Kumar Rai, Vice Chairman & MD,

Suprajit Engineering

Global Light Vehicle assembly outlook

Source: Thomson Reuters and other publicly available sources

MPS6 with damper

www.amonline.in

STUDY


Indian two-wheeler industry: Steady growth continues

THE Indian two-wheeler indust ry reported a st rong double-

digit volume growth of 17 percent in Q1, 2011-12 (YoY),

even as several other automobile segments showed signs of a

cyclical dip in growth during this period. While the north-

ward movement in macro-economic variables including

infl ation, fuel prices and interest rates has been the nemesis

of the automobile indust ry at large, the two-wheeler indust ry

has been relatively less impact ed so far. ICRA believes that

the resilience shown by the two-wheeler indust ry volumes

is likely to persist , a large base notwithst anding, with the

indust ry looking on course to record yet another year of dou-

ble-digit growth. However, the situation may change in the

event of higher than expect ed decline in India’s GDP growth

or persist ent infl ationary pressures over a longer period.

Overall, ICRA expects the two-wheeler industry to

report a volume growth of ~13 percent in 2011-12 and a

volume CAGR of 10-12 percent over the next f ive years

to reach a size of 21-23 million units by 2015-16. Our

growth outlook is built on the strength of the various

structural growth drivers associated with the two-wheeler

industry comprising of favourable demographic profile,

moderate two-wheeler penetration levels (in relation to

several other emerging markets), under developed pub-

lic transport system, growing urbanization and expected

strong replacement demand, besides moderate share of

f inanced purchases.

Segment-Wise AnalysisTh e st rong double-digit volume growth of 17.5 percent

recorded by the motorcycles segment in Q1, 2011-12 was not

consist ent across segments - Entry, Executive and Premium.

Th e volume growth was a blend of: Th e fl attish growth

(~three percent) of the entry segment (bikes having price less

than `40,000) which accounts for around 16percent of the

total domest ic motorcycles sales volumes. Th e st eady growth

(~17 percent) of the executive segment (bikes in the `40,000-

50,000 price range), which accounts for around 65 percent of

the total domest ic motorcycles sales volumes.


STUDY

Th e fast growing (~30 percent) pre-

mium segment (bikes having price

greater than `50,000) which accounts

for around 19 percent of total domest ic

motorcycles sales volumes.

Th e Indian motorcycles segment

continues to be dominated by Hero

MotoCorp (erst while Hero Honda)

which has been recording sequential

gains in market share over the last

three quarters. Th e top three play-

ers accounted for 88.2 percent of the

indust ry’s volumes in Q1, 2011-12

(92 percent in 2007-08), with Honda

Motorcycles having overtaken TVS

since Q1, 2010-11 as the third largest

player, behind Hero MotoCorp and

Bajaj Auto.

Short-to-Medium Term OutlookICRA expect s the entry segment

volumes in the domest ic market to

grow at a much slower pace than the

overall two-wheeler indust ry and

volume growth in this segment to

be driven mainly by exports. Th is is

because the segment is no longer a key

focus area of OEMs due to limited

scope for margin expansion and high

interest -rate sensitivity.

While the executive segment

is expect ed to maintain its st eady

growth, competition is likely to

intensify following aggressive model

refurbishment and new model launch

plans of most OEMs.

Th e premium segment is expect ed

to remain the fast est growing over

the medium term, given the st rong

growth in purchasing power in the

hands of middle-class urbanites, espe-

cially in the age group of 20-30 years.

Th is should also translate into supe-

rior profi t margins for players that are

st ronger in the premium segment.

Sales Volumes AnalysisTh e growth in scooter segment’s

sales volumes has outperformed that of

the motorcycles segment over the last

several years. However, in Q1, 2011-12,

the scooters segment recorded a growth

of 13.3 percent (YoY), lower than the

17.5 percent growth in motorcycle sales.

Th is could be attributable primarily

to the capacity const raints of Honda

Motorcycles, the market leader in the

scooters segment. With this, the share

of the scooters segment in the total

domest ic two-wheeler volumes declined

marginally to 17.8 percent in Q1, 2011-

12 from 18.7 percent in 2010-11.

Market Share TrendsOverall, Honda Motorcycles

continues to maintain its leader-

ship position in the scooters segment

through its fl agship brand Act iva

(besides Aviator and Dio) enjoying a

market share of 42.4 percent in Q1,

2011-12. However, capacity short-

fall at the company’s exist ing plant at

Manesar (Haryana) has rest rict ed its

volume growth lately. With commer-

cial product ion at Honda Motorcycles’

new plant at Tapukara (Rajast han)

expect ed to commence in Q2, 2011-12,

the company is expect ed to get bet-

ter equipped to consolidate its market

position. However, Hero MotoCorp’s

demonst rated success in improving

market share (through its sole brand

Pleasure) coupled with new scooter

models proposed to be launched by

TVS and Yamaha over the short to

medium could imply shrinkage of

market share gap between the market

leader and others over time.

Future OutlookICRA expect s the scooters segment

to gradually increase its share in the

domest ic two-wheeler market from

18.7 percent in 2010-11 to ~24 percent

by 2014-15. With this, the scooters

market is est imated to double in size

by 2014-15. Th us, even as a multitude

of brands already dot the segment’s

landscape and more are expect ed to

follow, the likely expansion in the pie

should off er suffi cient volumes for the

indust ry to grow profi tably. For the

new entrants, a st eady gain in market

share could hast en the process of prof-

itability improvement.

(Courtesy: ICRA Research. Views

expressed are personal)

Trend in Sales Volumes of Indian 2W indust ry

Source: SIAM


STUDY

DOMESTIC road freight transporters, the

primary source of demand for goods com-

mercial vehicles (CVs), are gradually evolving

into integrated logist ics service providers.

Integrated transporters, who have larger fl eets,

countrywide dist ribution networks and pro-

vide value added services, are adopting the

hub-and-spoke model to cut logist ics cost s.

Th e increasing adoption is pushing CV sales

to two extreme tonnage segments— heavy

commercial vehicles (HCVs: >16 tonne) for

hub-to-hub transportation and small commer-

cial vehicles (SCVs: <3.5 tonne) for delivery to

end consumers. Although GDP growth will

drive overall goods CV sales, prevalence of the

hub-and-spoke model will lead CV manufac-

turers to launch more models in the HCV and

SCV segments.

Transporters More OrganisedTh e largely unorganised transportation

indust ry is gradually evolving, with the domi-

nance of small-fl eet operators (SFOs) (who

own one-fi ve vehicles), giving way to large

fl eet operators (LFOs) (owning >20 vehicles).

LFOs, who have pan-India operations, pri-

marily use the hub and spoke model. Th ese

operators primarily funct ion on long and

medium-haul routes within the supply chain.

Th eir market share in the indust ry is est imated

to have increased from 2 percent in 1993-94

to 11 percent in 2008-09 and is set to increase

further in the coming years, as the indust ry

consolidates. Under the hub and spoke model,

big warehouses (hubs) are set up in diff erent

regions of the country, where goods are con-

solidated and sent to various spokes. From the

spokes, goods are fi nally moved to the various

end-consumption points.

Speeding Up Sales As the share of LFOs is slowly rising,

CV sales to see ‘extreme’ action


STUDY

demand in the medium and heavy com-

mercial vehicles (MHCV) segment is

shifting from MCVs to HCVs. HCVs

are more suitable for hub-to-hub trans-

portation of goods, as they off er a better

price/payload ratio than MCVs and are

suitable for long-haul transportation. For

example, a medium commercial vehicle

(MCV) cost ing about `nine-12 lakh will

off er an average payload of nine tonnes,

while a multi-axle vehicle (MAV) priced

at `12-16 lakh will off er an average pay-

load of 15 tonnes. Th is means that at a

minimal price diff erence, transporters

can transport greater incremental loads

on MAVs. Hence, we are witnessing a

gradual shift from MCVs, which were

earlier used across all routes, to higher

and lower tonnage vehicles suited to spe-

cifi c routes. With st rict er implementation

of the 2005 Supreme Court ban on over-

loading and increasing consolidation in

the transportation indust ry, HCVs will

continue to eat into the share of MCVs

on long-haul routes. Additionally, devel-

opment of highways and availability of

more models in the last two years will

also aid demand for HCVs.

In a hub and spoke network, dist ri-

bution of goods to end-consumption

points takes place through SCVs, such

as sub-one tonne vehicles and pick-ups

(2-3.5 tonnes). For inst ance, an organ-

ised retail company might have around

eight-10 dist ribution centres (spokes),

which would supply goods to 20-25

st ores (end points). Within SCVs,

demand is shifting towards sub one-

tonne vehicles, aiding sales in the other

extreme segment of the CV indust ry.

With more and more cities rest rict ing

or regulating the entry of large trucks

in cities, LCVs (especially SCVs) are

replacing MCVs on short-haul routes.

Over the next fi ve years too, demand

for higher and lower tonnage vehicles is

expect ed to continue rising, with play-

ers launching more models in both

these segments. During 2010-11 to

2015-16, the share of SCVs in total

LCV sales is expect ed to grow to 92

percent from 86 percent, while share

of HCVs (including tippers) in total

MHCV sales will increase to 64 percent

from 58 percent.

Riding on hub and spoke trend; CV

makers to launch more HCV and SCV

models

Th e emergence of the hub and spoke

network is expect ed to drive new model

launches in the HCV (> 16 tonne)

and SCV (<3.5 tonne) segments over

2010-11 to 2015-16. CV makers are

launching more HCV models across

various tonnage points that are being

priced competitively. Th is off ers greater

choices to transporters (who are migrat-

ing from 16-tonne to 25- and 31-tonne

vehicles).

Leading CV manufact urers such

as Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland

launched heavy tonnage premium

trucks under the brands Prima and

Unitruck, respect ively. Th ese mod-

els have better driver facilities, higher

horse power and fuel effi cient engines

compared to the exist ing range of

trucks. Strong growth in the domes-

tic LCV segment has prompted players

like GM-SAIC, Beiqi Foton and Ashok

Leyland-Nissan to enter the segment.

Factors That Will Push AdoptionCurrently, national highways con-

st itute only about two percent of the

total road network in India, but carry

about 40 percent of the total traffi c.

On the other hand, st ate roads and the

major dist rict roads account for 18 per-

cent of the road length, but carry only

40 percent of the balance traffi c. Over

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

Sub-1T Pick-ups Upper-end

Segmental shift within LCV sales

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

ICVs MCVs HCVs

Segmental shift within MHCV sales


STUDY

the next fi ve years, government invest -

ments on road expansion are likely to

double from about `three trillion in

the previous fi ve years. Of this, a major

proportion would be spent on nation-

al highways and the rest on st ate and

rural roads.

During 2011-12 to 2015-16, CRISIL

Research expect s an average of 14.7 km

of national highways to be const ruct -

ed /upgraded per day, at an est imated

cost of `2,535 billion. Th e const ruc-

tion of national highways is expect ed

to increase the length to 5,773 km in

2015-16 from 3,737 in 2011-12. Th e

development of highways is expect ed to

replace MCVs by HCVs, use of which is

currently rest rict ed by inadequate road

infrast ruct ure.

Consumption of consumer prod-

uct s in rural areas is set to rise aided by

a widening hub and spoke network and

better roads. Consequently, movement

of goods in these regions will shift from

tract ors and non-motorised vehicles

to LCVs, (especially SCVs) boost ing

demand for the same. CRISIL Research

expect s the ratio of sales of LCVs to

MHCVs to increase from 1.15 times in

2011-12 to 1.58 times in 2015-16.

Growth In Organised Retail As of December 2010, the two larg-

est organised retail players—Pantaloon

Retail and Reliance Retail—have 2,113

and 860 outlets respect ively. By 2014-

15, Pantaloon plans to add about 15

million sq ft of retail space. As retail

chains expand their reach and com-

pete for quicker delivery of goods to

consumers, they will outsource their

logist ics needs to large transport-

ers using the hub and spoke model.

CRISIL Research expect s the organ-

ised retail sect or to record a CAGR

of 23 percent between 2009-10 and

2014-15, while penetration is likely to

increase to 9.1 percent from 6.4 percent

in the same period.

Emergence Of GSTTh e government proposes to imple-

ment a centralised goods and services tax

(GST) to replace the exist ing tax regime

(excise, service tax and VAT). However,

the new tax norms are yet to be imple-

mented as all st ates have not fi nalised the

GST st ruct ure yet. Under the current tax

st ruct ure, the Centre levies a uniform

tax (CST) on interst ate sales besides the

local value added tax paid to the st ate

governments. To avoid interst ate CST,

companies are forced to maintain at least

one warehouse in each st ate.

Emergence of the GST is vital as

currently; tax avoidance plays a more

important role in deciding how a compa-

ny sets up its dist ribution network, than

logist ics cost s and cust omer service con-

siderations. Th is leads the mushrooming

of multiple ineffi cient warehouses in

each st ate. Th e GST, however, would

allow companies to aggregate st ate-based

warehouses into one large, regional

warehouse that off ers cost and opera-

tional effi ciencies in geographically large

markets. As a result, the use of HCVs for

hub-to-hub transportation will increase

to service these large warehouses, which

funct ion as centralised hubs. Similarly,

movement of goods in remote areas will

be taken care of by SCVs, thus driv-

ing sales in both extremes of the CV

indust ry.

SCVs To Drive LCV SalesAs the hub and spoke model prolif-

erates, CRISIL Research expect s SCV

sales (forming 86 percent of LCV sales)

to post a CAGR of 17-20 percent dur-

ing 2010-11 to 2015-16. HCV sales

(including tippers) will grow by 12-14

percent during the same period. Th is

would be fast er than the 9-11 CAGR

growth in overall MHCV sales.

(Please note that the views expressed

here are those of CRISIL Research

and not of CRISIL’s Ratings division.

CRISIL Research operates independently

of and does not have access to information

obtained by CRISIL’s Ratings Division.)

Category SCV HCVSegments Sub-one tonne PickUps MAV Tippers T. Trailers

(GVW) (<=2 tonnes) (2 - 3.5 tonnes) (>16 tonnes) (>16.2 tonnes)

ALL-Nissan (Dost)

Atul Auto

Ashok Leyland (U trucks series)Tata Motors (Ace Zip) Tata Motors (Prima series)

GM-SAIC Asia Motor Works

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (Benz platform)

Bajaj

Beiqi Foton Motor

Res

t20

120


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Hydraulic cylindersOILGEAR Towler Polyhydron manufact ures and off ers hydraulic cylinders that have nominal pressure of 63 bar. Th e select ion of bore and rod diameter is as per ISO:3320. Non-st andard bore and rod diameters are also available against special request . Features include: tie-rod const ruct ion; adjust able cushioning on request ; unit dimensions vary; bolted/welded designs available on request ; synthetic seals for low frict ion & long seal life; and medium carbon chrome plated rod for higher st rength protect ion from rust & longer seal life.

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Hydrostatic pressure test-ing machines

ACE Automation Engineers manufac-tures and off ers hydrost atic pressure test ing machines that are used for test ing hydro-st atic pressure or burst st rength of condenser coils for air conditioners, pipes, pressure vessels, LPG cylinders, fi re extinguish-ers, hydraulic hoses and heat exchangers. Th ese effi cient and economical machines are designed such that they are easy to

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PRODUCTS

Tripod RobotsFESTO in conjunct ion with machine builder, IFC Intelligent Feeding Components, has made product ion process variability and shorter set-up times possible for Tyco Elect ronics. Th e Fest o tripod robots have created inst an-taneous re-calibration of workpiece types a reality at the press of a button. Th ese robots manage product ion with an IFC fl exfeeder syst em that feeds components through the product ion process. Th is simple integration, including the resulting new possibilities for inst ant process variability, is a pract ical example of the company’s vision moving towards process automation and integration. In line with this vision, Fest o has developed a simple control syst em for the tripod robots that allows easy parameterisation and confi guration of new variants programmed using the teach-in funct ion. Th e syst em only requires data input for positions, sequences and settings to be entered via the Fest o front end display (FED). Th ese inputs can then be recalled at will to initiate a diff erent process sequence.

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Pneumatic VibratorsSAN Air Tools manufact ures and off ers turbine-type pneumatic vibrators (model TV-7200) developed for material han-dling. Th ese vibrators can operate in any position. Th ese are used to facilitate parts feeding in trays in the automotive indust ry, supply hoppers and chutes of chemicals and plast ics product ion and in packing lines. Th ese are also used in screening, separating and sizing of fi ne and coarse powdered materials. In short, dislodge st ubborn materials from hoppers or trays. Normal working pressure is six kg/cm².

San Air Tools - Thane - MaharashtraTel: 022-2534 1981, Fax: 022-2534 2692, Mob: 09819747122Email: [email protected], Website: www.sanairtools.com

Pneumatic ClampsSTEEL-Smith manufac-tures and off ers pneumatic st raight-line act ion clamps that utilise the same basic design as manual st raight-line act ion clamps with an exception of pneumatic

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Steel-Smith, Mumbai, MaharashtraTel: 022-2683 0362Fax: 022-2683 7287Email: sales@st eelsmith.com, Website: www.st eelsmith.com

Hydraulic-Operated PumpsVERTEX Hydraulics manufact ures and off ers hydraulic-operated pumps (model VTC-3000) that are pist on-type pumps used for automatic lubrication with the help of hydraulic and pneumatic power. Th ese hydraulic pumps are similar to hand-operated pist on pumps. In these syst ems the pist on is act uated by hydraulic and pneumatic cylinder. Some of the technical specifi cations of the hydraulic pumps include: input of hydraulic pressure ranges from 18-20 kg/cm²; and input of air pressure ranges from fi ve-seven kg/cm²; reservoir capacity is three litres, discharge at six cc per st roke; pressure setting of 15 kg/cm²; and fl oat switch for min, oil level sensing.

Vertex Hydraulics Pvt Ltd, Ahmedabad, GujaratTel: 079-6521 4825, Fax: 079-2676 5650, Mob: 09824039374Email: [email protected], Website: www.vertexhydraulics.com

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PRODUCTS

Hydraulic CranesTRUCK-mounted foldable hydraulic cranes from Aditron India are available with maximum capability and minimumfl oor space. Th ese cranes fold up for portability. Boom lowers to vertical position enabling the crane to be carried bytwo persons. Th ey have carrying handles built in. Hand pump operation is st andard. Th ree feet lifting chains can beadjust ed to various heights. Base plates can be mounted either in an upright position or inverted to keep truck beds clear.Powered lifting cylinders, remote control winches oper-ated cable lift and remote controls are also available. Other features include: 2000 kg capacity up to 130 in lift height, booms powered by hydraulic cylinder for smooth easy opera-tion, 3600 base plate rotation, etc.

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Hydraulic HosesAEROFLEX Hydraulic manufact ures and off ers high-pres-sure hydraulic hoses with assemblies & ferrule fi ttings and hydraulic accessories. All types of hydraulic hose assemblies are manufact ured that are used for earthmoving machineries, plast ic machineries, heavy machineries, and road equip-ments. Hydraulic hoses for tract ors, JCB, L&T Poclain, TATA Hitachi, BEML, rollers, Demage, paver fi nishers, hot mix plants, plast ic inject ion molding machineries, and other hydraulic machineries are also manufact ured. Also off ered are low pressure hoses, SS Tefl on hoses, SS corrugated hoses, st eam hoses, hydraulic fi ttings, ferrule fi ttings, adaptors, Tees, elbows, seamless pipes, etc.

Aerofl ex Hydraulic, Ahmedabad, GujaratTel: 079-2585 3768, Fax: 079-2585 0910, Mob: 09426016489Email: aerofl [email protected]

Hydraulic Hand Pallet TrucksBAKA Liftec (India) off ers hydrau-lic hand pallet trucks (model FK-520) that have lifting capacity ranging from 2000 kgs to 3000 kgs. Th ese hand pallet trucks have ergonomi-cally handles and are user-friendly. Th e hand pallet trucks are compact hydraulic units (imported) and have no oil spillage.

Baka Liftec (India) Pvt Ltd - Bengaluru - KarnatakaTel: 080-2783 2661, Fax: 80-2783 1906Email: [email protected], Website: www.baka.de

Pneumatic Grease PumpsCENLUB Indust ries manufact ures and off ers pneumatic grease pumps for greasing with 50:1/75:1/100:1 compression ratio. Th ese grease pumps are safe made in conformity with the EEC 89/392 direct ives and subsequent modifi -cations. Th e body and sleeve of the pumps is of anodised aluminium. Pumping is of carbon st eel and packing of NBR/polyurethane. Temperature

range is +10/+40°C. Types of fl uid include petrol, grease, etc.

Cenlub Industries Ltd - Faridabad - HaryanaTel: 0129-2275483, 411 3701/02, Fax: 0129-2260524Email: [email protected], Website: www.cenlub.in

Pneumatic ScrewdriversDSP Enterprises off ers pneumatic screwdriv-ers for various applications. Th ese screwdrivers are lightweight, sleek, very handy and designed for maximum operators’ comfort. A number of models with varying capacities, speeds and

sizes are available. Th e mechanised application yields optimum results. User indust ries are: automobiles, shipbuilding, furniture indust ries, white goods assembly units, elect ronic goods assem-bly units, fan indust ries, etc. Applications include for fast ening of screws for various assemblies in indust ries.

DSP Enterprises, Hyderabad, Andhra PradeshTel: 040-2387 5876, Fax: 040-2387 5876, Mob: 09849051876Email: [email protected], Website: www.dompneumatics.com

Hydraulic ExcavatorsCATERPILLAR Commercial off ers hydraulic excavators (model 330D LME) that are engineered for extreme applications featuring a CAT C9 ACERT 200 kW (268

HP) engine delivering 9 per cent more horsepower than the pre-vious C-series model. Incorporating advances such as automatic engine speed control and operator select ed power management settings these excavators ensure product ivity reached with opti-mised fuel effi ciency. Th e hydraulic excavators are also fi tted with hydraulic snubbers to reduce shock loads on the syst em in extreme applications. Aarpee Mines 330D is a LME model fea-turing a long undercarriage for added st ability and lift capacity, providing an excellent platform for bench loading the company’s haul truck fl eet. Th e mass excavation (ME) boom and st ick, combined with 35,000 kPa hydraulic pressure, delivers high dig-ging forces and allows for larger buckets to be fi tted.

Caterpillar Commercial Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, KarnatakaTel: 080-4111 7910, Fax: 080-4111 7998Email: [email protected], Website: www.cat.com


PRODUCTS

Centrifugal PumpsGRUNDFOS multist age centrifugal pumps (type CR, CRI & CRN) off ered by Union Enterprise, are suit-able for liquid transfer in washing syst ems, cooling & air-conditioning sys-tems, water supply syst ems, water treatment syst ems, fi re fi ghting syst ems, indust rial plants, boiler feeding syst ems, etc. Technical specifi cations are: Flow (Q ): maximum 120 m³/h; head (H): maximum 330 m; liquid temperature: -40°C to +180°C; and operat-ing pressure: maximum 33 bar. Some of the features and benefi ts of these centrifugal pumps include: reliability, high effi ciency, service-friendly, space-saving, and suitable for slightly aggressive liquids. Optional features are: dry running protect ion & motor protect ion, via LiqTec, cust om-built variants, etc.

Union Enterprises Pvt Ltd - Mumbai - MaharashtraTel: 022-2267 1368Fax: 022-2264 1998Mob: 09820758373Email: [email protected]: www.unionpumps.net

Vertical Submersible PumpsTHERE are lots of applications in chemi-cal industries, where a notorious, hazardous and corrosive chemical are to be han-dled, and the gland leakage is undesirable. Vertical submersible pumps are best self-priming pumps, as the pump portion is dipped inside the liquid. These pumps find wide applications for eff luent, acids, pick-ling solutions, transfer of solvents from underground storage tanks, etc. Polyquip offers vertical submersible pumps in poly-propylene, CI, SS-304/316 up to 3 meters depth, with capacities up to 30 m³/hr and heads up to 20 meters. These pumps run at 1440 or 3000 RPM. The pumps also available with vapour seal arrangements. Also offered are horizontal process pumps in PVDF, polypropylene, Alloy-20, SS-304/316, CI; self-priming pumps; and rota-ry gear pumps.

Polyquip - Mumbai - MaharashtraTel: 022-2411 5957Fax: 022-2416 5447Email: [email protected]: www.polyquip.com

Vacuum PumpsMINIVAC RVD & MVC series of rotary vane oil-free direct coupled/belt-driven and monobloc vacuum pumps off ered by Shree Siddhivinayak Indust ries are direct ly mount-ed on common base frames. Th ese vacuum pumps are compact in size, vibration-

free and hence can be mounted inside the machines. Th e pumps attain maximum vacuum levels up to 25” of Hg and capacities ranging from 50 LPM to 2000 LPM. Use of imported graphite vane give advantage of prolonged vane life, silent operation and reduces wear & tear on the st ator. Th e rotary vane oil-free vacuum pumps are useful in many applications, like capsule printing machines & other phar-maceutical machineries, packaging & labeling machines, screen printing & plate making, book binding & folding machines, vacuum chucking machines, etc.

Shree Siddhivinayak Industries, Dist Thane, MaharashtraTel: 022-2845 8372Fax: 022-2845 7073Mob: 09820081403Email: minivac@rediff mail.com Website: www.minivacpumps.com

Pilot ValvesFESTO Controls off ers pilot valves (VOFD) that are highly corrosion-resist -ant and extremely reliable. Th ese valves are ideal for heavy-duty applications in pharmaceutical, chemical and petro-chemical syst ems, thanks to their st urdy design, explosion protect ion for zone 1/21 G/D and SIL certifi cate for ESD appli-cations. Benefi ts include: st urdy & very

corrosion-resist ant; easy combination of the required coil & matching valve, thanks to the armature guide tube; explo-sion protect ion for zone 1/21 (gas & dust ); direct mounting on the drive; and high reliability of the direct ly act uated valves, especially in emergency shut-down (ESD) funct ions. Technical specifi cations are: direct ly act uated; 3/2-way valves; armature guide tube with poppet valve technol-ogy; pressure range 0-10 bar; connect ion variants G1/4, NPT1/4, G1/4 & NAMUR; and Ex em & Ex d ATEX explosion protect ion.

Festo Controls Pvt Ltd - Bengaluru - KarnatakaTel: 080-2289 4100Fax: 080-2783 2058Email: info_in@fest o.comWebsite: www.fest o.com


PRODUCTS

K&N, the world’s best air fi lter is the inventor and leading innovator of reusable cotton gauge fi lter technology. K&N fi lters are environmental friendly as compared to normal paper fi lters. It is designed to increase horsepower and accel-eration which improves performance signifi cantly. K&N also gives a million mile limited warranty which will outlast the life of your vehicle. Th e advantages include increased power, performance, washable and reusable properties. Besides, it is available for every vehicle on the road today. Paper fi l-ters are made of pleated wood pulp bonded together. As dirt builds, passages are plugged and fi lter must be replaced in approximate 15,000 km. Th e fi bres swells due to moist ure decreasing the airfl ow.

In the K&N air fi lters turbulent air enters fi lter area and fl ows through the pleated mul-ti-layered oil impregnated surgi-cal cotton fabric. Th e suspended dirt

hardly causes any air-fl ow rest rict ion. Oil barrier attract s and

holds dirt to become an additional fi lter and bonded cot-ton wire/mesh st raightens airfl ow reducing turbulence. Besides, the st raightened and fi ltered high volume air enters the intake syst em.

Nanorich technologies off ers world’s fi rst test ed and approved common liquid fuel enhancer/additive for petrol and diesel with nanotechnology under the name of Automax/F2-21 manufact ured by H

2Oil,USA. Th e ratio of application is one

ml for fi ve liters and also advanced version with one ml for 10 liters. Th e cost is `1.20 per liter application. Th e additive is available in 10 ml, 120 ml, one liter, 10 litres packing for individual and inst itutional users.

CAR care product s of the German manufact urer Sonax are well known to car drivers worldwide. From car polish to additives—a wide range of product s and services refl ect s the expertise and versatility of Sonax. Keeps your car looking young forever and it’s absolutely safe on your car and you’ll never be dissatisfi ed.

Silicone & Wax RemoverRemoves silicone, grease and wax smear fi lms from win-

dows, paint-work and chrome. It creates a suitable foundation for re-spraying, provides good adhesion for st icky labels, cleans windows after hot wax.

Xtreme Polish +Wax 2 Nano ProPolish-based on nanotechnology, for nearly new and

slightly worn paintwork. Gentle on paintwork, with mild abrasives which break down into nano size particles dur-ing polishing. Fine scratches (eg from car-wash brushes) are evened out and the dull shine haze is removed. The nano wax particles penetrate deeply into the paint pores to provide a mirror shine and long-lasting protection. They f it perfectly into every paint structure (even scratch-resistant paints), so they don’t have to be broken down by strenuous polishing.

K&N Air Filter

Nano Additive

Sonax Car Care Products

Bosch is known for its contributions to the automobile indus-try and its cust omers. It has made life easier for us by giving us the Aquatak 100plus and Clic130 to test . Th ese cleaning syst ems enable one to wash and clean a car with far less eff ort and much less time as well as saving car wash expense. Th e Clic130 uses a 2000W motor, which can be plugged in and a pipe which can be connect ed to a tap and act s as a water inlet which draws the water into the motor. It has a fi xed nozzle, which can be switched between fan spray, high pres-sure pencil jet and low pressure spray for rinsing. It also has an integrated detergent tank, self coiling elect ric cable and a nozzle hose. Th e maximum pressure produced is 130bar.

All it needs is to be connect ed to a power socket and tap, and in fi ve minutes the car is spotlessly clean. A bike takes just two minutes to clean. It also uses less water compared to a garden hose and the 130bar of pressure is enough to remove the st ains in one sweep like a magic wand. It has made vehi-cle cleaning routine fun.

Aquatak 100 Plus: `13,625Aquatak Clic 130: `49,000

www.boschindia.com

Bosch Washing Systems: DIY Car Wash


ADVERTISERS’ LIST

Pg N o. Advertiser ...........................................Tel .................................E-mail ............................................Website

FIC ......ADEA Awards ........................................+91-22-30034650 [email protected] ...... www.adea.in

19 .......Bosch Limited ......................................+91-80-22999269 [email protected] .. www.boschindia.com

11 .......Chem-Verse Consultants (I) Pvt Ltd ......+91-22-24095503 [email protected] ..................... www.chemverse.com

6 .........Confederation Of Indian Industry .......+91-124-4013871 ........... [email protected] ..................... www.autoexpo.in

4,8 ......Engineering Expo .................................+91-9819552270 [email protected] .............. www.engg-expo.com

23,25 .. Federation Of Automobile Dealers Associations .....+91-11-23320095 [email protected] ......................... www.fadaweb.com

15 .......KYB Asia Co Ltd ....................................+91-9871687888 [email protected] ........................... www.kyba.co.th

BC ...... Litel Infrared Systems Pvt Ltd ..............+91-20-66300636 [email protected] ............................ www.litelir.com

BIC ..... Lubrizol Advanced Materials India Pvt. Ltd. .....+91-22-66027800 [email protected] .............. www.lubrizol.com/engineeredpolymers

3 .........Madhus Garage Eqpts ..........................+91-80-26660656 [email protected] .......... www.madhusindia.com


PRODUCT INDEX

11th Auto Expo-2012 ............................................................. 6

A/C service equipment .......................................................... 3

ADEA - Automotive Dealership Excellence Awards ............... FIC

Alternatives........................................................................... 19

Batteries ............................................................................... 19

Brake p ads ............................................................................ 19

Brake testing equipment ...................................................... 3

Centrifugal p umps ................................................................ 60

Clutch plates & cover assemblies .......................................... 19

Collision repair system ......................................................... 3

Exhibition - Engineering Expo .............................................. 4,8

FADA’s 7th Auto Summit ....................................................... 23,25

Filters .................................................................................... 19

Gas analysers ........................................................................ 3

Gasoline systems .................................................................. 19

Gear pumps .......................................................................... 19

Heating s olutions .................................................................. BC

Horns .................................................................................... 19

Hydraulic c ranes ................................................................... 59

Hydraulic c ylinders ............................................................... 57

Hydraulic excavators ............................................................ 59

“Hydraulic hand pallet trucks” ............................................. 59

Hydraulic hand pumps ......................................................... 57

Hydraulic hoses .................................................................... 59

Hydraulic pallet trucks ......................................................... 58

Hydraulic-operated pu mps ................................................... 58

“Hydrostatic pressure testing machines” .............................. 57

Hydrostatic variable speed drives ......................................... 57

Industrial ae rosls .................................................................. 11

Instant drying & curing technology ..................................... BC

K&N air fi lter ........................................................................ 61

Lighting s ystem ..................................................................... 19

Lubricants ............................................................................. 19

Mantenance chemicals ......................................................... 11

Nano ad ditive ....................................................................... 61

Pilot valves ........................................................................... 60

Pneumatic c lamps ................................................................ 58

Pneumatic grease pumps ..................................................... 59

Pneumatic screwdrivers ....................................................... 59

Pneumatic v ibrators ............................................................. 58

Relays ................................................................................... 19

Socker o bservers ................................................................... 15

Sonax car care products ....................................................... 61

Spark plug ............................................................................ 19

Spot welding equipment ...................................................... 3

Starter m otor ........................................................................ 19

Synthetic l ubricants .............................................................. 11

Thermoplastic p olyurethanes ............................................... BIC

Tripod r obots ........................................................................ 58

Tyre changers ....................................................................... 3

Tyre infl ation e quiment ........................................................ 3

Vacuum pumps..................................................................... 60

“Vertical submersible pumps” .............................................. 60

Washing s ystems ................................................................... 61

Wheel a ligners ...................................................................... 3

Wheel balancers ................................................................... 3

Wiper b lades ......................................................................... 19

Product ................................................................................Pg N o. Product ................................................................................Pg No.

FIC : Front Inside Cover BIC : Back Inside Cover BC: Back cover

DATA


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Why Aftermarket?

India has been scripting success stories in the auto industry for some time now. Vehicle production has doubled in the last six years and still growing strong. And this momentum is expected to continue for the next few years as the density of passenger

cars in India is just 12 per 1,000 population, which is abysmally low even when compared with our Asean peers. Healthy economy, increasing disposable incomes, expanding urban centres, creation of new townships and growth in infrastructure will only catalyse the growth of automobiles further.

The used car market, which is still in its nascent stage, is predominantly in the unorganised sector. However, the business is set to boom due to infl ow of vehicles on account of shrinking life cycle of passenger cars—from about 15 years a decade ago to about fi ve years now, at least in the cities and towns. Today, the cream for dealers lies in the after sales service, which is why multi-brand third party service stations are mushrooming. Most of the players in this space offer quick repair service, which is a money-spinner. And this is the stimulant for more players to get in to the organised multi-brand service centres and used car retail outlets.

It is a well known practice in the country that the owners of older vehicles migrate to independent service networks for various reasons including proximity, convenience, affordability and faster service. Besides, the trust that the neighbourhood garages offer outweighs the authorised service centres due to personal attention etc. Moreover, with the vehicle manufacturers focusing more on the warranty period, catering to service requirements of older cars are being taken up or shared by independent players. However, with the vehicles getting feature rich, the probabilities of the conventional garages offering repair services is getting reduced. To address the issue, some of the branded third-party multi-brand car service companies have conceptualised methods to help these garages move up in the value chain both in terms of technical capability and profi tability.

These factors made the Indian automotive aftermarket grow at a steady pace. With the vehicle parc increasing, it is expected to expand rapidly over the next fi ve years. The total size of the Indian aftermarket is currently estimated at `33,000 crore, while the global market is worth `2,700,000 crore. These mind-boggling fi gures only reemphasise further the potential for growth.

Automotive aftermarket offers tremendous opportunities for the players across the value chain and we at Infomedia 18 believe that these esteemed people should be informed of the developments periodically. And this is the impetus for launching a new magazine—Aftermarket.

The monthly magazine will keep you posted of the developments in this segment in terms of news, views, trends, technology, analysis and features on best dealerships and review of service centres.

Aftermarket will initially have eight sections—News, Rearview, Cover Story, Interview, Cutting Edge, Focus, Viewpoint and Extra Mile. Besides, it will have snippets on new products that come in to the aftermarket space. The News section will update you on the recent happenings while Rearview will look back some of the best service centres and their best practices. Each issue will have a cover story, which will be topical in nature. You will have the opportunity to listen to celebrity CEOs of companies operating in the aftermarket, in every issue under the Interview section. Cutting Edge will have stories on technology, Focus on some issues concerning the segment and Viewpoint, as it denotes, will have the viewpoint of industry representatives. The last section, Extra Mile, is all about the art of selling automobiles—you will have stories on the best dealerships and can be a stimulant for you to emulate best practices.

- T Murrali

POST SCRIPT

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In the transportation industry, Estane®

Thermoplastic Polyurethanes are widely used

for their excellent properties such as flexibility

over a wide temperature range, optical clarity,

flame retardancy, adhesion to various substrates,

superior abrasion resistance and extreme durability.

Applications

ABS Sensor Cable/Grommet

Shift Lever Skin

Fuel Bowl

Paint Protection Film

Dust Cover/Driveshaft Boot

Co-extruded Interior Parts

Sealing Material

Rail Pad

Estane®

TPUs provide:

Abrasion Resistance

Elongation

Superior Tear Strength

Excellent Tensile Strength

Ease of Processing

© The Lubrizol Corporation 2011, all rights reserved.® Estane is a registered trademark of The Lubrizol Corporation.

Purchase it locally from our newly opened warehouse in

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Dust C

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Documents

Aftermarket - November 2011