Major auto players in India like Tata Motors, MG Motors and Hyundai have already announced their investment plans in the electric vehicles sector, there wasn’t any formal announcement from Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest automaker. But now, the penny has dropped.
Suzuki Motor, parent of Maruti Suzuki, says it has signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat State government, and plans to invest Rs 10,440 crore in there to build an EV and battery factory. The MoU was signed at the India-Japan Economic Forum held in New Delhi.
Mr. Tan Xuguang, Chairman and CEO of Weichai Power, has been named Chairman and CEO of China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co., Ltd. (CNHTC). CNHTC, or Sinotruk Group, is a Chinese state-owned truck manufacturer. Xuguang is Chairman and CEO of CNHTC.
Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s chairman, has expressed skepticism about the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), estimating they will achieve only a 30% market share despite evidence of higher adoption rates in countries like Norway and China. This stance aligns with Toyota’s continued focus on hybrids and fuel cell vehicles, contrasting with the rapid EV market growth and the aggressive EV strategies of competitors. Toyoda’s comments reflect a cautious approach to EV adoption, diverging from industry trends favoring more substantial EV penetration.
SUMMARY. The global economy, especially within the Engine, OEM and Components industries, has felt the immediate impact from COVID: assembly line shutdowns, labor issues, supply chain issues, logistics and transportation to name a few. The pandemic has exposed many weak links in the global economic chain. However, by end of summer, most of these challenges were either completely resolved or temporary solutions had been put in place.
Yosyf Sheremeta
Diversification has become the theme during the pandemic recovery, and we expect this trend to continue. Not only are companies looking for new markets and suppliers to grow top and bottom line revenue as well as to minimize risks, but we see a shift into new industries. Furthermore, rapid developments of new technologies create massive opportunities for OEMs and suppliers as well as posing real threats to OEMs that solely rely on traditional products that are powered by fossil fuels.
Roughly three months of countrywide lockdown, combined with zero sales and the post-pandemic uncertainty, has resulted in further degrading the health of the already struggling Indian automotive sector.
Aditya Kondejkar
Though it has disrupted the entire value chain of the automobile industry, there is a silver lining to this Covid-19 pandemic: It has stimulated growth in renewable and eco-friendly transportation.
The Indian market has high potential for EVs since most commuters opt for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and buses. There are numerous latent growth factors in place, and the pandemic might have set them in motion
While the pandemic has disrupted the transportation ecosystem, EV technology has the potential for rapid adoption, driven by an increased awareness towards a greener and cleaner transportation.
Vehicles will not just be scrapped by their age, but also if they are found to be unfit in automated testing. The vehicle scrappage policy will bring in investments of around INR 10,000 crore to set up 450-500 Automated Testing Stations (ATS) and 60-70 Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSF) across the country.
PSR Analysis: Under the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization program (VVMP), the government plans to set up between 450-500 automated vehicle fitness testing stations across India on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis involving private firms and state governments. A total of 60-70 vehicle scrapping centers will also be built; these stations will be situated no further than 150-200 kilometers away from any location in India. A total of seven agencies – including Tata Motors – have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government today for this project. Tata Motors’ vehicle scrapping center will be set up in Gujarat, will scrap both passenger and commercial vehicles and will have the capacity to recycle up to 36,000 vehicles a year.
MotorIndia Magazine, one of India’s leading publications devoted to commercial vehicles, recently held an important panel discussion on the state of the country’s CV industry.
Jinal Shah
The live webinar panel discussion June 3, 2020, was moderated by Jinal Shah, Regional Director-South Asia, for Power Systems Research.
Shah began with a market prediction of a 45-50% drop in CV sales in 2020 over 2019 figures, necessarily taking the industry back by a decade in terms of progress. While touching upon a clutch of challenges plaguing the CV industry, he claimed the scenario as ‘VUCA’ (short for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) in nature – a new normal that we have to accustom to.
“The world is no different. The global CV industry will also see lower demand and output in the short to medium term, which makes it all the more imperative for the domestic industry to become more competitive and grab as much as opportunities,” he said.
At the same time, Shah said, change and uncertainties have always been part of the CV landscape, yet the time frame available for stakeholders to adapt and thrive has shortened recently. “Times like that of COVID-19 have exposed numerous susceptibilities across the value chain that warrants a 360-degree overhaul,” he said.
Other leading industry executives participating in the panel were Anuj Kathuria, Chief Operating Officer, Ashok Leyland; Jayant Davar, Founder, Co-Chairman and MD, Sandhar Technologies; Sushil Rathi, COO (Transport and Procurement), Mahindra Logistics, and Siddharth Bhandari, Chairman of Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) – Bengal Region, and CEO, Bhandari Automobiles.
In his closing remarks, Shah said all stakeholders should become a change catalyst themselves, and should not wait for the external demand drivers to turn positive. Becoming competitive and collaborative is paramount, he said, thereby focusing more on solutions for the challenges.
“Our businesses have to move from build-to-print models to innovation and R&D-driven enterprises,” he said. “Since the traditional demand drivers are not promising, we need to do a lot internally as an industry to move beyond the uncertainties to make a winning strategy.”
This is neither the first nor the last crisis for this industry, he said, but a crisis of this kind cannot be wasted without gaining good experiences and key learning. “We have to stop playing individually, but join others to perform a symphony to make the difference,” he added.
Japanese OEMs are struggling to adapt to the COVID-19 problem. Plants are being temporarily shut down and production adjustments are being made.
Akihiro Komuro
While domestic plants are generally operating quietly, overseas bases are being affected in various ways, depending on the country. Here is a summary of announcements by the major companies.
MotorIndia is sponsoring a panel discussion of leading industry experts across the commercial vehicle value chain to share their insights on the short- to mid-term challenges in the truck industry.
Jinal Shah
The event will be held Wednesday, June 3, at 5:00 pm IST.
The panel will be moderated by Jinal Shah, Regional Director, South Asia Operations, for Power Systems Research (PSR), a leading provider of global production data for engines and equipment.
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