Webinar: “Indian Automotive Market Post Covid-19 Lockdown”

With top-class industry experts Günter Butschek (Tata Motors), Sunjay Kapur (Vice President ACMA India), Nirmal Minda (Managing Director UNO MINDA Group) and Sanjeev Saxena (President Automotive Schaeffler India), after a presentation by Vineet Martin (EAC Consulting), a panel discussion was held to evaluate which measures could be taken to counteract the current crisis in the Indian automotive industry.The most important approaches at a glance:– A joint strategy development of OEMs and suppliers was recommended to identify important technological value chains and to change from “Make in India” to “Design in India:

- The expansion of local supply chains for electronic components would reduce the strong dependence on foreign importers
- Strong product offerings, affordable financing and leasing models would make purchasing decisions attractive to consumers
- Innovative concepts in the field of e-mobility must be developed, promoted and implemented

The participants in the discussion agreed that the situation is extremely challenging and that cost optimization steps must be implemented, which would have to include good control of liquidity and the lowering of the break-even point, the reduction of material costs through design optimizations, the agility and flexibility of the organization and scenario-based planning with minimum performance expectations – because the goal for the industry must be to remain solvent.

Consumer expectations would shift to affordable segments and entry-level solutions – strong product offerings, affordable financing, leasing/subscription models would make purchasing decisions attractive to consumers. The used car business could be used as an entry point to retain customers in the long term.

In terms of localization, especially of electronic modules and assemblies, exports have considerable potential that suppliers can exploit when the market returns to a growth path. With regard to localization, a joint strategy development between OEMs and suppliers was recommended to identify the value chain of key technologies to be developed, moving from “Make in India” to “Design in India”. Summing up, Günter Butschek, CEO Tata Motors, said: “We are the masters and engineers of the future, and we must join hands for a mutually beneficial future”.

FEEDBACK OF WEBINAR PARTICIPANTS:

“Deeply captivating session. A lot of take-aways from the panel discussion ! Thank you VDMA for your invitation and to the highly accomplished panel members for sharing their experiences and possible measures during this testing time for the industry.”

Pradeep Gorur Sheshagiri, Managing Director JOST India

“Very encouraging thoughts in the current environment. I agree with the thoughts from the panelist’s views that with all the constraints and environment India will remain a good economy in the long run and we will certainly drive it with our internal consumption…”

Ganga Nandan Mishra, Director SKF “Congratulations to VDMA India and EAC for well-organized and conducted webinar. Eminent personalities from auto and auto ancillary presented their views very well and gave good insights of present and future and how to handle the situation in a New Normal.”

Prashant Trivedi, VP Head Operations & NPD at ‚Sangir Plastics Pvt. Ltd.