Collaborative approach by OEMs and suppliers key to meeting Euro 6 norms in India

As the Indian automotive industry gears up to adopt Euro 6/BS VI emission norms by 2020, it is imperative that OEMs and suppliers adopt a collaborative approach to achieve this goal. This was the central theme of the ‘Automotive R&D Trends conference on the theme of ‘Strategising R&D: Meeting the Regulatory Challenges’ held in Chennai yesterday. Autocar Professional was the media partner for the day-long conference, which was attended by over 350 industry professionals.

The event saw a host of speakers, representing OEMs and suppliers, deliberate ways to take up the challenge to bring about a regime of cleaner emissions in the country. 

Setting the tone in his keynote address, Vikram Kirloskar, conference chairman and vice-chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said: “The coming four years will be a most challenging time for industry and one of the toughest regulation phases never before experienced anywhere in the world. We have three challenges before us. India is going to upgrade to Euro 4 norms by 2017 and by 2020 we have to adopt Euro 6 norms for all the vehicles including two-wheelers. This is an enormous challenge, which calls for a new level of co-operation between suppliers and OEMs to find solutions. Second is safety regulation including crash regulations, pedestrian safety and ABS for two-wheelers, and the third is Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) norms. All these need a new level of co-operation.”

Elaborating on the areas of collaboration, Kirloskar said, “With the new regulations, prices of vehicles will go up and customers will be a lot more demanding. Therefore, OEMs and suppliers will have to work jointly in areas such as manufacturing and R&D, cost control and developing higher tolerance of parts.”

Suman Bose, managing director, Siemens Industry Software India, said, “Euro 6 emission norms  are a challenge for the Indian auto industry and to adopt them successfully, collaborative sourcing will be  necessary to have India-specific solutions.

In the first plenary session on ‘Green & Safe Automotive - Global Best Practices and Models’, V Balasubramanian, vice-president, engineering & development, Simpson & Company, spoke on the role of off-highway vehicles in India and the scenario in the years to come. He said it will be a challenge to develop off-highway vehicles by 2020 within the upcoming regulatory changes which in turn calls for a sharper focus on R&D.

Focusing on lubricant trends, Dr Reji Mathia, Head - Vehicle Testing, Fuel & Emissions, R&D Centre, Indian Oil Corporation, said oil companies will have a key role by introducing the required fuel in the country. He spoke about alternate fueled vehicles and the continuing role of IC engines and improvement in their efficiency. “Lubricants can give some fuel economy benefits and there are ways to achieve higher benefits. We are looking at collaboration and participation,” he added

Addressing the plenary session on ‘Contemporary Technology for Efficient Vehicles’, Serge Godefroid, managing director, Michelin India Technology Center, dwelt on the role of innovations and the growing demand of mobility worldwide. Elaborating on India’s market growth, he said, “By 2050 India could be the number one automotive player globally. This will drive growth and the increasing vehicle population in the cities will also bring about the challenge of pollution, congestion and noise. To address these challenges, we need innovative solutions.” He also said that tyres are important for vehicle safety, emission and material use and Michelin is developing more efficient tyres through reducing weight and other environment-friendly technologies.

India as a global R&D hub

Participating in the panel discussion on ‘India, an R&D Hub for Global Market,’ Rafiq Somani, country manager, India, ASEAN & ANZ, ANSYS Software, observed that there is a major shift underway on in engineering and design aspects. Global companies are looking at India for frugal and affordable engineering as opposed to cheap engineering. India is fast emerging as an engineering capital as more MNCs carry out their core engineering work thanks to the easy availability of highly skilled workers. He said two-thirds of Cummins’ new product development is carried out in India; GE worldwide projects too are being done in India.

Rishikesha Krishnan, director, Indian Institute of Management, Indore, was of the opinion that some MNCs are slowly giving product leadership to Indian R&D centres. This shift needs to increase if India is to emerge as a prominent market, wherein Indian R&D teams will take leadership positions towards developing India-specific solutions and help develop an eco-system in India. 

Talking on MNCs, local R&D and its impact on India, C N Prasad, Group president and CEO, Sundaram-Clayton, said: “Whatever R&D that is taking place in India is more for customisation of vehicles for the Indian market or increasing the local content. As a result, costs are coming down and these parts are also produced by Indian entrepreneurs. This is not a planned concept but happens unwittingly and it’s a positive for India,” he added.  

John Roebuck, managing director, Mira Caepro, highlighted MNCs’ engagement with the local ecosystem and joint innovation with local companies.

The panel discussion was moderated by Dr Wilfried Aulbur, managing partner, India and chairman, Middle East & Africa, Head Automotive Asia, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.