Mr Ajay Shankar, Member Secretary, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, said “As the diesel subsidy is being removed in a phased manner, LNG based buses and trucks are expected on the roads in large numbers by the next year”. He further added that Automobile industry is the largest multiplier to the economy of the country. The auto industry is one of the key drivers of GDP and 25% growth of auto sector in next two years can drive GDP growth to 9-10%. As the diesel subsidy is being removed in a phased manner, LNG based buses and trucks are expected on the roads in large numbers by the next year. India needs to increase its share of global innovation as Innovation will provide the much needed breakthrough to the auto industry and Country’s growth.
Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, Past President CII & Joint Managing Director, Hero Motocorp said “We need to think small and we need to think big. Indian business models need to innovate for building vehicles that meet high aspirations of young generation at affordable costs which would be emulated by other parts of the world. The future of the automotive industry lies in ‘Innovation’ -to build multiple interactive relationships between machines, vehicles and people”
Mr Rajiv Gandhi, Executive Director (Plants), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd said that “Innovation is not a strategy; this is enabler of corporate growth. Out of the 50 global players in the auto sector, 19 are Indian. Stringent regulations will soon arrive that would focus on safety features, fuel efficiency, Encapsulation (Energy efficiency) and product recall policy and ‘Innovation’ will play a key role as enabler for sustainable growth. More computation is making the product life cycle shorter thus enhancing the capacity of the sector as a whole is inevitable.”
CII-Roland Berger Report – Mobility 2025 was released at the Inaugural session of the conference. The report includes the key levers for new mobility solutions and the new ecosystem for automotive and non-automotive players.
Mr Rattan Kapur, Chairman, CII Haryana State Council and Managing Dirctor, Mark Exhaust Systems Ltd said that “To innovate we need to unlearn our traditional thoughts, processes and business models while flexibility needs to be adopted.”
Mr Rajiv Bajaj, Principal, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants”Compact, safe and comfortable solutions required for urban mobility will lead to demand for special city vehicles. The changes in demographics , urban development and regulations will lead to new mobility solutions.”
Mr Neeraj Munjal, Conference Chairman and Managing Director, Shivam Autotech Ltd said that “The auto sector needs to take account of the changing scenario and the impact of economy and address the need to innovate at every level to keep in pace with the changing needs to customers and urbanized infrastructure.”
The sessions had presentations from companies like Ford India, BMW India, Hero Motocorp, Siemens Industry Software, JBM Group, ZF Hero Chassis Systems, Rockwell Automations, Kuka Robotics, Schneker India, SAP India, and Hella Automotive India.
The conference was attended by over 200 delegates from cross the country.