The automotive industry globally has been witness to a bit of a churn in the last couple of years, primarily due to regulatory push by governments aimed at conserving further deterioration of the ecology due to the emissions of harmful vehicular emissions. This has led to technological transformations at a magnitude not seen in the past.
The Indian automotive industry, thanks to the government’s directive to switch to BS-VI emission norms directly from BS-IV, meant it had to leapfrog one complete stage of emission regulations in less than three years. The industry clearly was faced with a humongous challenge, but the government’s insistence meant it was left with little choice. The fact that the industry has actually been able to deliver BS VI-compliance well ahead of the April 1, 2020 deadline talks highly of the industry’s technological and innovation capabilities.
As if meeting the emission regulation wasn’t enough, the industry is also faced with the challenges of meeting CAFÉ norms as well as RDE norms over the next three years. Add to that the shift it needs to make towards cleaner propulsion alternatives, primarily electrification. All of these, in concurrence with weakening of other factors such as finance availability and slowing economy, have led to a protracted slowdown that has forced many industry players to restrategise their businesses, and one that threatens to continue for a few more quarters at least.
Yet there are many industry players that continue to find and create opportunities amidst such difficult times. One fine example is Continental India, a leading diversified Tier 1 major, which continues to innovate and deliver products and technologies suited to the Indian market.
This story is from the March 2020 edition of Auto Tech Review.
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This story is from the March 2020 edition of Auto Tech Review.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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