Bosch Plans to Double India Exports by 2030

As a global major, where do you see India's place in the auto sector?

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With over 39,000 employees and 18 manufacturing centres in India, German major Bosch India is the big boy of the global auto components business. Guruprasad Mudlapur, president of the Bosch group in India and managing director (MD) of Bosch Ltd, talks to Surajeet Das Gupta in a video interview about the company's strategy and challenges in India. Edited excerpts:

I think we are quite good in terms of manufacturing competitiveness. In terms of technology, we still need to catch up on several of the new electric vehicle (EV) technologies like Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), for which vehicle technology is not the only factor. It's also the infrastructure that needs to come in. In terms of supply chain, we still have quite some distance to go, especially in EVs. There needs to be a lot more effort to build a supply chain for batteries, critical components, etc.

Is India as competitive as China in auto components?

India is extremely competitive. Our current exports are about 9 to 10 percent of our production, and our plan is to double that by 2030. But I think where we need to improve is in our ability to procure, especially just in time.

Also, our logistics costs, which affect the landed cost in different parts of the world, need to be on a par with wherever the product is manufactured. That's something we need to work on.

The government is implementing an anti-lock braking system (ABS) in all two-wheelers, including below 125 cc, to enhance safety.