ACCELERATING INDIA'S AUTOMOTIVE FUTURE: UNLOCKING OPPORTUNITIES, OVERCOMING ROADBLOCKS

India's automotive sector stands at the cusp of transformative growth, driven by sustainability, digitisation, skilled talent, and global trust. Industry leaders decode this inflection point, highlighting the forces, reforms, and collaborative momentum shaping India into a global mobility and manufacturing powerhouse.

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As India accelerates its journey on the global mobility map, the automotive industry finds itself at a pivotal inflection pointcharged with immense opportunity, yet fraught with intricate challenges. Navigating this dynamic landscape demands more than just innovation; it calls for deep collaboration, strategic foresight, and systemic transformation.

At the panel discussion titled Accelerating India's Automotive Future: Unlocking Opportunities, Overcoming Roadblocks, leading industry voices came together to explore what lies ahead. The panel featured F R Singhvi, President, Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC); Kamal Bali, President and Managing Director, Volvo Group India; Prashanth Doreswamy, President and CEO, Continental India; Diego Graffi, Chairman and Managing Director, Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd.; and Mahendra Waghule, Head of Projects and Development, Horizon Industrial Parks. The session was moderated by Prashant Joglekar, Principal Consultant at BMGI, who opened with a powerful insight: that every trend or product requirement ultimately stems from the customer. With that foundation, he turned to Kamal Bali with the opening question—what key trends and shifts does he foresee shaping the future of India's automotive industry?

In a reflective yet forward-looking note on the future of India's automotive industry, Kamal Bali, President and Managing Director of Volvo Group India, said he's never seen the country in the global spotlight quite like this in his 44-year career. “It’s not just the impressive 7-8 per cent GDP growth catching attention, he noted, but a confluence of deeper changes—transformative reforms like GST, the Digital India stack, a push towards decarbonisation, a young, tech-savvy workforce, and a stable, decisive government,” he added.