Autocar Professional - September 15, 2019

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Chinese EV manufacturer BYD is biding its time to attain a bigger footprint in India. The world's largest EV maker, which already has a strong presence in the country through its BYD-Olectra buses, has launched the T3 MPV and cargo minivan, targeted at the personal mobility and cargo logistics segments. They could also be the precursor to manufacturing electric cars in India and also for exports. We reveal the company’s India market strategy.

At present though, India Auto Inc is fully focused on the technological leap to BS VI. Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, which has the advantage of parent Daimler Trucks' familiarity with Euro 6 tech, has revealed plans to not only rejig its product portfolio to BS VI with a promise of superior fuel efficiency and lower total cost of ownership, but will also leverage the India production base as an export hub of BS VI trucks and buses, starting FY2021-22.

This issue also carries comprehensive reports on the SIAM and ACMA Conventions, which saw captains of industry urge suppliers to focus on quality and on making zero-defect products. We also have an interview with the new ACMA president – Deepak Jain, who reveals his three top priorities and the way out of the downturn.

How to tackle the ongoing downturn and how it has already impacted them is also the subject of an analytical three-pager wherein five captains of the component industry speak to Autocar Professional. They include Deepak Chopra, CEO, Anand Group; Nishant Arya, ED, JBM Group; Ramashankar Pandey, MD, Hella India Lighting; Prashanth Doreswamy, MD, Continental Automotive Components India; and Rohit Saboo, President and CEO, National Engineering Industries.

August was not such an august month for the Indian automobile industry, what with sales across vehicle segments declining at an alarming rate month on month. We have all the stats and facts in the sales analysis pages.