'We don't expect the internal combustion engine to go away'

Ketan Thakkar

- Ketan Thakkar

Shriram Pistons & Rings, an internal combustion engine parts supplier is evolving its future in line with the changing powertrain landscape in the country. The country's largest piston rings producer and exporter has set up a dedicated arm that will cater to the new age mobility business. Krishnakumar Srinivas, MD & CEO of the company told Autocar Professional's in an interview while the shift towards EVs is inevitable, there is a still a long road ahead for internal combustion engines.

Your core business are products for ICE, the market is transitioning, how is Shriram Pistons evolving?

Yes, the market is evolving and changing fast. There is a big hype being created that the internal combustion engine will go tomorrow but frankly, it's not going to happen quickly. The ICE engines are here for some more time, the transition will happen as the infrastructure gets built in the country.

We at Shriram Pistons & Rings are also evolving our strategies and plan to service both the internal combustion engine as well as other new powertrain solutions that are required in the interim. We have been working on this for a long time. We have a strong R&D set up, as a result we have been able to create solutions for the hydrogen, CNG and LNG engines and we also have solutions for the electric powertrains.

Recently we acquired a company called EMFi and have acquired a majority stake in this company. We are confident that along with the management of EMFi, we will be catering to the entire spectrum of mobility.

Does it call for a dedicated set up to cater to the new age mobility?

Yes, the acquisition of EMFi was done through our 100 percent subsidiary, called SEL or SPR Engenious Ltd. and this company is going to invest into the future technologies. This company is going to be our future engine of growth.