Autocar Professional - January 15 2018

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From the looks of it, 2018 has the makings of a good year for the Indian automotive industry, both vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers. For the first time in a calendar year, the industry sold over 3.2 million passenger vehicles in 2017, growing 8 percent YoY. Within PVs, cars sold a record 2,168,000 units (+5%) in CY2017 and UVs witnessed a surge of 20 percent, selling 870,000 units.

The two-wheeler segment also grew substantially, selling more than 19 million units, with scooters growing 14 percent with 6,400,000 units and motorcycles registering a 6 percent growth with 11,928,000 units. Importantly, M&HCVs; grew 8 percent with sales of 321,000 units and LCVs zoomed ahead with a 16 percent growth, selling 468,000 units in CY2017. Seeing the improved pace of growth, SIAM, not surprisingly, has revised its industry growth outlook for FY2018. Gearing up for demand in the future is also Apollo Tyres, which recently announced a big-ticket investment of Rs 1,800 crore for manufacture of passenger vehicle radials in a new plant in Andhra Pradesh.

The growing demand for M&HCVs; across the country is benefiting VE Commercial Vehicles, which has rolled out a range of products targeted at the booming e-retail sector. The company, which holds sway over the light and medium duty (LMD) truck segment is now plotting an aggressive new strategy to keep rivals at bay.

The interview of the fortnight is with Prakash Jonnalagadda, executive director and CEO, Total Oil India (Lubricant Division), who reveals the company’s plans to increase its share of the two-wheeler lube market, trends and the impact of electrification on the sector.

CES, Las Vegas's annual technology showcase, has become a key event for car and component firms to showcase concept cars and new technology. We reveal what Toyota, Nissan, Kia Motors, Valeo and Continental brought to bear. India’s Tata Elxsi was also there with its AI solutions and Autonomai platform.