Category — Automobile

German car major Volkswagen AG aims to triple its annual component sourcing out of India to over €300 million euros over the next 3-5 years. The carmaker looks to double the number of component suppliers to over 200 to expand its range of spare parts made for global markets. Mahesh Kodumudi, executive director for components purchasing for Volkswagen group India, told Economic Times newspaper in India : “We are still seeing India as a very competitive sourcing base – there’s a cost advantage of at least 10-15% over Western Europe.

Volkswagen plans to invest close to €250 million over the next few years on tooling and vendor development  in addition to a similar amount already deployed in India.

The German company today sources power train components, engine and transmission parts, metallic parts, sheet metal and a lot of small plastic parts. The company will be sourcing close to 50 million euros of plastic parts annually.  This is part of an overall plan to source close to €1 billion worth components from India, both for domestic and global operations.

Nasdaq-listed Truck maker Paccar  is tapping India for component sourcing and developing technology for its global operations, but has no plans now to sell or assemble products in the country. The work at the technical centre has already begun and the company will hire 200 employees by the end of this year. “Our focus in India right now is to successfully launch the technical centre in Pune to develop solutions for global requirements and introduce ourselves to the supplier base here,” Paccar Inc Managing Director (India Initiative) Donald J Schulte told the Business Standard newspaper.

What this means

India’s automotive capabilities are expanding to heavier vehicles on side as visible from the action of the owner of the Kenilworth truck brand above. But simultaneously the automotive capabilities can be extended to many other industries that utilize similar manufacturing skills.

Chicago based NAVTEQ has launched real-time traffic service in Mumbai and Delhi, India with a combined population of 26 million.

The company claims that is its research shows that drivers in India who use traffic-enabled navigation on a regular basis can spend 18% less time sitting in congestion over those that don’t — the equivalent to almost three days saved on the road each year. Additionally, the company’s findings show that drivers with real-time traffic experience reductions in distance traveled as well as increase fuel efficiency.

The latest NAVTEQ map of India is available for more than 2,200 cities throughout India, covers 6.47 million Points of Interest across 1.2 million km of the national road network.

What this means

I will have to try this to believe it. Somehow, I feel that traffic information is unlikely to speed up my movement in the congestion of India’s streets today and that maps won’t prevent me from getting lost. A knowledgeable driver continues to be my major asset as I travel about my native country.

Motorcycle maker Harley Davidson of Wisconsin, which has seven dealerships in India, unveiled the the FXDB Street Bob and the FXDC Super Glide Custom at the New Delhi Auto Expo on Thursday. These two bikes will now be assembled at Harley Davidson India’s facility at Bawal, Haryana, from “knocked down” kits.

The Street Bob, a tough big-twin with classic bobber style, will be the most affordable 1.6 liter  bike in India with a $20,000 price tag, said Anoop Prakash, Managing Director, Harley Davidson India. The other bike that will now be locally produced will be the FXDC Super Glide Custom, which is a powerful custom-styled bike with chrome detailing, and will be priced  at $23,000. According to Mr Prakash, as much as 50 per cent of its bikes are financed, even though the buyers are very well-heeled Indians.

Harley Davidson India will add dealerships in Kolkata, Kochi and Jaipur this year, taking the company’s network to 10 by the year-end. The company has also started engine assembly at its facility in Haryana, enabling higher efficiencies. The range of bikes sold in India now extends from the Super Low that retails for about $11,000 to the CVO which is priced at $70,000 including India’s heavy import duties. There are over 1,000 Harleys on Indian roads now.

Companies in India sold 9.02 million motorcycles in the financial year ended March 31 2011, a growth rate of  of 23%, but 42% of those comprised motorcycles with small engine capacities of up to 0.125 liters.  For years Enfield’s Bullet ruled the performance motorcycle world in India with no rivals. It was also popular in rural India, due to its ruggedness on unpaved or poorly maintained roads.

In recent years Harley-Davidson Inc.,  Yamaha Motor Co.  Suzuki Motor Corp. and Ducati Motor Holding SpA, have started selling  higher-end motorcycles in the world’s second-fastest growing major economy.

Victory Motorcycle plans to enter India market

UK’s Triumph Motorcycles Ltd. is the latest entrant,it plans to start selling its motorcycles in India from 2012. The maker of the Daytona 675, Sprint and Rocket III motorcycle models plans to sell its products by importing them as fully built units.

“India is a very important motorcycle market and Triumph has assessed it carefully before deciding to step in,” said Nick Bloor, Triumph’s chief executive. “We see it as the next step in our global business model.” Triumph has appointed Ashish Joshi, the former head of European operations for Indian motorcycle maker Royal Enfield as its managing director for India.

A few months ago Victory Motorcycles, the Minnesota bike manufacturing subsidiary of Polaris also announced that it will enter the premium market with its cruisers next year. The company manufactures luxury touring bikes, classic-styled motorcycles and powerful inter-state cruisers, among several others.