Auto Monitor
13 MAY 2013
NEWS
18
Cummins opens its second Oerlikon’s worldwide CEO to be based in India power generation plant New plant to enhance export capabilities.
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eriberto Diarte, global Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of O er l i kon Drive Systems is now based in and will operate from New Delhi, India. The move of the worldwide CEO follows Oerlikon’s thrust on Asia as a key market for drive systems. Heriberto Diarte (born 1967 with dual Mexican and French nationality) joined Oerlikon
in December, 2012. Diarte has held executive positions in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa and brings with him global business experience. His last assignment was as Managing Director at Alstom Transport, a Paris-based high-tech industrial company in the power generation and distribution, and rail sectors. Heriberto holds a MBA from Stanford University and a MPA from Harvard. India is already a key market for the drive systems segment, and an important part of Oerlikon’s growth strategy and planned investments. Commenting on the move, Khurshed Thanawalla, Country Representative, Oerlikon India, said, “India is key to Oerlikon’s ambitious growth plans, and the relocation of one of Drive Systems’ CEO is reflective of this. India is important as a market as well as a manufacturing hub for drive systems and we would benefit from Heriberto Diarte being based out of India”.
New plant to enhance export capabilities.
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ummins Group has opened a new plant for manufacturing low horsepower generator sets in the SEZ at the Cummins Megasite in Phaltan. This new unit enhances the company’s ability to produce generators for international markets in Asia, China, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. “Our businesses in India have been growing significantly over the last decade and we expect this positive trend to continue in the future. Demand for exports will increase substantially with our cost-competitive generators and as markets improve,” said Anant J. Talaulicar, Managing Director - Cummins Group in India. “The growing investment towards building capacities in India reinforces our confidence in the talent we have, our relatively low cost position and world class quality.” The new plant, built with an investment of $17.5 million, spans 36 acres, and will manufacture
Continental produces fuel pumps locally in India
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elivering on its commitment to localise its offerings for the market, Continental Automotive Systems India Ltd. have announced that its Business Unit Fuel Supply has started delivery of a locally produced in-tank fuel pump for the compact car segment at its Pune facility, which was inaugurated in June 2012. “We are constantly adapting to the growing market in India. Now the complete production of fuel delivery modules in India is possible, which should give us the competitive edge,” said Dr. Markus Distelhoff, Head of the global Business Unit. The pump has been assembled in a clean room environment, with rigorous pre-launch validation testing
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in Continental’s recently inaugurated test and validation lab in Bangalore. While a localised pump is ideal for the compact entry-level passenger car segment, further deployment for the two-wheeler market is being considered. Continental has invested approximately two million euros to bring this project to realization. The company has already delivered the first batch of fuel pumps to a customer and is currently in the process of expanding the scope of this localization program to other customer lines including both gasoline and diesel gerotor pumps. Anurag Garg, head of Continental’s Pune location, said, “In 2012, we inaugurated product lines for fuel rail assem-
The company has delivered the first batch of fuel pumps and is in the process of expanding the scope of this localization program. blies and fuel pumps at our Pune facility. Additionally, we set up a test and validation lab in Bangalore that ensures local testing infrastructure and competence. We are now ready with our first localised pump for the compact passenger car segment. We are committed to providing market specific, relevant offerings to our local customers in India and are making steady progress on this front.”
open and enclosed low kilowatt generator sets. The plant will also add the capacity to manufacture an additional 23,000 units per year, in the initial phase, to the company’s existing capacity of 38,000 units at its plant in Pirangut. The first plant of the Power Generation Business was commissioned in Pirangut in 2008 to manufacture generator sets of 7.5-160 kVA for both the domestic and overseas markets. Tony Satterthwaite, President, Power Generation Business and Vice President, Cummins Inc., who is responsible for Cummins’ global power generation operations added, “We are thrilled to expand our capabilities in India. Our growth in India allows us to meet future demands of our customers throughout the world. Just as importantly, as Cummins expands in India, it means we are providing good jobs for local families and making a positive investment in the community.”
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Raring to go a centralized training cell in Surat so dealer management is a fully trained and guided force. Through our driver training program we must have trained some 7,000 drivers till now. Every dealership of ours now has a driver trainer to correct bad driving habits. AMW made Indian motorsport history by participating in a desert rally. Will you continue to take part in such rallies? It was an opportunity to showcase the prowess of our vehicles in a cross-country rally. Fortunately, we completed the rally. There were initial doubts about putting our truck through the desert run, because if it got stuck in the sand we would have unnecessarily come under negative media glare. But luckily we got away. If there is an opportunity we would to take part in such events. But that will be on the sidelines as the bigger goal is to address a larger group of customers.
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On the anvil competitive. Even as we develop our commercial vehicle range, we are looking to have our complete range of two, three, four and six cylinder gensets in the market and it would be made available through our 65-odd dealers,” said Rajesh Warke, General Manager - Engine Business, Cooper Corporation. He added that the major share of engines would be made available for the company’s commercial vehicle range, even as the company is also in talks with commercial vehicle manufacturers for engine sourcing agreements. The company recently launched its three-cylinder 62.5 KVA and 82.5 KVA generators under the brand name ‘Cooper ECOPACK’ at the Power Gen Exhibition in Mumbai. The gensets have been developed in technical collaboration with Ricardo, UK, and meet US and European emission norms. The company officials pointed out that the cost of running gensets has been increasing in recent years as the government gradually reduces diesel subsidies. This would lead to demand for fuel efficient gensets that are environment-friendly and compact. The newly launched genset range is powered by a Cooper three cylinder engine with four valves per cylinder, a centrally placed injector with a peak firing pressure of up to 210 bar. It is equipped with built-in lube oil cooler, hydraulic tappets with roller follower, and cylinder head cast in compacted graphite iron (CGI). The new genset range is priced between `3.5-5 lakh depending on its configuration. Cooper has nine production lines in Satara, Maharashtra and employs over 2,000 people. It supplies engine components to all leading engine manufacturers in India and globally.
GM eyeing idea of selling ads for your infotainment system
esides older, established, and affluent, the other key demographic automakers are going after these days – with a vengeance – is young people. So what’s General Motors doing to change with the times, be down with the young folk, and make more money in the longrun? Focus on technology, namely its infotainment software. Starting for the 2015 model year, GM says it will have mobile internet in many of its vehicles, allowing passengers in the back seat to stream videos and generally keep themselves more connected. That should make all of the cool kids want a new Chevy Sonic. What’s more is GM’s ability to
use its mobile internet service, bundled with OnStar, to run advertising. “For example, what happens if when the logo shows on your screen, it says ‘brought to you by Allstate’?” GM CEO Dan Akerson said. As a guy in Generation Y, our own Jason Davis weighed in on the subject: “My line of thinking may be different than our audience, but I would in no way put up with ads on infotainment. It’s one reason why I don’t listen to FM. If the vehicle I was considering could not be optioned without the ads, then I would go to another brand. Without hesitation, without a test drive.” Akerson apparently hasn’t listened to the Facebook Generation
with much attention. We know GM hasn’t. Young people don’t want ads for insurance, credit cards, or medicines. The latest generation has thrived on a feeling of independence. Meanwhile, advertisers with any sense have created targeted marketing that milks those users for every last penny they have to buy something you know they already like. That’s why Facebook wants you to fill out as many statuses, cities you’ve visited, likes, and dislikes as possible. It sells that information to advertisers in what is the most targeted marketing of any company in the world.
We don’t want to be told what to like. GM says it will earn about $20
for each customer who has signed up for internet service. OnStar already generates $1.5 billion in annual revenue. Some analysts agree with us in saying that GM may alienate potential customers with advertising, but the risk may be outweighed by the reward. Everyone wants to be connected, and some estimates say that most cars will have mobile internet in them by the end of the decade,
allowing for faster infotainment software updates. “We do want to change [OnStar] from primarily a safety and security business to one that is much more feature-rich,” Akerson said. But is it worth losing a generation of shoppers again who GM is just starting to get back? Source: blogs.automotive.com