Motown India June 2013

MOTOWN INDIA Vol 3 / Issue 9 june 2013 www.motownindia.com

Motown Vol-3 • Issue-9 • June 2013 • 100

india

The pulse of the automotive industry

SAME Deutz-Fahr Getting ready for the Big Leap

Bhanu Sharma, Managing Director and CEO, SAME Deutz-Fahr India (P) Ltd.

Green Special Pages 45-76

RNI No DEL ENG/2010/34562

Hella India Pages 26-29

Mercedes-benz a-class

Yamaha Ray Z scooter

eaton supercharger

mi Editor’s note

The June 2013 issue of Motown India magazine is a ‘Green Special’. The issue takes a holistic view of the subject and delves upon the different aspects of the green world that is associated with automobiles. The word ‘Green’ has several connotations. It could be a green car that pollutes less or does not pollute at all (electric, for example). Or it could be an automobile plant that uses solar panels to conserve energy or it could be a vehicles running on bio fuels or CNG. The exhaustive report has details from the policy front to product front. In India only two companies have actually ventured into the green space with their electric vehicles- Mahindra Reva with its e2o and Hero Eco with its electric scooters and bicycles.

The cover story is on the Same Deutz-Fahr group of Italy. This group is getting ready to get aggressive in the Indian tractor space. Till now it’s been busy making and exporting tractors in the range of 40HP and above.

Now it has plans to target the sub 40HP segment in the country. The group has some famous brands under its belt that include the likes of Deutz-Fahr of Germany, Lamborghini of Italy, Switzerland’s Hurlimann and Gregoire of France. The group also has a joint venture with Changlin of China.

SAME Deutz-Fahr’s journey into India began in 1997 when it entered into a licensing arrangement with the Greaves Group. A 50:50 JV was formed in 1999. Later it acquired a full stake in this JV. The report is based on an extensive interview with Bhanu Sharma, MD and CEO of SDF India (P) Ltd.

P. Tharyan

Editor Punnoose Tharyan Editorial Advisors Salil Sharma, Alexander T., Annie Jacob -------------------------Contact For editorial editorial@motownindia.com For advertising sales@motownindia.com +91-9958125645, +91-9911729429 For subscription subscription@motownindia.com --------------------------

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Editorial Office 145 B /9,First Floor, Kishangarh, Opp. CNI Church, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110070, Tel: 011-26122758/59, Tele Fax: 011-26122757 -------------------------Distributed By Central News Agency, New Delhi -------------------------EDITORIAL CONTENT The publisher makes every effort to ensure that the contents in the magazine are correct. However, he can accept

no responsibility for any effects from errors or omissions. Any unauthorised reproduction of Motown India content is strictly forbidden.

-------------------------Motown India is printed, published, edited and owned by Punnoose Tharyan and published from 4058 / D-4, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070. Printed at Pearl Printers, 52, DSIDC Shed, Okhla, Phase 1, New Delhi. This issue of Motown India magazine contains 100 pages including both covers.

June 2013 / 3

Contents

24. Daimler’s Mitsubishi FUSO for exports from India Daimler India, which has earmarked its Chennai truck plant a key production hub for Asia and Africa markets under its Asia business model strategy, will produce Mitsubishi FUSO Truck and Bus Corporation’s (MFTBC) range of trucks at its Chennai facility for overseas markets. The 100pc India subsidiary of Stuttgart-based Daimler AG will be rolling out the Japanese-origin CVs along with BharatBenz range of trucks.

30. Same Deutz-Fahr : Getting ready for the big leap

26. Hella India on an electronic drive; To pump in 221 crore for expansion Formerly known as Hella India Electronics (HIE), HIA has an aggressive growth strategy with plans to harness its global technologies and customise them for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in India.

If you think it’s only German car majors like Mercedes Benz, Audi and BMW which are bringing in more affordable vehicles into India without compromising on technology, safety and styling, you are wrong! There’s another German brand Deutz-Fahr, a global tractor major, that is planning to enter the Indian sub 40HP tractor segment with its technologically savvy and modern products.

45. Green and the art of reducing carbon footprint Green is not just a colour today. It is a word that denotes efficiency, conservation, preservation and safety. The world can only be safe if everything around us has an element of green in it. Whether it is technology, products, machinery, processes or merely our physical surroundings, without going green, our progress would be stifled. For the automotive world, it’s a word that in essence means “reducing the carbon footprint”.

6 / June 2013

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Candid views

The Cancer of Corruption Salil Sharma, Partner, Kapur Sharma & Co., www.kapursharma.com

I

t is surprising that in a country where cricket is played, followed and watched as a religion, there is no outcry by the public when the blasphemy of match fixing has been unearthed. It is obvious that some of the players have corrupted their religion for huge material gains not caring for the sentiments of the viewing public which is responsible for giving them the iconic status and disproportionately high remuneration for playing the game.

The operative word is ‘corrupted’ in the previous sentence. How many of us have given a thought to the fact that corruption is an accepted part of the moral fabric of our country?

The answer to this question will also give you a clue to the poser in the first sentence. Corruption has become so much a part and parcel of our daily existence that we do not feel any sense of strong indignation when we come across it both in our day to day life as well as at special occasions. If we are caught jumping a red light, parking in a prohibited place, or committing any other petty crime, we are very clear that it is no big deal as we will pay a small bribe to the policeman if we are caught.

We compound this crime by doing it openly in front of our children who would also behave likewise when

8 / June 2013

faced with a similar predicament. In this way we not only proliferate this habit but also perpetuate it.

The corruption which is omnipresent in the Indian society is non-existent in developed countries like USA, UK, Germany or for that matter in any of the other European countries. The reason is that since ages these societies had decided that corrupt practices are not acceptable and therefore came down heavily on persons found guilty of indulging in it. This is in sharp contrast to India where the society turns a Nelson’s eye towards such activity and hence there is no question of any punishment. The fall in our national character is not a recent happening and can be traced back to an incident 255 years back. I am referring to the Battle of Plassey which is accepted by most historians as a pivotal battle which enabled the British to establish its supremacy in not only India but over complete South Asia. The main protagonists of this battle were Robert Clive, Nawab Siraj-ud-daulah and Mir Jaffer. The British were aware of the formidable strength of their rival and found a way to weaken him by playing on the weakness of the character of his trusted general.

Robert Clive opened negotiations with Mir Jaffer who along with four other important members of Nawab Siraj-ud-daulah’s court agreed to

betray their master in the battle field in exchange of the promise to be given control of Nawab’s Kingdom once the war was over. The British got their pound of flesh in terms of a subservient Bengal and huge financial gains which they used to establish their supremacy in the region. This was also the stepping stone for the British Empire in India.

The moral of the story is that for petty personal gains an Indian citizen handed over the country to foreign rule. This chink in Indian character is still found in all walks of life.

The top cricket administrator has the audacity to obstinately hang on to his seat of authority despite his son-in-law being in jail for charges of being party to betting and under suspicion of match fixing. The other members of the board who can oust him are more concerned with how they can install their own candidate as President by capitalising on this incident. The public is willing to throng the stadium paying through their nose to watch their favorite cricketers play but the same public does not feel cheated enough to hold candle marches which would create the requisite political pressure to cleanse the cricketing administration and game in the country. It is high time that things change.

(Views expressed by the author are personal)

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Motown india highlights

BorgWarner expands JLR cooperation

BorgWarner has announced that it will provide its turbocharging technologies for Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR’s) new family of four-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines, expected to launch in 2015. To support JLR’s new Engine Manufacturing Centre near Wolverhampton, BorgWarner plans to expand on its existing production lines and build a new engineering centre in Bradford, United Kingdom. In addition, BorgWarner is strengthening its close collaboration with the nearby University of Huddersfield by establishing a master’s degree programme in turbocharger engineering. “With our investment in local production and testing, BorgWarner will provide Jaguar Land Rover with fast-tomarket, high-quality advanced technologies adapted to their specific needs,” said Frederic Lissalde, President and General Manager, BorgWarner Turbo Systems, adding, “BorgWarner’s investment in innovation will also help support the local economy with highly skilled engineering and manufacturing jobs, and our increased collaboration with the university will help develop the talent needed to drive turbocharging advancements for the future.”

10 / June 2013

Mercedes Benz A-Class for 21.93 lakh Mercedes Benz India has announced its foray into the luxury hatchback space by launching the A-Class model in two engine variants, one in petrol and the other in diesel.

While the A-Class A180 CDI Diesel variant is priced at 21.93 lakh, the petrol-powered A-Class A180 Sport model is available at 22.73 lakh.

This new car will be assembled at the company’s Chakan factory and will be following the Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits. The car is based on Mercedes Benz’s MFA platform that underpins all entry level cars from the Mercedes Benz range, including the B-Class and the upcoming CLA sedan and GLA crossover.

Eberhard Kern, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India commented, “With the new A-Class Mercedes-Benz now pioneers the compact luxury segment in India which reflects the changing customer trend of compact being equated to cool and trendy. The A-Class embodies the changing preference of the youth in today’s social milieu who increasingly prefer compact luxury. We are confident that the dynamic design and class leading performance is sure to make the A-Class the choice of the new generation.”

The car’s petrol variant is powered by a 1.6 litre-4 cylinder turbo petrol

engine that develops 122bhp of maximum power and 200Nm of peak torque. The 2.2 litre-4 cylinder turbodiesel engine develops 108Bhp of peak power and 250Nm of peak torque. Both the engines are mated to a 7-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox with steering mounted paddle shifters. The A-Class’ petrol variant delivers 15.5kmpl while the diesel variant delivers 20.06Kmpl, both figures ARAI certified. The A-Class features the ECO start/stop function as standard.

Some of the prominent safety features on the A-Class hatchback are 7 airbags, Electronic Stability Program, Anti Slip Regulation, Brake Assist, ABS, EBD, Adaptive Brake Lights, Hill Start Assist, Attention Assist, Electric Parking Brake and Tyre Pressure loss warning system.

The A-Class is also equipped with central controller which has a 4.7cm colour display, iPhone compatible USB, AUX-in, Bluetooth, audio streaming, MP3/WMA/AAC, CD cover display. The A 180 CDI will have the Style Package that includes Sport seats, matrix look trim and twin 5 spoke 17” alloys.

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Secondary Air Injection Valves Roll over valve

Beyond Limits

Championing a thrilling cause, the Polaris RZR S 800

I

n the organised world of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), there is only one name in India that continues to set new benchmarks --- Polaris India.

Polaris India, a subsidiary of US based Polaris Inc, currently not only offers a wide range of ATVs to Indian customers, but has also dedicated sales and service outlets spread across the country.

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Even while dealers are selling these vehicles to off-road enthusiasts, Polaris vehicles have spawned a business opportunity among young entrepreneurs in different parts of the country. They have joined hands with Polaris to set up business models that are not only lucrative but also fun! There are now 16 Polaris Experience Zone spread across the nation.

Among the various products offered by Polaris India, it is the RZR S800 that can be considered the most popular. In the words of Pankaj Dubey, Managing Director of Polaris India, “Our RZR S800 is probably the most attractive from the excitement perspective. We call that the ‘gulab jamun’ of Polaris. It’s an amazing vehicle.” The RZR S 800 is the only sports side x side that can virtually

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Beyond Limits

Pankaj Dubey, Managing Director, Polaris India go everywhere, whether it is the sandy desert, slushy terrains or steep trails. Having won some of the most gruelling races in India, this vehicle has earned a reputation as a vehicle that ‘races everywhere and wins everywhere’.

POLARIS RZR S 800, A TRUE CHAMPION So what makes the RZR S 800 a champion? Besides its popularity, this Polaris vehicle has, off late, been winning accolades for the company in several off road championship events in the country. It has emerged a winner in races like the Desert Storm Rally and the Raid de Himalayas. In the Desert Storm Rally, the Polaris RZR S800 left its nearest competitor one hour and 40 minutes behind! This amply demonstrates the versatility of the vehicle!

The victory of the RZR S 800 at these rallies also underlines the sound technical features of the product. The vehicle has a high power to weight ratio for best trail performance (5.6 hp/45kg), best

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acceleration in trail (0 to 56kmph in 3.8secs) and low centre of gravity for stability and razor sharp performance. It’s an on-demand, true all-wheel drive(AWD) vehicle that has an independent suspension with high ground clearance. It also has a certified Roll Over Protection System (ROPS) for unmatched safety.

Ever since its inception, Polaris India has launched a multitude of products covering various applications in India. The range includes ATV, Ranger and RZR sideby-side vehicles and snowmobiles.

One of the most popular models, the RZR S 800 is priced at 12,65,578 (ex Delhi showroom).

According to Dubey, even though Polaris vehicles are not road legal, they continue to become popular in the country because of the changing lifestyle and increased inclination of people towards sports and adventure. “The last few years have recorded a surge in enthusiasm for off-road experiences and growth in racing culture. Also there are very high-end racing events like Raid de Himalayas, Desert Storm, Dakshin

Dare etc which have acted as a catalyst to promote off road racing in India,” he says.

Even though the specialised automobile market is at a nascent stage in India, Polaris India has ensured that their customers are assured of sales and service all over the country. The company has 14 dealers spread across the nation. These dealers have 3S (Sales, service, spare parts) facility to help in serving the customers better.

“Polaris vehicles are very sturdy as proved in the desert storm rally, the vehicles did not require any kind of servicing or modification during the continuous stretch of five days of the Rally unlike most of the participating vehicles. The Polaris vehicles truly stood the test of unmatched performance, safety & reliability,” notes Dubey.

Beyond the adventurous trails of off road events, the RZR S 800 is also a vehicle that is a perfect fit for use in the Indian defence sector where it can strengthen the security of the country’s tough and inhospitable borders. It is the ideal solution for use by armed forces in difficult off-road terrains. Whether these are sandy deserts, dense forests, snow covered mountains, hills, marshy lands, rocky lands, beaches or coastlines; the Polaris RZR S 800 provides the perfect solution for mobility.

June 2013 / 13

Motown india highlights

HMSI inaugurates its third unit at Karnataka Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) has inaugurated its third plant at Narsapura Area, District Kolar in Karnataka, which is around 52km from Bangalore. Spread across 96 acres, the new plant employs approximately 4,500 associates and entails a total investment of 1,350 crore. Present at the inauguration ceremony were K. H. Muniyappa, Union Minister of State (Independent charge) of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Yoshiyuki Matsumoto, Managing Officer, Honda Motor Co. and Representative of Development, Purchasing and Manufacturing, Asia Oceania Region, Keita Muramatsu, President and CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd) and Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. Starting operations from this June, Honda’s new plant shall have 12 lakh units production capacity in Phase I.

Corrigendum In our April 2013 issue of Motown India magazine, the designation of Shinji Aoyama, Operating Officer and General Manager, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., was incorrectly mentioned.

The error is regretted.

14 / June 2013

Hero MotoCorp enters Central America

Hero MotoCorp Ltd. (HMCL), has announced the launch of brand ‘Hero’ and its range of two-wheelers in Guatemala City, El Salvador and Honduras, marking the iconic Indian brand’s first foray into new international markets. The range of Hero two-wheelers being launched in these markets includes bikes across various segments such as Hunk, Karizma, Glamour, HF Dawn, Splendor NXG, Super Splendor and Achiever.

Hero MotoCorp also announced a partnership with the reputed Indy Motos Group of Guatemala to bring its two-wheelers to these markets.

Under the alliance, Indy Motos has been appointed as the authorised distributor of Hero MotoCorp range of two-wheelers in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. These products will be distributed through a network of outlets spread across these countries, with more new outlets to be added subsequently.

Pawan Munjal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, launched brand ‘Hero’ here in the presence of Danello

Siekavizza, Director, Indy Motos.

Speaking on the occasion, Munjal noted, “This launch is a significant milestone for us considering this is the first of the new international markets where we are starting our operations. It is indicative of the significant role that markets in Central America and Latin America will play in our global expansion plans. It gives me immense pleasure to announce Indy Motos as our partner for Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. I am sure that their rich experience in this market and knowledge of the local customer will go a long way towards further strengthening our business here.”

“Our vision is to provide convenient, fuel-efficient mobility to every customer in this market, and with our wide range of products, we are committed to serving two-wheeler customers across this region. We are confident our products will appeal to customers across a wide price spectrum and create a new benchmark for mass mobility in the continent,” Munjal added.

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Takashi Kikuchi appointed as Isuzu Motors India MD Isuzu Motors India appointed Takashi Kikuchi as the Managing Director.

He will be based in Isuzu Motors India’s corporate headquarters in Chennai and will be responsible for overall operations and growth of Isuzu Motors India. In his earlier roles at Isuzu, he has managed company’s businesses in Asia as President of Isuzu Motors Asia and Thailand as President of Isuzu Motors Thailand. The company saw tremendous growth in these markets under his leadership.

Kikuchi is well respected for his extensive skills and knowledge across various management functions including Sales, Planning, Finance and General Management.

Kikuchi brings with him a diversified experience, having worked for over 30 years with Isuzu, holding a host of senior leadership positions. He has a proven track record, playing a crucial role in company’s global strategy and scaling operations in international markets.

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Sandhar allies with Taiwan’s Lyssen Enterprises

Sandhar Technologies Ltd. has signed a technical collaboration with Lyssen Enterprises Co. Ltd. for manufacturing instrument cluster, case gauges and senders. Sandhar will put up production lines for instrument clusters and senders initially at its Gurgaon plant; then go on to add other locations.

“This relationship with Lyssen will help us to offer latest technology and aesthetics to the automotive industry,” said Jayant Davar, Founder, Co-Chairman and Managing Director of Sandhar Group.

Lyssen Enterprises founded in 1973 and located in Taoyuan, Taiwan specialises in customised instrument cluster, case gauges and senders for automotive, agricultural machinery, generators, ATV, EV, marine and special purpose

vehicles. Lyssen’s R&D team has excelled in developing a wide range of proprietary technologies and provides consultancy services in specialised areas of instrumentation industry.

Lyssen has obtained over 100 patents in the Taiwan, US, Germany, China, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Japan and UK. Paul Liu, Chairman, Lyssen Enterprises Co. Ltd. mentioned, “We have been working with customers in Europe, US, Japan, China and Taiwan. But somehow we had not reached India. This relationship with Sandhar will help us to bring our expertise into India. We look forward to working with the Indian OEMs through our relationship with Sandhar and see our designs on Indian vehicles.”

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Motown india highlights

Valvoline Cummins opens new unit Mumbai Valvoline Cummins Limited, a joint venture formed in 1998 between Ashland Inc. and Cummins India Limited, has announced the opening of a new manufacturing and packaging plant in the Ambernath Industrial Area, near Mumbai. The new facility will produce Valvoline automotive lubricants for the consumer, industrial and heavyduty markets. Built on 10 acres, the new US$ 30 million plant expands the Valvoline brand’s in-house production capabilities.

It also enhances the brand’s ability to deliver fast, localised technical services to customers in India, South Asia and other nearby countries. Initial production capacity of the plant is 120 million liters per year with future capacity of 150 million liters. Current blend lines include simultaneous measuring and blending as well as automated batch blending and oil products produced include engine, gear, hydraulic, industrial and transmission. “Western India is a manufacturing hub that has the largest consumption of industrial lubricants among all regions,” said Sam Mitchell, president of Ashland Consumer Markets, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc. and the producer of Valvoline branded products. Valvoline Cummins Limited is one of India’s fastest growing lubricant marketers and producers of quality branded automotive and industrial products.

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China’s Premier visits Tata Group site in Mumbai

The Tata group hosted His Excellency Li Keqiang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, at the global software development centre of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in Mumbai, during the Premier’s short visit to the city.

During his visit to the centre the Premier saw exhibits of the Range Rover Evoque and Jaguar XF models. The Evoque is the smallest, lightest and the most fuel efficient Range Rover ever produced. The multi award winning Jaguar XF is a sporting sedan that is locally assembled in Pune.

Jaguar Land Rover had formed a joint venture agreement with China’s

Chery Automobile in November 2012. The total investment in the joint venture is RMB 10.9 billion, which includes a manufacturing plant in Changshu. This will become Jaguar Land Rover’s first all-new manufacturing facility outside of the UK. During 2012, China became Jaguar Land Rover’s largest global market and the country continues to be at the centre of its global strategy. In addition to providing great new products, over the past three years, Jaguar Land Rover has been investing in sales and aftersales infrastructure to develop an extensive dealer network in China with 163 authorised dealers.

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sales@bigboytoyz.in

2011 Porsche Carrera S

2010 Range Rover Sport (Supercharged)

2012 Rolls Royce Ghost

2012 Fiat Ducato Motorhome

Motown india highlights

Govt. allows new category for Quadricycles A high-level meeting held under the chairmanship of Vijay Chhibber, Secretary, Road Transport & Highways, to discuss the issue of amendment of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) has proposed to include Quadricycles as an additional category of vehicle, to be manufactured and registered in the country. This clears the way for the Bajaj RE60, a four wheeler/ quadricycle aimed at urban commuting. The meeting was attended by representatives of Ministry of Heavy Industries, ARAI, and iCAT. “These vehicles will be safer than the 3-wheeler as they will be 4-wheeler vehicles with fully enclosed body structure with hard top and doors. It was also decided that this category of vehicle be recommended for registration under commercial transport category for intra-city movement within the municipal limits only. For identification, symbol “Q” will be prominently displayed on the body of these quadricycles. It was also proposed that such vehicles be permitted to be driven only by licensed driver, after due registration.

The Quadricycle is expected to be a substantial upgrade over the 3-wheeler auto which currently provides for the last mile connectivity in most urban areas of the country,” the Ministry of Road Transport mentioned in an official statement.

20 / June 2013

Mahindra launches Bolero Maxi Truck Plus Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. has announced the launch of the ‘Bolero Maxi Truck Plus’ (BMT Plus), the ‘Perfectly Styled City Pick-up’ at a price of 4.33 lakh (BSIII) exshowroom Thane and 4.43 lakh (BS-IV), ex-showroom Mumbai excluding Octroi. The Bolero Maxi Truck Plus has been developed on Mahindra’s rugged Bolero Pick-up platform and is conceptualised to cater to the needs of urban goods transportation. It is powered by Mahindra’s proven 2523cc fuel efficient common-rail engine, which delivers 17.7kmpl mileage.

“To cater to the challenges of transportation in urban areas, the Bolero Maxi Truck Plus has been designed to easily manoeuver through heavy traffic, narrow city lanes and numerous flyovers and still gives a best in class fuel economy. This is enhanced by a higher load carrying capacity and improved safety measures for customers, which Mahindra focuses on as a customer centric

organisation,” the company said in a statement.

The statement also added, “The vehicle’s front nose design provides safety in bumper-to-bumper traffic, while its lower turning radius coupled with power steering allows for better manoeuverability while transporting cargo through narrow city roads. The presence of a digital immobiliser also helps prevent vehicle theft. The vehicle’s comfortable cabin makes it an ideal stylish urban commercial pick-up.”

Pravin Shah, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., noted, “The Indian pick-up market is growing more rapidly than ever before and Mahindra has been leading this category (2–3.5 Ton GVW LCV segment) with a 54pc market share during FY 2012 -13. We have continuously updated and evolved our products to deliver greater value to our customers while retaining the basic tough and rugged DNA associated with Mahindra vehicles.”

Mahindra launches H-Series Xylo with mHawk engine M&M Ltd. has announced the launch of the new H-Series Xylo, powered by the refined and world class mHawk engine. It offers a range of variants starting with the H4 (with ABS option), H8 (with ABS and Airbag option) and fully loaded

feature packed H9 version which includes several unique features like Voice Command Technology (VCT), Cruise Control, Digital Drive Assist System, etc. The new H-Series starts at an price of 8.23 lakh (ex showroom Mumbai, BS-IV variant).

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Bosch India’s new electrical drive unit established in Chennai

Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services in the automotive technology space, has announced the inauguration of its new plant at Oragadam, Chennai.

Built with an investment of 35 crore on a total premises area of 40,000 square meters, the plant with a builtup area of 9,000 square meters will replace the previously rented facility to meet growing demand.

The plant was officially inaugurated by Manfred Baden, Executive Vice President-Sales, Bosch Electrical Drives; Chairman, Bosch Electrical Drives India Pvt. Ltd at an event presided over by Chief Guest Seung Hyun Hur, Executive Director, Procurement Division, Hyundai Motor India Limited and Dr. Steffen Berns, President, Bosch Group India; Managing Director, Bosch Ltd. The event was also attended by Soumitra Bhattacharya, Joint Managing Director, Bosch Ltd; Subramanya Ullal, Managing Director, Bosch Electrical Drives India Pvt. Ltd.; along with other senior company officials.

“This move to set up our own Bosch Plant in Tamil Nadu, further underlines our commitment to the

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Indian automotive market. With the location in Chennai, we have expanded our presence beyond our existing automotive component manufacturing sites in Bangalore, Nashik, Chakan and Jaipur. From the new plant, we will support all Indian automotive customers with our innovative products from electrical drives,” said Dr. Berns.

The facility in Chennai with its state-of-the-art equipment encompasses design, development and testing along with scalable production of actuation, thermal and wiper systems for the Indian automotive market.

Sharing his views Manfred Baden, said “We want to use our global expertise and experience to provide customised solutions for the Indian market and therefore consolidate our global market position. This new facility is not just a landmark for Bosch Electrical Drives India alone but a landmark for Bosch.”

Adding further, Ullal said, “The growing demand is encouraging and we shall strive to cater to this demand with best in the industry solutions.”

SKSL appoints Kiyozumi Kamiki as Deputy MD Sona Koyo Steering Systems Limited (SKSSL) the flagship company of the Sona Group, which is a leading manufacturer of components for the automotive industry today, announced the appointment of Kiyozumi Kamiki as Deputy Managing Director in the board meeting held at Gurgaon on 15th May’2013.

In his new role Kamiki will be looking after the manufacturing operations of the company across 6 plants that caters to a large customer base in International and domestic markets.

Kamiki, having worked across Japanese and USA plants, brings with him the rich experience in manufacturing and quality management from JTEKT Corporation which is globally the market leader in steering system industry. Sona Koyo has technical and financial collaboration with JTEKT Corporation, Japan (formally known as Koyo Seiko Co. Ltd.), the largest producer of passenger vehicles’ steering systems in the world.

In his current role as Deputy Managing Director at SKSSL, he will be focusing on Quality/ Assurance/Productivity / Delivery and Cost of operations that will help drive SKSSL to strengthen its global footprints and ensure sustenance of its leadership in the automotive industry. Chairman of SKSSL, Dr. Surinder Kapur expressed his pleasure to have Kamiki appointed on the board.

June 2013 / 21

Motown india highlights

Yamaha launches male-specific Ray Z scooter in India Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd. announced the launch of its second scooter offering for the Indian market – “Ray Z” in Goa. Priced at 48,555, this model is developed to target young male users in the age group of 16-22 years. Mechanically, the scooter remains unchanged from the existing ray (female – centric scooter) and continues to be powered by the same air-cooled 4-stroke 113cc motor that has a max power output of 7bhp and is mated to a CVT (Continuous Variable Transmission).

The scooter features smokedfinish visor, aluminum rear wingshaped tandem rider grab-bars, new instrument panel with a carbon fibre patterned background, carbon fibre patterned seat cover material,

22 / June 2013

and dynamic coloring and graphics.

The occasion was marked

by Hiroyuki Yanagi, President and CEO, Yamaha Motor Co., Hiroyuki Yanagi, President and CEO, Yamaha Motor Co., Japan who Japan with officials of Yamaha India took the opportunity to announce and intense excitement) that exceeds and explain the new brand slogan the expectations of our customers “Revs your Heart”. Yamaha’s new across the globe.” brand statement “Empowered Since Ray’s release last year, the by a passion for innovation, we company has clocked 70,000 units create exceptional value and by the end of April 2013. experiences that enrich the lives The company also took the of our customers.” defines the opportunity to introduce two new commitment behind this new model variations in the Yamaha slogan.

SZ sport model series named the Explaining the concept “SZ-RR” and “SZ-S.” The SZ-RR is further, Yanagi said, “With defined by the sporty styling and this new brand slogan and look of quality in its exterior design brand statement as a guide, with special features like its smoked the entire Yamaha Motor windscreen, aluminum grab-bars Group will work together and 3D “SZ” emblem. The SZ-S to make advancements in features a simpler design in the fuel craftsmanship and marketing tank that creates a calmer, more that are unique to Yamaha, and composed impression that will also provide Kando (simultaneous be appreciated by all members of a family. feelings of deep satisfaction

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Motown india highlights

VECV expands Eicher’s footprint in Kathmandu VE Commercial Vehicles Limited (VECV) - a Volvo group and Eicher Motors JV, inaugurated its workshop for Eicher branded trucks and buses in Kathmandu to provide aftersales support for its rapidly growing customer base in Nepal. The new Eicher workshop and parts distribution centre is located in Gatthaghar, Kathmandu. The workshop is equipped with 12 bays spread over 90,000 square feet with modern tools and equipment.

The service personnel have been trained at the Eicher Competency Development Centre (CDC) in Pithampur, India. The central sales office of the dealership is well established in Gairidhara, Kathmandu.

At the inauguration, Vinod Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer, VECV commented “Nepal is an important market for VECV and would continue to play a critical role in our growth story. We are happy to witness the strong presence of Eicher brand in the country. With state of

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art technology, innovative design and engineering and best in class fuel efficient vehicles, Eicher branded trucks and buses would continue to meet the growing demand and contribute to the profitability of our valued consumers” Eicher branded trucks and buses are present in Nepal for over two decades and was the first CV player to introduce BSIII (Euro III equivalent) vehicles in the country.

Eicher vehicles are operating across all segments which include light, medium duty trucks and heavy duty trucks, and buses. With an extensive network of 18 service touchpoints and 80 spare parts outlets covering length and breadth of Nepal, Eicher would be continuously expanding its footprint to be close to its customers.

Johnson buys complete stake in TJC JV Johnson Controls, a global leader in automotive seat systems and components, has acquired full (100-percent) ownership of Tata Johnson Controls (TJC). The former joint venture between Tata Automotive Components (TACO) and Johnson Controls is a leading supplier of automotive seat systems and components in India, and is serving leading OEMs in India. The final transfer of the 50pc share held by TACO has taken place after completion of all formalities. Both parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price. Nearly 11 locations across India, including an engineering centre in Pune, and approximately 2,100 employees are associated with this transaction. Johnson Controls will leverage its automotive seating, electronics and interiors businesses for its India operations. India plays an important role within the company´s global engineering network and will continue to develop its engineering expertise at the new Technical Center in Pimpri. In addition Johnson Controls plans to expand its prototype and testing capability for the Indian region.

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Motown india highlights

Daimler’s Mitsubishi FUSO for exports from India Daimler India, which has earmarked its Chennai truck plant a key production hub for Asia and Africa markets under its Asia business model strategy, will produce Mitsubishi FUSO Truck and Bus Corporation’s (MFTBC) range of trucks at its Chennai facility for overseas markets. The 100pc India subsidiary of Stuttgart-based Daimler AG will be rolling out the Japanese-origin CVs along with BharatBenz range of trucks. The announcement marks yet another development that signals the emergence of Chennai operations as a key constituent in the German auto giant’s future growth map.

DICV has a 400 acre manufacturing facility at Oragadam near Chennai set up at a cost of 4,400 crore. Besides retailing BharatBenz range of trucks, Daimler handles production, marketing and sales of Mercedes-Benz Actros Trucks in India. Japan-headquartered MFTBC is part of the Daimler Trucks division of Daimler AG. The FUSO trucks range manufactured at DICV‘s Oragadam plant comprise 5 models spanning Medium/Heavy-duty (25 – 49 tonnes referred to as ‘FJ’, ‘FO’ and ‘FZ’) and Light/Medium-duty (9 – 16 tonnes referred to as ‘FA’ and ‘FI’).

These trucks will be exported and sold through the FUSO Network to 15 markets in Asia and Africa like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Mauritius and the Seychelles. The first launch markets will be Sri Lanka in June

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2013, followed by Bangladesh, Zambia, Kenya and Brunei later this year. Further markets are currently evaluated and will be communicated at a later time.

The statement further added, “Daimler will profit concretely from the strategic positioning of its subsidiaries Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV) headquartered in Chennai, India and Mitsubishi FUSO Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) in Kawasaki, Japan. With synergies from both companies, from the second quarter of 2013 Daimler is readying to make robust trucks in India under the established FUSO brand for sales in the price-intensive export markets in Asia and Africa. The extended commercial vehicles portfolio will be presented by Daimler shortly,” a company statement said.

The Asia Business Model will secure Daimler‘s leadership role in the Future Focus Markets and pull in further unit sales increases in markets like Indonesia, Taiwan and Malaysia. Thus, the Asian business will make a decisive contribution to the sales target of over 500,000 units by the year 2015 and more than 700,000 trucks in the year 2020.

“With the Asia Business Model we are bringing our operations to the next level in order to support our existing and new customers with the right products and the best service in Asia and Africa”, underscored Dr. Albert Kirchmann, President & CEO - MFTBC and Head of Daimler Trucks Asia. He added, “With the

united forces of MFTBC and DICV, we are effectively moving ahead of our competitors in terms of bringing concepts into reality. Daimler Trucks

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Motown india highlights

is already profiting from synergies between MFTBC and DICV in procurement and production, as well as in the product portfolio. I am already excited to being able to offer our customers an extended FUSO product portfolio of modern, robust and economical trucks soon, based on the established Daimler Trucks technical product platform.“

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Marc Llistosella, Managing Director and CEO - DICV, said: “We recently demonstrated the viability of our ‘Daimler Quality-Made in India’ product concept with our milestone of over 1,000 BharatBenz trucks sold within 3 months from its launch in late September 2012.

Now we are going another step forward. In our state-of-the-art

plant in Chennai we have begun production of BharatBenz and are ready to produce FUSO trucks under one roof. While we continue to focus on the Indian market with our BharatBenz vehicles, MFTBC will service the rising demand in the Asian and African regions with its portfolio of robust FUSO trucks from Chennai”.

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India Report

Hella India on an

electronic drive;

To pump in 221 crore for expansion Report: Avishek Banerjee, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

W

Dr. Naveen Gautam, Managing Director, Hella India Automotive Pvt. Ltd.

hen German car giants like VW, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, etc harp on the technical brilliance of its products in India, it automatically opens the doors for its suppliers to augment its manufacturing base as well as enhance its capabilities in the local market. One such leading supplier is Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. (“Hella�), which is an internationally operating German auto components maker with headquarters in Lippstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia. Already having a formidable presence in the lighting systems division with Hella India Lighting Ltd. (HIL), the European firm is now charting out a roadmap to gain a strategic foothold in the electronic systems division with Hella India Automotive Pvt. Ltd. (HIA). Formerly known as Hella India Electronics (HIE), HIA has an aggressive growth strategy with plans to harness its global technologies and customise them for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in India.

HIA has its design centre in Pune, engineering centre in Chennai and manufacturing unit in Dhankot (Haryana).

The 100pc subsidiary of Hella, which

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India Report

designs and manufactures innovative electronic products for the automotive and off-road vehicles, has earmarked 30 million Euros ( 221 crore approx.) for the next 5-6 years. The European behemoth has affirmed that it is betting big on the Indian automotive electronics market and is eyeing a CAGR of over 20pc in that space over the next three years. Contributing roughly around 15pc to the global auto electronics division of Hella, HIA is looking to ratchet it up further to 20pc by 2020.

And to make that possible, the firm has roped in Dr. Naveen Gautam, an expert in body electronics development with previous stint at Daimler Chrysler, to helm its Indian operations.

In an exclusive interaction with Motown India magazine, Dr. Naveen Gautam, Managing Director, Hella India Automotive Pvt. Ltd., stated, “When I was in

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Germany (with Daimler Chrysler), India was a happening place at that point of time. It was certainly a very important decision to move back here. For Hella too, there was a big pull for India considering its market growth and opportunities.

At that time, Hella India wanted to open a development centre at a new location in India. Moreover, they were looking for a local talent with an engineering background and a global outlook to oversee the Indian operations. Therefore, I took this opportunity.”

When asked about Hella’s plans for India, he mentioned, “So far we have invested 10 million Euros ( 74 crore approx.) and half of that amount has been deployed for plant and machinery and the remaining amount for building offices. This year itself we have invested 5 million Euros. We will be investing the similar amount on a year-on-year

basis for the next five-six years. This vindicates how instrumental will India be in contributing to our global operations. Even though the Indian automobile market has witnessed a little bit of downturn, it is still very favourable in the long term for us.

Apart from serving Indian OEMs like Tata, Mahindra, Maruti et al, we also intend to serve our international OEMs like VW, GM, Ford, here. For any company who is asking us to localise their products here, we are preparing ourselves for that.”

Hella India’s Dhankot plant has a current floor area of 46,614.339 sq metres and has nearly 800+ people on its rolls. The 30-year old plant has a manufacturing capacity of rolling out 10 million horns per annum and nearly 75pc of that is utilised now.

The Dhankot facility is also running an in-house Centre of Excellence (COE) wherein around 15 people are actively involved in the design and

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India Report

development of horns for domestic and global markets. The company claims to have 48pc market share of horns in the four-wheeler segment in India and also exports 3.75 million units to South Africa, Turkey, Korea, Europe, China and Singapore.

Apart from horn development and production, this plant also manufactures numerous electronic products like the Accelerator Pedal Sensors (APS), body actuators, central locking actuators headlamp levelling actuators, car body linear actuators, air temperature sensors, central locking actuators, switches and ECUs. Having a deep fascination with electronics engineering, Gautam further shared, “While production lines for assembly of electronics for the first level is already running at our manufacturing unit, an upgradation to the next level is on the anvil for producing body controllers, Remote Keyless Entry System (RKES) . We have already bagged a handful of orders from the OEMs and the new assembly line will go on stream by the last quarter of this calendar year. Additionally, we may also enhance the capacity for existing products like horns and APS.”

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Hella’s plant is also supplying imported vacuum pumps in limited numbers for the new Mahindra e2o EV. “We have already started selling vacuum pumps to Mahindra E2o which are currently being imported.

However, we are waiting for some future acquisitions. As soon as we hit the required critical volume, we will partially localise the production and beyond that, fully localise the same as well. Within 12 months we will successfully crack a deal with a few OEMs (both for petrol and diesel engines).”

The manufacturing facility also undertakes the testing, analysis, validation as well as development of horns, APS, HLAs, climate sensors etc. “We have engineering domains in most of the products that we are making and we are considering the same for vacuum pumps, remote keyless entry body actuators in the near term.”

Dr. Gautam has over 25 years of experience in academia and industry worldwide and was responsible for establishing a 33,913 sq feet Hella electronics development centre at Pune which was started in 2008 to cater R&D needs of Hella for developing local products for Indian automotive customers and supporting global development projects from India.

Having a workforce of nearly 200 boffins, the centre specialises in software development, hardware development mechanical development and testing for body control module portfolio (for customers based in European, Asian and the US markets), DC/DC converters, and fuel control modules (FCM), car access passive entry

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India Report

(CAPE)/ remote key entry (RKE), rain light sensor application, fuel control module (FCM), etc.

Dr. Gautam maintained HIA is actively zeroing in on the key megatrends present in the global automobile industry - the environment, safety and comfort and convenience. In order to tune in to these megatrends, Hella is actively considering developing and making products like Intelligent Battery Sensors (for cutting down fuel consumption), oil sensors, radarbased driver-assistance systems, central locking devices, headsup display, engine compartment actuators, radar-based cruise control, passive keyless entry, air quality sensors, rain, light and humidity sensors, energy management systems as well as electronics for Li-Ion-based battery management systems to name a few. “With the rising fuel prices and keeping in mind the cost sensitive Indian consumer, the company hopes that the demand for these electronic

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products exists here. Moreover, with the evolution of the car market in India, the consumers are also looking for value-for-money features. We are still in touch with the OEMs and awaiting orders. As soon as we have the volumes, we will align ourselves with the customers.

However, not all of them will be produced simultaneously. Based upon the technology roadmap, complexity and volumes, some of the products will be gradually localised,” clarified Dr. Gautam.

The Hella Group, which is better known for its lighting products, has three business divisions—lighting, electronics and aftermarket in the domestic and international markets.

Aiming to be a €10 billion ( 736,000 crore approx.) firm on a consolidated basis by 2020, it expects atleast 30pc contribution from the Asian market.

The Group, which posted €4.8 billion during 2011-12, earned €1.9 billion from the electronics division. HIA posted €30 million during the last fiscal and that translates to nearly

15pc to the global electronics arm of the Hella Group.

“Our first and foremost objective is to serve the German technology at the Indian price. So we would like to offer quality, reliability and technology coming out from our German experience in our product range to the Indian customers at the Indian price. They can then become a bit more competitive. We want to be one of the leading electronic component suppliers in India. We design our products according to the needs of the Indian customers.

Hella has an experience of over 50 years of its presence in Indian market as it entered into a JV with JMA Industries in the year 1959.

Hella India Automotive Pvt. Ltd. was established as a 100pc subsidiary of Hella KGaA Hueck & Co of Germany in 2005 by ending the JV Padmini Engg. Pvt. Ltd. Likewise, Hella India Lighting Ltd. was established as 81pc subsidiary of Hella KGaA Hueck & Co of Germany in 2005 by ending the JV JMA Industries.

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Cover Report

SAME Deutz-Fahr

Getting ready for the Big Leap Report P. Tharyan & Avishek Banerjee Photography Mohd. Nasir

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Cover Report

Bhanu Sharma, Managing Director and CEO, SAME Deutz-Fahr India (P) Ltd.

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I

f you think it’s only German car majors like Mercedes Benz, Audi and BMW which are bringing in more affordable vehicles into India without compromising on technology, safety and styling, you are wrong! There’s another German brand Deutz-Fahr, a global tractor major, that is planning to enter the Indian sub 40HP tractor segment with its technologically savvy and modern products.

Deutz-Fahr? Yes, it’s part of the SAME Deutz-Fahr (SDF) group headquartered in Italy which has been in India for a while and is more active in the 40HP to 80HP tractor segment. The SDF group has its origin in 1927 in Italy when Francesco and Eugenio Cassani built the world’s first diesel tractor.

In 1942, after many years in cutting edge diesel engine and engine pump design, Francesco Cassani founded SAME (Societa Accomandita Motori Endotermici). Subsequently in 1952 the company built the world’s first four-wheel drive tractor.

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Beginning 1973, the company began a spate of global acquisitions wherein it acquired the iconic Lamborghini tractor brand (it’s from the same family that continues to build the famous Lamborghini cars), followed by Switzerland’s Hurlimann tractor brand in 1979. The year 1995 saw the group acquiring the popular German tractor brand Deutz-Fahr.

In 2003 it had a controlling stake in Deutz-Fahr.

In 2011 the group acquired Gregoire of France, a company specialised in wine and olive harvesters and sprayers. The same year the group entered into a joint venture with Changlin of China.

SAME Deutz-Fahr’s journey into India began in 1997 when it entered into a licensing arrangement with the Greaves Group. A 50:50 joint venture was formed in 1999 as SAME Greaves Tractors. In 2002, the SDF Group acquired the entire stake of the Greaves Group in the JV that became SDF India, a fully owned subsidiary of the SDF Group. Post 2009 the company introduced the

German brand Detuz-Fahr in India.

THE ACTION BEGINS SAME Deutz-Fahr is now coming out

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Cover Report

with an India-specific 30hp tractor that will be making its debut here.

Developed at its Indian R&D centre at Chennai in collaboration with SDF’s centres in Italy and Germany, it

will be the cheapest and most fuelefficient tractor under Italian farm equipment maker’s global portfolio.

To be close to 90pc localised, the upcoming compact tractor will also

be exported from India to a number of developed and developing nations. Currently SDF India sells Agrolux and Agromaxx series of tractors under the Deutz-Fahr brand

A view of the plant in Ranipet

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in the 40-80 Horse Power (HP) range in two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive versions which are priced in the range of 4-12 lakh. The entry-level product is estimated to be priced around 3 lakh and will be catering to farmers who already own a tractor and intend to upgrade to a more efficient and feature-rich tractor.

“SAME Deutz-Fahr is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of tractors, diesel engines, combine harvesters and other farm machines.

After providing high-end tractors to our customers (farm owners), we are now downsizing and offering a made-for-India 30hp tractor which will definitely be a gamechanger for the company. Just like how global carmakers like Ford, General Motors became successful with the Figo and the Beat respectively, I am

34 / June 2013

pretty confident of replicating the same success with our upcoming product in the smaller horsepower segment, which constitutes about 70pc of the market. The 30hp tractor will give us more approach to the market as it will target people who look for affordable, high-tech and fuel-efficient tractors. We will also embark on an aggressive marketing strategy supported by focused expansion in sales and service network to widen the new product’s market reach. We will continue to sell tractors of 40–70HP range and may also think of 100HP tractors,” revealed Bhanu Sharma, Managing Director and CEO of SAME DeutzFahr India (P) Ltd., in an exclusive interview with Motown India magazine.

Sharma is confident of playing

his game all over India. The small tractors he intends introducing by mid of next year will have some of the features of the big ones. “My dealers will become viable. Next year will be a big year for us,” he noted.

Sharma, who is a 27-year tractor industry veteran with stints at HMT, Case New Holland and Class India, further highlighted, “A lot of the design of these products has been done here in India with support from Italian and German designers.

Our people go and work in Italy and those people come here and live here for long periods for model development. We have about 20 people in the Indian R&D wing and this number will increase. Once an in-house dedicated centre is set up, we will be hiring more engineers. As India is looking for better technology

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Cover Report

and designs and overseas customers are getting price sensitive, a lot of learnings are derived from Indian operations.”

While today SDF India is unable to address a 70pc of the tractor market in India because of lack of products in that range, it is still doing well in some of the Indian states with its high-end tractors. “I go for markets which have a tendency for higher hp tractors. In Tamil Nadu, 50pc of the market is such. In Maharashtra I cater to the western part of the state where there is demand for higher HP tractors. We launched an 80HP tractor ten months back.

There is demand from big farmers.

There is a Progressive Dairy Farmers Association in Punjab consisting of professional dairy farmers. They import machinery which are not manufactured in India. They use it for cultivation of forage crops meant

for animal feeding. Around 99pc of the farmers buy our big tractors. We have been successful in patches,” he noted.

Sharma admitted that in eastern UP his dealer will not be viable currently because the market is skewed towards lower HP tractors.

“My tractors have a lot of features.

We have some standard features that may be optional for some of our competitors. So my price and value are higher. Our customer is a step ahead in terms of land holding, education and position in life. He may be the sarpanch of the village.

Our tractor connects to a German heritage—Deutz Fahr. Among the 15 odd tractor manufacturers in India, none comes with a German heritage,” said Sharma proudly.

Moreover, he said that farmers in India were confident with the German technology offered by his

company.

Further, Sharma pointed out that moving up the value chain is a normal consumer behaviour. “When you go for a new product like a car, you want something better the next time. Whether it is a watch, a mobile phone or whether it is an automobile, the trend remains the same. Tractor is a machine unlike a regular car. It is less of an automobile and more of a machinery. Here the productivity counts. Agriculture is no more of a compulsion as in yesteryears. It is evolving as a profession. The younger generation now sees it as a business. This group which is showing interest sees it as a business. They are more educated, more informed, they have had college education, and they think differently. They are technologically savvy and want their tractors to have more features, more power and

Bhanu Sharma with department heads

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Cover Report

more facilities. They look for tractors with a lot of features. It is no more a tractor but THE tractor which can do THE work”.

EXPANSION IN RANIPET In order to maximise its marketshare in the Indian market with the 30HP tractor SDF India has started

a feasibility study on capacity expansion for both tractors and engines production to meet future requirements. When asked about investments for SDF’s planned expansion in India, he declined to comment citing the figures are confidential. “We have sufficient land available there (at Ranipet—100 km from Chennai in Tamil Nadu)

and also optimise our resources to expand our existing capacity of 16,000 units in two shifts. This will further be required when we bring tractors below 40HP which is likely to happen next year. We have already started feasibility study to add fresh capacity. When this Indiaspecific tractor comes up, we should be producing tractors not less than

Tractors being tested before the final assembly

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25,000 in India. We hope to attain that number in three years. By that time, the output will be evenly split between domestic and overseas markets,” he added.

The company is running a mega facility at Ranipet where it rolls out tractors and engines for domestic and global markets. Initially the tractors were produced exclusively

Roller test in progress

for the export markets (Europe, USA, Middle East and Africa) whereas now it is sold in India under the DeutzFahr brand. During the past year, 6,000 tractors were rolled out of this plant out of which 2,000 units were sold in domestic market and 4,000 were exported. Last year, it has also shipped out 800 units of the Lamborghini-brand tractor.

The wholly owned subsidiary of the Same Deutz-Fahr Group of Italy is exporting tractors and diesel engines to Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa, Kenya, Chile, Israel, Zambia, Congo, Ecuador, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Europe, Thailand, Malaysia and some Latin American countries. A few tractors are also sent to the United States.

“The Indian manufacturing facility is already our manufacturing hub catering to the global market spread across a footprint that comprises Europe, USA, Africa, Middle East, Latin America and Asia. We will look for opportunities for the worldwide sale of the low-powered tractors certainly. This is one of the reasons we are developing a tractor which is not only for the Indian market

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but also for the world market. We are also shipping out certain critical components to our global units in Europe,” stated Sharma, who is incidentally also the DirectorBusiness & Industry, Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers (ISAE).

Sharma maintained, “India is one of the leading tractor markets with a total sales volume of 500,000 units per annum. Due to structural changes in the Indian agriculture, there is consistent growth in the over 40HP tractor segment which is likely to grow to represent one third of the industry by 2015. Over 50pc of the total tractors sold in India are below 35hp, a space in which the major tractor players in India have an offering. The continued development of India’s agriculture, combined with the growing request for modern technology, allows the perfect opportunity for us to introduce a fuel-efficient yet hightech product under our premium German brand, Deutz-Fahr to Indian farmers and contractors. Deutz-Fahr is an internationally acclaimed brand and now becoming quite popular with knowledgeable and progressive

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Indian farmers who value it for its accent on quality.”

BUSINESS BEYOND TRACTORS Meanwhile, the SDF Group is also firming up plans to earmark India as its global production hub for engines by 2015. Plans are also afoot to shift the production of its tractors engines from Italy

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and Germany to the Indian plant. Sharma noted, “When we talked about our investment and expansion plans, one of the agendas we are looking for is to increase our engine production in India out of the group production. We want this phase to start in the next two to three years. We are actively considering shifting the production of higher powered engines to India from Europe. When the bigger

engines of above 100HP are moved to India, it would require a capacity of 40,000 units per year (up from 16,000 units currently). We would soon decide whether to expand the Ranipet plant or establish a greenfield facility to manufacture the engines that would be supplied to SDF’s plants across the world.”

SDF India’s Ranipet plant currently can produce engines up to a capacity of 100HP. The SDF Group’s

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Italy plant makes engines of up to 225HP, while the Germany plant rolls out engines above 225HP and the combined capacity of the two plants is 25,000 units annually.

SDF India is also working to introduce combine harvesters in India to gradually strengthen its foothold in farm equipment segment. While its tractors range from 30HP to 270HP, its combines range from 125HP to 450HP,

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including conventional and rotary combines, in the international markets. “As farm mechanisation is bound to grow in India and we see a huge potential. We can adapt our products to Indian requirements and we will introduce our products here,” stated. Besides new product lines, the European firm is also planning to expand its distribution base beyond Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Madhya

Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. “By 2014, we are looking at entering new states-- Gujarat, Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan,” Sharma said.

Now that the likes of Mercedes Benz, Audi and BMW from Germany are beginning to do well in the Indian passenger car space, what prevents the German Deutz-Fahr brand from doing well in the Indian tractor space?

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Technology

Delphi

electronic injector test kit and injector solvent cleaner Delphi Product & Service Solutions has launched its first-of-its-kind Electronic Injector Test Kit (Patent pending) and Injector Solvent Cleaner to provide technicians a quick, easy way to diagnose the electrical part of a Common Rail solenoid injector. Coupled with the Injector Solvent Cleaner, which cleans the internal components of the valve without removing the injector, these two items help deliver a quick diagnostics solution and resolve a specific issue of early stage lacquering.

Today’s CRi coils typically have low resistance and cannot be measured using a standard digital multi-meter (DMM) tool. Additionally, during diagnosis it is not enough to measure resistance to determine a coil’s health.

To ensure an accurate diagnosis, technicians need to measure its inductance value as well. Delphi’s simple handheld device measures resistance and inductance of the coil of the injector together. It also checks for a coil open or short circuit, the insulation of the coil to the injector body and drives the valve to make it buzz.

Until now, a unique feature to test free movement of the valve was only possible on some Delphi systems via an ECU routine. With Delphi’s new Electronic Injector Test Kit, this functionality is now available to allmakes CR solenoid injectors.

Immediate and accurate results are presented on a digital display in under 60 seconds, and allows the user to compare values between the injectors to identify if any are not within a comparable

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performance range.

The complete test process with the Delphi Electronic Injector Test Kit proves the electrical integrity of the injector and aids diagnosis of potential faults (ECU, harness and injector). This completes the on-vehicle diagnosis process for the CR system alongside Delphi’s Sealed Rail Tool and False Actuator Kit, which identify hydraulic system faults.

An extended drive routine for an onvehicle injector clean is included. During this cycle a dedicated cleaning solvent can be introduced into the injector to resolve specific issues, enabling a cost effective and environmentally friendly solution.

Simple to use, the Delphi Electronic Injector Test Kit is designed to be used on or off vehicle and carries out its functionality with two simple routines, with no set up required by the user, other than selecting the appropriate connector for the injector type. During its diagnostics operation, the Delphi Electronic Injector Test Kit has two cycles: measurement and cleaning.

In the measurement cycle, the injector buzz performs the most important measurements and drives the injector for the Buzz test. Because of its unique design, it can replace the Millohmeter, Megohmeter, LCR meter, DMM and signal generator measuring everything in one cycle with one switch.

• Running the measurement cycle allows quick detection of an electrical failure of the injector or confirmation there is no electrical failure and therefore helps the diagnostics process.

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Technology

If there is an electrical failure then the Cri cannot be repaired, enabling the technician to make a quick decision regarding the repair process. • In the cleaning cycle, the injector buzz allows to clean (cure early stage

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lacquering) the internal components (valve) of the injector without injector removal from the engine. It too can also be used on or off vehicle.

By using the Delphi Electronic Injector Test Kit, individual injector faults are clearly presented with

warning messages. If the injector passes these stages, however, the technician is then presented with the resistance and inductance values of the coil, and can easily diagnose an electronic failure by comparing one injector’s values to the others.

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Technology

Ford, Schaeffler

demonstrate eWheelDrive car

Ford Motor Company and Schaeffler have demonstrated the Fiestabased eWheelDrive car, a driveable research vehicle that could lead to improvements in urban mobility and parking by making possible smaller, more agile cars.

Powered by independent electric motors in each of the rear wheels, eWheelDrive technology offers space under the bonnet that in conventional cars is occupied by the engine and transmission, and in

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electric cars by a central motor.

This technology could in the future support the development of a four-person car that only occupies the space of a two-person car today.

At the same time, eWheelDrive steering system designs could enable vehicles to move sideways into parking spaces – a potential breakthrough as cities become more populated and congested.

“This is an exciting project to work on with Schaeffler because it

potentially opens new options for the development of zero emission vehicles with very efficient packaging and exceptional manoeuvrability,” said Pim van der Jagt, Ford’s director of Research and Advanced Engineering in Europe. “Looking forward, we have the opportunity to scope out the vehicle’s capabilities and how we might overcome some of the challenges presented by implementing the technology.”

With in-wheel motors, the

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Technology

components required for drive, deceleration and driver assistance technologies are installed in an integrated wheel hub drive – including the electric motor, braking and cooling systems.

“This highly integrated wheel-hub drive makes it possible to rethink the city car without restrictions, and could be a key factor in new vehicle concepts and automobile platforms in the future,” said Peter Gutzmer, chief technical officer, Schaeffler.

Ford joined the project led by Schaeffler, the leading Germanbased automotive component manufacturer and supplier, to investigate the potential for future vehicles that also could offer zero emissions, and more space for features such as additional protection zones.

In-wheel electric motors are seen by many industry experts as a potentially important future technology enabler for city cars as the world becomes more crowded and urbanised. It is projected that by 2050 the number of people living in cities globally will have increased from 3.4 billion to 6.4 billion, and

the number of cars worldwide will have increased fourfold.

“We face challenges that will have to be addressed through time, thought and investment,” said Sheryl Connelly, Ford’s global trends and futuring manager. “It is by starting to look at how we might meet those challenges through research projects such as eWheelDrive, that we ensure that we embrace a future of choice and not a future of constraint.”

Ford will next partner with Schaeffler, Continental, RWTH Aachen and the University of Applied Sciences, Regensburg, on project MEHREN (Multimotor Electric Vehicle with Highest Room and Energy Efficiency) to develop two new driveable vehicles by 2015.

The project aims to increase the integration of in-wheel motors in a car and will look at vehicle dynamics control, braking, stability and the fun-to-drive factor.

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June 2013 / 43

Technology

Intel award for boy who creates

car design to prevent accidents Ionut Budisteanu, 19, of Romania was awarded first place for using artificial intelligence to create a viable model for a low-cost, self-driving car at this year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a programme of Society for Science & the Public in the US. Ionut said his research addresses a major global issue. In 2004, car accidents caused 2.5 million deaths worldwide, and 87pc of crashes resulted from driver error. With 3-D radar and mounted cameras, Ionut created a feasible design for an autonomously controlled car that could detect traffic lanes and curbs, along with the real-time position of the car – and it would only cost $4,000. He received the Gordon E. Moore Award of $75,000, named in honour of the Intel co-founder and fellow scientist.

Eesha Khare, 18, of Saratoga, Calif. received the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award of $50,000.

With the rapid adoption of portable electronics, Eesha recognised the crucial need for energy-efficient storage devices. She developed a tiny device that fits inside cell phone batteries, allowing them to fully charge within 20-30 seconds.

Eesha’s invention also has potential applications for car batteries.

Henry Lin, 17, of Shreveport, La. also received the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award of $50,000.

By simulating thousands of clusters

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Top winner Ionut Budisteanu, 19, of Romania (centre) with second-place winners Eesha Khare, 18, of Saratoga, Calif. and Henry Lin, 17, of Shreveport, La of galaxies, Henry has provided scientists with valuable new data, allowing them to better understand the mysteries of astrophysics: dark matter, dark energy and the balance of heating and cooling in the universe’s most massive objects.

“We support the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair because we believe that science and math are the foundation of innovation, which is imperative for global economic growth and advancing society,” said Wendy Hawkins, executive director of the Intel Foundation. “This competition encourages millions of students worldwide every year to explore their passion for math and science while developing solutions for global challenges.”

This year, approximately 1,600 young scientists were chosen to

compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. They were selected from 433 affiliate fairs in more than 70 countries, regions and territories. In addition to the winners mentioned above, more than 500 finalists received awards and prizes for their innovative research. Awards included 17 “Best of Category” winners who each received a $5,000 prize. The Intel Foundation also awarded a $1,000 grant to each winner’s school and to the affiliated fair they represent.

Society for Science & the Public, a nonprofit membership organisation dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education, has owned and administered the International Science and Engineering Fair since its inception in 1950.

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Green Special

Green and the art of reducing carbon footprint Report: P.Tharyan, Avishek Banerjee & Abhijeet Singh Page Layout: Jisha P. Photography: Mohd Nasir & others

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June 2013 / 45

Green Special

G

reen is not just a colour today.

It is a word that denotes efficiency, conservation, preservation and safety. The world can only be safe if everything around us has an element of green in it. Whether it is technology, products, machinery, processes or merely our physical surroundings, without going green, our progress would be stifled. For the automotive world, it’s a word that in essence means “reducing the carbon footprint”.

For that to happen, manufacturers of automotive components and automobiles need to manufacture the right products. But at the end of the day, the man who drives these vehicles on the road too has an important role to play in conserving precious fuel.

Whether a vehicle has a fuel

“SIAM supports Government of India’s initiative to implement fuel efficiency norms for passenger cars.

The automotive industry is desirous that these norms are announced by the government as soon as possible, so that SIAM members can start working on the technology options for meeting these norms. Fuel efficiency limits were already proposed by the government in the year 2011, but were not announced.

Discussions have taken place thereafter, and revised norms have been worked out by the government after wider consultation. The industry has also agreed to these new norms in the interest of the energy security of the country.

The industry only wants two things, a) Clear five years of lead time for implementation of each stage (the target for the first stage is to be derived from 129.8 g/km of CO2 at the present weight, as per the revised proposal

by Government) and b) Average weight for referring to the limit value to be kept constant, so that there are no technological constraints put on the industry to meet the target derived from 113 g/km of CO2, in the second stage.”

S. Sandilya, President, SIAM

National Electric Mobility Mission Plan Recently Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020. The plan was unveiled in the presence of Praful Patel, Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Farooq Abdullah, Minister for New & Renewable Energy and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Dy. Chairman, Planning Commission.

The principal end objectives of the National Mission for Electric Mobility (NMEM) are National energy security, mitigation of the adverse impact of vehicles on the environment and growth of domestic manufacturing

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Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Praful Patel, Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Picture courtesy: PIB

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Green Special efficient engine or whether it is electric or hybrid, whether the parts in a car are recyclable or a manufacturing plant has solar panels or effluent treatment facilities, at the end of the day, it’s all about the environment. The time has come for India too to wake up to this green initiative.

A few months back the government announced a National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020. The vision statement of the plan is “to encourage reliable, affordable and efficient xEVs (full range of electric vehicles) that meet consumer performance and price expectations through GovernmentIndustry collaboration for promotion and development of indigenous manufacturing capabilities, required infrastructure, consumer awareness and technology; thereby helping India to emerge as a leader in the xEV two wheeler and four wheeler

market in the world by 2020, with total xEV sales of 6-7 million units thus enabling Indian automotive industry to achieve global xEV manufacturing leadership and contributing towards National Fuel

Security”.

We are in the year 2013. Except for Mahindra & Mahindra that has made a bold statement towards an electric initiative with the Reva electric car, no other car manufacturer has

“The adoption of green technologies in the automotive industry in India must be across the supply chain with active involvement of all stakeholders including the government. Worldwide, the automotive industry has used an array of technologies to reduce emissions; these have however varying applicability in the Indian context due to lower average speeds, road quality, congestion and the prevalence of small engines. We must encourage use of greener technologies that are local or can be easily localised at costs that are commensurate with the paying capacity of our people.”

Vinnie Mehta, Executive Director, ACMA

As per these projections, 6-7 million units of new vehicle sales of the full range of electric vehicles, along with resultant liquid fuel savings of 2.2 – 2.5 million tonnes can be achieved in 2020. This will also result in substantial lowering of vehicular emissions and decrease in carbon di-oxide emissions by 1.3pc to 1.5pc in 2020 as compared to a status quo scenario.

capabilities. The NEMMP 2020, the mission document for the NMEM that was approved by the National Council for Electric Mobility (NCEM) on 29th August, 2012, sets the vision, lays the targets and provides the joint Government – industry

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vision for realising the huge potential that exists for full range of efficient and environmentallyfriendly electric vehicle (including hybrids) technologies by 2020.

The NEMMP 2020 is a well researched document and relies

on in-depth primary data based study conducted jointly by the Government and the Industry which indicates that high latent demand for environmentally friendly electric vehicle technologies exists in the country. As per these projections,

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Green Special

“We are already in the CNG and LPG business for promoting green mobility and are also working on components in the hybrid vehicle space.

As far as energy efficiency measures are concerned, we are also into solar energy consumption, LED lighting, water conservation, paper saving, electricity conservation and water re-harvesting.

We have solar plants within our factories. A whole lot of initiatives will be implemented in due course and a team is regularly monitoring them. There is a year-wise target for each activity.”

N.K. Minda, Chairman & MD, UNO Minda Group

really entered this space with such determination. Though companies like General Motors India and Tata Motors have also taken an “electric” step, it’s still a long way to go with regards to introducing a thoroughbred electric vehicle.

6-7 million units of new vehicle sales of the full range of electric vehicles, along with resultant liquid fuel savings of 2.2 – 2.5 million tonnes can be achieved in 2020. This will also result in substantial lowering of vehicular emissions and decrease in carbon di-oxide emissions by 1.3pc to 1.5pc in 2020 as compared to a status quo scenario.

However, in view of the significant barriers that exist today for these frontier technologies, the global experience indicates that this is an area where Governments need to focus their efforts and provide support that is necessary for creation of the eco system and viable self sustaining business in the near future. This includes

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Among two wheelers, Hero Eco steals the thunder from the rest. By acquiring Ultra Motors of the UK, it is selling its electric bicycles in some of the most advanced countries in the world. Sadly, the Indian government has not put together any policy

framework to encourage companies like Hero Eco. Beyond the world of electric cars, there is a world of non-fossil and fossil fuels that also help in reducing the carbon footprint.

Bio Fuels: These are fuels derived from organic material or organic mass that comprises of plant materials as well as animal waste.

Bioethanol and biodiesel are the two most commonly available types of biofuels. According to various studies, the current world production of biofuels is miniscule (less than 1pc of world transport fuel demand).

Ethanol blending with petrol in India is around 5pc and this was mandated around four years back in the country.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG): CNG was made popular in New Delhi and surrounding areas following a government initiative. Vehicles

Praful Patel, Dr. Manmohan Singh and Montek Singh Ahluwalia with Pawan Munjal of Hero MotoCorp and Naveen Munjal of Hero Eco. Picture courtesy: PIB

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Green Special are increasingly using compressed natural gas (CNG), or less commonly liquefied natural gas (LNG), as an alternative to conventional fuels as it is cheaper and cleaner. All public passenger transport commercial vehicles run on CNG in the capital city. Existing petrol or diesel vehicles can be easily modified to run on CNG by retrofitting the vehicles using CNG kits available at prices as cheap as 25,000 and above.

The CNG programmes in Delhi and Mumbai are the oldest and well matured, driven by public policy mandates. Many auto majors like Maruti-Suzuki, Tata Motors, Chevrolet, Toyota, Hyundai, among others, have introduced factory fitted CNG vehicles of their popular models in the Indian market.

Besides, in India people buying cars with internal combustion engines too add a CNG kit to reduce travel costs, rather than for any major

providing initial impetus through demand support measures that facilitate faster consumer acceptance of these expensive newer technologies. In addition, Government will also need to facilitate automotive R&D and put in place charging infrastructure. It is estimated that the Government will need to provide support to the tune of 13,000 – 14,000 crore over the next 5-6 years. The industry will also need to match this with a much larger investment for developing the products and creating the manufacturing ecosystem.

The NEMMP 2020 projections also indicate that the savings from the decrease in liquid fossil

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“Lighting products primarily today are made from plastics. Every component that is going on to the lighting assembly like headlamps or tailamps is actually derived from plastics. Plastics are obviously lightweight. Lighting will play a role first from the product point of view on electronics. A lot more electronics like LED technologies will be coming in which would help in primarily getting the products not just lighter but smaller, dynamic and more efficient.

Halogens have certain restrictions on the environment. LED is more environment-friendly. Going forward, we will see more special materials being used. Lighting will be able to support and front-lead the lightweighting and energy efficiencies. These are the two things which will be very critical.”

Deepak Jain, Senior Executive Director, Lumax Industries Ltd.

consideration for the environment.

Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG): Liquefied petroleum gas, also

fuel consumption as a result of shift to electric mobility alone will far exceed the support provided thereby making this a highly economically viable proposition.

Therefore on all counts encouraging the faster adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles and their manufacture in India is a wise investment for our future generations.

NMEM is amongst the most significant interventions of the Government that promises to transform the automotive paradigm of the future by lessening the dependence on fossil fuels, increasing energy efficiency of vehicles and by providing the means to achieve

called LPG or simply propane or butane, is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases. LPG is prepared by refining petroleum or “wet”

ultimate objective of cleaner transportation that is compatible with sustainable renewable energy generation. This intervention will also help encourage the Indian Automotive Industry to shift to newer, cleaner technologies so that it builds its future competitive advantage around environmentally sustainable products, high end technologies, innovation and knowledge.

The implementation and roll out of the NEMMP 2020 will be done through various specific schemes, interventions, policies that are currently under formulation and will be considered by the Government in the near future.

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Green Special natural gas, and is almost entirely derived from fossil fuel sources, being manufactured during the refining of petroleum (crude oil), or extracted from petroleum or natural gas streams as they emerge from the ground. When LPG is used to fuel internal combustion engines, it is often referred to as autogas or auto propane. In India autogas is not popular because autogas outlets are almost non existent in the country.

Before CNG became popular in the major cities, people used their cooking cylinders and fitted it in their cars. But this proved fatal and the government clamped down on such a misuse. Besides, cooking gas available in India has always been subsidised to a great extent and hence its illegal use in vehicles was banned. Autogas, on the other hand is available at very select outlets in major cities.

Hydrogen Fuel : Hydrogen vehicles internally convert the chemical energy from hydrogen to mechanical energy for propulsion either through burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine or through reactions between hydrogen and oxygen in fuel cells that run electric motors. Though HFVs are considered to be zero emission vehicles, they do have emissions, as most of the hydrogen used is produced from natural gas. According to a study

by Yes Bank and Teri, most research tends to support a hydrogen economy as a long term option as the hydrogen option suffers from several uncertainties around system and infrastructure costs and is not likely to be available en-mass in the foreseeable future, i.e. before 2020.

In India, the Planning Commission has constituted working groups to look at hydrogen as a viable

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“Globally Shell is very concerned about the environmental impacts, specifically CO2 increases and continues to invest in R&D. We are working closely with the OEMs on meeting Euro VI+ specifications. This requires close cooperation with OEMs, exploring all aspects of engine design in partnership and co-engineering lubricant solutions to meet the stringent requirements.

We do expect that as the regulations become more stringent in India or the OEMs use India to export to Europe, Shell in India is more than capable of bringing the global learning and provide these services in India.”

Nitin Prasad, Country Head, Shell Lubricants India

“There is a very big drive or initiative that is happening for green tyres that utilises better raw materials (instead of carbon black) like silica. The other major challenge for the industry is to ensure that our raw material utilisation is efficient over the entire life cycle. We are not doing too badly in comparison to China because if you look at retreading rate of CV tyres, it is almost as high as 60-70pc. We have got maximum km per kg of raw material. This is not the end of the road. There is always room for improvement and the tyre industry, particularly because it is export-oriented is also complying with the standards and regulations that are getting mandated outside India. That itself is a big challenge which the industry is meeting rather successfully. But again there is always room for further improvement in efficiencies. Green Tyres will certainly involve a certain amount of higher input costs. There is a financial implication to its cost as well. The return for such technologies is over a much longer period of time. So to incentivise the end consumer or the buyer to go in for a product which has greener raw material is what the government can come up with and support. It should also ensure that such raw materials are available domestically.”

Rajiv Budhiraja, Director General, ATMA

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Green Special fuel. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas created a 100 cr.

(USD 18.5mn) fund for research and development of hydrogen technologies. Other efforts include - The Green Initiative for Future Transport (GIFT), which aims to research, develop and demonstrate hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, with goals and targets up to 2020. India is also one for the 16 founding members of the International Partnership on Hydrogen Economy set up in Washington D.C., on November 2003 and has also prepared a National Hydrogen Energy Road Map and Programme (2006) focusing on two and threewheelers. Few Indian vehicles manufactures like Mahindra and Tata Motors, in partnership with research institutes have developed prototypes of hydrogen vehicles to test their feasibility in the Indian market, says

the study.

But again, there are surprises galore. For the first time, Indians can look forward to retrofit a kit that will make their cars hybrid—a combination of the internal combustion engine and an electric motor. The surprise comes in the form of Revolo. The Revolo plug-in, parallel hybrid solution transforms vehicles, allowing motor and engine to work seamlessly for a completely fuel efficient, green automobile. This innovation includes a clever battery management system, proprietary software, and mechanical assembly.

Simply put, Revolo is a different view on hybrid cars, one that makes hybrid vehicles affordable for everyone. Now we got to see how soon we have it on the roads, how soon the government comes out with a policy allowing the use of this technology and how much would it

“Committed to India for the longer term, Michelin introduced the Energy XM2 tyre that offers a true balance of performance and consumes less fuel thanks to 22pc reduction in rolling resistance The alternative bridging in Energy XM2 reinforces the rigidity of tread blocks. With rigidity enhanced, the tread blocks move less, reducing the rate of tyre wear. The flexible micro resilient tread compounds adapts itself to the micro irregularities of the road surface thus guaranteeing excellent dry grip. The improved tread grooves to evacuate up to 20pc more water as well. All Michelin manufacturing plants around the world follow the ‘Michelin Manufacturing Way’ which has been initiated to bring about sustainable and uniform acceleration in the progress made by the plants in all performance areas including safety, consumption of resources, quality amongst others. All Michelin facilities are certified ISO 14001, which means that our operations adhere to the highest standards of safety and environmental protection.”

Thom Clark, Managing Director, Michelin India Tyres Pvt. Ltd.

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cost so that people are keen to go green with this technology.

The Motown India Green Special contains brief reports from the ‘Green Chapter’ of some selective automotive companies, both Indian and global and the Indian government. The following pages contain the different initiatives undertaken all over the globe towards a green revolution, one that will go a long way in reducing the carbon footprint.

“Around 65pc of all car journeys in India are less than 5km. If instead, bicycles were used, can you imagine the reduction in green house gases? Also all urban planning in the world now takes into account that such products must be integral to the mobility planning. Infrastructure is our biggest problem. It is pathetic in all Indian cities.

Dedicated lanes have become mandatory in many world class cities. We have to do the same if we want to avoid the mess that some Chinese cities are in.”

Shiv Inder Singh, Managing Director, Firefox Bikes Pvt. Ltd.

June 2013 / 51

Green Special

Electric Vehicles: Challenges & Opportunities According to a report ‘Electric Vehicles: Challenges & Opportunities in India’ published earlier this year

by Yes Bank Ltd and TERI Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD), there are both challenges and opportunities in introducing electric vehicles in India.

The report stated that alternative modes of sustainable personal transportation must be explored to tackle the immediate socioenvironmental impacts of the Internal Combustion Engine.

The key differentiator between Electric Vehicles (EVs) and conventional ICE vehicles is that the electricity that they consume can be derived from different sources or a combination of energy sources, particularly renewables such as solar and wind energy. Electric vehicles are only as ‘green’ as the energy sources used to charge them. Charging EV’s in India remains a challenge, where 60pc of electricity is

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“...Electric vehicles, though not yet popular in India, are an important solution to addressing the issue of vehicular pollution. The country has recently witnessed the unveiling of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh. This move is significant at this juncture considering the country cannot continue its heavy dependence on personal modes, which run on petroleum products (petrol and diesel) with implications for India’s energy security and CO2 emissions. It is important that we diversify our fuel mix in favour of clean fuels. Electrification of vehicles certainly offers such potential provided the electricity is generated from clean sources of energy. Going forward, it is very important that any plan for electric vehicles is implemented in an integrated manner in consonance with our plans for electricity generation and distribution and urban infrastructure planning...”

Dr R K Pachauri. Director-General, TERI

generated from fossil fuels fired coal power plants.

Electricity can be transmitted to EVs wirelessly through induction or directly using an electrical cable. EVs utilise on-board batteries to store electricity. Unlike ICEs, EVs are capable of regenerative braking

whereby they are able to recover the energy that is lost during braking as electricity that is then stored back into the on-board battery. They do not have any tail-pipe or evaporative emissions and are virtually maintenance free.

The report emphasised that the next step towards Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV)s involves the electrification of vehicles. There are a wide range of EV technologies being explored at the moment, that include: Mild-Hybrid – It is the first real step towards electrification and ZEVs, and contains a small electric motor that enables a start-stop

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Green Special system, facilitates regenerative braking energy to charge the battery and offers acceleration assistance.

Mild-hybrid vehicles achieve small reductions in emissions, between 10 to 15pc at relatively high costs.

It is viewed as an intermediate development step towards a fullyhybrid system.

Fully-Hybrid – Features a larger motor and battery pack that provides the vehicle with electric launching, acceleration assistance and electric driving at low speeds. It can achieve a maximum of 25-30pc in GhG emission reductions. Though fully-hybrids currently cost between 2.5 to 3.5 lakh (US$ 4629 – USD 6481) more than conventional ICE cars, the cost of hybrid components is expected to fall by 5pc per year.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) – It is a hybrid vehicle with a larger battery that can be recharged by connecting a plug to an electric power source or grid. The ability to connect to the grid gives the PHEV an range of 30-60 kilometers of all electric driving. PHEVs feature smaller ICE that takes over from

“...The rising price of crude in the international market has become an energy security concern for the country. Are EVs the silver bullet to securing India’s energy future and reducing carbon emissions of its transportation sector? This is a difficult question to explicitly answer. While on one hand, the mainstreaming of EVs will dramatically reduce India’s reliance on imported crude oil, on the other hand, EVs, if disruptively introduced, will be charged

by India’s crumbling and inefficient electricity grid which is predominantly powered by imported coal....,” Rana Kapoor, Founder, Managing Director & CEO, Yes Bank

the all electric drive to provide a longer range. The carbon reduction potential of a PHEV is between 3040pc.

Range Extenders – They are all EVs that feature a small ICE that is used to recharge the battery to extend the driving range. This feature is useful in the absence of charging infrastructure as they combine the advantages of electric driving with the ability to undertake

longer journeys. They have a carbon reduction potential of between 6080pc depending on the electricity source used to charge the battery.

Fully Electric – All of the needed propulsion energy is stored in a large battery that can be recharged by connecting it to the electricity grid. Electric vehicles are two to three times more efficient than conventional ICEs. Though there are a range of different battery

Mahindra Reva e2o. Picture for representation purpose only.

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June 2013 / 53

Green Special technologies being used, it is predicted that litium-ion batteries will dominate the landscape. A fully electric vehicle is only as clean as the source of electricity that is used to recharge the battery, and when charged using renewable sources it can reduce emissions by up to 80100pc.

A catch 22 situation Indian cities and towns are plagued by frequent outages and the basic requirement for electric cars is electricity. A growth in demand for EVs will have a sizable impact on electricity generators and suppliers.

This additional demand for electricity will have to be addressed through increased generating capacity and essentially through better grid management. Driven by reforms beginning with ‘The Electricity Act, 2003’, followed by de-licensing, the power generation sector has transformed from being a slow moving industry to a space where there lie vast growth opportunities. By repairing or upgrading distribution equipment, efforts are being made to reduce transmission and distribution losses, which currently stand at 28pc.

While there are a number of bottlenecks in EV adoption, and R&D is being conducted by automobile manufacturers and research organisations to address them, one major issue that must be addressed urgently is the integration of appropriate charging infrastructure for EVs, before a rapid expansion in EV numbers can happen.

There have been plans in the past to develop a network of charging stations in various areas of the country. In 2010, the Delhi Government announced that

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Mahindra Reva e2o. Picture for representation purpose only.

it would provide a network of charging stations in the city, but only after several EVs were ready for launch in the country. This reflects one of the problems with EVs in general: infrastructure developers are reluctant to invest in this area until there is a sizable population of EVs on the roads, while vehicle manufacturers are unwilling to launch their models in India due to the lack of charging stations.

Any discussion on the establishment of an EV charging infrastructure in India is incomplete without a discussion about India’s power sector. In recent years, this sector has assumed increased importance owing to India’s rapid economic growth, which has led to an increase in electricity demand both from domestic consumers enjoying a higher standard of living and from the industrial sector whose growth in output is heavily linked to electricity consumption. This sector, therefore, has seen massive investments over the past decade, which has been reflected in a steady increase in the installed electricity capacity. India’s installed power

generation capacity reached 209.3 GW as of October 2012.

Despite this remarkable increase in the installed capacity, the power sector continues to exhibit a deficit of supply from demand, both in terms of the total energy and peak demand.

This leads to one of the principal concerns regarding widespread deployment of EVs, India struggles to meet its existing electricity demands, and therefore, it would be unwise to impose an additional burden on the power sector. It has been estimated that India’s annual power consumption in 2020 is expected to be double the 2009 value of 600 TWh, and supplies are expected to struggle to keep up with this surge in demand. It is clear that the gap between electricity supply and demand is unlikely to be bridged in the near future, with problems with coal supply threatening the capacity addition targets.

The reliance on coal is another aspect of India’s power sector that is unfavourable for widespread EV adoption. A principal advantage of

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Green Special

Hero Electric scooter. Picture for representation purpose only.

EVs over conventional vehicles is the lack of tail pipe emissions. However, if the electricity is generated by coal or other fossil fuels, this advantage is reduced drastically. At present 57pc of India’s electricity generation capacity is based on coal, with nearly 10pc coming from other fossil fuels.

This reliance on coal is unlikely to reduce in the near future, since of the capacity addition of 76,000 MW being planned in the 12 Five Year Plan period (2012-17), as much as 63,000 MW is based on coal power plants. Projections suggest that even in 2031, between 67 and 78pc of the total electricity generated would be fossil fuel based.

The scenario outlined above highlights that EVs may not necessarily be less polluting than conventional vehicles, especially given the high Transmission and

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Distribution (T&D) losses of the electricity sector in India, although the centralised nature of the emissions may ease the application of pollution control measures.

For EVs to be truly environment friendly, the use of renewable energy becomes a necessity, but as stated above, the penetration of renewables in India’s power sector is likely to remain small in the short and medium terms.

For EVs to not threaten India’s power situation, it is imperative that any charging infrastructure is not overly dependent on grid supply. Decentralised electricity generation at the charging outlets is therefore the need of the hour.

Using diesel electricity generation for this purpose, however, will again negate the point of using EVs. Any decentralised generation

will, therefore, have to be based on renewable energy. Renewable energy sources, of course, have their own set of problems. Primary among these is the intermittent and unreliable nature of the generation.

To ensure that a steady supply of electricity is available, a storage system will be necessary, perhaps along with a diversification in the sources, with more than one renewable energy source being utilised. Synchronisation of all the different sources with each other, and also with the varying load imposed by the charging outlets, in real time, is a challenge that requires the use of smart grids.

Smart Grid A smart grid is generally defined as an intelligent electricity distribution

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Green Special network that is supplied by a diverse range of energy resources.

A smart grid may either be connected to a conventional grid or be isolated and supply to a localised load only. A smart grid is an application of digital information and communication technology (ICT) and uses advanced sensing, communication and control technologies to optimise electrical power generation and delivery within the domain of the grid. A smart grid allows dynamic communication and balancing of the electrical network, thus minimising losses and increasing the stability of the grid. Unlike conventional power grids, which handle only a one-way flow of electricity from the generator to the outlet, smart grids require a two-way flow of information, and as will be explained later, may even handle a two-way flow of electricity.

An example of a smart grid is the system set up by TERI in Gual Pahari, Haryana, India. This smart mini grid is driven by state-of-art power electronics devices and controlled through ultra-fast digital technology based on National Instruments CompactRIO and LabVIEW which offers a higher degree of flexibility, reliability, efficiency and safety of complete power system. This smart mini grid system involves

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Hero Eco electric bicycles. Picture for representation purpose only. the integration of the following distributed energy resources: • A 10.5kWP Solar Photovoltaic (Crystalline silicon based solar module) system • A 2kWP Solar Photovoltaic (Crystalline silicon based solar module) system • A 1kWP Thin-film based Solar Photovoltaic system • A 3.3kW Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) • A 100kW Biomass Gasifier (woody) system Smart-grid technology can enable the EV-charging load to be shifted to off-peak periods, thereby flattening the daily load curve and significantly reducing both generation and network investment needs. However, the complexity of the grid operation means that the development of standards that ensure interoperability of the diverse components both on the

supply and demand sides becomes essential. This is more so because EVs can represent not just a load for smart grids, but also a source. In the long run, it has been postulated that EVs can function as distributed energy storage devices, feeding back electricity stored in their batteries to the grid. This mode of operation, known as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) supply, will see EVs absorb extra energy when power demand is low, and release it back to the grid when the demand is high.V2G operation is not yet commonplace, but its groundwork has already been laid. In 2009, the US state of Delaware passed a bill, which would compensate owners of EVs for electricity sent back to the grid at the same rate at which they were charged for drawing power.

Consumers will be ‘net metered’, meaning that they will only be charged for the net amount of electricity that they draw from the grid.

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Green Special

Hero Eco: 2 Wheeler electric champions An electric vehicle story in India is incomplete without mentioning the Naveen Munjal controlled Hero Eco group. It’s been around 13 years since Naveen Munjal has been in the business of making electric two-wheelers in India. His business has since been evolving. So has the technology that his vehicles are dependent on. The acquisition of UK-based Ultra Motors has opened the doors to the lucrative western markets. More importantly, he has acquired technologies and electric two wheelers that virtually drive the populations, both young and old, of several developed countries. These products are mainly sold under the A2B brand, a name coined by Ultra Motors. The A2B product range was inspired by a vision for combining innovative design and technology to change the way people move from A to B. Hero Eco Ltd controls the UK and German operations for electric vehicles. Headquartered out of London with a subsidiary in Berlin, it controls the Swiss and German markets. The company’s warehousing and service centres are in Cheltenham in UK and Nurnberg in Germany. The marketing team of the company is spread across London, Cheltenham, Berlin and Zurich.

Hero Eco Inc controls the US operations for electric vehicles.

Headquartered out of Berkeley, California, USA, the company has a service centre in Sacramento, California. Its marketing team is spread across California, New York and Florida. Mediva Healthcare Pvt. Ltd is into medical rehabilitation

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products such as wheel chairs, walkers etc. while Providence Build Tech Pvt. Ltd. is into real estate.

“Hero Electric is a brand that would be promoted in India. It is not something we are promoting outside at all. Outside of India it is going to be Hero Eco. Within Hero Eco there is going to be A2B and F4W. These would be the two ranges in the electric vehicles. A2B will include high-end product that would in turn include the Y shaped frame products. It is a very unique concept.

Anything that has a Y shaped frame will fall under the A2B range.

These are high-end bikes which start at around 1600 Euros ( 1,11,324 approx.) and go up to 3400 Euros ( 2,36,544 approx.)”, says Naveen Munjal, Managing Director of Hero Eco. The F4W range is a notch below the A2B range. Even some of the company’s Indian vehicles which are homologated for certain markets come under this range. In certain markets both A2B and F4W ranges will exist while in some markets only one of them would be there.

“Though these come under Hero Eco, the products would be sold actively under the A2B and F4W brands. These are brands that have already been created in those markets. We are going to stick to

Naveen Munjal, MD, Hero Eco A2B Metro by Hero Eco where Hero Eco is incidental,” informs Munjal.

Hero Eco has not brought the A2B range to India. It’s still a while away before the company brings in this range here. The A2B range consists of pedelecs and mopeds. The geometry of the frame is unique and it is referred to as the ‘Y’ frame. That is the company’s patented design.

Munjal feels that India is probably not ready for these types of vehicles, perhaps because of the lack of right infrastructure for it. The F4W range consists of pedelecs, scooters and a few models of mopeds. These are with pedals. These may be introduced over a period of time to India.

Munjal admits that there is a need

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to create a charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in India. At present, there is no infrastructure of such kind in the country. He says that the advantage with these vehicles is that they can be completely off the grid as well. “We have options. We are already setting up in our office an infrastructure whereby you are not connected to the grid at all. We can have solar panels and from these panels there are battery banks below that charge your vehicle. So you are not a burden on the grid at all. I have been asked this question a lot of times that you are going to put a load on the grid. India is already energy deficit. It is a matter of pricing right now. Solar panels are expensive at present. But globally I have seen, you can skip the grid and get your

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charging done through solar panels and by tapping wind power. In India we have the sun in most parts of north and south India for more than 300 days in a year. Even in cloudy conditions these panels work. There are options and opportunities. Ours is an evolving industry with the technology rapidly changing. The government does need to do more.

They are doing a little bit, but things are slow, very slow,” he points out.

Hero Eco has a design centre in Berlin, Germany. The electric two wheelers are conceptualised and tested there. All the engineering drawings etc also happen in Germany. The vehicles are assembled in China and Taiwan. After that they are shipped back to Europe. “We do not have facilities to make such frames in India. The acquisition we

did was more to do with design, product range, teams and offices and not manufacturing. We have inherited the manufacturing relationships. Eventually it would be India versus China versus Taiwan as to where we would get our main supply base. Even if we were to produce these products at our facility in Ludhiana which is more than 1,000km away from the port, we would still need to get a lot of material from Taiwan and China.

Even Canada supplies us some critical parts. These components would then have to be shipped into Ludhiana. Getting into Ludhiana and then shipping it out from there would make it very unviable for us.

If we were sitting close to the port, it would have made it far more viable,” points out Munjal.

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Green Special

Tete-a-tete with Sohinder Gill Chief Executive Officer, Hero Eco and Director- Corporate Affairs-Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) Hero Eco has been in the market for a while and has sold decent numbers of its plug in twowheelers. Are you happy with the way things have progressed?

Yes and No! I would say ‘Yes’ when you talk in the context of business and other categories where many good things have happened. This is because as a business house, the Munjals are bringing a product which are ahead of its times. So that brings the positivities and negativities out of it. We were anticipating most of the things that have happened to us. For example, we knew that the market (for zero-emission vehicles) won’t take off so well and we were aware that it is taking ages in the overseas markets to seep in. Right from the company’s inception (in 2008), we came to the conclusion that it would be a tough race for us. We knew that it is going to take time but then we also thought of taking steps to accelerate the whole process. Within three months of joining this company, I found out that there was no association representing electric vehicles in India. So apart from focusing on our company, we formed an association Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), which consisted of 28 members to promote this fledgling industry. This is the ‘Yes’ part of your question. And I would also say ‘No’ because despite all our convincing efforts to the government, nothing has borne fruit. They have yet not realised that promoting electric vehicles will

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benefit them so much in terms of conserving fossil fuel reserves, etc.

They are under the impression that the electricity generated from coal-fired plants (to charge e-vehicles) are equally polluting. So we came out with well-documented analytical papers that have proved the fact that despite 78pc thermal power in India and the air pollution created by the power industry, we are still 33pc environmentally better than conventional vehicles in terms of the overall CO2 emissions. So we have to convince so many people on this aspect but no resolution can be arrived at. I believe giving incentives to an e-vehicle buyer gives multiple returns. Earlier, we had pushed for Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) subsidies which were supposed to boost the sales of alternate fuelpowered vehicles. But that too was withdrawn by the government.

What is the current size of the Indian two-wheeler e-vehicle

industry? What is your marketshare?

Well, the size is in the form of a yoyo. During the last fiscal (FY 201213), the industry ended up clocking 42,000 units only. And we managed to sell 14,000 units only. The year ago period, which benefited from MNRE subsidies, saw sales of 85,000 units. So there was a massive drop in the volumes from a subsidised year to a non-subsidised one. The year

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prior to the subsidised one had also seen very less numbers. Imagine a subsidised amount worth 4,000 for an e-scooter can do such wonders.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has finally unveiled the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020. Do you think it will give a fillip to the e-vehicle industry?

Of course it will give a fillip to the industry as we have been working on this plan for many years. I was present at the venue when this mission plan was unveiled by the PM. If it is implemented in toto and in time, it’s a wonderful solution for the Indian environmental and fuel conservation needs. The 24,000-crore outlay earmarked for this policy is so well spent

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that it gives you returns within six years. So the question is whether it will be implemented in toto and how much time it will take for this policy to reap benefits. So if there is a regular episode of a company withdrawing from this business (like the case of BSA Motors), the number of members of SMEV will also dwindle. This is because a company cannot run into losses for a prolonged period of time. Even our company is unprofitable for five years. Our dealers went into the red when the subsidy was withdrawn by the government abruptly. Many companies which were toying with the idea of developing zeroemission vehicles backed out. When the MNRE subsidy was offered, our dealers saw a ray of hope. So if there is a long-term support from the

government, we can expect some green shoots. Then we can also think about developing some products for which we have kept our launch plans on hold.

At the Auto-Expo 2012 you had showcased a concept vehicle ‘Photon’. And you also have A2B which is yet not available in the market? When are you planning to launch these models?

The Photon’s commercial rollout got hampered because of the policy paralysis that I have just mentioned.

We launched this model in a few states in anticipation of a good incentive from the government.

Unfortunately, we brought this model when the MNRE subsidy was withdrawn. Incidentally, it was our costliest model because of its high-

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Green Special speed motor and other premium features. And we couldn’t imagine employing lithium-ion batteries on this model because of the cost equation. So we were compelled to abruptly end its production.

Consequently, our product pipeline also got chocked. A2B has been a different story altogether. The product came to us a year and a half as an opportunity and we grabbed it in 25 days. We looked at it from the point of view of a close-to-heart kind of a product. We wanted to go global and this product was a perfect fit. So we jumped on the bandwagon and took over UK-based Ultra Motors and thus its products like the A2B came to our kitty. So we have done away with all the issues and other glitches surrounding this product. We are not considering its launch here as the cheapest product costs 1.5 lakh. As it’s a premium product, we will launch it in very niche markets in India by Diwali and will be targeting expats, foreigners, embassy officials. Having said that, this product will never be a victim of subsidies, etc. This is because we don’t want such hi-end vehicles to be subsidised by the government.

Since this will be sold on the USP of premiumness, the numbers would be in a few hundreds. It will be our flagship model to drive the brand.

What were the benefits accrued to Hero Eco post buying out UKbased Ultra Motors? Will you be looking for more acquisitions?

When we took over Ultra Motors, there was a huge amount of negativity because of poor service of the erstwhile team of the British firm.

Not only was the service network of that company in shambles, the product quality was very low. The supply constraints were huge and

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the organisation was moving in fits and starts. It took us around six-eight months to clean the mess. So we didn’t worry about the volumes and just honoured all the erstwhile commitments if there was a customer complaint of a battery, etc.. As far as other acquisitions are concerned, we are not looking for it. However, we may look for technology-centric acquisitions.

That’s where we feel that rather than reinventing the wheel, we should have some technology-focussed firms under our umbrella.

How many units have you sold during the last fiscal? And how many units are you planning to sell during the current fiscal? And how many dealers will there be by that time?

As I mentioned earlier, we sold only 14,000 units during the last financial year. This year the figure is anybody’s guess. If the policy on national electric mobility takes shape, the numbers might double.

But if that doesn’t happen, we may witness a negative growth. So we are not doing plannings on a yearly basis, but on a quarterly basis. We are now working on coming up with exclusive dealership outlets which are unlike multi-counter outlets. There are close to 200 such dealerships that we are running right now. As there is news on national policy spreading everywhere, there are a fair bit of enquiries coming in.

The interest is generated because our dealers are anticipating good business in our products. We added roughly 50 outlets last year and are eyeing another 50-60 similar outlets this year. So we should be running around 250 outlets by the end of this year.

Are you exporting your models too?

We have withheld exports for the time being because there was a lot to do in the domestic market. So the products like the A2B that we were selling in 22 countries are exported from our Chinese and Taiwanese plants are enough in our basket. Right now, nothing is being shipped out from India and this is something we are not exploring for the next one year. At a later point of time, we will be consolidating our economy-driven products through our overseas channels.

You had introduced auxiliary batteries (power backup) in Optima range of two-wheelers.

How has been its response?

We wanted to remove the range anxiety from the minds of students.

So in the case of the Optima, what we did was we incorporated a reserve switch for a pack of small batteries. So whenever any Optima customer runs out of the range, they can rely on the auxiliary batteries which help them ply for another 14kms. So for these kinds of products, such decisions are taken not at the point of purchase but afterwards. This is because we have the facility, wiring, etc, but the customers don’t want to buy the batteries right now. So they come to us after six months to purchase to get their vehicle reconfigured with an aux battery.

Where exactly do you carry out the R&D activities of your models? And how many engineers are based there?

We are carrying our R&D operations in a couple of locations. Out of that, one is an in-house facility at our plant at Ludhiana and is basically

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Green Special into finetuning and localisation of our products. Then there is a team in Delhi which is into two separate verticals i.e. electrical and electronics engineering and mechanical engineering. The electronic and electric engineering particularly works for needs which would be required two years from now on.

They work on futuristic products like efficient motors, superchargers with minimal losses, batteries that can withstand temperatures upto 45°. The mechanical engineering team looks into new models like the Photon. Our Chinese office basically looks into prototyping and other stuff. Many such developments are supported by them. Our total strength of all the centres will be 22.

What is your current capacity at Ludhiana? Is it completely utilised? If yes, are you exploring any greenfield facility?

We started with a bang and created an initial capacity of 220 units per day in the initial phase. We are currently utilising only one-third of our total capacity. So there is no question of adding more capacities.

There has been a lot of buzz that Hero Eco wanted to establish an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in North America. So is the speculation true?

No, the speculation is false. We are planning to build lithium-ion batteries in Canada to churn out lithium-ion batteries in line with the government policies here. This is because it is ultimately the lithiumion batteries which will enable the products to be successful and not the lead acid batteries. But as we knew that the volumes will not be very high here, we had a buyback

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arrangement wherein the plant in India will be supplying its products for Canadian and American cars at their technological level. So it was an arrangement we would make good batteries (in India) at the lower price than what is produced in North America. We were supposed to use only a handful of that production.

However, all such policies have been kept on the backburner. This is not only because our policy got delayed but also because Barack Obama forced all the companies in Canada to build a plant at its home soil as he was unwilling to buy any batteries made outside North America. So we were compelled to shift the production to the United States. We have not made any huge investments there in terms of building assets but we are in close cooperation with our partners as they have the best technology. As soon as there is an offtake of such products and it becomes selfsufficient, we will be having a plant here for homegrown needs.

chose this company because of the optimism that I had with futuristic products. Why I am optimistic is because it will definitely gain prominence one fine day out of compulsion. How long the government will be able to afford to import costly and how long can India afford to detect the needs of emissions reduction? And the transportation sector is the biggest contributor to Greenhouse Gas emissions and also to the company’s exchequer. So zero-emission vehicles are a great need of this country and are the perfect solution for the existing problems. But e-cars are not an answer because of various factors like affordability, status. But an e-2wheeler is the perfect fit in this scenario and it’s only a matter of time before it takes off. Today there are 14 million two-wheelers on the road and by 2020 it is expected that there will be 28 million. So why can’t we have 15pc of the market that is 4 million units by 2020?

There has also been a lot of buzz that Hero Eco was working on electric three-wheelers and fourwheelers. What is its status right now?

We are not exactly working on electric there-wheelers or fourwheelers. But yes, we are coming up with special vehicles. We have lined up four special vehicles for the next 12 months. But again, it is based on the government policy taking shape.

What does the future hold for the e-vehicle industry? Please share your thoughts with us.

Personally, I am very optimistic about the e-vehicle two-wheeler industry. I had my stints mostly in two-wheelers like Yamaha, etc. I

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Green Special

Mahindra Reva e2o, the next step in electric mobility

Mahindra Reva plant in Bangalore

Mahindra Reva recently launched its second offering for the India market, the e2o. It is the next stepping stone for Mahindra in the pursuit of harnessing clean energy for the future of mobility. At the heart of the e2o lies the next generation of lithium ion batteries powering a 3-phase induction motor. The vehicle comes with an automatic transmission for hassle free driving in the city. On a single charge the e2o can be driven 100 kilometres which shall be enough for any city, big or small. Apart from this the e2o has a small turning radius for ease

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and features a hill hold feature for inclines.

The e2o can be charged from any 15A power socket. A full charge takes 5 hours. The interior space has been designed to accommodate four passengers. On the creature comfort front the e2o has a plethora of toys such as touchscreen audio, a GPS navigation system, full digital cluster, electrically operated wing mirrors, keyless entry with start/stop button, projector head lamps, LED tail lamps and a reversing camera. Mahindra has incorporated the regenerative braking system in the e2o which

recharges the car under braking.

Another first for Mahindra is the Connected car technology. The system implies that a customer may gain remote access to multiple functions by the use of their smart phone or palm held device. The user may simply download the application for the e2o and gain access to their car. For example the smartphone can help lock the car by simply sending it a lock command and activate the car’s air-conditioning. The e2o is available in six colours and is priced at 5.96 lakh(on road Delhi, post state subsidy).

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ACMA National Conference on Minimising Carbon Footprint Early May 2013, the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), the apex body of the automotive component industry in India organised the 1st National Conference on Minimising Carbon Footprint for sustainable growth.

With increase in the number of vehicles and an increased need for

transportation of passengers and goods, the conference emphasised the need of a holistic and a threestep Green Mobility programme that will encompass: Green vehicle technology, an upgraded infrastructure and more effective management of the in- use vehicle fleet.

The efforts are to make the

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products environment friendly. The industry has taken a keen resolve of initiating investments in resource efficiency and development of low and ultra-low carbon products, the participants said.

In order to address inclusive sustainable growth and green mobility, ACMA’s “Sustainable Technology Development

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Green Special Committee” (STDC), aims at creating awareness on recycle ability, hazardous wastes, carbon footprint and keeps the industry updated with various technologies.

The conference was attended and conducted by Deepak Jain – Chairman- STDC, ACMA & Senior Executive Director, Luxax, Dr. Aruna Jaura, Conference Chairman, ACMA and Director, SAE International, USA, Dr. Kirit Shantilal Parikh, Chairman, IRADe, N.K Minda, Chairman, ACMA & Chairman & Managing Director, Minda Industries Ltd and Ambuj Sharma,

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Joint Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries Ambuj Sharma said, “By 2020 there will be approximately 20 million electric and hybrid vehicles.

This would be achieved by the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan of the government of India, which would aim at adding green mobility within India. As cheaper alternatives are introduced their acceptability will also increase.”

Vinnie Mehta, Executive Director, ACMA said, “The adoption of green technologies in the automotive industry in India must be across

the supply chain with active involvement of all stake holders including the government.

Worldwide, the automotive industry has used an array of technologies to reduce emissions; these have however varying applicability in the Indian context due to lower average speeds, road quality, congestion and the prevalence of small engines. We must encourage use of greener technologies that are local or can be easily localised at costs that are commensurate with the paying capacity of our people.”

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Captions (From Left to Right) 1) Dr. Kirit Shantilal Parikh, Chairman, IRADe, Deepak Jain, Chairman-STDC, ACMA and & senior executive director, Lumax and N.K. Minda, Chairman, ACMA and CMD, UNO Minda Group.

2) Vinnie Mehta, ED, ACMA and Deepak Jain 3) Deepak Jain, Dr. Kirit Parikh and N.K. Minda 4) Vinnie Mehta, Deepak Jain, Kirit Parikh, Dr. Arun Jaura, Board of Director at SAE International, 5) N K Minda and C.V. Raman, ED, Engineering, Maruti Suzuki 6) Dr. Arun Jaura and Ambuj Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries 7) C.V. Raman

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Revolo could usher in a ‘green’ revolution in India Revolo is a plug-in, parallel hybrid solution transforms vehicles, allowing motor and engine to work seamlessly for a completely fuel efficient, green automobile.

This product has a good chance of ushering in a revolution in the Indian automobile space where everything is measured in terms of affordability and durability.

The Revolo innovation includes a clever battery management system, proprietary software, and mechanical assembly. Simply put, Revolo is a different view on hybrid cars, one that makes hybrid vehicles affordable for everyone.

Revolo will be manufactured and marketed through a joint venture (JV) between KPIT Cummins and Bharat Forge, the world’s largest forging company.

While KPIT Cummins licenses the technology to the JV, Bharat Forge brings in essential manufacturing know-how, assembly capabilities and integration expertise. With Revolo, the vehicle is never just an electric vehicle - if the batteries are discharged, it can continue as a conventional fuel powered car.

The load sharing is seamless, and requires no user intervention. Inbuilt features improve fuel efficiency even further, like a Stop-Start addition that takes care of ‘stop and go’ traffic situations, and an intelligence that recognises driving patterns, self adjusting for better efficiency. Revolo can work with all types of batteries, from lead acid batteries to lithium

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ion batteries. The solution has been designed to work without any interaction with a vehicle’s existing Engine Management System (EMS).

This makes it highly adaptable, and suitable for cars without electronic engines.

Revolo was showcased at the 2012 Auto Expo in New Delhi. Later in the year it was demonstrated to Praful Patel, Minister for Heavy Industries, Government of India.

Revolo enhances fuel efficiency by 35pc and reduces Green House Gas (GHG) emissions by over 30pc. As part of the demonstration, Patel was briefed about the components of Revolo including the electric motor, electric motor controller, battery pack, proprietary battery management system, the mechanical assembly and coupling,

proprietary software and the intelligent battery management system. The solution Revolo can be installed in vehicles ranging from 800cc to 3000cc, and for the purpose of the demonstration, a Maruti Alto and a Tata 207 were fitted with the Revolo system and showcased.

Revolo is expected to generate a lot of interest among Indian car owners. It is expected to cost Rs 1 lakh. It can be retrofitted into vehicles like the way CNG and LPG kits are fitted on.

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Green Special

Tata Technologies unveils at eMO-C Detroit It was in January 2012 that Tata Technologies launched its electric MObility (eMO) EV study at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. A little more than a year later In March 2013, Tata Technologies has introduced the second in its series of engineering studies building upon the eMO solution. This solution is aimed at the commercial market.

The eMO-C retains the overall wheelbase from eMO, so it’s still easy to manoeuvre and park. The small increase in overall footprint led to a 53 cubic feet of cargo space, which also provides space for 8-foot long packages, and configurable storage solutions with bins and racks. The unique ‘Lift & Slide’ rear hatch is a feature that offers easier loading and unloading. Based on three variable driving ranges, the estimated price

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would range from $15,750 ( 8.5 lakh) (80km range) to $23,750 ( 12.86 lakh) (241km range); without any federal or state government incentives. The eMO-C carries over the powertrain of the eMO — a unique liquid-cooled, dual-motor, front-wheel-drive system coupled with an air-cooled, high-energy/ density battery system. The eMO-C also has a top speed of 104kmph.

Tata Technologies undertook a careful study of relevant data on the global commercial vehicle market, industry trends, and what markets could be served by this type of vehicle. Results showed that currently, there are few vehicles of this size in North America, but there is growing demand. Additionally, in European markets, where this size vehicle is more common, commercial EV efficiencies have

competitive advantage over Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) solutions.

Tata Technologies compared its eMO-C against current and future competitive ICE, hybrid and EV vehicles. In the meantime, Tata Technologies, a leading global provider of engineering services and product development IT, has announced the opening of its allnew North American Engineering and Innovation Center in Troy, Mich.

The 10,000 square foot facility, located at 800 Tower Drive, Suite 200, in Troy, Mich., is currently staffed with 60 engineering professionals and the company expects to increase that number to 100 by December 2013.

The new Engineering and Innovation Center is the North American home to the Tata Technologies Vehicle Programs

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Green Special Development (VPD) Group, headed

by Kevin Fisher, President – Vehicle Programs Development. Fisher’s home office is located in the new centre. The VPD Group is responsible for the development of the Tata Technologies eMO (electric MObility) landmark EV study revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January of last year. The VPD Group supports automotive OEMs worldwide from metro Detroit and three other automotive centres of excellence in Coventry (UK), Pune (India), and Stuttgart (Germany).

Technical Centre in UK: Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) plc in the UK is an active partner in a number of Low Carbon Technology collaborative programmes. It is also actively engaged in the design, development, assembly and commercialisation of the Vista EV and Ace EV vehicles on behalf of

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Tata Motors.

The company was established in 2005. A 100pc subsidiary of Tata Motors, it is in the business of design engineering and product development for the automotive industry.

TMETC’s 200-strong workforce

in Warwick complements Tata Motors’ own skill-sets and helps provide European and international standards of delivery to the company’s passenger and light commercial vehicles.

In 2011 it expanded its partnership with WMG at the University of Warwick. Tata Motors has invested over £85m in automotive R&D at TMETC since it was established on the University Campus in 2005 and it already has a team of 240 engineers and researchers working alongside WMG colleagues, with 60 of these hired over the last 12 months due to increased R&D investment.

TMETC announced that it aims to increase the engineering and research force by a further 100 to 340 by 2013.

TMETC’s engineers, who have extensive experience in automotive research, design and development, work alongside WMG researchers in Low Carbon Technology collaborative R&D programmes. The company had unveiled the electric Tata Indica several years back.

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Green Special

Ford’s EcoBoost magic Even though India is getting ready to welcome Ford’s new 1 litre EcoBoost engine in the soon-to-be launched Ford EcoSport, Ford Motor Company recently announced that a new 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol engine will join its line-up of fuel-efficient, innovative powertrains. The 1.5-litre engine is a key strategic entry for Ford, as the company works to meet the strong global demand for its four-cylinder EcoBoost engines.

With the launch of the newest fuel-efficient engine, Ford now has capacity to build 1.6 million EcoBoost engines annually. By the end of 2013 six plants across Europe, Asia and North America will be producing EcoBoost engines, triple the number that it was doing so in 2010.

Production of the fourcylinder 1.5-litre EcoBoost – the fifth member of the EcoBoost family – was to commence initially at Ford’s world-class facility in Craiova, Romania.

Other manufacturing locations will be announced in the future. The new engine will be first introduced in China in the all-new Ford Mondeo, making its public debut later this month at the Auto Shanghai Show 2013, with applications following in the Fusion sedan in North America this year, and later the new Mondeo in Europe.

As a key contributor to Ford’s aggressive fuel economy and emissions strategy, EcoBoost

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technologies enable improvements to both fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions of up to 20 per cent.

The 1.5-litre engine benefits from signature EcoBoost turbocharging, direct fuel injection and variable valve timing and has been designed to be even more fuelefficient and offer high levels of engine refinement, quietness and performance.

Additionally, the newest EcoBoost

engine will be a strategic entry for Ford in global markets that offer tax relief to consumers who purchase vehicles powered by engines of 1.5-litre capacity or less.

The new aluminium-block, twincam 1.5-litre EcoBoost engine will feature some of the innovative features introduced on the awardwinning 1.0-litre EcoBoost, including an integrated exhaust manifold. The new engine is expected to provide

similar horsepower and torque performance to Ford’s current 1.6-litre EcoBoost, while delivering improved fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions.

The 1.5-litre EcoBoost engine is the first engine from Ford to incorporate a computer-controlled clutch on the belt-drive water pump, which further improves efficiencies by reducing warm-up time. A watercooled charge air cooler is added to offer a more efficient feed of air into the engine.

“Ford EcoBoost technology has changed the way people look at petrol engines and has enjoyed huge success with customers,” said Joe Bakaj, vice president, Powertrain Engineering, Ford Motor Company.

“The new 1.5-litre unit further extends our EcoBoost promise of economical motoring in terms of both fuel efficiency and, in some markets, tax-savings.”

Ford has sold more than 600,000 EcoBoostequipped vehicles globally since the range was launched with the 3.5-litre V6 EcoBoost in 2009.

Ford added the 2.0-litre EcoBoost in 2010; the 1.6-litre EcoBoost followed in 2011; and last year the 1.0-litre EcoBoost was launched, winning the 2012 “International Engine of the Year” award.

By the end of this year, nearly 80 per cent of the company’s global nameplates will be available with fuel-saving EcoBoost technology.

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Green Special

All-electric car FIA Formula E World Championship Every day brings us closer to the first allelectric car FIA Formula E World Championship.

We have already heard a lot of news before the drivers have started their engines for the first race, which is scheduled for 2014, and there is even more yet to come.

Much progress has been made since the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) awarded the Formula E Championship licence to the company Formula E Holdings (FEH) whose CEO is Alejandro Agag.

FEH acquired the prototype of the electric car built by Eric Barbaroux and Pierre Gosselini, founders of Formulec and integrated both into the team as heads of operations, circuit design and race production.

The creation of Spark Racing Technology was announced recently.

This company will form part of a consortium charged with the design and assembly of the Formula E Championship electric cars. McLaren will be one of the main players in this consortium; it will be in charge of supplying the engine, transmission and electronics for the cars which Spark Racing Technology will build.

In line with this, FEH has already commissioned 42 electric cars from Spark Racing Technology, 40 of which will be allocated to each of the 10 teams. The two remaining

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cars will be used for crash tests and as spares.

Urban circuits The Formula E Championship will take place in the heart of some of the world’s major cities and thus far, it has all the makings of a competition that will achieve a worldwide following. The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, was the first to reveal that his city would be one of the participants in the Formula E Championship, confirming later that it would be the last city to host a race in the 2014 calendar.

The Formula E Championship has aroused much interest all over the world in part because it is one of the few motor sports to have a positive effect on the environment.

Furthermore, according to Alejandro

Agag, “seeing high speed electric cars competing may change the public’s mentality and accelerate the use of electric cars as a form of urban transport”.

Earlier this year, FEH presented the FIA with a preliminary list of eight cities - London, Rome, Los Angeles, Miami, Beijing, Putrajaya (Malaysia), Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro - all selected to host races for the inaugural season. A total of 10 races are scheduled for 2014 with Bangkok adding its name to the list of candidate cities for the remaining two slots.

Since launching in August 2012, FEH has received formal letters of interest from 23 cities across five continents with the final calendar being presented to the FIA for its approval at the September 2013 World Motor Sport Council.

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Green Special

Ricardo has the right team to realise your electric dreams With the increasing electrification of vehicle powertrains – from electric city cars to conventional and plug-in hybrids and from motorcycles to off-highway equipment and railway locomotives – an ability to engineer best-in-class electric drive systems is an important strategic requirement for Ricardo. The recruitment of a dedicated team for this endto-end capability, coupled with the company’s longstanding and widely acknowledged leadership in vehicle systems integration, has left Ricardo ideally placed to assist all organisations and all sectors in the electric and hybrid vehicle value chain.

“With the team that we have recruited over recent years we now have a proven capability, from research to model year programmes,” commented Ricardo hybrid and electric systems product group head Dave Greenwood. “We design and develop all electric motor types including permanent magnet, induction and switched reluctance, linear and rotary machines. We are fully independent of any manufacturer and are completely open to all and any electric drive system technology; we aim simply to provide the best possible solution for our customers every time. In terms of scale, we are already taking on projects ranging from actuators of just a few watts, through to automotive accessories and prime movers measured in tens and hundreds of kilowatts, and right up to wind and tidal turbines in the megawatt range.

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“In addition to recruiting a highly skilled and specialist workforce we have also developed our own integrated tool-chain using industry standard software packages such

as SPEED, MotorCAD, PC-Opera, and MagNet, as well as custom inhouse Ricardo developed tools and databases, to provide a class-leading capability.”

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Green Special

Volvo completes testing of kinetic flywheel technology Volvo Car Group has completed extensive testing of kinetic flywheel technology on public roads - and the results confirm that this is a light, financially viable and very ecoefficient solution.

“The testing of this complete experimental system for kinetic energy recovery was carried out during 2012. The results show that this technology combined with a four-cylinder turbo engine has the potential to reduce fuel consumption by up to 25 per cent compared with a six-cylinder turbo engine at a comparable performance level,” says Derek Crabb, Vice President Powertrain Engineering at Volvo Car Group, “Giving the driver an extra 80 horsepower, it makes a car with a four-cylinder engine accelerate like one with a six-cylinder unit.”

The experimental system, known as Flywheel KERS (Kinetic Energy

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Recovery System), is fitted to the rear axle. During retardation, the braking energy causes the flywheel to spin at up to 60,000 revs per minute. When the car starts moving off again, the flywheel’s rotation is transferred to the rear wheels via a specially designed transmission.

The combustion engine that drives the front wheels is switched off as soon as braking begins. The energy in the flywheel can then be used to accelerate the vehicle when it is time to move off again or to power the vehicle once it reaches cruising speed.

Most efficient in city traffic “The flywheel’s stored energy is sufficient to power the car for short periods. This has a major impact on fuel consumption. Our calculations

indicate that it will be possible to turn off the combustion engine about half the time when driving according to the official New European Driving Cycle,” explains Derek Crabb.

Since the flywheel is activated by braking, and the duration of the energy storage - that is to say the length of time the flywheel spins - is limited, the technology is at its most effective during driving featuring repeated stops and starts. In other words, the fuel savings will be greatest when driving in busy urban traffic and during active driving.

If the energy in the flywheel is combined with the combustion engine’s full capacity, it will give the car an extra 80 horsepower and, thanks to the swift torque build-up, this translates into rapid acceleration, cutting 0 to 100kmph figures by seconds. The experimental car, a Volvo S60, accelerates from 0 to 100km in 5.5 seconds.

The flywheel that Volvo Cars used in the experimental system is made of carbon fibre. It weighs about six kilograms and has a diameter of 20 centimetres. The carbon fibre wheel spins in a vacuum to minimise frictional losses.

“We are the first manufacturer that has applied flywheel technology to the rear axle of a car fitted with a combustion engine driving the front wheels.

The next step after completing these successful tests is to evaluate how the technology can be implemented in our upcoming car models,” concludes Derek Crabb.

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Green Special

Tesla rides the Model S popularity wave When you talk about electric cars, you cannot miss out Tesla of the US and its popular car model, the Model S. The Tesla Model S, an all-electric luxury sports car, has earned the highest score in Consumer Reports’ ratings: a 99 out of 100 in the US. The $89,650 EV, built by a small automaker in Palo Alto, California, performed better, or just as well overall, as any other vehicle—of any kind—ever tested by Consumer Reports based in the US. “The Tesla Model S is packed with technological innovation,” said Jake Fisher, director of Automotive Testing for Consumer Reports. “It accelerates, handles and brakes like a sports car, it has the ride and quietness of a luxury car and is far more energy efficient than the best hybrid cars.”

The last vehicle to achieve a 99 in CR’s testing was the Lexus LS 460L, which CR tested in 2007. The Model S is the first time any electric vehicle to earn that score.

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With a hefty 85-kWh lithiumion battery, CR’s Tesla is easily the most practical electric car that has been tested to date. While the Ford Focus Electric and Nissan Leaf, for example, can go about 80 and 75 miles, respectively, before needing a charge, the Model S has been delivering closer to 322 km—ample

for commuting, running plenty of errands and still being able to take the long, winding road home. Range has varied from about 302km on cold winter days to about 362km in more moderate temperatures. Tesla now aims to sell 21,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2013. It’s also making plans for the next car in its line up, the Model X SUV. Tesla founder Elon Musk, with degrees in physics and business, had already built and sold one successful company, PayPal, for a fortune. Musk not only sold electric cars but also sold battery packs to other automakers like Daimler AG of Germany and Toyota. Tesla Motors’ goal is to accelerate the world’s transition to electric mobility with a full range of increasingly affordable electric cars. California-based Tesla designs and manufactures EVs, as well as EV powertrain components for partners such as Toyota and Daimler.

Tesla has delivered almost 10,000 electric vehicles to customers in 31 countries.

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Green Special

Nissan LEAF, a popular electric car The new Nissan LEAF has arrived – and it has a longer range, is more practical, better to drive and has even more equipment.

Since its launch in 2011, more than 50,000 examples have found homes and the world’s best-selling pure electric vehicle has been built solely

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in Japan. But production of the new model will soon commence at Nissan’s Sunderland (UK) production facility with more than 100 changes made to the multi-award winning car.

Improvements include an extended driving range, greater

recyclability, more interior space, better charging performance, more equipment and, with three versions now available, greater choice. Subtle styling changes to the nose of the car have improved its already impressive aerodynamic efficiency.

Many of the changes have come

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Green Special as a direct result of feedback from pioneering LEAF owners. With some of the most active Internet forums of any car-owning group, LEAF drivers have become enthusiastic advocates of zero-emission mobility and of the car itself - LEAF enjoys the highest customer satisfaction rating of any Nissan model with a score of 93pc.

In addition to this human feedback, Nissan has been able to get feedback from aggregated data from the unique Carwings telematics system, which is at the heart of LEAF. This powerful feature gives customers the ability to control the heating and charging of their car remotely and also logs information on charging, usage patterns and distance driven. With LEAF having been on sale for more than two years, engineers at Nissan have been able to use some of the data collected to optimise the car in line with actual customer usage.

Changes range from a new powertrain assembly that greatly enhances the car’s practicality to simple modifications, such as the addition of an LED inspection light within the charging port making overnight charging that much easier.

Other aspects of LEAF ownership have also changed dramatically since the car first appeared on Europe’s roads, with a greatly expanded charging infrastructure and a significant rise in the number of Nissan dealers selling and servicing the car in the last 12 months alone.

At the time of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, for example, there were 150 Nissan LEAF dealers across Europe and 195 Quick Chargers, capable of charging a

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battery to 80pc capacity in less than 30 minutes. Today, just 12 months later, there are 1,400 dealers and more than 600 Quick Chargers, while the number of conventional public chargers has increased from 12,000 to more than 20,000.

The dramatic expansion in Quick Chargers has been facilitated in part by Nissan, which has provided a number of the units to local authorities to accelerate the development of Quick Charging ‘Highways’ between cities across Europe. To date, Nissan is behind the installations of 200 Quick Chargers, both at dealers and strategic locations, and plans to triple this figure over the next 12 months.

Customer peace of mind has also been increased with a new comprehensive warranty plan for the batteries. As well as covering the batteries against defects in materials and workmanship for five years/100,000km, they will be covered by a ‘State Of Health’ clause which covers gradual capacity loss.

Over time, lithium-ion batteries lose a percentage of their capacity, a natural phenomenon. But should battery life reduce quicker than anticipated over the same warranty period it will either be repaired or replaced.

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Green Special

Eaton Supercharger powers the 2013 Ford Mustang GT500 The Ford Mustang was conceived in the year 1961, and ever since it has been a customisation canvas for muscle car enthusiasts all over the world. The key reason for its success has been the simplicity of its construction components and the ability of its engine to be tweaked from powerful to outrageously powerful. But pumping out more horsepower implies more exhaust emission and lesser efficiency. In the past this problem could be ignored but not now when the fuel reserves around the world are depleting quickly.

Extensive work had to be performed on the Mustang to continue its big power image.

Recently in 2011 the Mustang’s entire engine lineup was overhauled, including a 3.7 litre V6 that generated 305bhp and had a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rating of more than 30 miles per gallon for highway driving, which was the highest in its class. The Ford-Shelby Mustang partnership returned with the

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2007 Shelby GT500, which was powered by a 500bhp 5.4 litre supercharged V8 engine. But the power increase further hampers fuel efficiency figures. One of the major components that would help efficient burning of fuel for the Mustang is the supercharger.

Eaton has created the fifthgeneration 2300 TVS ((Twin Vortices Series), which is larger and more efficient than the previous blower.

For 2013, Ford have upped the performance characteristics even more. The 2013 Ford Mustang GT500 now has a 5.8 litre supercharged V8 engine. The Eaton supercharger

in the Mustang’s engine displaces 2.3 litres, spins faster than the last GT500’s blower and cranks out 14psi at maximum boost which is 5psi higher than the previous model.

The TVS features twin four-lobe rotors that are twisted 160 degrees (60 degrees in the previous model) and have a drive ratio that spins 2.64 times faster than the previous blower. This is completely different than the previous construction that had three lobes angled at 60 degrees. The fourth lobe and increased angle creates a more efficient flow into the engine when combined with the TVS’ revised inlet air outputs, increasing volume by 33pc. The lightweight aluminumblock engine combined with Eaton’s TVS supercharger helps the 2013 Shelby GT500 produce 662bhp and 855Nm of torque. With a top speed of 324kmph, the 2013 Ford Mustang is the fastest and most powerful Mustang ever built. And thanks to Eaton’s TVS supercharger, the 2013 model’s 18mpg EPA rating (15mpg city/24mpg highway) bests that of its predecessor, despite the addition of another 100 ponies.

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MOTOWN INDIA CV & TRACTOR SPECIAL AUGUST 2013

The Indian commercial vehicle and tractor industries have been going through radical changes in the last decade or so. The products that are manufactured are now technolgically superior, enabling companies to export to countries in Europe and elsewhere. This ‘Special’ on these industries will be tracking the progress of the several players in it. Be a part of this ‘CV and Tractor Special’.

FOR ADVERTISING, CONTACT: Priscilla J. Waters priscilla@motownindia.com priscilla.motown@gmail.com 9958125645

Mohammed Danish danish@motownindia.com danish.motown@gmail.com 9711309889

Tête-à-tête

Dinesh Tyagi

Director, International Centre for Automotive Technology (iCAT) Report: Avishek Banerjee, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

International Centre for Automotive Technology (iCAT), Manesar is an automotive testing and R&D centre strategically located at Manesar, Gurgaon –one of the flourishing business hubs in North India. iCAT is the part of NATRiP Implementation Society (NATIS), an independent registered society and an apex body for implementation of National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP), Govt. of India in the Northern region. iCAT is a notified testing agency and is working towards the development of automobile industry in the country. Its mission is to assist industry in adopting cutting edge technology in component and vehicle development, adopt world class work practices in technology services and innovation, build technical expertise driven by teamwork and commitment, strive to deliver quality services for total customer satisfaction and be a front runner in establishing global standards in the field of automotive testing and R&D. Inside its campus, following facilities are being provided- Active & Passive Safety, Component Evaluation & Fatigue Materials, EMI / EMC, Noise Vibration Harshness, Powertrain Vehicle Evaluation Facilities & Homologation Test Track.

You have been a 30-year veteran in the Indian automotive industry, having worked with numerous organisations like DCM Toyota, Daewoo Motors, Piaggio 2W, Rico Auto and General Motors India in the past. What really motivated

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you to be part of iCAT? And how do you really gauge things that have unfolded under your directorship?

My past experiences in this industry have been in the capacity of the Head of Product Engineering

department. So this is more like a head of a function. I was looking for a bigger role and I got this opportunity with iCAT to head the whole organisation. That was a big motivator. Besides that, another reason which was personal was that

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Tête-à-tête

I wanted to move to the northern part of India. My last stint was in Gujarat (Western part of India). So it was a combination of two different motivators. I believe there is a big transformation at iCAT ever since I joined this organisation in 2009.

A lot of credit goes to the kind of vision I had for this centre and I was also fortunate to have a good team which supported my vision very efficiently to translate into reality.

Since I was roped in by iCAT, the revenues jumped fourfold to nearly 42 crore and the employee strength was augmented two and a half times to 175. More infrastructure has been set up inside this campus and I am also been additionally given the post of Director (Technical) for the NATRiP project. That project is also taking shape, albeit slowly. This year we are very hopeful that these new facilities come up under the NATRiP. Our facilities are designed to cater to multiple products like LCVs, HCV, MCVs, SUVs, MPVs, construction equipment, tractors, two-wheelers et al.

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When are the Centres of Excellence (COE) on component development and NVH getting established? And what are your expectations from such centres?

Let’s take them one by one. COE on component development will involve facilities like CAD, CAE, prototyping, validation, testing, and releasing newly-validated designs to the customers. The facility aims

to provide end-to-end solutions for components and systems. We are now in the process of establishing CAD and CAE facilities and I expect them to be ready by September’13.

Even though we will be installing equipment and software, we have to factor in human capabilities as another angle. To develop a hands-on experience is really timeconsuming for the whole process.

Infact, it’s a never-ending process as we have to develop the whole capabilities in terms of accuracy. On the component development front, we have many facilities for validation even today. Moreover, we will be establishing a fatigue lab under the NATRiP project. So the validation part can be augmented further.

Another aspect is prototyping for which we have established a Rapid Prototyping Facility (RPF) and will be establishing many more machines by this year which can facilitate metalworking. By next year, we should be in a position to take up some turnkey projects. NVH is a separate COE which is a bit delayed.

We have awarded the contract to ICE, UK to set up the facility for

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Tête-à-tête

us and we are in the process of awarding the civil contract for the same. By 2014-end, the NVH lab should be up and running. Having said that, it takes another two-three years to actually build capabilities (for a particular centre) before we can actually render value-added services to our clients.

It’s a known fact that iCAT has been awarded a handful of new projects like compressed air engine development and dynamic headlamp system. When will you be executing them and what kind of benefits does the automotive industry accrue out of them?

The new projects that you have talked about are under execution.

It’s a two-year project and we will be able to deliver it by the end of 2014. Compressed air engine development as a prime mover power is an old concept. But somehow it has not been put into extensive usage due to limitations on the sizes of the cylinders and the kind of pressures it can carry. There are some technologies developed in France but will have not seen such air-powered products on the Indian roads. So the projects that we are trying to do are aiming at indigenous technology. I believe that Tata has earmarked US$ 300 million to bring such technology (for the airpowered cars) to India. We are trying to develop a similar technology which is simple, indigenous, and unique and will increase the energy efficiency of the products. We should be finishing this project by 2014-end. As far as dynamic headlamp system is concerned, it is aimed at dynamically shifting the focus thus avoiding glare to the oncoming vehicle. It helps in reducing accidents at night time.

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This system should be taking shape by 2014.

A committee headed by you submitted its report to the Ministry Of Road Transport and highways for forming a policy on quadricycles. Can you please share your viewpoints on the same?

A report was submitted on 30th of April. As you know, there has been a lot of talk about quadricycles. The subject is not new as the idea for such products has been mooted way back in early 2002. There have been a lot of discussions and debates during that time. TVS and Tata Motors were a few companies that wanted to bring in a product under such a policy. The idea was to have a product which is not a regular four-wheeler, but superior to a three-wheeler. The idea was to have a product on four wheels which is safer than a three-wheeler and is meant for affordable mass transportation. At the same time, it should not be having the similar standards of a four-wheeler. During the early part of the previous decade, there wasn’t any consensus as people saw this product as a back-door entry into the fourwheeler segment. So the proposal was opposed by many quarters and subsequently dropped in 2005. The proposal was re-opened in 2012 and the government decided to bring in quadricycles once again. I was assigned to form a committee and frame rules and regulations for the same. I am of the view that it is a good concept as there is an improvement in the safety aspect over and above what three-wheelers offer. At the same time, the concerns of four-wheeler manufacturers are also valid. No quadric manufacturer should get a backdoor entry to

personal movement segment (with cars). Therefore, adequate measures have been taken to ensure that products like Bajaj RE60 serves only that purpose for which it is conceptualised. That’s why we have recommended that the product should be notified as a commercial transport and not for any personal

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TĂŞte-Ă -tĂŞte

usage.

You have been now focussing on new areas like Resonances Fatigue Testing (RFT) machine, Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC), climatic test cells and prototyping centre for auto components. Will they all come under the non-

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certification process?

Many of the facilities that you have mentioned are being established under the NATRiP project. For example, a passive safety lab is a certification facility is also coming under the aforesaid project. Any certification facility has the scope for developmental work too. Fatigue

testing, prototyping centre and Climatic Chambers are essentially a developmental facility and are under the non-certification process.

But like passive safety facility, EMC come under the purview of certification process. Under NATRiP we are getting close to 700-crore investment and it would be evenly

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Tête-à-tête

split between both the processes.

Out of the areas that you have mentioned, RFT has already been installed and we are rendering our services to the industry.

EMC lab is under installation and commissioning and should commence operations by the end of this year. Climatic test cells would be completed by July next year.

We are enhancing the facilities of our powertrain lab to cater to the incremental demand in the market.

You have inked quite a few MOUs with overseas counterparts like CCIC, Korea and VCA, UK etc? So how is iCAT benefitting out of it? And are you targeting global automakers too?

With the CCIC MOU, we are able to get overseas business. We are also able to facilitate certification for Indian suppliers who wish to export their products to Korea or China.

We can do the same for Korean or Chinese suppliers at Indian standards. We have done quite a few projects under this MOU. As far as our association with VCA, UK is concerned, it’s not an MOU but an

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accreditation. They are a certification agency for European homologations.

What we are doing under this association is we are supporting Indian vehicle manufacturers and parts suppliers who wish to export their products to Europe. While we will test their products, VCA will certify them.

So going forward, are you planning to cater to overseas automakers?

We are definitely catering to both homegrown and international OEMs who are running their operations here. We have got quite a few queries from international OEMs related primarily to the developmental work. Since a lot of facilities like NVH, EMC, crash-testing are not ready, we have not done any services for offshore clients.

But in the future, we will definitely be serving them once we build our capabilities.

The government has also initiated a national mission on e-vehicles.

So would you also be interested in forging alliances with overseas

research firms to collaboratively work on hybrids, electric vehicles and also Atkinson cycle internal combustion engines? If yes, can you shed some light on that?

We are already working on Atkinson Cycle and HEV projects.

These are in advanced stages of execution. However, we are not working on electric vehicles.

The degree of electrification of powertrain will change with time due to the depletion of fossil fuels, global warming and rising costs of petroleum products. Initially, it will start with a micro-hybrid system with start-stop features. We organise international seminars on EVs and HEVs. For developing such vehicles in India, we have allied with Argon National Laboratory, Chicago, who is a big pioneer in EVS and HEV segments. We have been talking to them to have a project on battery technologies. So far the project has not been concretised. iCAT has recently demonstrated an anti-glare headlighting system as part of a government research and development initiative to improve road safety. Do you really think such a technology will gain mass acceptance in India?

This system is the need of the hour and this country needs it after looking at 150 thousand deaths every year. But this will come more as legislation rather than somebody paying for this cost voluntarily. The other part of this system is that if a system is installed in my vehicle, it doesn’t help me. But if others will install it, it will definitely help me. So there is a bit of dichotomy in this system which can happen only through legislation. Unless it is mandated on a large scale, it will not give you any benefits.

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Tête-à-tête

As many global and domestic OEMs are setting up their inhouse R&D centres in India, is it impacting your business?

If yes, how are you then derisking your business model?

No, it is not really impacting our business as you know the automobile business in this country is slated for a huge growth. And not many companies are setting up their R&D centres here. Even if some companies are setting up their facilities, the market will grow at a much bigger pace. There will be enough gaps for such requirements. For instance, even if Maruti Suzuki sets up a huge laboratory it will still be depending on us for the kind of testing requirements it may have.

Moreover, a company may not have enough facilities for testing and are still developing multiple models.

So I don’t see a big challenge for our facilities and hopefully we shall remain engaged with all the automakers.

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iCAT had launched its Online Certification System (OCS) to speed up certification and homologation, related processes.

What has been its response?

The response has been very good.

There are some bottom-rung customers who do not have the requisite infrastructure like internet connectivity, etc. For them, it’s a bit of a challenge to go for an OCS. But otherwise, the majority of our

customers are happy with our online certification system as it has brought in a lot of efficiency and transparency than the offline system.

Lastly, what is your short-term, mid-term and long-term agenda for this centre? Where do you want to see it in the next few years in terms of revenues, employee strength, size, scale and prominence?

We have our vision and mission and have a rolling 5-year plan. This 5-year plan is floated every year. In the next five years, we should be looking at revenue of close to 150 crore. By that time, we will be able to ramp up our headcount to over 400.

Within a distance of 7km from iCAT, we will be establishing another such facility on 46 acres. The greenfield facility will be housing four major facilities test tracks, crash and NVH labs and EMC. In India only three such centers will be equipped with such infrastructure will be there, the other two being GARC and ARAI. By 2018, iCAT will definitely be a very prominent centre globally.

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Tête-à-tête

Samit Mitra

Vice President-Sales and Services, Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd. Report: Avishek Banerjee, Photography: Mohd. Nasir

Su-Kam Power Systems Limited is a homegrown power solutions provider, with a presence in more than 70 countries. The company provides power back-up solutions for both domestic as well as industrial markets, with a focus on eco-friendly, inexhaustible energy solutions like solar power. Some of the major products include inverters, home ups, online UPS; line interactive UPS, generators, solar range, batteries, battery chargers and battery equalisers. Early this year, the company launched Su-Kam‘Automate’ - automotive battery specially designed to handle vehicles’ power need in any possible conditions. Su-Kam Automate is powered by All Weather Technology (AWT), a unique feature that ensures reliable performance for your vehicle in all terrains and weather conditions (from -18°C to +55°C).

You have been with Goodyear for nearly eight years. Did you make a sudden switch to Su-Kam because of its diversification into automotive batteries?

Goodyear was actually my third stint wherein I was designated as the National Head- Sales.

There are two key factors that I made a switch to Su-Kam (from Goodyear).

One reason was that whenever I have switched away from a company, I left that industry too. So I started my career with an FMCG industry that was largely into detergents, soaps and cosmetics.

So from there I move on towards a garments firm. Joining Su-Kam was just incidental. It’s altogether a new industry for me and is a learning

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process for me as the business principles are different. Su-Kam is an organisation where the work culture is more entrepreneurial than hierarchical and where you have to be a selfstarter and self-driven.

The hierarchy doesn’t push you or orders you to do something. The amount of freedom and flexibility which is there is much more and we have to look at it as our own business. So that culture is quite interesting here.

Su-Kam was primarily into industrial battery segment. So what prompted it to diversify into the automotive space? And don’t you think it’s a bit late for the company?

If you look into our

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Tête-à-tête

earlier portfolio, we were more into the storage battery segment. That segment is pretty seasonal and the demand shoots up when there is a peak summer or winter. A company which has put up a total setup of manufacturing and channel network cannot depend on a six-month business. It needs to get its factory’s capacity utilised, people involved and channel partners a regular business. We started exploring options two years back and thought that automotive battery segment is just an extension of our industrial battery portfolio. It has a synergy and complements our range of products too. We can now utilise even our existing capacities to roll out these products. Therefore, it just complements our existing portfolio.

Coming to the second part of your question on whether we are late or not, this industry has a space for everyone. Around 40pc of the battery industry is unorganised.

So there is an opportunity for the contribution of the organised sector to grow. The organised sector is growing at a very high rate.

What specific segments are you catering to in the automotive space?

Even though we have been pilottesting our automotive batteries for quite some time, we have been in this business for only five months.

We initially forayed into the car battery division and later extended to the tractor battery division. In the next couple of months, we will also be in the truck battery division.

One segment where we have not yet ventured into is a two-wheeler battery division. We will consider this one year down the line. That will complete our total product range.

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Could you talk a little bit about the automotive batteries that you are rolling out? What is its USP? Besides, are they greener than your peers?

Unlike our competitors, we used the names of various kinds of stones like for our various segments of products. Even the branding colours like green, blue, red, etc, are that of the stones like Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire respectively. We are selling both water-topped and maintenance-free batteries. I can affirm that the start-up charge of these batteries is much better than the ones. Su-Kam Automate is powered by All Weather Technology (AWT), a unique feature that ensures reliable performance for your vehicle in all terrains and weather conditions

(from -18°C to +55°C). Our battery ensures that it takes half the time in cranking up the car. Furthermore, the water loss in our batteries is much less than other batteries (sold by rivals). That’s again because of the technology that we are using. We are also making a differentiation in our service as we are providing a one-hour service for any kind of complaints through our 72 service stations at any part of this country.

Our batteries have to be green considering our core business values of power generation or power conservation. Our Revolutionary Ca - Ca (Calcium Calcium) batteries too are less polluting than the normal highly-available normal batteries. We have already made a move into that and I am sure we are able to come

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Tête-à-tête

out with greener batteries. We also have a huge focus on solar energy too wherein our batteries are much more eco-friendly than the normal ones.

With your aggressive foray into the automotive segment, do you expect a sizeable contribution from this space?

We have a single plant at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh where we are rolling out all kinds of products.

Almost 20pc of the plant is earmarked for the automotive division. Currently, it accounts for 4pc of our total turnover. So in the next five years, the contributions would scale up to 30pc of the sales pie.

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Will you be also considering the aftermarket vertical?

Both direct and aftermarket verticals are indispensable for us. The OEM segment is important because it gives the first-time feeling of the battery to the customer. It has a ruboff effect on the aftermarket. The aftermarket is crucial because OEMs take a call on the battery which a buyer should opt for. We have entered the automotive division through the replacement route. We should have the requisite capacity to cater to both the verticals. Secondly, it’s a very long process to get an approval from an OEM as they test our products. We are not ready to wait for that two-year process. So even though we are only in the

non-direct market, OE vertical is something which we are working on in parallel. After building our brand value in the aftermarket verticle, we will be able to bag some orders in the direct market.

What will be your marketing and promotional strategies to enhance your brand equity?

Unlike cosmetics or garments, the battery industry is a wee bit conservative in popularising its products. This is because our customers make are not making a pleasure-seeking purchase, but a harassment one. So we have always been focusing on the brand rather than the products. For the last one year, we have been following the

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Tête-à-tête

print ad route of the brands. Overall, we are spending 100 crore on brand visibility this year. Our ad spend will be quite heavy on the automotive front.

Are you considering setting up dedicated signature stores to give a better experience to your customers?

The industry where we are present predominantly works on a multibranded outlet format. They are either directly buying from the company or are buying from the wholesaler. Having four-five brands under one roof is the way this (battery retailing) industry works.

Now what we have done in the last six months is that we have started working on ‘Su-Kam Shoppe’ stores which are basically exclusive

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showrooms. It’s basically a smallformat showroom wherein the ROI can work out very fast for the dealer. We have tried to make it a very lucrative kind of a model in our compact exclusive showrooms. We thought that there is an opportunity and there is a possibility of making a format which is not huge or capital intensive where the ROI can work out very fast. Until now, we have almost 92 such stores in the Southern part of India, mainly in Tamil Nadu and Andhra. The outlets sell all kinds of batteries under one roof. We are planning to raise the count to 500 across the country in the next few years.

You have been exporting your industrial batteries to quite a few countries. Do you wish to

replicate the same with your automotive batteries?

Yes, we have already started doing that. We are shipping out our automotive batteries mainly to African nations. We have not considered neighbouring countries because of the unfavourable tax structure there. We are also not thinking about matured countries like the United States or Europe. We are now utlising the strength of our existing base (of industrial batteries) in developing countries of Central Asia, Africa, East Asia, etc to move into the automotive domain.

What is the agenda that you have set for the company in the automotive battery space?

We definitely aim to figure among the top 5 auto battery makers in India in the near term. We have already moved up our ranking to 6th or 7th position in the domestic market. As I said earlier, our automotive segment will account for 33-35pc of our total business in the next five years. We also intend to be a US$ 1 billion by FY 2017-18. That will automatically make us the third largest battery making company in India. For that we will be ramping up our capacities both organically and inorganically---inorganically in India.

Our main focus will remain on the domestic market as our strength lies there. In two years, we will also be having our entire gamut of product range comprising cars, CVs, tractors, construction equipment, forklifts and two-wheelers. We have also inked a JV with a US-based company for Trojan for manufacturing and marketing their products in India. We have started with non-automotive batteries with their products and are drawing up plans to move into the automotive segments too.

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Global Report

Now an

OX for Africa

Although 10pc of the world’s population lives in Africa, there has never been a vehicle specifically designed and manufactured in volume to meet the rigours of the continent.

That situation is about to change with the development of the OX, a highly unconventional ‘flat-pack’ all-terrain light truck that could benefit people living in remote villages and townships across Africa and other parts of the developing world.

Designed and built in Britain, the OX is unlike any other vehicle and has no competitor – whether from a concept, performance or pricing point of view. It is the result of the Global Vehicle Trust’s ambition to help people in the developing world by providing cost-effective mobility for communities to undertake crucial daily tasks, such as collect drinking water and transporting grain, fertilizer or building materials.

Simplicity is the guiding principle behind every aspect of the OX, and notably it is the world’s first flat-pack vehicle. Most panels are interchangeable from one side to the other, while the fewest possible components are used to give it a fast build-up time. It takes three people approximately 5.4 hours to

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create the flat pack in the UK prior to shipping. It then takes three people 11.5 hours to assemble the vehicle from flat pack at its destination and no special skills or equipment are required.

The revolutionary nature of the OX programme extends beyond the vehicle itself and uniquely, OX is capable of being flat-packed within itself. That means there is no requirement for an expensive box or individual pallets for transportation, ensuring freight costs can be kept to a minimum. Six OX vehicles, including engines and

transmissions, fit into a standard 40ft hi-cube container. In addition, assembly labour is transferred to the importing country, where local professional companies will be found to assemble and maintain the finished vehicles.

OX can drive through 75cm depth of water and has a very wide track to ensure excellent stability on badly rutted roads. Maximum payload is 2.0 tonnes (twice the capacity of most current pick-ups) and following EU size guidelines, OX can seat up to 13 people or carry eight 44 gallon drums or three Euro pallets. It has

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Global Report

a simple power take-off capable of pumping water, sawing wood or running a generator.

Designed to be at home on the roughest terrain, the OX has a high ground clearance and short front and rear overhangs to tackle the steepest inclines. Independent suspension, front and rear, allows easy transit over rough ground, while the uncluttered underside ensures that sand, mud and other hostile surfaces do not obstruct progress.

With an overall length similar to an average family car, the OX weighs just 1.5 tonnes. It has front-wheel drive and is powered by a robust 2.2 litre diesel engine with a manual transmission. Unladen, 73pc of the OX’s weight is over the front axle and when fully loaded 53pc is still over that axle. This contributes to excellent traction in both conditions.

The driving force behind GVT and the OX is Sir Torquil Norman, founder of the Norman Trust which raised more than £30 million to transform the Roundhouse in Camden Town into a media skills

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training centre and one of London’s most popular venues.

“My inspiration for the OX goes back to the ‘Africar’ project of the 1980s. OX became a dream three years ago and is now a realistic ambition with a working prototype that has already completed its initial testing programme,” says Sir Torquil Norman.

“Our sole objective at GVT is to help people in the developing world.

As part of an aid programme, the OX could provide an essential element of infrastructure to enable the local population to raise the community’s standard of living and to assert its independence by gaining control of its transportation needs and costs.

The OX could also be an enormous help in transporting medicines, doctors, patients and other materials in emergencies and at times of natural disaster.”

Driving the next stage of development “We have spent around £1 million bringing the OX to the working

prototype stage and we need a further £3 million to take the project through to a production-ready status,” said Sir Torquil. “This is why we are now ‘going public’ to highlight the need for investment and support in order to progress the project to completion.

“Feedback we have had so far from contacts in Africa and with aid agencies has been very positive. As this is a not-for-profit endeavour we are seeking philanthropic supporters. OX is about making a difference now, being part of something ground-breaking, something unique. Most of all it presents a real opportunity to make a fundamental and lasting difference to people’s lives.

“Our priority now is to raise the funding to complete the testing and take the project to fruition. Our aim is that the OX will be purchased by charities, aid organisations and development programmes, rather than private individuals. My dream is to one day see an OX in every village in Africa,” concludes Sir Torquil.

Although initially planned and designed for developing countries, there has subsequently been a realization that there is likely to be demand for fullyassembled vehicles in some European markets. It is anticipated that OX will appeal to farmers, estate owners and others due to its huge carrying capacity and ability to traverse rough terrain. Any profits generated by selling fullyassembled vehicles in Europe will be ploughed back into the Global Vehicle Trust charity to fund future developments of the OX.

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Global Report

UK police gets new fleet of

LEAFs Local criminals won’t be the only ones charged after West Midlands Police (WMP) took delivery of 30 Nissan LEAFs in the UK’s largest corporate LEAF deal to date.

Ten local policing units (LPUs) will run three “diary car” LEAFs each: the cars will be used to attend pre-arranged meetings with victims of crime and locals who have contacted the police force. Diary cars average 40 to 45 miles per day making 124-mile range of the LEAFs perfectly suited for WMP’s day-today needs.

After a successful trial by WMP Fleet Services last summer, the decision was made to order 30 LEAFs and spread them evenly across each LPU. Feedback so far has been very positive, with police drivers praising the LEAF for its arresting looks and zero emissions when in use.

Dedicated charging points installed at each LPU will be used to charge the LEAFs, meaning officers won’t have trouble finding leads.

With the bill for a full recharge being

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a mere £1.75, costs are kept under control too.

Bob Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Midlands Police said: “We welcome the new LEAFs, which fit in perfectly with the operational requirements of diary cars and will significantly cut our fuel costs while also reducing our carbon footprint.”

Barry Beeston, Nissan corporate sales director said: “It’s fitting that the UK’s largest corporate LEAF deal to date is with such a prestigious institution in the West Midlands Police. The LEAF is becoming ever more popular as fleet managers

see the benefits of 100pc electric vehicles and massively reduced running costs. We’re delighted to hear the police are already enjoying driving the LEAFs and we hope they’re enjoying going after a new type of lead!”

It’s a lesson India too can learn, perhaps. If not the police, the Ministry of Environment and every other government department which has something or anything to do with environment can stop pretending and star buying--buying the Mahindra e2o to begin with. Let’s see how serious our tree huggers are!!

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Global Report

The new look Adventure Acknowledged for its robustness and reliability on worksites all over the world, the Renault Kerax has also stood out for its performance in expeditions such as the Dakar Rally and the Cape to Cape. Since adventure is part of Renault Trucks’ DNA, the Adventure kit combines these two aspects in a vehicle with a very original style.

The Renault Kerax Adventure is distinguished by a new look and its unique livery. With a grey radiator grille, hefty bull bar and rally type sunshield, the Renault Kerax Adventure is an imposing vehicle. The impression of sturdiness, which makes the Renault Kerax so distinctive has been enhanced even further. To give the vehicle a stamp of exclusivity, both doors display the official Renault Trucks Adventure logo. On the roof of the cab, the Renault Kerax Adventure sports chrome plated fog horns instead of regular horns.

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Renault Kerax

Outside Europe and in environments with high levels of dust or sand, the Renault Kerax is fitted with a special air filter.

Available on Euro 3 vehicles, it is possible to prolong engine life and reduce the frequency of air filter replacements.

After 30 years’ involvement in the Dakar Rally, plus participating in the 2009 Cape to Cape between the North Cape in Norway to the Cape of Good Hope in South

Africa, Renault Trucks is committed to adventure and pushing the boundaries of travel in extreme conditions.

Like the rest of the construction range, the Renault Kerax Adventure incorporates Renault Trucks’ Optifuel Solutions designed to reduce fuel consumption. The Optidriver+ automated gearbox has an off road mode specially suited for negotiating challenging terrain and helping to reduce fuel costs in the process, while Optifuel Infomax allows operators to analyse and monitor consumption and driving styles.

The Renault Kerax Adventure kit is available for all Renault Kerax vehicles across the different configurations and engine ratings.

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Industry overview Passenger Vehicle Manufacturers in India Total Domestic Sales + Exports - April 2013 1,91,426 Units

GM India 3.10% Toyota Kirloskar 3.21%

VW India 2.81%

Others 2.19%

Nissan 2.14%

Ford India 3.77% Honda Cars 4.50%

Maruti Suzuki 43.49%

Tata Motors 5.06%

Hyundai Motor 29.73%

Others Skoda Auto India Pvt. Ltd. (0.99%)

Renault India Pvt. Ltd. (0.49%)

Hindustan Motors Ltd. (0..21%);

Fiat India Automobiles Pvt. Ltd. (0.20%)

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (0.30%)

Based on SIAM figures

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Industry overview Utility Vehicles Manufacturers in India Total Domestic Sales + Exports - April 2013 59,264 Units

GM India 3.82%

Others 1.03%

Toyota Kirloskar Motor 7.26 %

Renault India 10.91 %

Mahindra & Mahindra 38.80 %

Tata Motors Ltd. 14.46 %

Maruti Suzuki 23.72 %

Others Force Motors Ltd (0.47%)

Hindustan Motors (0.19%)

Ford India Pvt. Ltd. (0.10%)

Honda Cars India Ltd. (0.10%)

Skoda Auto India Pvt. Ltd (0.07%)

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (0.07%)

Nissan Motor India Pvt.Ltd. (0.03%) Based on SIAM figures

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June 2013 / 93

Industry overview Two Wheeler Manufacturers in India

Total Domestic Sales + Exports - April 2013 13,26,409 Units

Others 1.81%

Suzuki Motorcycle 2.23% India Yamaha Motor 3.98%

TVS Motor Company 12.10%

Hero MotoCorp 37.63 %

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India 19.57%

Bajaj Auto 22.68%

Others Royal Enfield (0.96%)

Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd. (0.49%)

Piaggio Vehicles Pvt.Ltd. (0.35%)

H-D Motor Company India Pvt.Ltd. (0.01%)

Based on SIAM figures

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Industry overview Three Wheelers in India

Total Domestic Sales + Exports - April 2013 69,562 Units Scooters India 1.18%

Force Motors 0.12%

Atul Auto 3.23% Mahindra & Mahindra 5.87% TVS Motor 6.78%

Piaggio Vehicles 20.50%

Bajaj Auto 62.32%

Based on SIAM figures

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June 2013 / 95

Industry overview Light Commercial Vehicle Manufacturers in India Total Domestic Sales + Exports - April 2013 41,740 Units Mahindra Navistar 1.03%

Force Motors 4.54%

VECV Eicher 2.61%

Others 1.77%

Ashok Leyland 5.36%

Tata Motors 53.35% Mahindra & Mahindra 31.34%

Others Piaggio Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (1.01%)

SML Isuzu Ltd. (0.73%)

Hindustan Motors Ltd. (0.03%)

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Industry overview Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicle Manufacturers in India Total Domestic Sales + Exports -April 2013 20,039 Units Mahindra Navistar 1.36%

Others 0.48%

SML Isuzu 2.12%

Asia Motor Works 2.64%

VECV - Eicher 14.11%

Tata Motors 53.09%

Ashok Leyland 26.20%

Others VECVs - Volvo (0.28%)

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Volvo Buses India Pvt. Ltd. (0.20%)

June 2013 / 97

Industry overview Auto Industry Overview

Total Domestic Sales + Exports - April 2013 17,08,440 Units

Three Wheelers 4.07%

Commercial Vehicles 3.62%

Passenger Vehicles 14.67%

Two Wheelers 77.64%

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RNI No DEL ENG/2010/34562