Auto sector sees challenges in price points, pollution

Growing aspirations of the consumers to own vehicles will pose a challenge to the auto industry to develop new products with challenging price points, according to R Seshasayee, executive vice chairman, Ashok Leyland.

He said these kinds of mobility solutions are important for the growth in the coming decades. With rising urbansation, the demand for mobility solution would go up, he said, stressing the importance of confluence of technologies.

Auto industry is often the whipping boys when it comes to emission and pollution, he said. That notion would continue in the future and there is a need to push for effective alternative fuels, he said.

Meanwhile, Venu Srinivasan, CMD, TVS Motor, said it was imperative for the automobile industry to push for urban planning for sustainable growth of the industry and the biggest challenge going forward would be pollution.

In his inaugural address at Asia Pacfic Automotive Conference (APAC16), a three-day conference organised by SaeIndia, he said: "We need to take leadership position and have to join forces with NGOs working for urban planning or we cannot sell our products."

India must promote multi-modal transportation system with a proper planning. For instance, currently the system which is being implemented does not have any proper parking system, bus lanes etc, he said.

The other major challenge for the industry is pollution. It is estimated that India would triple the pollutants emitted to 3.3 giga tonnes by 2030 from 1.1 GT in 2005.

As the vehicle speed is dropping to 10km per hour, the carbon dioxide goes up by 60 per cent, he said. The positive side is that the industry would grow to $165 billion and India is expected to become third largest market.

The number of passenger vehicles is expected to touch 9.3 million, 2.7 million CVs, 30 million motor cycles, according to Srinivasan.