Automotive component industry expects no growth this year

The automobile component manufacturing industry in the country is expected to remain flat in terms of business growth for the rest of the fiscal owing to the present market situation, said Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India , the nodal agency for the Indian auto component industry.

"Overall, the growth would be flat this year," said Harish Lakshman, president, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association.

The industry in 2012-13 saw $40 billion sales as against $41 billion during the previous year. Exports in 2012-13 were at $10 billion while imports stood around $13 billion. Almost 80 per cent of the exports was to the global original equipment manufacturers, Lakshman said, the present year would be one of the most challenging. However, according to him, the long-term growth story of the industry was intact.

Speaking about industry relations between Indian and Japanese automobile sectors, he said, the industry had to work with Japanese companies to start a long-term relationship.

Speaking of the relations between Indian and Japanese automobile sectors, he said, the industry has to work with the Japanese companies to start a long term relationship. In 2012, the imports of auto components from Japan to India was to the tune of of $1.8 billion, while Indian exports to Japan in the same sector was of the order of $200 million. The association is expecting that the industry could work closely with the Japanese supply chain to build a relationship, thereby improving the business with Japan in future. In order to support the small and medium entreprises (SME) in the tough market scenario, the association is also conducting technology cluster programmes to equip them to manage costs better.

The first such initiative started recently in Jamshedpur and plans are to start the programme in other parts of the country including Chennai. Rs 2 lakh would be the investment on the programme, which is partly funded by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), said Vinnie Mehta, executive director, ACMA. At Jamshedpur, which is not a major hub for automobile components industry, eight small companies have joined the programme.

"We have set an aggressive target to provide training to 400 companies in next three years," he said. The association would be providing training to small companies with turnover of Rs 15 crore or below.