Auto-component makers face rising competition for talent, raw materials

ACMA and BCG said fast-growing sectors such as data centres and renewables are competing for common inputs and talent, even as vehicle demand remains robust

India’s automotive (auto) component industry is facing increasing competition for manpower and raw materials from fast-growing sectors such as data centre and renewable energy, even as demand for auto components remains strong.

 

The emerging competition is adding another layer of pressure for suppliers already grappling with supply-chain disruptions, labour shortages, and greater volatility in demand.

 

The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (Acma) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) jointly released a report on the resilience and growth prospects of India’s auto component industry at the 66th annual Acma event, examining how suppliers can navigate recurring disruptions while building capabilities for the next phase of growth.

  

According to BCG, auto component manufacturers in several clusters are competing with other industries for skilled workers, while some raw materials used by the sector are also seeing rising demand from data centres and renewable energy projects. The overlap is becoming more pronounced as these sectors enter what BCG described as a “super cycle”, increasing pressure on the availability of both talent and materials.

 

“Auto components in a lot of clusters compete with quite a few industries which are themselves seeing a bit of a super cycle. So data centres, renewables, and quite a few raw materials in these spaces are common. The need for manpower is common. That’s sort of adding to the stress,” Saurabh Chhajer, partner and managing director at BCG, said.

 

The challenge comes at a time when the Indian auto component industry is seeing strong demand across vehicle segments. Vinnie Mehta, director-general of Acma, said the first quarter (April-June/Q1) of 2026-27 (FY27) was strong and July also saw robust momentum, with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) schedules indicating continued traction ahead of the festival season. He expects FY27 to be another strong year for the auto industry, despite the increase in operating challenges.

 

“The industry is facing an unprecedented amount of challenges. A customer is becoming very demanding, and therefore, the vehicle industry is able to deliver. Backing the vehicle industry is the component industry, and together we are able to meet the complexity of the product and the complexity of the ecosystem,” Mehta added.

 

For component makers, the competition for resources could become more acute as India steps up investments in data centre infrastructure and renewable energy. Globally, the data centre buildout is already driving demand for power and cooling equipment, with McKinsey estimating nearly $7 trillion in global data centre investment by 2030.

 

The resource squeeze also comes as component manufacturers seek to expand exports and integrate more deeply into global supply chains. The Indian auto component industry has grown rapidly, with BCG putting the sector’s size at around $80 billion and exports at about $23 billion, while the industry has set a target of $100 billion in exports by 2029-30.

 

BCG said the increasing complexity of the operating environment is making resilience more important for component makers. Apart from raw materials and talent, suppliers are dealing with demand volatility, multi-tier supply chains, and rising expectations from OEMs on quality, cost, reliability, and delivery.

 

For companies, this is likely to make investments in automation, digitization, and supply-chain visibility more critical. BCG’s latest work with Acma found that more than two-thirds of surveyed auto component manufacturers are already at the pilot, scale-up or fully integrated stage of smart-factory adoption, as suppliers seek to improve productivity and reduce dependence on constrained manpower.