The Indian auto industry is one of the largest in the world. "The industry accounts for 7.1 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Moreover, the growing interest of the companies in exploring the rural markets further aided the growth of the sector. India is also a prominent auto exporter and has strong export growth expectations for the near future," says Sudhir Mehta, Chairman & Managing Director, Pinnacle Industries Ltd.
In the midst of growing demand in the market, the automotive industry is transforming due to various reasons. Emphasis on new technologies such as smart vehicles concept is talked about. On the other hand, an e-revolution is set to take place globally. At the same time, the Indian auto makers are challenged by the announcement of skipping Bharat Stage V. Instead, Bharat Stage VI is proposed to be come into effect by 2020. Speaking on the transformation, Nishant Arya, Executive Director, JBM Group mentions, "There is a lot happening in the automobile sector in terms of transitioning from BS III to BS IV and to BS VI norms in a short span. And now, the government has already set its eyes on going 100 percent electric by 2030. With all that's happening in the space, there will be a sea change that the automotive industry will witness in the near future."
Agreeing to Arya, Deepak Chopra, CEO, Anand Group says, "This jump from BS IV to BS VI is certainly a challenge. Although the automotive industry was keen to go through BS V, the only way to cut short the time of catching up with the developed world is jumping on to BS VI."
Distinguishing BS VI norms from BS IV, Rashmi Urdhwareshe, Director, The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) explains, "There is a philosophical difference between BS IV and BS VI. BS IV is more or less confined to the laboratory level approvals. In addition to this, what is required to be done in BS VI is manufacturers must comply in-service checks. That's a big change. Moreover, what is new for us is compliance of these norms for commercial vehicles segment. It's a huge uphill task to shift from mechanical control systems to electronic control systems in the commercial vehicles segment. Passenger cars even at BS IV level are equipped with electronic control systems. Another challenging area is two and three vehicles. We are gearing ourselves for it so that we
can help the government as well as the industry in a better manner."
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