The auto component industry is seeking a “breather” in terms of introduction of new regulations and a long-term roadmap for rolling out new norms for the sector in order to prepare accordingly for the transition which entails heavy investments, industry body ACMA has said.
The industry, which accounts for around 2.3 per cent of the country’s GDP, has been struggling of late due to a prolonged downturn in the auto industry as a whole and due to COVID-19 situation which has brought in supply chain issues and impacted productivity.
Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) President Deepak Jain said that challenging business environment has limited the capacity of the industry to invest further for any new regulations.
During the shift from BS-IV to BS-VI the auto industry invested close to Rs 80,000 crore, 40-50 per cent of which was by the auto component industry. The industry, which provides employment to around 50 lakh people, said it also seeks a long-term (10-15 years) roadmap for the rollout of regulations so that it can prepare accordingly for the transition.
The investment ability of auto component industry has reduced significantly because of the downturn in the market and then, of course, COVID. With the current volatile situation, bringing stability to the sector remained one of the most critical aspects. Initiating steps to boost demand as well as ensuring supply chain across the country were critical steps to ensure long term sustainability of the automobile industry. If the Indian economy has to grow back, the auto sector will play an extremely vital role. Various industry verticals like SIAM, ACMA, FADA among others and government would have to come together and collaborate in order to achieve future targets like becoming self-reliant in terms of various auto components.