[SJM1214]

Heads of Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors were of the opinion that having short, medium and long-term policy roadmap will help automobile and component makers plan capacities and align capital investments accordingly.

Automobile industry leaders have asked the government to provide a clear and stable policy framework, saying it should not "become a crisis for the industry" whenever there is a regulatory change. Heads of Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors were of the opinion that having short, medium and long-term policy roadmap will help automobile and component makers plan capacities and align capital investments accordingly.

Speaking at the annual convention of Auto Component Manufacturers of India (ACMA), Mahindra & Mahindra Managing Director Pawan Goenka cited examples of BS-VI emission norms adoption and implementation of BS-IV across India to highlight how regulatory changes can impact the auto industry.

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[aravind.anand]

Exactly, I work in the automotive industry and for me to plan my activities related to meeting emission norms in the future there is not enough clarity.

All that we know so far -
- Bharat Stage VI norms will be in place from April 2020
- BS-VI is based on Euro-6
- Under Euro-6 tailpipe emissions are measured in NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) and we will measure it using MIDC (Modified Indian Driving Cycle)
- Top speed in NEDC is 120 kmph, while the top speed in MIDC is limited to 90 kmph.

Things we wish we had clarity on -
- BS-VI fuel availability - EU-6 compliant fuels can have sulphur no higher than 10 ppm (parts per million), whereas our current BS-IV fuel has up to 50 ppm of sulphur allowed. Government hasn't confirmed nationwide availability of this BS-VI fuel - Using fuel with too much sulphur will poison the catalyst and will invariably reduce its operating efficiency overtime.
- Europe has moved to more stringent EU 6.3 now (derivatives of EU-6)
- There is a draft proposal to have BS-VI Stage 2 3 years after BS-VI comes to effect. But no confirmation on that, So we don't know if we should work on that or not.
- Europe has included RDE (Real Driving Emissions) after the VW scandal to have emission testing done on real World driving pattern, there is no clarity yet if BS-VI will have something similar or not.

Wish government could step in and clarify lot of things that are still ambiguous, and thereby helping us to plan our activities in advance.

[BeantownThinker]

Asking for clarity is absolutely required when external inputs (policy as well as material) impact which direction the company needs to take.

But on the other hand, what stops the companies from improving their products to make it safer? For example, providing airbags, ESP, EBD as standard across all variants. Do they need a policy clarity on this as well? Can they not do this today in the absence of any safety laws?

This is just an excuse for them to remain in their primitive mindset.

[shreevishnu]

Just my 2 cents, i guess the current govt has been quite good with publicity and statements (Mr.Gadkari with "petrol wali gaadi....waat".

Such statements, NGT activism (>2L diesels NCR) and frequent uncertainity (EV vs hybrid) can hurt any capital intensive industry.

A steady regulatory framework, backed by incentives (lower insurance for safer & lower emission cars) and general consumer awareness (backed by ability to pay during the purchase, beyond just "kithna deti hai") will help to get better.

[anjan_c2007]

The policies for the automobile industry are ambivalent and major decisions are taken and/ or reversals are made every few years. This prevents long term focus and affects the investment prospects by auto makers, who are not sure as to what is next ? Rationality or irrationality ?

Sometimes small and fuel efficient cars are rated by the cubic capacity of their engines and suddenly one fine day the "sub 4000 mm" overall length with a sub 1200 cc engine (petrol) and sub-1500 cc engine (diesel) of a car makes it eligible for excise duty concessions. Then we wake up to hear bans of 2000 cc plus diesel engines of cars in some states/ cities/ metros, all of a sudden. The policy guidelines for electric cars are still not properly enunciated. Hybrid cars are sometimes subjected to a favourable treatment, while sometimes the tide turns against hybrid cars.

Two wheelers are not in the radar today but who knows - suddenly there may be a higher tax component on say 180 cc or 200 cc plus motorbikes. Or will they target the overall length (in mm) of a bike with the engine capacity ?

Whatever be the guidelines and frequent changes in the categories of automobiles that are taxed at various slabs, the sudden changes surely affect the automobile industry and their long term investments. The customers are taken for a ride too !

There needs to be a long term automobile policy paper, that needs to be worked upon by the government with technical experts as members in the Team or Committee. Such committees are usually comprised of generalists, who know very little about automobiles. The long term aims and objectives need to be enunciated and the government needs to treat this policy once finalised, as sacrosanct. This policy needs to check deviations and irrational decisions that are detrimental to the customers and to the industry.

[SJM1214]

An interesting article at ETAuto.

Union Budget 2019: Auto Inc Leaders’ Speak.

The Modi-led NDA government’s last interim budget will be presented in the parliament on February 1. Though, the expectation of a significant announcement is very unlikely but still the Indian auto Inc’s top leaders keenly looking forward for some positive outcome. ETAuto lists down the top wish-list of Automotive sector.

ETAuto Article.