Saturday, October 18, 2008

Investing a dime, well in time...

Major auto manufacturers are on a prowl for the ideal location just as India becomes the best place to bet on. There are mind-boggling investment figures involved here, B&E’s Pawan Chabra investigates...

Today, we stand at a cross roads, where we all stand witness to India being reckoned as the country which has become the repertoire of the best automotive technologies available. As economic development percolates wealth into the Indian economic hierarchy, people now have access to the best of motoring experiences. The somewhat fresher economic outlook has coaxed the government to replace the erstwhile underwhelming driving experience with faster and safer roads, and supporting infrastructure. What better way to do this than to allow private-public partnerships and to smoothen the process by removing red herrings. This is directly inline with the ambitious AMP (Automotive Mission Plan), an actuating vehicle which by 2016 will allow the automobile industry to contribute nearly 10% to India’s GDP and play on a mind numbing turnover of $165 billion. According to Dillip Chenoy, Director General, SIAM, “Earlier the government thought that the AMP was a bit conservative. However, as far as the target is concerned, it is well on track and I think the 10% (as part of the GDP) mark is achievable.” This not only means goodies for the Indian consumer but for the manufacturers as well, lined up with big ticket investments.

In the last two years, we have already seen many reports emphasising the fact that real estate and retail were the two primary sectors which attracted attention in the country, but recent announcements by various auto majors have put the sector into the lime light as well. With such a vast market and now a supportive Indian government, India is well on its way to become a hub for small car manufacturing. Auto guru, Murad Ali Baig explains the reasons for India being chosen as a preferred destination, “The huge potential of the small car market is the biggest factor in attracting these auto players into India and making it a hub for small cars.” Speaking along similar lines, Vaishali Jajoo, auto analyst, Angel Broking further states, “The growth in domestic sales is quite slow at this point of time but the growth of export is high. Therefore, making India an export hub for small cars makes sense for the auto players.” As domestic sales is forecasted, there is bound to be a win-win situation for the auto sector. Interestingly, even though cost of raw materials are on an upturn, it is still lower than compared to that in western countries, thereby guaranteeing better prospects for the future of Indian manufacturing.

Players like Hyundai, Toyota, Maruti, Volkswagen and GM have already announced their plans of their Indian sojourn. Speaking on the topic, Arvind Saxena, Senior Vice President (Sales & Marketing), Hyundai Motor India asserted, “We are exporting almost 66% of the cars that are being exported from this country.” This explains the importance and acceptability of Indian manufacturing. Volkswagen on the other hand has brought a massive investment of an incredible Rs.24.5 billion for its Pune plant. Honda Siel (HSCI) on its part has already announced a Rs.10 billion Jaipur unit. The Detroit duo GM and Ford has ambitious plans as well with the former already investing a whopping Rs.12 billion in its second plant at Pune. TATA’s investment of Rs.15 billion at Singrur for the production of the much hyped Nano has also been attracting attention for long. It seems that the players in the industry have realised the potential in the Indian auto market and have begun to take it very seriously. Discussing about the potential of the new plant Janeswar Sen VP, Marketing & Sales, HSCI avers, “North India comprises of 40% of the market in India, and hence the proximity to the biggest market has been a big consideration for us. This area is on the dedicated Rail freight corridor notified by the Government of India. Therefore we can expect good infrastructure and logistics facilities here.”

Interestingly, both Maruti Suzuki and HSCI have decided to open their plants in Manesar, Haryana and Rajasthan respectively (away from the present auto belts). Other than that, HSCI also has a plant at Greater Noida. Noticeably, India mainly has two renowned auto belts, one being in the reigon of Pune- Nashik- Auranagabad and the second in the southern part of the country. Interestingly, none of them came up with an intention to create such belts in that particular region but it happened automatically. The state governments tried to lure the auto players by giving tax-holidays and the rest followed. Moreover, the proximity to ports, supporting infrastructure and presence of other players was also an added advantage for these regions.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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1 comment:

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