Q: Globally, the car care market is bigger than the automotive aftermarket for paints. How is it in India. What is your current share in car care business and how do you plan to enhance it?

Malhotra: Car Care business is a new domain for us and we are just starting out. Globally and in India too, this is a large business area with potentially a larger market size than automotive aftermarket for paints. We are studying this business and working out our strategy. We will be offering our car care products as a product solution, through online and other channels, and as a service directly by us and our partners as well. This is an exciting area and you will soon see us becoming more visible.

Q: Your intent was to become a solutions partner, expanding into different areas like car care etc. Can you update on this journey?

Malhotra: We see ourselves emerging as a total solutions partner for customers, with car care encompassing refinishing of the paint as well. We call ourselves an augmented Finishing solutions company so our purpose is to provide excellent, unmatched finishing solutions for any surface, including cars.

This positions us quite uniquely in the market as no other player will be able to integrate paint into the car care proposition.

Q: Following car care technologies from the parent company in Japan may not be helpful as the geographical conditions are different in India. How do you customise it? Is your Indian R&D helping it?

Malhotra: While we leverage the knowledge and technology developed by our parent and sister companies, we essentially follow the market requirement. So we are in terms of technology and developments. We make for India, make in India and provide our solutions across India. That is how we operate.

For the automotive aftermarket business, our R&D set up in India is quite extensive and well resourced. Our technology centre in Manesar serves us well – both for the Indian market and as a key resource for the global business. This is where we do bulk of our developments – whether for paints or car care products.

Q: Till few years ago ceramic coating was popular in India. What is the current trend and how do you cater to the every changing customers’ expectations?

Malhotra: Ceramic coating is still quite popular but there are other products available too for the consumer. Our approach is to use our knowledge of surfaces and surface coatings to create unique and differentiated products for our customers. In this respect, we are developing new technologies. One of the unique products we have in this space is our CyGlaz clearcoat 9905 which creates a very strong film that far exceeds the performance of any normal coating or even a ceramic coating. So, there is a lot more in our kitty and we will soon be launching such products and services.

Q: What is Nippon’s USP? What are the compelling reasons for customers to look for NPI?

Malhotra: Every company tries to build its own compelling solution. Our differentiation comes from our widespread dealer network, our presence in over 1,000 towns in India, our unique products and services, our amazing sales and service team, our embracing of new ideas and platforms, our willingness and ability to customise, our short TAT between concept to creation and many more things. And all this stems from our unique DNA which makes us Nippon Paint. And this DNA is what makes us click across Asia Pacific and makes us the force that we have become.

The automotive aftermarket space is relatively very new for Nippon Paint and it is only in 2014 that we started focusing on this space as a separate, identified international business. So all that we have created is only in a short period of five to six years as compared to our illustrious competitors who have decades of legacy and knowledge. But I also feel that our freshness and ideas are helpful to give us a different perspective of the industry and emerging opportunities our uncluttered mind gives us speed to execute.

Q: Tell us about the Velocity Repair System; how many outlets are functional now and what the target for the next five years?

Malhotra: When we launched our Velocity Repair programme, there were not too many takers for it. Now, people who have used this product swear by it and use it extensively. In the first round, we focused on creating branded Nippon Paint Xpress Centres and set up around 50 such centres across India. Now, we take the product proposition across the country and make it available to all our major partner workshops. So, we have around 300 active users for this product line in India at this moment.

Our product proposition is still fresh and no competitors have been able to develop a similar system. In the future, we will continue to expand this portfolio and workshop network and take this to over 1,000 outlets. The key idea is for the car owner and not just the repair centre to experience this service and that’s what we are working on now.

Q: The secondary car market is always larger than the primary market and it is growing even bigger with the pandemic induced used-car sales. What kind of opportunity does this give you?

Malhotra: We are actively focused on the used car market and are working with leading used car players on the refurbishment side of things. Our solutions which give fast, efficient and high quality repairs make us the ideal paint partner for such used car companies and we are leveraging that capability.

In this field, we are also working on the concept of providing painting services and not just paint. Going forward, we see the refurbishment business relating to our used car customers growing into a very sizeable part of our business.

Q: What are the challenges NPI faced during the lockdown and COVID induced New Normal?

Malhotra: Several challenges; and we used this period to innovate. We relooked at our customer propositions. We developed and launched new products. We created new services. We set up new manufacturing concepts. We distributed our manufacturing from a single core to multiple units. We streamlined our supply chain. We localized more products and raw materials. We trained our workforce. We sharpened our optimisation focus. We developed new digital solutions. We empowered our managers. We cut our fat and become more lean and flexible. And yes, we didn’t forget our social responsibility and supported the painter community at this turbulent time.

So, in that sense, Covid-19 has been a great accelerator for us. Things that would have normally been done in a few years have been accomplished in a few months.

Q: What is the current status of the imported parts and accessories in India after the ban on imports from China? Does it anyway help affect you?

Malhotra: The paint industry has a fair share of raw materials and finished goods coming from China. At our side, we are not overly dependent on sourcing our products from China and more so, now our supply chain is more localised than ever. Yes, certain products sourcing from non-China sources is challenging but we are looking ahead at more localization and more diversified sourcing.

Q: With the life of automotive paints increasing due to technological advancements, how is the revenue being sourced nowadays?

Malhotra: We always aim to provide customers with more durable products. Our business is not impacted by the life of paint, but by the differentiation of the solutions that we offer. Our primary business in the aftermarket relates to collision repair which is not dependent on life but repair of paint due to accidents. Furthermore, as we expand into new products and new domains like wood coatings, car care, bus and application vehicles painting and light industrial coatings, our dependency even on collision repair induced paint consumption is also going down.

We always say – give the customer the best products and services and he will refer more customers to us. Give him a shoddy product with poor durability, we will shoot ourselves in the foot. So, we are absolutely clear that technology induced advancement of paint durability will always stand us in good stead.

Q: Can you tell us about your short-term and long-term plans?

Malhotra: In the short term, our plan is to utilise the learnings from the Covid induced lull to our advantage. As mentioned before, we have done a lot of things that will now help us. So, we will leverage these developments, regain our business and be back on growth. To that extent, October 2020 has been a good month where we were back on double digit growth and that gives us the satisfaction that we are back on track.

From the longer term perspective, the lockdown period has helped us to develop an alternative view about our business approach. We aim to be masters in Paint – Polish – Protect and we will be focusing on the various dimensions of this new strategy in the next two to three years. We are here to stay. And we are future ready. (MT)

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TIP Group has been named one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For in Europe. The list, produced by Great Place to Work, draws on employee feedback gathered through the Trust Index survey, so it mirrors workers’ own experiences on the job rather than external assessments.

This honour represents the newest step in TIP’s broader Great Place to Work journey, which has brought employer recognition across Europe for several years. The company’s workplace culture rests on three core values: team spirit, integrity and reliability and people. These principles guide how colleagues collaborate, serve customers and fuel success across the region.

TIP earned Great Place to Work certification in all nine countries surveyed in 2023 and has since extended it to 11 European nations. TIP France was recognised among France’s Best Workplaces for companies with 250 to 1,000 employees in March 2026, while TIP UK was named a Best Workplace in Manufacturing, Production & Transportation in September 2026. Rooted in employee experience, these honours reflect a culture of collaboration, trust and mutual support. As TIP expands across Europe, it stays committed to investing in its people and fostering an environment where careers grow and success is shared.

Arjen Kraaij, CEO, TIP Group, said, “This recognition reflects our people and the culture they create every day. It is especially meaningful because it is based on the experiences and feedback of our employees. Their teamwork, dedication and willingness to support one another are what make TIP special. I would like to thank all colleagues across Europe for helping build the company we are today.”

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Good Business Lab brought together senior automotive executives, industry actors and shopfloor workers at a leadership conference in New Delhi to discuss strategies for increasing female workforce participation across India's automotive manufacturing sector.

The event followed the organisation's September research report, which revealed that women account for 8.7 percent of the combined original equipment manufacturer and component manufacturing workforce across the country.

The conference addressed findings from a three-year study by Good Business Lab spanning over 55 automotive firms, 400 stakeholders and 1,900 individuals. Discussions focused on practical shopfloor interventions to improve recruitment and retention, including talent supply chains, night-shift operational frameworks, last-mile transportation solutions and childcare infrastructure.

Industry panels examined career progression pathways, performance metrics for middle management retention, and workplace safety conditions required to support long-term employment.

The event featured three panel sessions covering business metrics, worker perspectives, and sector-wide operational scalability. Executives participating in the discussions included Suman Mishra, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Mahindra Last Mile Mobility; Viveka Bhandari, Chief Operating Officer of Padmini VNA Mechatronics; Sunil Arora, Managing Director of Abilities India Pistons & Rings; Satyaprakash Patil, Chief Human Resources Officer of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India; and Vinkesh Gulati, Chairperson of the Automotive Skills Development Council.

A panel of female shopfloor associates from Abilities India Pistons & Rings, Asahi India Glass, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India and Sansera Engineering detailed their career trajectories and operational experiences in vehicle assembly and component production.

Nirmal Deshpande, Managing Director of Good Business Lab, said, “The evidence increasingly mirrors what we are hearing from industry: women’s participation is no longer just an inclusion imperative, but a business necessity. Several leading firms are already showing what is possible; the challenge now is scale. We brought business leaders, women workers and the wider ecosystem together to chart the path ahead. The opportunity is clear: now we need to turn what works into action across the sector.”

Good Business Lab plans to collaborate with automotive manufacturers, philanthropic organisations and industry bodies to pilot shopfloor solutions and co-design workforce frameworks across the manufacturing sector.

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JSW MG Motor India, one of the leading passenger vehicle manufacturers, has announced the eight winning startups selected for the 6^th edition of the MG Developer Program.

The startup engagement initiative, centred on the theme 'Innovation in Automotive', evaluated over 130 applications before selecting the finalists for pilot deployment consideration.

The selected startups comprise Nayan Technologies, Technod8.AI, LiveNSense, LW3, Smaartbrand by Acquink Solutions, Fitsol, Cautio and Meta Materials Circular Market.

The chosen entities specialise in artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, industrial software, battery supply chain tracking, mobility intelligence, supply chain decarbonisation and automotive circular economy systems.

The winners will collaborate with the vehicle manufacturer and program partners to test and implement pilot projects across industrial operations, manufacturing, customer experience and mobility services.

Anurag Mehrotra, Managing Director, JSW MG Motor India, said, "We are entering an era where the boundaries between mobility, data, and artificial intelligence are rapidly converging. The next wave of transformation in the automotive industry will be driven by innovators who can connect these ecosystems and create solutions with real-world impact. Through the MG Developer Program, we are committed to providing startups with a platform to collaborate, experiment and scale breakthrough ideas. The winning startups of Season 6.0 represent some of the most promising innovations across automotive technology, sustainability, industrial intelligence, and mobility services. We look forward to partnering with them to explore pilot deployments and unlock new possibilities for the future of mobility."

The sixth season was conducted in partnership with DPIIT, Startup India, JSW, NCPI BHIM, Jio, Gulf Oil India, TiE Delhi NCR, iCreate, Allianz Partners India, TERI, BSES Rajdhani Power Limited, LICO Materials and Pulse Energy.

The program saw more than 40 startups shortlisted for presentations, with 18 reaching the final jury stage. Since its launch in 2019, the program has evaluated over 1,680 startup applications covering connected vehicles, electric mobility, artificial intelligence, and manufacturing technologies.

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Cummins India has announced the appointment of Gbile Adewunmi as Managing Director and India Regional Leader, effective 1 November 2026. Adewunmi will assume the position alongside his current role as leader of Industrial Markets within Power Systems, where he will continue to direct business operations for the division.

In his current role as Vice-President, Power Systems Industrial Markets, Adewunmi oversees customer and partner operations across industrial segments, including mining. His work in the division has focused on hybrid-electric retrofit systems, mining technologies, and power solutions aimed at operational efficiency and emissions reduction.

Jenny Bush, President of Power Systems, Cummins, said, “Gbile is a respected global leader with deep experience across Cummins and a strong track record of delivering customer-focused growth and business performance. His enterprise perspective, ability to build high-performing teams and commitment to our customers make him exceptionally well positioned to lead Cummins India Limited and the India region while continuing to advance our Industrial Markets strategy.”

Adewunmi said, “I am honoured to take on this expanded role and to work alongside the talented teams across Cummins India, the India region and Industrial Markets. “India is a critical market for Cummins, and I look forward to partnering with our employees, customers and stakeholders to build on our strong foundation and continue powering a more prosperous world.”

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