German tier 1 supplier Continental’s Gurgaon plant has attained a new production milestone of producing 10 million Electronic Brake Systems (EBS) and 100 million Wheel Speed Sensors (WSS), two components integral to the safety of a vehicle. 

The EBS portfolio comprises Electronic Stability Control (ESC) for passenger cars and Anti-lock Brake Systems (ABS) for both, passenger cars and two-wheelers. It provides directional stability and steerability of the vehicle whereas, ABS aims to avoid locking of the wheels and keeps the vehicle steerable during braking. Additionally, the signals from the WSS are required for control systems like Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and Electronic Stability Control (ESC).

The company states that over 1.3 million people loose their lives in road accidents worldwide every year and more than 50 million are injured. In India, 53 accidents and 19 deaths occur every hour, or an average of 1,264 accidents and 42 deaths daily due to road crashes, according to a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways report in 2023. To enhance road safety in the country, ABS technology was made mandatory in 2019, followed by a proposal for ESC in 2022 by the government.  

Sukhdeep Sandhu, Head of Safety and Motion, Continental Automotive India said, “Safety is non-negotiable. At Continental, we have consistently brought relevant technologies to the market for our customers, helping make vehicles and thereby our roads safer. Our expertise in active and passive safety systems is a key driver in reducing the number of traffic-related fatalities, injuries, and road accidents”.

“Localisation is at the core of company’s strategy in India. Supported by legislations which have played a huge role in ensuring vehicular safety, we have been able to localise both production and R&D, ensuring greater value to our customers in the market. Customers in India are proactive in their adoption approach towards safety technologies”, he added.

Continental’s ‘Vision Zero’ is focussing on ensuring zero road fatalities, injuries and crashes, through technologies, components and systems and ongoing innovations.

The tier 1 supplier is also one of the largest manufacturers of WSS in India. Apart from catering to leading OEMs in India, these components are also exported to other Asian and European regions.

Anudeep Garg, Head of the Gurgaon plant, Continental Automotive India said, “We are proud to achieve this milestone and continue to focus on localisation. As a Tier 1 supplier, we follow global manufacturing standards and have adopted several advanced technologies to create a digital shopfloor. Additionally, industry 4.0 technologies enable us to not only maintain product quality and enhance efficiency but also to effectively streamline our supply chain. We aim to increase the manufacturing capacity of EBS and WSS in double-digit percentages in the next three years for both passenger vehicles as well two-wheelers.” 

Continental’s ‘in the market, for the market’ approach has seen its entire value chain from R&D to design and production being localised. This way Continental is focusing on enabling easy access to safety products by adapting globally proven technologies to suit the local market. Wide-scale production offers economy of scale and ensures cost advantage, thereby contributing to increased democratization of safety features in vehicles across segments in India.

It was in 2016, when Continental set up assembly lines in Gurugram for Antilock Brake Systems (ABS) and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems for two-wheelers and passenger cars. In 2018, it commenced production for ABS and ESC Electronic Control Units (ECU) at its Bengaluru plant. In the subsequent year, the company achieved the production milestone of one million ABS and ESC ECUs at its Bengaluru plant, and in 2020, reached a milestone of 50 Million Wheel Speed Sensors (WSS) at its Manesar plant. Additionally, Continental entered into a joint venture with Japanese firm Nisshinbo Holdings in 2022, to localise machining for valve blocks for Electronic Brake Systems (EBS) in India. 

Ola Electric, one of India’s largest pure-play EV companies, has bagged five Gold Awards at the 49^th International Convention on Quality Control Circles (ICQCC) held in Sri Lanka in November 2024.

This landmark recognition was achieved by the company’s all-women workforce from Ola Futurefactory in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu, who competed against industry peers from 14 countries.

The EV maker’s five teams won for the following projects –

Paint Shop: Innovation in optimisation strategies that slashes operational costs.

Motor Division: Enhancing product competitiveness by reducing Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ).

General Assembly: Accelerating time-to-market by increasing capacity in the front fork sub-assembly process.

Battery Shop: Improve battery pack productivity in order to meet the growing customer demands.

Weld Shop: Improving robotics throughput to enhance operational efficiency and streamline workflows.

Ola Electric acknowledged the role of its women-led teams from rural backgrounds, who showcased their work at the factory’s paint shop, motor shop, general assembly line, battery shop, and welding shop.

“This recognition at ICQCC is a testament to our relentless pursuit of excellence with our incredibly talented women at the helm of the EV revolution at our Futurefactory. It reflects our ethos of blending innovation with empowerment and setting new benchmarks on the operational-heavy automotive shop floors, which are traditionally dominated by men. We are extremely happy to have started this shift in the Indian automotive manufacturing landscape and are committed to bringing more women on the shop floors,” commented an Ola spokesperson.

Coimbatore-based Propel Industries Private Limited has announced the appointment of Siddharth Kirtane as the President of its EV Division that makes heavy-duty e-trucks for construction and mining applications. Propel Industries – specialising in the manufacture of crushing equipment – homologated its electric heavy-duty Tipper (470 HEV) is September 2024 and has since been offering it in two battery variants—385 kWh and 256 kWh.  
With a long-standing experience in the commercial vehicle industry in India as Head – Brand and Marketing, Volvo Trucks India; as Business Head – Construction and Infrastructure, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd, and as Vice President, Marketing, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, Kirtane will leverage his knowledge and expertise to scale up the EV business in his new role. 
 

The 42 days festive period vehicle retail data for 2024 that the Federation Of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has released, the overall sales of automobiles during this festive season have exceeded that of the last festive season. 
"I am delighted to announce that the automobile retail sector has achieved a new milestone, surpassing last year's festive records. We witnessed a remarkable surge in numbers since the beginning of Navratri, nearly hitting our forecasted target with 42.88 lakh vehicles registered during this period — a growth of 11.76 percent over last year's 38.37 lakh units,” mentioned C S Vigneshwar, President, FADA. 
Two-wheeler sales were particularly robust, according to him, registering a 13.79 percent growth to reach 3.31 million units, largely driven by strong rural demand. 
Passenger vehicle sales bounced back after a decline of roughly two-to-three months with a growth of 7.10 percent to 0.6 million units, spurred by pent-up demand and unprecedented discounts available in the market. 
Acknowledging that the target of 45,00,000-unit sales could have been fully met or even exceeded were it not for the unseasonal heavy rains in South India (especially in Bengaluru and Tamil Nadu) and the Cyclone Dana that affected Odisha, Vigneshwar averred, “FADA anticipates – as the festivities conclude – that passenger vehicle stock levels will reduce further from was reported in the October retail data press release.”
“FADA advises caution as the complete picture on inventory will emerge by month-end,” he added. 
Stating that FADA urges OEMs to focus on liquidating 2024 stock so that Dealers can enter 2025 with ideal FADA-recommended 21 days of inventory, Vigneshwar said, “Its 1.5 months remaining before the calendar year ends.”
 

The Auto Cluster Development And Research Institute, Chinchwad MIDC (Pune), is conducting a three-day workshop on TIG welding technology in its campus on 27-29 November 2024. 
Lead by experts in the respective field such as Chandrakant Vaidya, who has over 40 years of experience in QAC and welding (and has worked at ENPRO Industries, Thermax and Babcock and Wilcox Energy System), and Vijay Patole, who too has over 40 years of experience in welding, the workshop will delve a variety of topics in the field of TIG welding. 
Besides introducing the attendees to TIG welding, the workshop will delve into TIG welding theory, TIG welding equipment and setup, demonstration and hands-on practice, TIG welding techniques, welding different materials, welding positions and techniques, joint types, advanced TIG welding techniques, quality control, troubleshooting, weld quality inspection, final practice and project, industry-specific applications and welding equipment maintenance among other areas of knowledge and information. 
The three-day workshop would include breakfast and lunch. The workshop has been specifically curated to ensure skill development and upskilling of those who are seeking to upgrade their skills in the respective field of manufacturing technology.