Clocking USD 74.1 billion turnover and a growth of 9.8 percent in FY2023-24 on a year-on-year basis, the Indian auto components industry body (the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association) ACMA has announced the finding of its ‘Industry Performance Review’ for FY2023-24. 

The report mentions that the turnover growth of the automotive component industry is influenced by factors such as the rise in consumption of increased value-added components, thrust on localisation and a market shift in terms of increasing preference for larger and more powerful vehicles. 

On the exports front, the report highlighted a growth of 5.5 percent to USD 21.2 billion in FY2023-24 as compared to USD 20.1 billion in the last fiscal. North America accounted for 32 percent of the exports with a growth of 4.5 percent. Europe accounted for another 33 percent with a growth of 12 percent. Asia accounted for 24 percent of the export market with the growth remaining flat. The key components that were exported in FY2023-24 were drive transmission and steering, engine components, body and chassis, suspension and braking systems etc. 

The report also stated that exports, with trade surplus (CAGR of export is twice that of the import) have remained study in the wake of political challenges. 

Witnessing a growth of three percent in FY2023-24 to USD 20.9 billion as compared to USD 20.3 billion in FY2022-23, imports were of the following nature: engine components, body and chassis parts, suspension and braking parts, drive transmission and steering parts.

Asia accounted for 66 percent of imports followed by Europe and North America at 26 percent and eight percent respectively, imports from Asia grew three percent and that from Europe by four percent. Imports from North America remained flat in FY2023-24. 

On the aftermarket front, the increased movement of vehicles and surge in demand for used vehicles led to buoyancy across segments. The turnover of the aftermarket in FY 2023-24 was USD 11.3 billion. In FY2022-23, it was USD 10.6 billion. The e-commerce sector involvement has led to the aftermarket witnessing gradual shift into organised trade. The digital route is also leading to higher penetration in the hinterland of the country.  

The supply to electric vehicles accounted for six percent of the auto components industry turnover of USD 74.1 billion. The Indian auto component industry is optimistic on the back of the robustness exhibited by the economy.  

Regarding the performance of the auto component industry, Vinnie Mehta, Director General, ACMA, said, “On the back of steady vehicles’ production in the country, a robust aftermarket and growth in exports, the auto component industry grew to Rs. 6.14 lakh crore (USD 74.1 billion) registering 9.8 percent growth in FY23-24, thus outpacing the turnover of Rs. 5.59 lakh crore (INR 55.9 billion) in the previous fiscal. Component supply to OEMs in the domestic market grew by 8.9 percent to Rs.5.18 lakh crore (INR 51.8 billion), with supply to the EV manufacturing industry accounting for 6% of the total component production in the country. Exports grew by 5.5 percent to USD 21.2 billion while imports grew by three percent to USD 20.9 billion, thus resulting in a trade surplus of USD 300 million. The Aftermarket, estimated at Rs. 93,886 crore (USD 11.3 billion) also witnessed growth of 10 percent.”  

Shradha Suri Marwah, President, ACMA, and Chairman & Managing Director, Subros, mentioned, “It is pertinent to note that apart from increase in vehicle production, higher value addition from the component sector has led to growth in the auto components sector. On the front of trade, whilst overall merchandize exports from India witnessed degrowth in FY24, auto components exports have grown despite geopolitical challenges and increase in logistics costs. That apart, growth in imports has been comparatively lesser, leading to trade surplus, indicating thrust by the industry on front of localisation.”

“Steady growth in the vehicle industry has resulted the industry reaching pre-pandemic levels of performance in FY24 in most segments, however, the first quarter of FY25 witnessed somewhat slower offtake in vehicle sales, especially in PVs and CVs, given the high base, due to inclement weather conditions and elections. With strong macro-economic indicators, conducive government policies and over seven percent growth projected for the Indian GDP, we are hopeful that the auto components industry will continue to perform well in FY25,” she articulated. 

With factors like exhaust emissions, non-exhaust emissions, battery durability and lifetime requirements (in terms of mileage and lifetime) as the key requirements, vehicles complying with BS 7 emission regulations will see a considerable rise in onboard controllers. 
The commercial vehicles will be particularly subject to a doubling of controllers onboard as the new emission regulations kick in the next two to three years, mentioned a technology chief of an automobile company in India recently. 
The number of controllers will double in a commercial vehicle from 10 to 20, he explained. He drew attention to the move up to Euro 7 emission norms in Europe and stated, “The BS 7 emission norms in India are loosely based on the Euro 7 emission regulations that come into effect in Europe in 2025.”  
The Euro 7 emission regulations in Europe will come into force for passenger vehicles from 1 July 2025. The Euro 7 emission regulations for commercial vehicles will come into force from 1 July 2027. 
The BS 7 emission regulations draft is out, mentioned an auto components industry leader. “The emission regulations, like in Europe, are expected to be enforced in a staggered manner,” he added. 
The government is expected to announce the BS 7 regulations for passenger vehicles and two-wheelers in the middle of next calendar year. These would closely follow the RDE norms that came into force from middle of last calendar year. 
The effect of BS & emission norms is expected to be considerable in terms of price escalation in vehicles. 
 

Visteon Corporation, a leading supplier for automotive cockpit electronics and connected car solutions, has inaugurated its new Global Capability Center (GCC) in Kolkata, India. The facility set to become operational by January 2025 is set to have 300 engineers by end-2026 with plans to scale it up to over 500 engineers in the next two to three years.

The Kolkata GCC will focus on Android-based infotainment, autonomous vehicle solutions, cybersecurity, multimedia & remote projection, cloud technologies. It will exclusive focus on Android-based infotainment and cockpit software development.

With this, the company now has facilities in Chennai, Goa, Bengaluru, Pune, Trivandrum and Coimbatore contributing to its global development capabilities.

Sachin Lawande, President & CEO, Visteon, said, “India has been central to our strategy for over 20 years, with over 2,000 of our people driving automotive innovation. The new Kolkata center strengthens our focus on Android-based automotive solutions and expands our fastest-growing product portfolio. At Visteon we meet the talent where it’s at, and we’re glad to strengthen our team with Kolkata’s engineering expertise and collaborate with the city’s top universities to support the evolving needs of automakers worldwide.”

Altair, a pioneer in computational intelligence worldwide, has revealed that its data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) platform, Altair RapidMiner, now enables customers to create and implement sophisticated AI agents with ease. By integrating generative AI (genAI) agents into their processes, organisations may use Altair RapidMiner to enable operational insight and disruptive automation.

The most cutting-edge elements of top AI agent frameworks are combined in this new capability, which also adds Altair RapidMiner's unique advantages. Features like AI fabric intelligent ecosystems, graph-powered contextual intelligence, smooth integration with sophisticated computational systems, integrated governance and traceability and improved multi-agent collaboration are all included in the Altair RapidMiner for AI agents, which connects to APIs, enterprise systems and external tools with ease.

Sam Mahalingam, CTO, Altair, said, “Altair RapidMiner, already a trusted platform for machine learning and data analytics, is now taking the next step with our AI agent framework. By enabling users to build autonomous AI agents that seamlessly integrate graph-based intelligence, machine learning, simulations and business rules, we're unlocking new possibilities. This innovative approach, built on the trusted foundation of Altair RapidMiner, allows organisations to maximise the value of their data and achieve a competitive edge.”

US-based artificial intelligence (AI) driven data solutions company iMerit recently launched an automotive AI centre of excellence in Coimbatore. Speaking to Motoring Trend on the sidelines of the event, Chief Executive Officer Radha Ramaswami Basu said, “The Centre of Excellence works on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and audio-visual systems, ensuring that the perception models are safely built with high quality data under many different traffic and weather conditions. Secondly, we perform review work, quality control of the models, generative AI explainability and driving scenario analysis, to close the loop.”

The company has hired all local people from Coimbatore and nearby areas for the centre and provides high quality training to them to hit the ground running. With projects in hand, and long-term customers, it already has a workforce of over 200 people with plans to double the number in 2025. “Our Ango Hub technology gives them a huge advantage in their career journey,” said Basu.

While the company refrained from disclosing customer names citing stringent confidentiality policies, it noted that it works with OEM, Tier-1 and Silicon Valley innovators, in the automotive and drone spaces.

The new centre, iMerit’s 12th location, was inaugurated by Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services for Tamil Nadu, Dr Palanivel Thiagarajan, in the presence of employees, guests and senior executives from iMerit. The company continues to invest in developing industry-leading software and solutions for AI Data to support its customers in autonomous mobility, medical AI and technology.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Thiagarajan said, “This event signifies a critical milestone, illustrating the remarkable speed at which visionary leadership and dedicated execution can effect change. The establishment of an office within six months—from initial discussions to formal inauguration—constitutes an exceptional accomplishment. Organisations operating in sectors such as artificial intelligence, computer vision and data augmentation are poised to transform industries on a global scale. Moreover, these companies are fostering inclusive growth by advancing historically underserved communities, generating employment opportunities and equipping individuals with advanced skill sets. Notably, with women comprising 52 percent of the workforce, many serving as sole breadwinners, this model embodies innovation, social equity and empowerment—a true reflection of Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister Thiru MK Stalin’s ambition and excellence.”

Basu also noted, “Coimbatore is a historic cultural and industrial venue. It is already famous for its IT and automotive sectors. I am very pleased to bring these together with iMerit’s automotive AI vertical.  Automotive AI is our largest vertical. 60 percent of our revenues come from cutting-edge companies in autonomous mobility including trucking, ADAS and drones.

Commenting on the new centre, Chief Delivery Officer Anupam Biswas said, “Data quality is critical to AI technology, especially in computer vision and multi-sensor fusion, which are important for innovation in autonomous vehicles. The work is quite complex and we found a good mix of experienced and young talent in the Coimbatore area. This has been our fastest ramp-up in a new location. We have already hired and trained over 220 multi-sensor fusion experts on our Ango Hub software and they have started working on critical customer projects.”

The company emphasises responsible AI through ethical practices. For over 10 years, it has helped leading AI model developers across mission-critical industries like autonomous mobility, healthcare AI and high-tech.  iMerit has also been steadily growing its India business. With Automotive AI in India poised to cross a billion dollars in the next five years, the company hopes to leverage its global know-how to help the Indian industry also build a strong AI data backbone.