The next time you pick up a
glossy magazine to ogle at
the specs of a futuristically
designed car, you may just be able
to trace its genesis back to India.
Automotive engineering design
services is the new buzzword
and what this entails is the
outsourcing of engineering and
design jobs by global auto majors
to countries like India.
The automobile is one of the
most complex consumer products
in existence. And although,
worldwide the auto industry is
known to have one of the most
mature manufacturing
processes, there are
dramatic changes
in product
development and technology
occurring even today.
Two of the most critical issues
that have emerged in the recent
past are competitiveness in cost,
quality and product offerings and
shorter lead times to market. This
in turn has encouraged auto
companies to adopt world car
concepts that transcend diverse
geographies. No wonder then that
the automotive business is being
played out on a worldwide stage,
with India emerging as one of the
key players. The sector is known to
hold as much promise for the
country as the much touted IT and
ITes industry. And much like its IT
counterpart, the auto industry is
being driven by India's advantage
of a vast availability of low cost -
high skilled manpower.
Sample these developments
that showcase the growth in the
sector - Toyota has made India a
global hub for transmissions,
sourcing as many as 160,000 units
a year, Hyundai has made the
country an export hub for small
cars, Ford is exporting the
indigenously manufactured CKDs
of Ikon to South Africa and other
countries. Be they auto
components, engineering services
or ready to export passenger
vehicles, most global auto majors
have deepened their commitment
and ties with the country,
projecting India as one of the
world's auto hubs.
Historically, however,
automotive employment has been
tightly clustered, with major
concentrations in the cities such as
Nagoya (Japan) and Detroit
(Chicago-US). It is in the search for
cheaper labour forces and growing
....CONTD
