AVL is the world’s largest independent company for development, simulation and testing in the automotive industry and in other sectors. As a global technology leader, AVL provides concepts, solutions and methodologies in the fields of e-mobility ADAS and autonomous driving, vehicle integration, digitalisation, virtualisation, big data and much more.

In an interview with Sharad P Matade, Urs Gerspach, Executive Vice President of Test Systems and Global Operations, Instrumentation and Test Systems at AVL, shares his thoughts on the growth enablers and the company’s capabilities to cater to a wide range of demand in the automotive testing business.

What is the impact of the Covid pandemic on AVL’s testing business?

There is an impact, no doubt about it. The effect was much stronger last year; the customers constantly postponed their decisions about the orders of lab projects. However, this year, we are seeing a sudden improvement in the situation. In the first quarter of this year, we received massive orders of over 180 test systems for battery test labs. The situation is improving very fast, and the investments are being released by the OEMs. Until last year, the trends were not clear. Now we see a fast and strong growth of the passenger car industry towards electrification business. We are also witnessing the growing focus on fuel cells in the commercial truck segment. AVL is very well on track regarding its turnover and our margins for this year.

What is the reason for the increased demand of battery test labs?

In the past, many OEMs bought their battery cells from cell manufacturers like Panasonic, LG, CATL etc. and used these third party cells to build their own batteries. Several passenger car OEMs changed their strategy and decided to develop their own battery cells. Increased range, reduced charging time and lower costs are important key factors to convince customers to buy electric cars. Not just the development of the battery, but the combination of Battery, Inverter, E-Motor and Charging Infrastructure is important to develop a successful electric car. For this development, you need new test equipment such as battery cell cyclers, conditioning systems, climate chambers, automation and lab management software. The entire car is tested on High Voltage Powertrain Test Beds and Chassis Dynos where AVL has been the market leader for many years.

Europe is gearing up for Euro-7. What is it? How will it influence the testing business?

EU-7 will set stricter limits for CO2 and particle emissions. We expect PM10 (particulate matter with a size of 10 μm) will be introduced for Euro-7 and we have therefore developed measurement systems which can measure PM10.

It is also important to measure the CO2 emissions of combustion engines as precisely as possible. It is not just about compliance with environmental standards, but also about fuel consumption. We also deliver Portable Emission Measurement (PEM) systems for measuring emissions in real-time conditions on the street. While driving the car under real conditions, you might not execute a certified test run under predefined environmental conditions, therefore, other emissions will occur that need to be measured and analysed. AVL offers a wide range of in-vehicle measurement systems and software to determine what is actually coming out of the exhaust - in real driving conditions.

But there will also be a focus on non-exhaust emissions, particularly brake dust. Electric vehicles don’t emit exhaust emissions, but there is still brake and tyre dust. We have developed entire test systems to test real brakes under real-time conditions.

What would be the significant growth drivers in the traditional combustion engine business for AVL testing divisions?

As mentioned, the Euro-7 regulation will be one of the main drivers for AVL in the future. Besides all the other technologies like ADAS, every engine will be partly electrified either as a pure Hybrid, Plug In- or mild Hybrid. The technology of an Integrated Combustion Engine (ICE) can also be used to run with pure hydrogen. AVL is developing several engines for various customers that convert existing ICE technologies in new concepts.

We are also working on measurement technologies for synthetic fuel. AVL is working closely with Formula One teams as they will soon run their engines with synthetic fuels.

AVL has played a significant role in the development of the diesel engine in Europe. However, many OEMs are talking about discontinuing diesel engine vehicles in the near future. Do you see this as a challenge?

This trend will not have a great impact on our testing division. It will have a larger influence on the powertrain development division for diesel engines. If you take a look at the share of electrified cars in Europe - especially in Germany - they only account for 10 percent of the total vehicles; the remaining share of cars are still powered by combustion engines.

The combustion engine will still remain relevant for a while. However, increasingly in the form of a hybrid powertrain. AVL is therefore converting existing test beds for the car manufacturers so that they can be used to test hybrid vehicles. There are several customers who request pure electrical test benches. Some of our customers come to us with the requirement to completely convert existing combustion engine test fields to electrification test systems.

Between electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, which one holds more promise in India in the near term and the long term?

I believe, in countries where the electricity network is not yet fully developed, hybrid cars will provide more flexibility, combining the possibility to run with fuel for an overland trip and electrified within the city.

In India, two-wheelers might have a faster increase in electrification similar to the development in China. ICE engines might keep dominating for a while, especially for the commercial vehicle. The introduction of pure battery electric vehicles mainly depends on how fast India is able to provide the necessary high-voltage charging infrastructure.

What about the AVL Tech Centre in India?

Our Tech Centre in India is one of our strongest Competence Centre for turnkey projects. AVL India is a very strong and reliable partner when it comes to planning of entire test fields including plant facilities. In the field of Powertrain Development, our India Tech Centre focuses on all three technologies – ICE, electrification and hybridisation – equally in all segments. AVL is an engineering company assisting customers with all types of mobility technologies. We recently got one of the first orders for fuel cell test systems from an Indian customer. So there is something exciting happening in our Tech Centre in India.

What about the revenues? How much does your testing division contribute to the whole company?

In 2020, the company generated a turnover of EUR 1.7 billion, of which 12 percent was invested in R&D activities. The testing division contributes with around 50 percent of the turnover.

What are the challenges in the business?

One of the biggest challenges is definitely to cover the growing bandwidth of technologies. A couple of years ago, we were only talking about ICE vehicles. Today, we are talking about ICE vehicles, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, batteries, ADAS and autonomous driving, digitalisation, cybersecurity and big data. AVL has built comprehensive competences to accelerate the vision of smart and connected mobility.

If you are an engineer, you have a wide range of technologies to specialise in. So one of the challenges is to find the right engineers to work on these different technologies.

What is the latest on safety by AVL?

One of the issues that is yet to gain the industry’s attention is fire safety in electric vehicles. AVL has been associated with fire marshals in Europe. Fire brigades realised an increase in accidents with Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV). Not only accidents but also burning BEVs in parking garages are a big challenge. These vehicles are very difficult to extinguish due to the chemistry of the lithium-ion battery.

AVL has developed a firefighting system which can extinguish a lithium-ion battery fire on the testbed or for fire brigade usage. It is a unique patented system that runs on liquids such as water or gases like nitrogen to extinguish battery fires. We conducted a couple of test series with hybrid batteries. A burning battery with 18 metres of flame height and temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees Celsius could be extinguished in one minute. (MT)

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Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co recently established a new retail finance company in India, christened ‘Honda Finance India’. The new company will provide customers with retail sales financing services, including loans and lease sales options for Honda products in India.

The automaker states that with demand for two-wheelers and four-wheelers set to grow in India, there will be a significant growth opportunity for retail finance too. Till now, retail sales financing services has been primarily done by local financial institutions in India.

However, Honda aims to further strengthen its business in India by offering its own sales financing services through a local subsidiary in India. For this, Honda Finance India is applying for a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) license to conduct financial services business in India.

The Japanese company states that for it financial services business has been one of the main business areas and it has established local subsidiaries specialising in retail sales financing services in Japan and various countries in key regions such as North America and Europe. With the establishment of the new company, India became the ninth country where Honda has a local subsidiary to offer financial services.

Going forward, in anticipation of the global expansion of software-defined vehicle (SDV) sales in the future, Honda is looking into opportunities to offer new financial services designed to increase customer satisfaction and the value of the customer experience using various data from Honda SDVs.

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Rakesh Srivastava, the former Managing Director of Nissan Motor India, has been appointed as a Partner at Helyxa Consulting Group, a newly launched firm of senior professionals. Srivastava joins a team with over 150 years of collective experience from top-tier companies across various industries.

Helyxa Consulting Group, which was established on India's Independence Day, is focused on enabling India's growth journey and building a ‘Viksit Bharat’ in line with the vision of a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047. The firm aims to accelerate the growth of Indian companies by providing services in key areas including – AI Transformation, Board Advisory, Deals & Partnerships, Innovation in Entrepreneurship, Leadership & Culture Transformation and Planning & Process Transformation.

Srivastava will work alongside other key partners, including Managing Partner Bhanu Sharma, former President and Global Head of HR and IT at Tega Industries, and Partner Raman Madhok, a board member at Johnson Controls Hitachi and former Joint Managing Director and CEO of JSW Steel. The leadership team also includes Bindu Bhatia and Harish Bhatia.

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German luxury automotive brand BMW India is set to increase prices across its entire model range by up to 3 percent beginning 1 September. The company cites continued foreign exchange impacts and rising material and logistics costs as the primary reasons for the price adjustment.

Vikram Pawah, President and CEO, BMW Group India, said the company has seen significant sales growth in the first half of the year.

“BMW India’s growth and sales momentum in the first half of the year has been remarkable. However, factors like continued forex impact and global supply chain dynamics have been leading to increased material and logistics costs. Our commitment to offer best value and experience throughout customer journey is steadfast. In the festive season, we are geared to introduce several new power-packed profiles of our cars. As the strong demand for BMW’s luxurious, pioneering cars continues, we will deliver exceptional performance and innovation to our valued customers,” he said.

At present, BMW sells the locally produced the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, BMW 3 Series Long Wheelbase, BMW 5 Series Long Wheelbase, BMW 7 Series, BMW X1, BMW X3, BMW X5, BMW X7, BMW M340i and BMW iX1 Long Wheelbase.

in India. The company also offers a wide selection of imported models, including the BMW i4, BMW i5, BMW i7, BMW i7 M70, BMW iX, BMW Z4 M40i, BMW M2 Coupe, BMW M4 Competition, BMW M4 CS, BMW M5, BMW M8 Competition Coupe and BMW XM (Plug-in-Hybrid) as completely built-up units (CBU).

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In a joint effort to improve road safety, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India (SAVWIPL) and the SaveLIFE Foundation have successfully completed a two-year project on a high-risk section of National Highway 19 in Uttar Pradesh.

The initiative, named ‘Surakshit Sadkein, Surakshit Bharat’ (Safe Roads, Safe India), has resulted in a 7.5 percent reduction in road crash fatalities on the Agra–Etawah–Chakeri corridor since its launch in November 2022.

The program benefited over 720,000 commuters and focused on a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to road safety, addressing four key areas:

Engineering: Over 7,000 engineering hazards were fixed, with the addition of crash barriers, speed-calming measures and improved pedestrian facilities.

Enforcement: Electronic enforcement tools and new signage were deployed to improve traffic management.

Emergency Care: More than 300 first responders were trained in Basic Trauma Life Support.

Education: Awareness campaigns, including billboards and local outreach, reached a wide audience and commercial vehicle drivers received training in anticipatory driving.

This project was a collaboration with several government bodies, including the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Uttar Pradesh Police. The partners hope this successful model can be replicated in other high-risk areas across the country.

Piyush Arora, Managing Director & CEO, SAVWIPL, said, “For us, progress in the automotive sector is as much about building safer communities as it is about innovation. The Group takes safety seriously – our Made-in-India models have achieved full 5-star safety ratings, and we are committed to extending that safety beyond our cars to the roads we share. The NH 19 Zero Fatality Corridor with SaveLIFE Foundation shows that when engineering, enforcement, training, and awareness come together, lives are saved. This measurable impact strengthens our vision of a self-reliant India, where independence also means the freedom to travel without fear.”

This is the second Vision Zero Fatality Corridor project supported by SAVWIPL, following the Mumbai–Pune Highway initiative, which achieved a 61 percent reduction in fatalities.

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