Automotive Components Industry in India Focuses On Value Addition And Greater Agility

Automotive Components Industry in India Focuses On Value Addition And Greater Agility

In line with the government's push to make India a key automotive manufacturing hub, the automotive components industry in India is confident that it will export more in 2024. 

Focusing on providing more and more opportunities to Indian auto components manufacturers in terms of exports, the Automotive Components Manufacturers’ Association (ACMA) has been helping them to participate in major auto shows the world over. It is also conducting B2B trade fairs such as iAutoConnect which took place in November 2023 in New Delhi, to ensure good international exposure.  

Clocking a 12.6 percent Y-o-Y growth in the first two quarters (H1) of FY2024, the Indian auto components industry, informed an ACMA source, is riding on a robust domestic demand as well as concentrating on exports to ensure stronger and sustainable growth. 

Reporting sales worth USD 36.1 billion in H1 FY2024 as against sales worth USD 33.9 billion during the same period last financial year, the source mentioned that auto component manufacturers are paying attention to significant value addition by adopting new technologies and bettering their agility to respond to the market requirements in the international as well as the home markets. 

Speaking at a press event in Delhi recently, ACMA President Shradha Suri Marwah averred that the auto component industry is mulling over investing around USD 7 billion over the next five years on capacity expansion and technology upgradation mainly because of the robust demand within the indigenous automobile industry, 

"The components industry continues to make investments for purposes of higher value-addition, technology upgradation, and localisation to stay relevant to both domestic and international customers. The industry is aiming to invest USD 6.5-7 billion in capex over the next five years as compared to USD 3.5-4 billion spent in the last five years. With good performance in sales across segments of the vehicle industry in the festive season, I am optimistic that the current fiscal year will witness another good performance from the auto components sector," Marwah noted.

Speaking on the growth, she iterated, “As vehicles sales started reaching pre-pandemic levels and supply-chain issues witnessed during the pandemic such as availability of semi-conductors, high input raw-material costs and non-availability of containers were mitigated, the auto components sector witnessed a steady growth in both domestic and the international markets in the first-half of FY2023-24.”

The findings of the apex body indicated that the auto component sales to OEMs in the domestic market stood at USD 30.8 billion registering a growth by 13.9 percent compared to the first half of the previous year. Consumption of increased value-added components and the shift in market preference towards larger and more powerful vehicles continued to contribute to the increased turnover of the auto-components sector.

Moreover, exports of auto components grew by 2.7 percent to USD 10.4 billion in H1 FY2024 from USD 10.1 billion in H1 FY2023. North America and Europe accounted for 33 percent of exports witnessing an increase of 2 and 12 percent respectively, while Asia accounted for 24 percent, witnessed a decline of 4 percent.

The imports grew by 3.6 percent from USD 10.2 billion in H1 FY202-23 to USD 10.6 billion in H1 FY2023-24. Asia accounted for 63 percent of imports followed by Europe and North America, with 27 percent and 9 percent respectively. Imports from Asia grew by 2 percent, from Europe by 8 percent and from North America by 2.5 percent.

The aftermarket also registered a modest growth in H1 FY2024 witnessing sales go up by 7.5 per cent to USD 5.5 billion from USD 5.4 billion in H1 FY2023.

Commenting on the performance of the auto component industry in India, ACMA Director General, Vinnie Mehta, said, “With vehicle sales and exports displaying steady performance, the auto component industry demonstrated a growth of 12.6 percent scaling a turnover of Rs. USD 36.1 billion in the first half of FY 2023-24. 

Auto Component supplies to all segments of the industry i.e., to OEMs, exports and also the aftermarket remained steadfast. Exports grew by 2.7 percent to USD 10.4 billion while imports grew by 3.6 percent to USD 10.6 billion. The aftermarket, estimated also witnessed a growth of 7.5 percent. Component sales to OEMs in the domestic market grew by 13.9 percent to Rs.2.54 lakh crore”.

Elaborating on the mood of the industry and outlook for the near to mid-term future, Shradha mentioned, “Going forward, considering the festive season has gone well with significant sales across most segments of the vehicle industry, I am optimistic that the current fiscal year will witness another good performance from the auto components sector. The components industry continues to make investments for purposes of higher value-addition, technology upgradation, and localisation to stay relevant to both domestic and international customers.”

 

*Image for representative purpose only.

IIIT-Hyderabad

The Applied AI Research Centre (INAI) at IIIT-Hyderabad has developed an artificial intelligence traffic violation detection system named VIOLA. The project uses dashcams installed in police patrol vehicles to detect traffic infractions and integrate with the Telangana Police e-Challan workflow.

Govind Krishnan, who leads translational AI initiatives for mobility at INAI, said that the question is not why accidents happen. “We already know the answers. The real question is: How can we help solve this problem? Or more importantly, how can artificial intelligence help solve this?”

The system builds upon prior research from Prof. Ravi Kiran S at the Centre for Visual Information Technology (CVIT) regarding helmet detection. By mounting cameras on police vehicles, the setup monitors infractions such as helmet violations, triple riding and wrong-side driving across routes.

Prithvi Jonnada, Operations Manager at INAI, explained, “We let the cameras record their daily rounds, fed the footage into an AI system capable of detecting traffic violations, recognising licence plates and automatically forwarded verified cases to Telangana Police’s e-Challan system. This is a mandate from the police department to have a human in the loop thus ensuring the AI acts as an assistant, not a replacement, for human judgment.”

With four dashcams deployed, the system reports an accuracy rate for submissions. The INAI team is expanding the algorithm to include speed detection and road condition monitoring.

Dr. Ganesh Yalla, CEO, iHub-Data, added, “People don’t expect an academic institution to build a complete industrial-grade product that is deployed and generating real impact. We want to change that.”

Discussions are underway with police departments outside Telangana for broader implementation.

Cars24 Increases AI Integration Across Operations

Cars24

Cars24, a leading online vehicle selling and buying marketplace, has reported that it has processed 1.1 trillion AI (artificial intelligence) tokens during Q1 of FY2026, marking a shift in its business model.

The company stated that AI expenditure now represents 8.88 percent of the company's salary run-rate, with 95 percent of its employees use AI weekly and 89 percent of production code is AI-assisted, contributing to a reported 3x increase in engineer productivity.

Furthermore, for customer operations, AI platforms analysed 9.81 million conversations. Voicebots handled 2.58 million minutes and chatbots processed 550,000 requests.

In terms of inspections, 80 percent of vehicle inspections – totalling 288,000 – were conducted via AI-led systems, reducing the average inspection time from 45 minutes to 26 minutes.

AI-led loan disbursals accounted for 65 percent of the total, amounting to 4,158 disbursals. The company’s Document AI processed 850,000 documents, while its Agentic AI platform executed 5.71 million workflows.

At present, Cars24 operates six in-house platforms supporting 25 use cases, including computer vision, lending and workflow automation. Its imaging platform processes 50,000 vehicle images per month.

Vikram Chopra, Founder & CEO, Cars24, said: "AI is no longer improving isolated workflows, it is becoming the operating system of Cars24. Processing over one trillion AI tokens in a single quarter reflects the scale at which intelligence now powers every part of our business. From customer conversations and vehicle inspections to engineering and operations, we are building one AI that understands context, learns continuously and simplifies every stage of vehicle ownership."

Looking forward, Cars24 plans to develop a unified AI layer that integrates buying, selling, financing and ownership services by utilising its data from the past 11 years.

Tata Elxsi Clocks INR 1.7 Billion Net Profit In Q1 FY2027

Tata Elxsi

Tata Elxsi, a leading design and technology solutions company, has announced its financial results for Q1 FY2027, reporting operating revenue of INR 10.21 billion, up 2.8 percent over the previous quarter and 14.5 percent YoY.

For Q1 FY2027, the company’s EBITDA came at INR 2.16 billion with a margin of 21.2 percent and a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 1.7 billion, up 18.2 percent YoY.

The company’s revenue from the transportation segment grew 13.3 percent YoY, supported by engagements in off-road and aerospace segments. Automotive OEM revenue now accounts for 78 percent of the division's total revenue. The media & communications segment revenue grew 22.2 percent YoY, while healthcare and life sciences clocked 1.7 percent growth QoQ.

Manoj Raghavan, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Elxsi, said, “For the quarter, Tata Elxsi delivered a healthy performance with growth in our two primary verticals, supported by strong deal execution and continued momentum in large strategic engagements. We also crossed a key milestone of reporting operating revenue of more than Rs. 1,000 crores in the current quarter. The performance in the quarter reflects the strength and increasing relevance of our design-led and AI-enabled engineering capabilities in our chosen industries.”

“FY2027 marks a year of future focus for the company, as we prepare and equip ourselves for a world reshaped by AI. We are making targeted investments in specialized talent, AI powered platforms, tools and infrastructure, to pivot to a Domain + AI future. These investments are enhancing customer value creation with tangible outcomes and opening new avenues for growth and positioning us for the year and decade ahead,” he concluded.

BYD Group Debuts 8 Models At 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Flash Charging Tech Too

BYD

Chinese automotive major BYD Group showcased eight model debuts at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it occupied a 2,016 square metre stand. The display featured vehicles from the BYD, DENZA and YANGWANG brands, with several models participating in the hillclimb event.

At the event, BYD introduced the DOLPHIN G DM-i, a supermini featuring Dual Mode Super Hybrid technology that pairs an electric motor with a 1.5-litre petrol engine. The manufacturer also presented the SHARK pickup, which produces 436PS and accelerates from 0-62mph (0-100 kmph) in 5.7 seconds.

DENZA unveiled the Z sports car, a coupe with 1604PS and a top speed of 217mph (350 kmph), which was presented by Stella Li and 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button. The brand also displayed the BAO 5 SUV, which incorporates DMO (Dual Mode Off-road) technology. Additionally, DENZA demonstrated charging speeds of up to 1,500kW, allowing vehicles to charge from 10-70 percent in five minutes.

YANGWANG exhibited the U9 Xtreme, a production car with a top speed of 308.3mph (496 kmph) and a 1200V powertrain. The brand also displayed the U8L SUV and the U7 saloon.

Stella Li, Executive Vice President, BYD, said, "It's been an exciting privilege to play such a central role at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. Our stand has been the focal point for thousands of visitors, who've been able to explore a host of new models – our incredible DENZA Z and DENZA BAO 5, as well as the BYD SHARK and, for the first time in the UK, the DOLPHIN G DM-i. We've really enjoyed meeting car enthusiasts from around the world, and it's been a particular thrill to see our cars, such as the YANGWANG U9X, going up the iconic hillclimb. Goodwood really is a global centrepiece for car culture, and we're delighted to have been able to show how our new-energy technologies are creating advances in sustainable mobility around the world."