Auto Monitorwww.amonline.in21 May 2012Vol. 12 No. 13 32 Pages ` 50

I N D I A ’ S N O . 1 M A G A Z I N E F O R A U T O M O T I V E N E W S , V I E W S & A N A LY S I S

INDIA HAS SHOWN THAT INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES ARE WIDE SPREAD AND ALTERNATIVE-FUEL SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN A SUCCESS STORY

INTERVIEW

Pg 8Dr LM Das, Professor, CES, IIT DelhiPg 9-11NEW MATERIALS

Now Turns

Weekly FOCUS

NEWS IN BRIEFFiat, Premier sign three-year engine supply deal

Fiat India Automobiles Ltd and Premier Automobiles Ltd have entered into a three-year agreement for

procurement of Fiat 1.3-litre mul-ti-jet diesel engine for Premier Rio. Fiat will initially supply around 28,000 engines from its Ranjangaon facility over the peri-od of the agreement. The Rio, with new Fiat 1.3 litre diesel engine, is expected to be `45,000 higher than the current price.

Premier Automobiles cur-rently has a nationwide network of 60 dealers and the company is also in the process of set-ting-up 200 Premier Authorised Service Stations (PASS) around the country. The new engine will enhance the fuel effi cien-cy to around 18 kmpl and also enable Rio to be BS IV compli-ant with expansion of market to additional 14 key cities includ-ing Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune. E

scorts Limited recently launched executive trac-tors in the large (above 60 HP) category. The

tractor manufacturer will focus on high end tractors and plans to launch new products every six months for the next two years in order to strengthen the compa-ny’s presence in this segment.

According to the company’s Chief Executive Offi cer, S Sridhar, the market for large-sized trac-tors in India has nearly doubled over the last decade as compared to the small-size segment, which has not grown at the comparable rate. The mid-size segment has seen a growth of only four percent. Therefore the company is looking at achieving top position in the large tractor segment of over 60 HP, with the launch of its Farmtrac 6060 and Farmtrac 6065 models.

The company’s plant in Faridabad can produce one lakh tractors per annum, but current-ly it is utilising only 75 percent of

the production capacity, which will be scaled up in the coming years. In the last fi scal, Escorts sold 63,000 tractors and predict-ing stagnant market conditions for the tractor industry this fi scal. Sridhar said the market would grow from next year onwards and Escorts would like to be comfort-ably positioned to cash in on that.

The new executive tractors are available in 60 HP and 65 HP options and are equipped with four wheel drive, 24-speed syncroshuttle gearbox and a four-cylinder turbocharged inter-cooled engine, which delivers higher torque to run larger imple-ments and pull heavier loads.

These tractors will be manu-factured at Escorts Faridabad facility where a separate unit has been set-up for manufactur-ing these executive tractors. The company will be manufacturing 10,000 units per annum.

At present, the market for tractors in India stands at near-ly 5.25 lakh units annually, and the demand for large tractors has doubled in the last seven years.

According to Sridhar, the sale of tractor units in India is 5.25 lakh and the company has a market share of around 12 percent. “We are focussing on the growth in the higher horse power tractor seg-ment and we will be launching two new products every six months for the next two years. Therefore we are expecting a market share of 15 percent by next year,” he added.

The company’s Head-Marketing Shenu Agarwal said that there was an “informal consolidation” of land hold-ings among relatives at the farm

level in the states like Punjab, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Farmers in these three states are progressive and are exposed to innovative technologies. If satis-fi ed with the value proposition, they would go in for higher pow-ered machines, he added.

Commenting on the exports Sridhar added that the company is exporting around 2,000 tractors each year to SARC countries and 1,000 tractors have been exported to Europe from our wholly-owned subsidiary in Poland, which makes 100 HP tractors.”

The auto industry has had a lukewarm beginning in the new fi scal. Medium & Heavy Commercial

Vehicles (MHCV) sales fell by 11.6 percent to 19,914 units in April compared to 22,528 units in the same month last fi scal. The decline was led by around 18 percent fall in dispatches of good carriers within the M&HCV seg-ment. The overall commercial vehicle segment sales perked up by 4.37 percent. This was followed by around 16 percent growth in the light commercial vehicle seg-ment, according to the data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

AMW, which had been stead-ily gaining marketshare over the

last few months with average monthly sales of around 1,000 units, registered around 16 per-cent decline to touch 602 units in April this fi scal. Tata Motors, one of the largest CV makers too, lost ground in April with sales falling by around 10 percent to touch 29,692 units.

Industry players attribute the lack of demand to economic uncertainty that is bearing out on the freight segment. This is lead-

ing to lower sales of commercial vehicle segment. It may be a bit early to term the lower CV sales as a cyclical downturn, but sales are likely to remain soft in the com-ing months.

The passenger vehicles seg-ment grew at 9.3 percent during April 2012 over same month last year. Within passenger vehi-cles, passenger cars grew by 3.4 percent, utility vehicles grew by 47.32 percent and vans grew by 6.74 percent in April 2012 as compared to same month last year. Passenger vehicles regis-tered negative growth at (-10.47) percent in the month. Commercial vehicles and three-wheelers also recorded deceleration at (-13.62) percent (-20.50) percent respectively.

Two-wheeler sales main-tained a growth momentum with

around 10 percent increase over the same month last year. Honda Motorcycles & Scooters emerged as a signifi cant gainer in the two wheeler segment with around 47 percent growth in the month of April to touch 193,511 units com-pared to same month last fi scal. The segment registered a dou-ble digit growth of 10.94 percent in April 2012. Also, the overall automobile exports registered a marginal growth rate of 1.29 percent.

Three-wheeler sales recorded decline of around 5.35 percent in April 2012. Piaggio registered around 13 percent fall in April to touch 11,100 units. Atul Auto and TVS Motors were the only major gainers in April with the former notching a growth of 26.71 percent and later, of around 17 percent.

Escorts fortifi es presence in premium tractor segment

M&HCV sales tumble by 11 percent in April, cars sales stagnate

Our Bureau Mumbai

Top 5 Car Makers

Company Apr-11 Apr-12 Change

Maruti 87,144 90,255 3.57%

Hyundai 31,636 35,070 10.85%

TML 28,109 27,613 -1.76%

M&M 16,458 23,030 39.93%

TKM 9,681 14,378 48.52%

Top 5 Car Exporters

Company Apr-11 Apr-12 Change

Hyundai 20,422 19,536 -4.34%

Maruti 10,011 10,160 1.49%

Ford 1,165 2,368 103.26%

Nissan 9431 1310 -86.11%

TML 1,152 598 -48.09%

* Source: SIAM/ ** Excluding exports/ *** all sub segments considered/ ^ excluding MRPL

DATA MONITOR

Bhargav TS Chennai

Our Bureau Mumbai Industry players

attribute the lack of demand to

economic uncertainty that is bearing

out on the freight segment

S Sridhar, CEO, Escorts Agri Machinery & Shenu Agarwal launching Farmtrac

T. Murrali t.murrali@infomedia18.in

Brand Power Vs Defi cit Power

It was raining investments in Tamil Nadu last week, with as many as fi ve companies from the automotive industry signing memorandums of understanding with the state government to set-up manufacturing facili-

ties in and around Chennai. Ashok Leyland-Nissan Motor Company, Daimler-India Commercial Vehicles, Eicher Motors (for Royal Enfi eld), India Yamaha Motor and Philips Carbon signed agreements for cumulative investments of around `8,000 crore.

These investments are likely to generate about 10,000 direct employment and twice the indirect employment opportunities. The state is already a major hub for the auto-motive industry. Already seven international brands—BMW, Daimler, Ford, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Renault and Nissan are operating in different clusters in and around Chennai and the proposed plants especially of Ashok Leyland-Nissan, Royal Enfi eld and India Yamaha will add, no doubt, more glitter.

Daimler has recently commissioned its plant and the additional investments are to enhance capacities and capa-bilities further. However, the issue is the infrastructure support like—power, water and roads. Most of the invest-ments get ‘super mega investment’ status, which offers the companies with uninterrupted power supply and surplus water among others, besides, getting tax holidays of varying orders for close to two decades.

Tamil Nadu is already starved of power with the capital city experiencing two hours of power cuts and the rest of the state remaining without electricity for six to 12 hours a day. Besides, the industries including the large ones that are not part of the mega investment deal have to take up a ‘industrial

power holiday’ on a weekday every week. Still, these sched-uled power cuts help the state to manage the power crisis only to some extent.

However, the paradox for other power starved industrial clusters around the state, is that while the power availability to mega investment companies is ensured, the Tier I, II and III level companies that support the large companies and the OEMs are bereft of power. They are expected to man-age their own resources by generating captive power, which eventually doubles the cost of electricity. Secondly, there is already an enormous shortage of manpower, though Tamil Nadu churns out more engineers every year than the total number of engineers that pass out from all the universities in North America. Also, there is a major shortage of people at the operator level. With these unresolved issues, there is nothing to write home about on the prospects and bene-fi ts of the new investments. Unless the issues pertaining to infrastructure are addressed, the investors will not be happy operating in this part of the country.

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QUOTESRajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto in Business Standard on market outlook for the two-wheeler segment

Akio Toyoda, Toyota President and Head of Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association on complex and high taxation structure on car ownership in Japan

“If we see growth in the two-wheeler segment, it will be because of motorcycles and not scooters”

“Companies that are working hard should be rewarded”

Auto Monitor

EDITORIALEDITORIAL

CONTENTS

THE OTHER SIDE

Nissan expands Altima capacity 26Nissan said it plans to run three daily assembly shifts at US plants building a revamped Altima, as the company tries to challenge Toyota’s Camry

Supplier to buy ex-Mopar site, add 450 jobs 26Brose North America will invest $60 million and add 450 jobs as it acquires the New Boston Chrysler Mopar site in Wayne County

Atul Gupta, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Suzuki Motors IndiaGupta has around three decades expereince in the two-wheelers industry and has served in key positions across various automobile manufacturers

NEW MATERIALSElectromobility: New components going for a test run 9Researchers at Fraunhofer System Research for Electromobility embarked on a two-year project to answer some compelling questions on electric vehicles

Robot speeds up glass development 10A robot, to be introduced later this year at Productronica trade fair, takes on the task of developing new types of glass and examining their characteristics

Lean management beyond shopfloor: Indian perspective 12Production heads and experts debate on application on lean management principles beyond shopfloor for functional and operational streamlining

Honda’s cheaper ride for the big Dream 18India is emerging as a manufacturing base for low cost CVs, and the global market can look at the country for sourcing not only vehicles but also components

M&M jots new adventure destinations, offers AC Thar 18Mahindra is looking to add newer destinations on its adventure trail and has offered compact off-road vehicle ‘Thar’ with air conditioned variant at `6.75 lakh

Bosch posts 22 percent profit 18Bosch reported 22 percent growth in net profit on the back of robust demand for diesel systems in the CV and passenger car segments

Yamaha India expands footprint, plans vendor park 19India Yamaha Motor entered into an agreement with the Tamil Nadu government to set-up a new 110 acre plant near Chennai with an estimated investment of `1,500 crore

30

Denso develops intelligent air conditioning 24Denso has developed auto air-conditioning system that is capable of heating/cooling only the driver’s area in a vehicle

12

18

CORPORATE

GLOBAL WATCH

Auto Monitor

821 MAY 2012

I N T E R V I E W

You have pioneered a hydrogen fuelled three-wheeler in India. Could you elaborate on the effort?

The most attractive feature of hydrogen fuel is its cleanli-ness—it doesn’t emit any noxious pollutants and only oxides of nitrogen are present. We have seen that hydrogen engines can run on ultra-lane mode or on very less amount of fuel. A hydro-gen engine can run unthrottled, because there will not be any pumping vessels so you get much higher thermal effi ciency.

Do we need major changes in the powertrain of a regular vehicle to run it on hydrogen?

If an existing gasoline engine is converted to a hydrogen oper-ation, it could develop some reliability issues. That is why the

fuel injection system is the major challenge for the hydrogen engine and this can be designed on the basis of typical combustion characteristics of the hydrogen. Hydrogen engine embraces the benefi ts of both the diesel engine and petrol engine. It offers a very high compression ratio, and the engine has to be tuned to much higher compression ratio com-pared to petrol engine (Higher the compression ratio, the better is the fuel effi ciency). Hydrogen engines are basically more suit-able for spark ignition.

What kind of benefi ts would the hydrogen-run vehicles give to the common customers?

You can get higher thermal efficiency and practically, no emissions. These two are very important. Both, in terms of per-

formance and emissions, it is much better. In the vehicles running under pilot project, the engines have been converted from its original spark ignition of gasoline operation and are not tailor-made hydrogen operation. We have the operating conditions like—if you have the injection system then you can control the injection timing, injection radiation and you can have a proper electronic control unit to take care of these things. This is what exactly we did for all these three-wheelers (hydro-gen-run-pilot project) running in Delhi. This is a collaborative prod-uct with Mahindra & Mahindra and IIT-Delhi.

What would be the oper-ating cost difference between hydrogen and CNG-run vehicles?

Mahindra will be better to tell it. For one kg of hydrogen, it goes for about 80 km.

What would be the possible challenges for hydrogen pow-ered vehicles in India?

Availability of hydrogen fuel is one of the major challenges. Theoretically, it is available in abundance as we have lots of solar energy and water, and a technical combination of these will be able to provide hydro-gen fuel. But this is simplifi ed statement. Lots of research is underway to generate hydro-gen from biomass. Currently, this is commercially produced from natural gas and also from lots of other renewable and non-renewable sources. For the pilot project, hydrogen is being imported from the US.

What was the reason for choosing an internal combus-tion engine for the hydrogen fuelled vehicle?

In the Indian context, we thought of an internal com-

bustion engine because in our experience, the country has shown that internal combus-tion engines are widespread and alternative-fuel system has been a success story with this tech-nology. We have seen the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which is a very clean fuel. Thus, if we move two steps ahead, we get the confi dence that based on the design of the engine, it could be made to operate on other gases like hydrogen.

How effi cient are the hydro-gen-fuelled vehicles are going to be compared to CNG-run vehicles?

At the moment, the empha-sis has been to put on converting the existing design of the vehicles without substantial modifi cation in the hardware. That is the objec-tive as we wish to demonstrate the positive features of hydrogen in the existing engines.

India has shown that internal combustion engines are widespread and alternative-fuel systems have succeededDr LM Das, Professor at the Centre for Energy Studies, IIT Delhi has about four decades research experience in the development of alternative-fuel low emission automotive engines. His eco-conscious research models aim at sustainable growth and development, and he has been passionate about the use of biodiesel extracted from several non-edible oil seeds in the vehicles. As part of the GM-sponsored project, his team has been successful in vehicle road tests (using 20 percent) by volume of biodiesel added to conventional diesel from Delhi to Kanyakumari.

With an effort to transfer the technology from lab to land, Dr Das has been the coordinator of an academia-industry UNIDO-sponsored project consortium consisting of IIT-Delhi, Mahindra & Mahindra and Air Products with support from UNIDO-ICHET, UNIDO (India) and ITPO in which, world’s first fleet of hydrogen-operated three wheelers were demonstrated during Auto-Expo 2012 in New Delhi. The project has been very successful because of the synergy created through significant contribution and unrelenting support from all the partners. Nabeel A Khan recently met him to discuss the landmark research. Excerpts from the interview:

Auto Monitor

N E W M A T E R I A L S 921 MAY 2012

Electromobility: New components going for a test run

The future belongs to electrical cars—that’s what most experts think. Unfortunately,

there are still a lot of problems that have not been solved. This is the reason why research-ers at 33 Fraunhofer institutes put their heads together in the Fraunhofer System Research for Electromobility project to move electromobility one big step ahead. This two-year project was completed on 30 July, 2011, and the demonstrator vehicles they came up with were showcased at the fi nal event in Papenburg, Germany, on 2 September, 2011, on the ATP test track.

In the future, it will be whisper-quiet on road because in the long run electric cars will replace the internal combustion engine. But there are still some unanswered questions. For instance, how do you store the electricity in cars? Or what power networks do you need? And anyway, how do you pay for

charging your battery? Two years ago Fraunhofer institute research-ers joined forces to answer these and many other questions while coordinating the various com-ponents of electrical cars. The idea behind this partnership is supporting the German car and supply industry to make sure they stay on top in electromobility for a long time to come. This is why this project was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research with Euro 34.5 mil-lion from its Economic Policy Programme II.

Senior Vice President for Research at Fraunhofer Gesellshaft, Professor Ulrich Buller described the idea behind system research, “We take care of overarching aspects starting with generating the energy and going all the way down to busi-ness models.”

Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural

Durability and System

Reliability LBF and the Project Coordinator, Professor Holger Hanselka elaborated, “We have defi ned a total of fi ve concen-trations: issues of decentralised power generation and power transport to vehicles, energy storage, vehicle engineering and system integration. We’re talking about new value-added chains and getting people to accept the idea of electromobility. We added the concentration of ‘function, reliability, testing and launch’ in 2011.”

After the project was over, the institutes involved unveiled their fi ndings on the ATP test track in Papenburg, Germany, on 2 September; researchers invited visitors for a test ride in the experimental vehicles. This is where the fi rst and sec-ond generation of Fraunhofer’s Frecc0 developmental vehicles are ready for testing. Both of these electrical cars are based upon Artega GT, a two-seat-er sports car. Division Director at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM in Bremen, Germany, Franz-Josef Wöstmann said, “We installed commercially available com-ponents into the Frecc0 1.0 and concentrated on streamlin-ing the way these components interact.”

Frecc0 2.0 contains compo-nents recently developed by these scientists. A case in point are wheel hub motors that the researchers from IFAM con-ceived in teamwork with their colleagues at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB, the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM and the Fraunhofer Institute for

Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF. Franz-Josef Wöstmann stressed, “We engi-neered the motor from the onset for the European market and we selected a diameter to make sure it has room in a 15-inch wheel rim. In turn, the engine is adapted to the available con-struction space. This is why we had to come up with completely new components with maximum power density—starting with the power electronics through set-ting up the cooling right down to the design.”

Totally new vehicle designs are possible since the research-ers moved the entire drive train —the entire engine including the centre tunnel, cardan shaft and transmission—out of the car and into the wheel hubs or

even eliminated them altogeth-er. For instance, the passenger compartment on a vehicle that is about the same size as a VW Passat would be as big as an S-Class Mercedes. Another advantage is the fact that every wheel gets the performance it needs. This means greater safety for each passenger because each individual wheel cannot only be separately braked, but also accelerated. That gives the wheel hub motor torque vectoring, an advancement over today’s ESP.

Another innovation is the cast coil. Now, Fraunhofer research-ers can cast coils with a new technique instead of winding them as previously. This has the benefi t that the installation space in the drive motor is used more effi ciently. In contrast to the lot fi ll factor of approximately 55 percent normal today, experts achieve lot fi ll factors in excess of 90 percent. This permits higher power density and greater effi -ciency with an equally large coil installation space. Much smaller coils can be used due to the higher lot fi ll factors, or aluminium can be used with the same dimen-sions if engine output is supposed to stay the same. Felix Horch from the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials explained, “Thanks to this new production technology, we can substantial-ly reduce the installation space, weight and price for coils.”

In the future, automobile manufacturers and suppliers will be able to use Frecc0 together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials for testing or advancing new components.

(Courtesy: Fraunhofer Institute)

We have defined five concentrations:

issues of decentralised power generation & power transport to vehicles, energy

storage, vehicle engineering & system

integration. We’re talking about new

value-added chains & getting people to accept the idea of

electromobility—Prof Holger Hanselka,

Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability & System

Reliability LBF

Auto Monitor

N E W M A T E R I A L S1021 MAY 2012

The network of Electric-Vehicle (EV) charging stations in Germany is still relatively sparse, but their number is growing rapidly. The majority of road-

side charging points take the form of steel-clad pillars. A group of researchers has set out to develop an alternative design based on environ-mentally compatible materials.

Our cityscapes will soon be dominated by a new feature: EV charging points. At present they usually feature a steel or aluminium-clad hous-ing. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Halle want to improve their green credentials. In collaboration with industrial partner Bosecker Verteilerbau Sachsen GmbH, they are developing an alterna-tive solution based on eco-friendly materials. Their idea is to replace the steel cladding that protects cables, power outlets and electronic switchgear with honeycomb panels made of a Wood-Plastic Composite (WPC).

At present, the main application for this type of reconstituted wood product is weather-resistant decking for patios. WPC is a natural fi bre com-posite made up of 70 parts of cellulosic wood fi bre derived from sustainable resources to 30 parts of thermoplastic polypropylene. Its advantages, apart from the high proportion of sustainable raw materials, are that it is 100 percent recyclable and contains no tropical timber. Wood-plastic composites can be repeatedly recycled into new products and have a neutral carbon footprint. An IWM researcher in Halle, Sven Wüstenhagen explained, “Trees extract huge quantities of car-bondioxide from the atmosphere as they grow, and sequester carbon in their ligneous fi bres. It is therefore probable that the use of WPC in this new application will result in lower CO2 emis-sions compared with the use of steel.”

Another advantage of the composite material, according to Wüstenhagen, is that its produc-tion is more energy-effi cient than that of steel or other metal cladding materials. WPC is produced using an extrusion process that involves melt-ing a mixture of wood fi bres and thermoplastic resin under high pressure and at high tempera-ture and feeding the resulting viscous product

Robot speeds up glass development

The green look for

Model-by-model, the electronics in a car is being moved closer to the engine

block. This is why the materi-als used for the electronics must resist increasing heat – so the glass solder being used as glue must be continually optimised. For the fi rst time ever, a robot takes on the task of developing new types of glass and examining

their characteristics. Researchers will introduce this robot at the “productronica” trade fair to be held in Munich, Germany, from 15-18 November, 2011.

For laymen, glass looks like glass—it might be a window, a drinking vessel, a lens for an automotive headlight. But there is much more in and to the trans-parent material: glass can consist of 50 to 60 different elements.

Experts are con-stantly being asked to create glass with cer-tain characteristics out of these elements, since new applica-tions require new materials quite often. Let‘s take the car as an example: the elec-tronic components in a car’s engine com-partment are being brought ever closer to the engine and so must increasingly be resistant to heat and corrosive gases. This also applies to the glue, a glass solder. In the development

of fuel cells, the demand for new types of glass is also great: the use of new metals requires that the glass solder also be adapt-ed. In addition, over a period of approximately 100,000 hours, the glass must withstand thermal heat of 900 degrees Celsius with-out being damaged.

In order to develop glass with new characteristics, experts select about ten compounds from potential elements, mix them and then heat the powder. They heat it in a furnace until it is soft, then they pour it into a mould and let it cool slowly and in a controlled fashion, down to room tempera-ture. During that process, small samples from the viscous glass are taken to test it: how viscous is it? How well does it wet met-als? How does it crystallise out? To produce the glass samples by hand and to test them requires a lot of time: one employee needs approximately two weeks to process 16 samples.

Researchers of the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg have developed a unit that carries out all these steps automatically. “It needs only

24 hours to process 16 samples”, said Manager of the expert group for glass and high-temperature materials at ISC, Dr Martin Kilo. “For this reason we are able to develop glass elements more cost-effectively than previously, by up to 50 percent.” The core piece of the unit is a robot: it puts a mixing cup on a scale and moves it under 14 storage vessels, from which a certain amount of powder is fi lled into the cup. Then the robot mixes the individual ingredients by clos-ing the cup and shaking it, just like a bartender does with a cock-tail shaker. The robot arm then grabs a crucible, puts it onto the scale, fi lls it with a certain amount of the mixed powder and puts the crucible into one of the fi ve fur-naces available in total. The robot repeats this steps several times, since gases build up when the powder is heated and foam could form otherwise. In addition, the powder shrinks during the melt-ing process.

Finally the furnace heats the fully fi lled crucible to a higher temperature, causing the gas bubbles in the glass to rise to the surface. Once the glass is viscous,

the robot arm removes the cru-cible, pours the glass into a new mould and places it in a stress-relieving furnace. Here, the glass cools slowly and in a con-trolled manner, from 600 to 800 degrees Celsius down to room temperature.

An additional central ele-ment of the unit is the analysis unit. It works according to the thermo-optical measurement principle. Looking through two measurement windows, the shade the sample projects in a backlight test system is recorded by a CCD camera. The changes in the contour make it possible to determine characteristics such as sample volume, hemisphere point and wetting angle. This test unit measures how viscous the melt is, and if and how it crys-tallises and wets metals. The test unit can also be used independ-ently of the glass screening unit. The unit also determines and records the ability of the glass to conduct heat. Researchers will introduce this robot at the “pro-ductronica” trade fair.

(Courtesy: Fraunhofer Institute)

An advantage of the composite material, WPC is that its production is more energy-efficient than that of

steel or other metal cladding materials

Glass Screening

Auto Monitor

N E W M A T E R I A L S 1121 MAY 2012

into a continuous mold. With modern process-ing technologies, the fi bres can be added to the mixture in their natural state, without fi rst being transformed into granulate, thus eliminating an energy-intensive intermediate stage and pre-serving the quality of the fi bres. Because wood has a high thermal sensitivity, it has to be proc-essed at temperatures below 200 degrees Celsius.

The housings are manufactured in the form of modular components that can be clipped together as required to create a wide variety of different designs, thus allowing them to blend in with the surrounding architecture. Their modu-lar structure also enables the composite panels to be removed easily during repairs. Industrial Design Expert, Wüstenhagen is already think-ing about other possible new applications for the WPC components, “They could be used, for instance, to construct street furniture such as park benches or bus shelters. That’s one of our next objectives. Another of our ideas is to inte-grate functional elements such as cable holders and cable management systems in the compo-nents for EV charging stations. This is a viable proposition because WPC can be formed into almost any shape, unlike the metal sheeting used in currently available housings.”

Nonetheless, the WPC cladding has to live up to some very demanding requirements. It must be shatterproof and suffi ciently elastic to with-stand impact without damage, and it must be capable of resisting wide variations in tempera-ture, high levels of humidity and prolonged UV exposure. The researchers are therefore testing samples of the material in a climate chamber to assess its resistance to extreme temperature con-ditions and determine which additives or types of coating provide the best weather protection. The IWM experts have almost completed their fi rst prototype of the new WPC housing and are about to start outdoor testing. Sven Wüstenhagen and his team are confi dent that it won’t be long before the fi rst “all-green” EV charging stations appear on our streets.

EV charging stations

Components based on natureT

hey are lightweight and yet strong and resilient: straw, bamboo, bones and teeth owe their sur-

prising strength to their cleverly designed internal structures and a judicious combination of mate-rials. The same principles can be applied to produce lighter and more durable plastic products.

The exceptional strength of certain biological materials is due principally to their com-plex structure. Long bones, for instance, consist of a compact, solid outer casing fi lled with spongy tissue, which makes them particularly strong and resilient. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institutes for Mechanics of Materials IWM and for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT are collaborating on a project entitled “Bionic Manufacturing”, which aims to develop products that are lightweight but strong and economic in their use of materials— imitating the per-fected structures found in nature. The IWM scientists in Freiburg have taken on the task of identi-fying the best internal structures

for manufactured components. “We have set ourselves the chal-lenge of working as effi ciently as nature: The fi nished compo-nent must not weigh more than necessary and yet still be able to perform its mechanical function reliably,” explained Dr Raimund Jaeger of IWM. This approach can be combined with a high degree of creative freedom: “Such com-ponents can be used to produce consumer goods with a high aes-thetic value, such as designer chairs,” added Jaeger. And if by chance one of these bionically designed objects should break as the result of excessive loading, it will do so in a benign way—col-lapsing smoothly in localised areas rather than shattering into sharp splinters.

Whereas natural materials have evolved over numerous generations to reach the level of perfection we see today, engineers and product design-ers have to work much faster. The Freiburg research team has therefore developed a new design method. They start by constructing a virtual model of the future workpiece on the

computer, fi lling out its contours with almost identical, cube-shaped, elementary cells. If the numerical simulation reveals that the grid structure does not satisfy requirements, the cell walls (trabecular microstruc-ture) are refi ned accordingly. “We make them thicker if they are too weak and thinner if they need to be more pliable, or align them with the force lines along which the load is distributed,” explains Jaeger. This method enables many different shapes to be designed around an inner cell structure that can then be eval-uated and optimised using the simulation tool. To complement the simulations, the researchers carry out tests on real-life com-ponents to verify the structure’s mechanical properties.

Jaeger reports that the meth-od has worked very well every time they have used it to design any type of workpiece based on two-dimensional templates that can be pulled into the desired shape using the computer sim-ulation. The same applies to components with a relatively regular shape. Despite their light

weight, all of these components are very strong and resilient and capable of absorbing even sub-stantial shocks. According to the scientists, they have potential applications wherever there is a need for products that combine a high level of mechanical sta-bility and aesthetic appearance with low weight—for example medical orthopedic devices or anatomically formed body pro-tectors such as lumbar support belts for skiers.

Fraunhofer UMSICHT is responsible for the technical implementation of the bionic design principles. The solution chosen by the project managers in Oberhausen involves the use

of additive manufacturing tech-niques—in this case selective laser sintering of polymer mate-rials. This technique enables workpieces to be fabricated by laying down successive layers of a fi ne polyamide powder, which are fused together in the desired confi guration using a focused laser beam. It is the ideal meth-od for creating complex internal structures and, at a later stage, components with a distributed pattern of material properties, which experts refer to as func-tionally graded materials. The resulting structures are similar to those observed in nature.

(Courtesy: Fraunhofer Institute)

This simulation enables many different shapes to be designed around an inner cell structure that can then be evaluated and optimized using the simulation tool

A simulation of a charging station

Auto Monitor

C O R P O R A T E1221 MAY 2012

The application of lean ma nagement (LM) principles can have a significant impact

on the operational and other parameters on the shopfl oor and these principles need to be suit-ably adapted under different

circumstances. Director of Manufacturing,

Volkswagen India, Dr Christoph Graumann and his team pre-sented their unique work of implementing lean principles in designing their central kitchen, which reduced 63 percent of the time taken to cook, 25 percent of the built up area and 70 per-cent of the raw material storage

at a recent event on lean manage-ment in Pune christened “Lean as a Strategic Driver for Business Ecosystem”. The event sought to explore how the Lean principles can be used strategically to drive the business ecosystem.

Dr Graumann elaborated that the existing kitchen was built to cater to about 2,500 meals per day against a projected require-ment of 7,000 meals per day. He further stated that there was no scope for capacity enhancement in the current haphazard setting. He recounted that the manner of work was not up to the worldwide standards of Volkswagen. He and his team went about applying the lean principles and explained how they mapped the value stream for the food items (rice, breakfast, tea), which included drawing a spaghetti diagram, calculated the time for the meal, classifi ed the food items into product families and the current utilisation of the kitchen equip-ment. One of the key fi ndings the team found was that the rice was stored for 40 percent of its lead time and in 22 locations along its

journey to be cooked!Dr Graumann pointed out the

conceptual changes that were brought about were dedicating “cooking lines” for cooking rice, vegetable and other food items. The concept of “fl ow” and “pull” were incorporated in the design stage. The entire focus of the team was to improve the “value creating ratio” of the process and reduce wastage.

The theme revolved around understanding how lean could enable business growth where organisations adopt lean to cre-ate capacity for growth or where

organisations align to the cus-tomer need and create larger pull for the products & services. The second theme showcased how lean could enable a cul-tural transformation within organisations. The third theme probed how lean could be used for designing the organisational DNA while the fourth explored how Lean could be taken beyond the shop fl oor.

Corporate Quality Head, John Deere, Kiran Bhojraj pre-sented how lean management augmented John Deere’s capac-ity by 15 percent with a savings of `fi ve crore within six months at zero cost. The areas that need-ed improvement to increase its capacity, as identifi ed by John Deere, included reduction of cycle time in the paint shop, reduction of cycle time in engine machine shop, reducing stuffi ng time per container in logistics, improve line balancing in the transmission assembly area and reduce lead time for vehicle audit.

C ou nt r y Deploy ment Champion, Business Excellence, SKF India, Shree Phadnis

Fiat is making efforts to enhance its pres-ence in India by setting up an exclusive network of dealers in the country after ending its six years long partnership with

Tata Motors recently. The manufacturer is also considering bolstering its domestic portfolio by bringing its internationally available models to the country. In this regard the company has inaugurated its fi rst dealership in the country recently.

After inaugurating the fi rst exclusive dealer-ship in Hyderabad, Fiat India, Head-Commercial, Enrico Atanasio, said that the manufacturer had set a target of 20 outlets for the current year but it is now looking to raise this fi gure. The manufac-turer’s fi rst exclusive dealership in the domestic market is Tejaswi Motors, which is located in the Banjara Hills area of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and will sell Linea and Punto models.

The car maker is also looking to establish a company to distribute its cars in the domestic market. Atanasio stated that, “Fiat group views India as a very strategic market and will be open-ing a new company to leverage this potential.” Italian manufacturer will also built a real and stronger brand image through the upcoming dealership network. Atanasio said, “We need to train strong force and have right process and people.” He further said, that the existing Tata Fiat dealer, Tejaswi Motors has taken the initia-tive in opening up an exclusive showroom for Fiat and providing the Fiat brand experience recon-fi rms the strong relationship and overall strategic approach we share with Tata. We are confi dent that this partnership with Tejaswi Motors will play a crucial role in intensifying customer base and enhancing customer experience in the city of pearls.”

Through its joint venture with Tata Motors, the Indian division of Fiat rolls out 20,000 units on a yearly basis, which translates to a market share of just 0.7 percent. He said, “I expect a growing role for Fiat in India. Today we have eight percent market share in European market, 18 percent in Latin America and 12 percent in the US market. There is no reason why we can’t improve our current market situation in India which is very much lower.”

Earlier Fiat had alliance with Tata Motors for the distribution and services of its vehicles in India. In fact, the two auto major had forged alli-ance back in 2006, under which Tata Motors was managing distribution and servicing responsibil-ity of Fiat cars in India through joint dealerships.

But according to the car manufacturer, the joint venture’s manufacturing activities and assets will continue in the same manner. The

Lean management beyond

Fiat opens showroom

Our Bureau Mumbai

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The conceptual changes that were

brought about were dedicating

“cooking lines” for cooking food. The

focus was to improve the process & reduce

wastage

Auto Monitor

C O R P O R A T E 1321 MAY 2012

recounted the initial situation where a specifi c drying process consumed high energy and was low on productivity. With the goal to reduce energy consump-tion and increase productivity, the team mapped the function-al signifi cance of each operation against its cost. He established that the high cost operations with low functional signifi cance formed the candidates for elim-ination while those with high functional signifi cance provided opportunities for improvement through cost reduction. The team selected the specifi c opera-tions to be “trimmed” leading to the desired solution.

Head-Manufacturing, Apollo Tyres, SN Dilip stressed that one of the key points contributing to a change in culture is by creating a fear free environment where the focus is on ‘what is wrong’ and not ‘who is wrong.’ He shared this would enable the work force to understand that developing solu-tion as a key rather than critical judgment and result in a higher employee involvement.

The panel discussion with the

fi rst question: If Toyota is cred-ited to have introduced Toyota Production System and hence con-tributed to lean principles, why is it in the shape that it is today?

Dr Graumann of Volkswagen India felt that it is not about the short term failure but when you look at Toyota, one has to look at the entire journey of how it was able to transform from a loss making organisation to at one time become one of the leading car selling manufacturer. It was argued that while innovation could create a great product or a business model, in order to put it into action, one has to have lean methodology to support bring-ing the product to the market in a profi table manner. It was insisted if value is not specifi ed, a value stream with zero wastes would only create a product that is not useful to the customer. The panel correlated the defi nition of innovation (which is, to make a product that meets the need of the user) to the fi rst principle of lean (defi ne value). It was also felt that innovation is success-ful only if there is a foundation

which could be built using the principles of lean.

All the panellists stated two important things an organisa-tion should keep in mind and collectively came up with around fi ve things. The fi rst point, Dr Graumann refl ected, is to have an open culture and an open envi-ronment where people should be able to go to their bosses and report problems. The second, it was recounted, was to make the problem obvious as problems are nothing but opportunities for improvement and take the buffers out of the value stream.

Kshirsagar opined that integrat-ing lean into the operating culture with the top management com-mitment and by keeping it simple so that the workforce not only understands how the principle translates to the organisational context but also how it is applied,

would make the Lean journey sustainable. Jagtap added that creating a strong structure of deployment where the do’s and don’ts for lean deployment are clearly communicated forms a critical reinforcement of the lean deployment journey.

shopfl oor: Indian perspective

in Hyderabad

Lean needs to be integrated into the operating culture

with the top management. Keeping

it simple enables translation of principles

in the organisational context

Enrico Atanasio, Head- Commercial, Fiat India inaugurating its first independent world class

dealership in Hyderabad, Tejaswi Motors

JV has a manufacturing facility in Ranjangaon, Maharashtra which makes cars and powertrain engines for both the companies. Earlier, Fiat had announced that it was targeting to open at least 22 standalone Fiat outlets pan India. Apparently, the move would provide Fiat cars to have exclu-sive location in the showrooms. Currently, Tata Motors and Fiat cars are sold through the same dealership. The 178 existing Fiat franchised Tata dealers in 129 cities will be encouraged to form foundation of the future network.

From mid of 1950s to 1997, the company mar-keted its Fiat 1100 sedan in India, which initially came to the country as the 1100 Delight and then as Premier Padmini. Thereafter, it began roll-ing out the Fiat Uno in the domestic market, but did not achieve success. Presently, the car maker offers the Linea sedan as well as Palio and Punto hatchbacks in the country. It is also mulling over bringing new models from its global portfolio to India, which consists of Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep. Atanasio believes that the auto-mobile major’s performance has improved in the domestic market, primarily in the fi rst quarter of 2012 as compared to the preceding quarter.

Bajaj launches Discover 125 ST Our Bureau

Mumbai

Continuing with its product upgrada-tion strategy, Bajaj Auto launched the ‘Discover 125 ST” designed to add a whole new dimension to the commuter

segment. Powered by DTS-i twin spark technology, the bike delivers a record 13 PS of power without compromising on fuel effi ciency.

Bajaj Auto’s patented “ExhausTec” technol-ogy comes with fi ve-speed gear box, aluminium side sets, monoshock nitrox suspension, specially designed anti vibration frame and petal disc brake for safety. “With the Discover ST we are making a statement that mileage need not come with boring design and outdated features,” said President-Motorcycle Business, Bajaj Auto, K Srinivas.

Auto Monitor

S T U D Y1421 MAY 2012

The domestic passenger car industry in con-trast with the situation a decade ago, when it

used to be led by “Maruti 800”, “Ambassador” is now fl ooded with number of models from a “Nano” to the “Rolls-Royce”. The buyers in the present market are spoilt for choice to select among the various brands, segments and variants. Every now and then OEMs are coming up with novel innovations to offer new variants and in some instances an entire-ly new segment is created to lure the customers.

Compact Car Remains The Preferred Segment

India has been predominant-ly market for compact cars since the introduction of Maruti 800 in 1984. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (erstwhile Maruti Udyog Ltd) understood the psyche of Indian customers well and introduced small economical passenger car models which required low maintenance cost. Replicating this strategy also benefi ted some of the new entrants like Hyundai and Tata Motors during the late 90’s, which also announced their entry by introducing small eco-nomical cars. For almost one and half decades, the small car seg-ment in India has contributed almost 3/4th of the domestic pas-senger car demand. Even in FY12, the small car segment formed around 78 percent of the domes-tic passenger car sales. Rise in income levels, ease in fi nance availability has been the pri-mary driver for the growth in small car sales during last one decade. Further, factors like nar-row roads, lack of proper parking infrastructure at public places, etc has led customers favoring small cars over bigger cars.

New Launches At Regular Intervals Triggered The Growth In Small Car Segment

The small cars are mainly targeted to entry level buyer. Being a large market, OEMs upgrade their product offer-ings by launching new models or variants regularly, In 2006, the launch of MSIL Swift led to the emergence of new sub-seg-ment widely known as premium compact segment in small cars. This successful launch was fol-

lowed by fl urry of new launches like Hyundai i20, Ford Figo, Skoda Fabia, Honda Jazz, New Indica Vista, Fiat Punto etc in this segment in next three-four year period. These models were priced between conventional compact cars and mid-size (ie in a price bracket of around `4.5 – 6.5 lakh). While some models succeeded, others failed to lure customers owing to either over pricing or limited distribution.

Redesigning Product Technology & Commonisation Of Platform Has Enabled OEMs To Bring Down The Prices Of Mid-Size Cars

Pricing is one of the most important parameters that infl u-ence the demand for passenger cars signifi cantly. Being a highly competitive industry, it is impor-tant for the manufacturer to price their products appropriately. Almost a decade back the mid-size segment mainly comprised of high end models like Hyundai Accent, Maruti Baleno, Honda City, Mitsubishi Lancer, Opel Astra, etc which were priced in a range of seven-10 lakh.

The success of economical mid-size car Indigo, OEMs tried different strategies like com-monisation of platform (VW Vento and Polo, Toyota Etios and Liva, Tata Indica and Indigo), redesigning the product to avail concessional excise duty (Tata Indigo and MSIL Swift Dzire) or increasing indigenisation levels in order to bring down product pricing. These measures led

to considerable drop in aver-age price of midsize cars from a range of around seven-eight lakh to around six-seven lakh in last three-four years. Further, the availability of diesel variants in almost all the models also pro-vided a push to the demand for mid-size cars recently.

...Leading To Diminishing Of Price Differentials Between Premium Compact Sub-Segment & Mid-Size Segment Cars

CARE Research has observed that some of the economical mid-size cars that have been successful in the industry are enhancement of their premium compact cous-ins. As these cars are built on the platform of their premium compact car variants, OEMs have been able to price them at much lower range as compared to the conventional mid-size cars. For example seven-eight years ago, the price difference

between compact cars and mid-size cars was around `three-3.5 lakh, which has now reduced to around ̀ 0.5-1 lakh. Further, with the availability of easy fi nancing option, the EMI for economi-cal mid-size cars currently is less than `1,000 as compared to a premium compact car, that consequently has led to sharp rise in the sales of economical mid-size cars.

CARE Research estimates that demand for mid-size cars will continue to witness a healthy growth in FY13. Narrowing price difference between premium compact and mid-size cars along with shifting preferences of the upper middle class population towards this segment because of greater power, comfort, space and wide offerings in diesel seg-ment would fuel this growth.

Diminishing price gap between mid-size and compact cars pushing demand for mid-size sedans

CARE Research has observed

that some of the economical mid-

size cars that have been successful

in the industry are enhancement of their

premium compact cousins. As these cars are built on

the platform of their premium compact car variants, OEMs have

been able to price them at much lower range as compared to the conventional

mid-size cars

Revati KastureHead, Industry Research

Vishal SrivastavDeputy Manager

Kunal MaheshwariAnalyst

Diminishing price gap between compact and mid size segment

0

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200,000

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Source: CARE Research Note: The prices mentioned are ex-showroom Delhi

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Alto

Trend in share of compact and mid size segment

Source: CARE Research

On Road Price 5,88,000 6 ,42,000 Down payment 1 ,17,600 1 ,28,400 Loan Amount 4,70,400 5 ,13,600 Tenure (months) 60 60Interest Rates (%) 11.5 11.5EMI `10,345.32 `11,295.40

`950.08CARE Research

Auto Monitor

C O R P O R A T E1821 MAY 2012

Honda’s cheaper ride for the big Dream Bosch posts 22 percent profi t

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd (HMSI), recently introduced a new cor-

porate philosophy in India and launched the ‘fi rst’ mass segment 110 cc bike—Dream Yuga. The bike delivers 8.5 BHP of power and delivers fuel effi ciency of 72 kmpl and is targeted at custom-ers in the age group of 25 to 29 years. The bike will be available for sale by the end of the month.

The bike’s engine is equipped with technologies like the ‘Honda Intelligent Ignition Control System’, which changes the

ignition timings as per the load conditions to attain ideal combus-tion, leading to improved power output and effi ciency. The bike is specially developed for Indian conditions, catering to practical commuting needs, according to the company statement.

The company’s production capacity is being ramped up in line with demand. After a plant in Manesar and Tapukara, a third plant is currently being built near Bangalore, with plans report-edly for two more in the next few years. In this fi nancial year, HMSI sales in April’12 witnessed near 50 percent growth on YoY basis. HMSI sold 21.07 lakh units in FY12 and grew 27 percent over

16.56 lakh units sold in the previ-ous fi scal. In this FY13, it hopes to sell 2.7 lakh units with a growth of 30 percent over last year.

The company’s Manesar plant capacity of 16 lakh units touched the peak production level last year.

It also started operations at its second plant with capacity of 12 lakh units annually at Tapukara plant. To further meet increas-ing demand, Honda has started construction of its third plant of 12 lakh units production capacity at Narsapuram. Once operation-al, the cumulative production capacity of HMSI will reach four million units annually by H1 of FY13.

The new model will play a cru-cial role in making its dream of garnering 30 percent revenue share from India in two-wheeler segment by 2020. Currently, India contributes around 13 percent to its global revenue in the two-wheeler business.

The company is looking to position the new bike closer to its already successful scoot-er Activa, in terms of price and engine specifi cation. The new Dream Yuga comes with a start-ing price of `44,462 (in New Delhi), while Activa is priced at `46,100. The segment is majorly dominated by HeroMotoCorp’s CD Dawn/Deluxe (`36,300) and the Splendor range (`42,950). Dream Yuga is available in three variants in fi ve colours.

Bosch has reported a net profi t of `336 crore for the January-March fi rst quar-ter of 2012, by registering

a 22 percent increase year-on-year (YoY) over like period of 2011 at `274 crore. The total income dur-ing the quarter moved up by 10.03 percent to `2,295.04 crore, as against `2,085.79 crore in the year-ago period.

“Business conditions were challenging, particularly for the auto industry due to varying lev-els of performance in different segments. Prediction of normal monsoon combined with expec-tation of falling infl ation and declining interest rates give us hope of a satisfactory perform-ance in 2012,” Managing Director, Bosch, V K Viswanathan said.

Diesel systems business wit-nessed 3.8 percent YoY growth due to decline in the tractor market and de-growth in export market. He said, “Starter and generator business, however, posted an impressive growth. Introduction of new baseline alternators in the second half of

2011 for inland and export cus-tomers enabled the division to post higher growth.”

Automotive aftermarket and power tools division had a healthy double digit growth of 13 to 15 percent YoY.

Packaging division grew 61 percent YoY due to higher export projects while security technol-ogy division posted 20 percent growth.

Exports sales were margin-ally up 3.3 percent due to weak demand in the European region.

“In spite of negative impact of sharp rupee depreciation, profi t before tax grew 19 percent YoY primarily due to better cost management and higher treas-ury income. We will also invest `700 crore this year to expand capacities at our manufacturing facilities across the country,” he further added.

Mahindra & Mahindra is to add newer destinations on its adventure trail to its itinery in season 2 of its adven-ture initiative. It has also launched

its compact off-road vehicle ‘Thar’ with air con-ditioned variant at `6.75 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai).

The company is also offering the new version with a digital immobiliser, custom made front bulbar with an integrated electric winch, rock sliders, snorkel, expedition carrier and roll cage to enhance off-road capability. The Thar is available in a BS IV variant with power steering as a stand-ard fi tment, a DI engine as a base variant with both two-wheel and four-wheel drive options.

“Newer destinations are aimed at empha-sising our commitment to offering better experiences to our customers across segments. It is turning out to be an ideal platform to show-case the capabilities of our vehicles,” said Senior Vice President-Marketing, Automotive Division, M&M, Vivek Nayer.

Mahindra Adventure, started in June last year, has since then organised multi-day escapes including the Monastery Escape, Royal New Year Escape in addition to several shorter routes for customers and enthusiasts. It is looking to start the Tri-Nation Escape (Bhutan, India & Nepal: 14 days), Authentic Goa (six days) & Wildlife Escape (six days).

The company is looking to encourage enthu-siasts, who do not own Mahindra vehicles, to participate in these events by hiring ‘adventure-ready’ fl eet of vehicles at a nominal cost.

The Mahindra Adventure team has teamed up with three times National Champion and APRC (Asia Pacifi c Rally Championship) winner Gaurav Gill, INRC (Indian National Rally Championship) winner Lohitt Urs and rally driver, Sunny Sidhu, to further consolidate its position in the motor-sport space.

M&M jots new adventure destinations, offers AC Thar Our Bureau

Mumbai

Diesel systems witnessed 3.8% growth

due to decline in the tractor market

Nabeel A Khan New Delhi

Our Bureau Chennai

Vivek Nayer, Sen. VP-Marketing, Automotive Division, M&M, posing with the Thar

Auto Monitor

C O R P O R A T E 1921 MAY 2012

Yamaha India expands footprint, plans vendor park

India Yamaha Motor (IYM) has set-up its third plant in Tamil Nadu. This facility will be the largest integrated

manufacturing plant for Yamaha in the Asian region barring Japan.

The compa ny recent-ly entered into an agreement with the Tamil Nadu govern-ment to set-up a new plant near Chennai with an estimated investment of `1,500 crore. The 110-acre facility will be located at the industrial park in Vallam Vadagal on the outskirts of Chennai and the construction is scheduled to begin in September 2012. The plant will kick-start operations in the beginning of 2014 and have an initial capac-ity of 400,000 units employing around 1,800 people. The com-pany can eventually scale up the production to 1.8 million units in phases by 2018. This expan-sion is part of its plans to achieve two million vehicle sales by 2016.

The two-wheeler industry has been growing at double digit rate over the last two years with

the scooter segment growing at a faster rate. Many companies are facing supply constraints in meeting the demands and start-ed expanding their footprints in the country. “We are bullish on the Indian market, particularly on the scooter segment. We have decided to start with scooter pro-duction in our Chennai plant as the southern region, particular-ly Tamil Nadu, is a big market for scooters. We showcased the prototype of ‘Ray’ scooter at the Auto Expo in January and it will be manufactured in our Chennai plant. Ray will be initially pro-duced at our existing plant in Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh, which will be launched during the fes-tival season this year,” said CEO & Managing Director, India Yamaha Motor, Hiroyuki Suzuki.

The new plant will also have a vendor park to support the increased localisation pro-gramme. Currently the average local content is about 90 percent and the objective is to increase it to 95 percent. This will syn-chronise the external parts production and reduce losses in the areas of production man-

agement and distribution. “We expect at least six Japanese auto parts vendors to put up plants and a similar number of domes-tic suppliers will invest too. We expect at least ̀ 500 crore worth of investments from these suppliers on their new projects initially.”

IYM currently has two facili-ties at Surajpur in Greater Noida and at Faridabad near Delhi. The Surajpur plant has the capacity to roll out 600,000 motorcycles a year which can be expanded to touch one million units. The facility at Faridabad can manu-facture 700,000 engines, besides other components.

The company is targeting 10 percent share in the domes-tic two-wheeler market over the next four years. IYM accounts for 2.7 percent of the 12.52 million two-wheelers sold in the Indian market till February this fi nancial year. Deputy Managing Director, Riuji Kawashima said, “In 2011, the company exported nearly 1.9 lakh units out of the total sales of 5.2 lakh units. We are targeting 23 percent growth in 2012 sales to 6.4 lakh units with similar export fi g-ures. The industry is projected to

touch 20 million units per annum by 2016 and we are targeting 10 percent market share or two mil-lion units sale.”

Kawashima added that the company is mainly focusing on deluxe motorcycle and scooter segments, which are designed and developed exclusively for India by the Indian team. The deluxe bike segment is estimated to be around 1.5 lakh to 1.8 lakh units per month and Yamaha holds 17

percent market share, which will go up to 20 percent in 2012.

To keep pace with the growth in demand, plans have been implemented to boost the exist-ing factory’s annual production capacity from six lakh units to ten lakh units at an invest-ment of approximately `750 crore in 2012. This will help the company to have a combined production capacity of 28 lakh units in 2018.

India Yamaha Motor (IYM) h a s t a r-geted 10

percent sha re in the domestic two-wheeler mar-ket over next four years. It accounted for 2.7 percent of the 12.52 million two-wheelers sold in the Indian mar-ket till February this fi nancial year. Deputy Managing Director, Riuji Kawashima said, “In 2011, the company exported nearly 1.9 lakh units out of the total sales of 5.2 lakh units. We are targeting 23 per-cent growth in 2012 sales to 6.4 lakh units with similar export fi gures. The industry is projected to touch 20 million units per annum by 2016 and we are targeting 10 percent market share or two million unit sales.”

Kawashima added that, the company is main-ly focusing on deluxe motorcycle and scooter segments, which are designed and developed exclusively for India by the Indian team. The deluxe bike segment is estimated to be around 1.5 lakh to 1.8 lakh units per month and Yamaha is leading with 17 percent market share, which will go up to 20 percent in 2012.

To keep pace with the growth in demand, plans have been implemented to boost the existing fac-tory’s annual production capacity of six lakh units to ten lakh units at an investment of approximately `750 crore in 2012. This will help the company to have a combined production capacity of 28 lakh units in 2018.

The two-wheeler industry has been growing at double digit rate over the last two years with the scooter segment growing at a faster rate. Many companies are facing a supply constraint in meet-ing the demands and started expanding their footprints in the country.

“We are bullish on the Indian market, partic-ularly on the scooter segment. We have decided to start with scooter production in our Chennai plant as the southern region, particularly Tamil Nadu, is a big market for scooters. We showcased the prototype of ‘Ray’ scooter at the Delhi Auto Expo in January and it will be manufactured in our Chennai plant. Ray will be initially launched from our existing plant in Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh during the festival season this year,” said CEO & Managing Director, India Yamaha Motor, Hiroyuki Suzuki.

Yamaha targets 10 pc market share by 2016 Our Bureau

New Delhi

Our Bureau Chennai

Hiroyuki Suzuki, CEO & MD, India Yamaha Motor & CM, Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa during the signing of MoU

Auto Monitor

A N A LY S I S2021 MAY 2012

-51.20%

10.75%

49.20%

254.67%

189.54%

19.18%

3.40%

Passenger Vehicles

Passenger Cars

OEMs 2011-12 2012-13

BMW* 534 NA

Fiat 2,049 1,000

Ford 7,105 7,019

GM 7,941 5,955

HM 415 78

HSCI 1,990 7,058

HMIL 31,604 35,000

M&M 1,006 1,501

MSIL 73,905 72,939

Merc 467 NA

Nissan 1,195 3,460

Renault - 589

Skoda 2,314 3,031

Tata 19,544 18,610

TKM 5,458 6,505

Audi 292 NA

VW 6,994 5,606

Total 162,813 168,351

MPV

OEMs 2011-12 2012-13

Force 33 0

M&M 999 2472

Maruti 13,022 11,723

Tata 4,379 5,480

Total 18,433 19,675

Commercial Vehicles Two-Wheelers

LCVs (PC+GC)

OEMs 2011-12 2012-13

ALL 26 2,241

Force 1,431 1,537

HM 30 15

M&M 8,539 10,582

MNAL 730 599

Piaggio 777 400

Swaraj 102 189

Tata 18,916 19,863

VECV - Eicher

824 917

Total 31,375 36,343

3-Wheelers (PC+GC)

OEMs 2011-12 2012-13

Atul 1,722 2,182

Bajaj 12,916 12,352

Force - -

M&M 4,411 4,659

Piaggio 12,868 11,100

Scooters 1,026 691

TVS 850 1,002

Total 33,793 31,986

M&HCVs (PC+GC)

OEMs 2011-12 2012-13

ALL 4,806 5,471

AMW 718 602

JCBL - 1

Daimler* 11 NA

M&M 0 0

MNAL 211 429

Swaraj 240 420

Tata 13,935 9,829

VECV - Eicher

2,529 3,046

VECV - Volvo

28 60

Volvo Buses

50 57

Total 22,528 19,915

Scooters/Scooterettees

OEMs 2011-12 2012-13

BAL -

HML 34,956 40,354

HMSI 74,432 115,846

M&M 2W

9,539 10,191

Piaggio - 802

SMIL 23,540 27,995

TVS 32,464 32,736

Total 174,931 227,924

Mopeds/Electric

OEMs 2011-12 2012-13

TVS 59,351 67,582

Electrotherm* NA

Total 59,351 67,582

Motorcycles/StepThroughs

OEMs 2011-12 2012-13

BAL 195,971 200,228

HDMC 0 100

HML 468,565 494,473

HMSI 57,237 77,665

IYM 25,813 26,944

M&M 2W

RE 5,889 8,692

SMIL 5,449 2,637

TVS 49,804 50,863

Total 808,728 861,602

* BMW monthly data not available* Data not available since August 2008 onwards

UV

OEMs 2011-12 2012-13

BMW 246 NA

Force 258 380

Ford 214 182

GM 2,080 1,966

HM 128 187

HSCI 22 17

HMIL 32 70

ICML 24 52

M&M 14,453 19,057

MSIL 217 5,593

Merc 69 NA

Nissan 2 7

Renault - 26

Skoda 132 75

Tata 4,186 3,523

TKM 4,223 7,873

Audi 188 -

VW 4 -

Total 26,478 39,008

8519.23%

85.29%

-50.00%

-17.95%

7.41%

5.01%

11.29%

15.44%

15.83%

55.64%

6.84%

2.17%

5.53%

35.69%

4.38%

-

47.60%

-51.61%

2.13%

13.87%

0.00%

6.54%

18.93%

0.84%

30.29%

-

16.16%

13.84%

103.32%

75.00%

-29.47%

20.44%

114.29%

14%11.60%

-22.73%

47.29%

25.14%

6.74%

-14.95%

46.09%

-5.48%

26.71%

-4.37%

17.88%

5.62%

-13.74%

-32.65%

-5.35%

-81.20%

-1.21%

-25.01%

-1.31%

23.93%

-48.52%

The passenger car segment grew by 3.4 percent in April this fi scal, while the utility vehicles grew by 13.03 percent and the multi-purpose vehicles grew by 47.32 percent in this fi scal.

Honda led the passenger car segment with a growth of around 254.67 percent from 1,990 units to touch 7,058 units this fi scal, as compared to the previous period. Tata Motors registered the highest growth in the multi-purpose vehicle segment with 147.45 percent growth to touch 2,472 units in April.

The overall commercial vehicles segment registered a growth of 4.37 percent in April, 2012 as compared to the same period last fi scal to touch 56,257 units. M&HCVs sales fell by 11.6 per-cent to touch 19,914 units compared to 22,528 units in the same period in the previous year. The LCV segment grew by 15.83 percent to touch 36,343 units in this fi scal, compared to 31,375 units in the same period last fi scal.

Three-wheeler sales fell by 5.35 percent to touch 31,986 units in April compared to 33,793 units in same period last year. Passenger carriers sales were fl at in April at 25,293 units while goods carriers fell by 19.97 percent.

ALL registered the highest growth in the LCV segment to touch 2,241 units. Atul Auto registered highest growth in three-wheeler segment to touch 2,182 units.

Domestic two-wheelers sales witnessed a growth of 10.94 percent in this fi scal to touch 1,157,108 units against 1,043,010 units during the same period in the previous fi scal. Mopeds, motorcycles and scooters grew by 13.87 percent, 6.54 percent and 30.29 percent respectively.

The motorcycle sales grew to 861,602 units in April as compared to 808,728 units in corresponding period in the previous fi scal.

In the Motorcycle segment, Royal Enfi eld sales were up by 47.6 percent in April this fi scal, while Bajaj Auto’s sales grew by around 2.17 percent to touch 200,228 units compared to 195,971 units in same period last fi scal.

In the Scooter segment, the sales of HMSI grew by 55.64 percent while TVS Motor sales grew by 0.84 percent in this fi scal.

Hero MotoCorp reported its best sales for April at 534,827 units, registering a growth of 6.22 percent over the same month last year. Bajaj Auto witnessed 2.17 percent growth in its April sales at 200,228 units against the same month in the previous fi scal.

TVS Motor Company reported total domestic two-wheeler sales of 151,181 units in April registering a growth of 6.75 per-cent. Royal Enfi eld registered the highest growth in domestic two-wheelers sales at around 47.6 percent to touch 8,692 units in April this year.

30.99%

31.85%

116.67%

118.75%

2477.42%

47.32%

86.43%

-15.84%

250.00%

-9.98%

-100.00%

147.45%

13.87%

-4.78%

-19.85%

-43.18%

Auto Monitor

T E C H N O L O G Y2221 MAY 2012

Magneti Marelli-Fiat connection on display with Viaggio

Dürr offers a strong commitment to fi nal assembly Dürr paint shop sets new emission standards in China

International debut of Fiat Viaggio at the Auto China show also served as a plat-form for Magneti Marelli,

which supplies many com-ponents for the model. It has supplied know-how for the front lighting, with a bi-halogen ellip-tic module headlight, and for the rear lighting, with LED lamps featuring an exclusive design. In the area of electronic systems, two instrument panel technolo-gies are available based on the vehicle version, in addition to the Hand Free Module system. In the powertrain, in addition to intake manifolds, motorised butterfl y valves and injectors, The com-pany also supplies components for the dual clutch transmission (hydraulic kit and electronic control unit), exhaust systems (manifolds and terminals) and front and rear shock absorbers.

It has embarked on expansion in China with two joint ventures signed in the past nine months with Fudi, for powertrain com-ponents, and with Wanxiang Qianchao Company, for shock absorbers. Magneti Marelli has been operating in China since 1996 with production plants and R&D/engineering centres in Shanghai (powertrain in JV with Shanghai Automobile Gear Works-SAGW-Exhaust Systems), Wuhu (automotive lighting and

powertrain), Guangzhou (elec-tronic systems), Hangzhou (shock absorbers in JV with Wanxiang Qianchao Company) and in the Chaoyang indus-trial and fi nancial district of Changchun (powertrain in JV with FUDI).

The component maker show-cased the Bi-Xenon headlight equipped with a 25 W light bulb. Compared to the 35 W light bulbs used for Xenon lighting, the 25 W ones offer the same lighting characteristics with lower con-sumptions and costs. The heart of the display area dedicated to lighting consisted of a darkroom equipped with a demo of a road at night. Inside the darkroom, visi-tors can fi rst of all compare the light beams generated by halo-gen, xenon and LED lighting.

As China is largely gasoline-powered car market, Magneti Marelli is focusing on powertrain solutions for direct injection, aimed at the reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, together with the maintenance of high performances for inter-nal combustion engines. The GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection) technology is based on high working pressures and sophis-ticated multi-hole injection strategies combined with the use of a turbocharger, to allow engine downsizing. For the GDI systems,

Magneti Marelli makes injectors, pump, electronic control unit and management software, and so far has produced approximately 18 million GDI injectors (about six million in the past year). This technology has already been applied in the motorsport (spe-cifi cally in the WRC), and in 2014 will also be used in Formula 1: for this racing application, Magneti Marelli is currently testing injec-tors and pumps for engines with petrol pressures of up to 500 bar.

The company’s display also included the fourth generation of the AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) Freechoice,

systems for the electronic man-agement of the dual clutch transmission and other power-train components, such as intake manifolds and throttle bodies, which will be the scope of the cooperation with FUDI, based on the recently signed JV.

The company has worked with Pininfarina to make the Cambiano, which made its debut in Geneva and is displayed again in Beijing, on which the traction system consists of four electri-cal motors, one for each wheel, and of the relevant moto-reduc-er. The motors, made by Magneti Marelli, are fi tted on the rear and front frames. Each motor delivers a continuous power of 60 kW and a peak power of 150 kW, for a total 600 kW of total maximum power with a torque of 640 nm.

The demos also included electronic devices, by integrat-ing a wireless connection with communication networks, satellite localisation and an accel-erometer, allows in-vehicle use of services for intelligent mobil-ity management: auto insurance, f leet management, tracking, infologistics, car pooling, e-call (automatic emergency call in case of accident or vehicle overturn-ing), e-toll (the telematic payment of motorway tools or other road services), tele-diagnostics (the remote monitoring of vehicle operation that makes it possi-ble for a central infrastructure to identify possible breakdowns or anomalies) and the obtainment of information on car parks, lim-ited traffi c areas (ZTL), traffi c and road conditions.

Final assembly forms a large part of the current orders from China. For the joint venture, FAW

Volkswagen Automotive Co Ltd in Chengdu, Dürr is installing skillet conveyors that have spin-dle lifting tables in both the trim and fi nal assembly line. Their lift moves between 850 and 1,450 mm. Altogether 142 skillet con-veyers move the vehicles on two lines—driven and controlled by non-contact energy and data transfer. In addition, Dürr has produced and installed three of its own MCCs (Modular Chain Conveyors) that are character-ised by their robustness.

At Chengdu in the chassis lines as well as the dress-up line for the doors, Electric Monorail Systems (EMSs) from Dürr will be used. With a length of 1,200 mt, chassis line A is equipped with 102 ver-tically adjusting carriers with a maximum lift of 4,200 mm, while line B has 13 hangers and a length of 300 mt. This assembly shop, which can handle a maximum chassis weight of 2,500 kg, is designed for a three-shift opera-tion with an output of 60 vehicles per hour. The plant will become operational in February 2013.

Another order from China, from a customer who places great importance on Dürr’s assembly expertise, comes from the BAIC Motor Corporation who is build-ing a new fi nal assembly line in Beijing. Dürr is supplying the complete conveyor technolo-gy, with skillet conveyors in the trim and fi nal line and a heavy duty electric monorail system in the chassis line—both manufac-tured by Dürr. Slat conveyors are used at the end of line with the water test. An interesting detail is the marriage–based on a roll-er bed—with a large main frame and a pallet changing system for front and rear axles. Dürr is responsible for the layout plan-

ning of this project. From the beginning of 2013, new BAIC models based on the Saab 93 and 95 will be assembled in this plant.

A real challenge in terms of scheduling and project man-agement is the order from Volkswagen Saxony GmbH based in Zwickau. It concerns a brown-fi eld project, which means the conversion of an already exist-ing plant. This will be carried out in a number of stages with longer shut-down phases. The largest part will be performed during this year’s summer vaca-tion period. This will be followed by the complete renewal of the incline/decline heav y duty electric monorail with height adjustable hangers as well as the installation of a completely new skillet conveyor line with lifting tables. Another component of this contract is the relocation of the door pre-assembly. In mid-August of 2012 the renovation will be complete and production will begin again.

Dürr’s Italian colleagues from CPM have built a pilot line for fi nal assembly at Fiat in Pomigliano. This reproduces Fiat’s globally applicable production standard in a compact design. The center-piece is the TTS line (Twin Trolley System), a proprietary develop-ment with height adjustable and rotating hangers. Employees

can be trained at this plant and instructed in assembly proc-esses such as the start-up for new models.

The pilot line was part of an overall project for which CPM has installed a new marriage line for joining the body and power train (Flex Decking Line). Components of this project include mechanical dress-up lines for the front and rear axle modules, for example. Even end-of-line equipment with the x-wheel laser wheel align-ment stand is part of the scope of services delivered by Dürr, as is the x-road testing technology, with rolling, braking and ABS test facilities. This fi rst fl ex-decking plant with a capacity of 60 vehi-cles per hour began operation in Pomigliano in October 2011.

CPM is also currently install-ing similar plants in Fiat works in Kragujevac, Serbia and Changsha, China. These will both become operational in May and June this year. The fi nal assembly in Serbia is the most comprehensive project: among other elements there, the TTS chassis line with one-arm rotat-ing hangers, the slat conveyors, the equipment for water testing, as well as the roller bed for the car body storage, are all part of the scope of services. As general con-tractor the overall coordination is also in Dürr’s hands.

Dürr is building an automobile paint shop with the lowest emis-sions in China for the

FAW-VW joint venture. This paint shop, which will go into operation March 2013, will have completely automated primer, base and top coat application. With this plant, FAW-VW has expanded its capac-ities in Changchun.

Dürr is responsible for the construction of the complete paint shop, including applica-tion technology and exhaust air purifi cation. In striving to ensure sustainable painting, FAW-V W relies on the latest Dürr technology. For this rea-son the EcoDryScrubber has been put into use once again in Changchun. This system for the dry separation of overspray reduces energy consumption up to 60 percent in comparison to conventional spray booths by using air recirculation. Fresh water and coagulation chemicals can be completely dispensed with and overspray bound by limestone powder can be reused.

The use of water-based paints in the primer and basecoat section is also new and environmentally friendly as well. Nevertheless, as with the clearcoat application, exhaust air fl ow from the paint booth is cleaned before it leaves the plant. This is a fi rst in China, and a special feature worldwide. The EcoDryScrubber with its air recirculation and the highly effi -cient Ecopure KPR exhaust air purifi cation system create a per-fect symbiosis, since the use of dry separation in the spray booth produces a highly concentrated and particularly effi ciently fi l-tered exhaust air.

This allows for the use of a very compact exhaust air puri-fi cation system and lowers the

investment costs of the exhaust system by 60 percent. In this combination the energy demand is reduced by 80 percent and the solvent emissions by as much as 90 percent. The exhaust air from the ovens is cleaned by the inte-grated Ecopure TAR afterburner where the recovered heat is then in turn used to heat the ovens.

The Ecopaint RoDip M rota-tional dip coating process, which is already used around the world in 46 different paint shops for PT / ED applications, is used in pre-treatment and electro dipping in Changchun. With this the rota-tion of the entire body in the tank optimizes the dipping, fl ooding and draining process. By elimi-nating the entry and exit ramps the tank volume is decreased, dramatically reducing the need for energy and chemicals.

Prior to the fi ller and base-coat applications, the car body is cleaned by six EcoRS Clean robots and sword brushes. Interior and exterior painting is fully automated, using a total of 62 painting and handling robots from the EcoRP L series.

EcoBell3, the new atomiser generation for electrostatic paint application with better per-formance and less complexity, provides the perfect application of primer, base coat and clear coat. Seam sealing, includ-ing the hemfl ange application, underbody protection and pore recognition, is carried out by 16 EcoRS robots.

This automotive paint shop, with the lowest emissions in all China and a capacity of 34 vehicles per hour will go into operation to paint various Audi models starting in March 2013. The contract, which Dürr is handling as general contractor, was awarded in the third quar-ter of 2011.

As China is largely gasoline-

powered car market, Magneti Marelli is

focusing on powertrain solutions for direct

injection, aimed at the reduction in

fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, together

with the maintenance of high performances

for internal combustion engines

Dürr is installing skillet conveyors that have spindle lifting tables in

both the trim and final assembly line

A Magneti Marelli Stall On Display At The Auto China Show

Auto Monitor

G L O B A L W A T C H2421 MAY 2012

Strong fi rst quarter for Bentley as China becomes largest market

Denso develops intelligent air conditioning

Ruukki develops weather resistant Optim 550 W steel

Driver drowsiness detection to boost road safety

Bentley has emerged from the fi rst quarter of 2012 in an increasing-ly strong position with

a new number one market. The company’s results for the fi rst three months of 2012 show that it is building on its 2011 sales suc-cess with a 46.6 percent increase in deliveries to 1,759. Just three

weeks from the Beijing Show, the key trend emerging from the results is confi rmation that China is now Bentley’s largest market.

Sales in the China region increased by 84.9 percent with 578 cars delivered to customers. However, sales in the US, which previously claimed the top spot, also remain strong—up some

35.6 percent with 468 deliveries in the region. Whilst China is in pole position for now, a series of new product launches including the hotly anticipated arrival of the new Continental V8 range sets the stage for a head to head between these two key markets for the rest of the year. The results in China and the US were echoed by strong performance in other markets.

In Europe sales were up 34.4percent with 207 deliveries to customers, and sales in Middle East were up an impressive 82.6 percent with 168 cars delivered as the region moves on from the instability of 2011. Sales in the UK remained static with 233 deliver-ies to customers refl ecting the economic conditions affecting the wider UK automotive sector.

Bentley’s Chief Executive, Wolfgang Duerheimer said, “I am delighted that our fi rst quarter performance has con-

solidated the growth we saw in 2011 and would like to welcome China to its new role as our larg-est market.”

“Bentley’s customers in China, as those elsewhere, value our emphasis on the fi nest craftsmanship and automotive engineering. They know that

buying a Bentley is an unrivalled combination of luxury and per-formance. With the unveiling of our SUV concept EXP 9 F, we have had a phenomenal start to 2012 and expect to see continued growth over the rest of the year as the Continental V8 hits the global market”.

Denso Corporation has developed auto air-conditioning system that is capable of heat-

ing/cooling only the driver’s area in a vehicle. The new system can separately control the climate in three different cabin zones, the driver, front passenger and rear seat areas, which can help improve overall fuel economy when the AC is on. “With Denso’s new A/C system, the heating/cooling can be off in unoccu-pied areas, and temperature can be individually adjusted accord-ing to personal preferences when more than one area is heated or cooled,” said senior executive director of Denso’s Thermal Systems Business Group, Akio Shikamura.

As in-dash space is limited, it is important for the new system

to maintain the same size level as a conventional air conditioning system. With this in mind, the company developed a new inter-nal structure for the heating, ventilation and air-condition-

ing (HVAC) unit. To separately control the climate of each area, Denso divided the internal struc-ture into fi ve compartments with each compartment connected to specifi c air vents: the driver’s

dashboard and the driver side front window, the driver’s legs; the front passenger’s dashboard and front passenger side front window; the front passenger’s legs and the rear seat.

The company conducted repeated tests and simulations in various conditions to provide the optimum climate control and maintain occupants’ com-fort even in severely hot and cold temperatures. When an AC sys-tem is in heat mode, it uses a large amount of outside low-humidity air to ventilate the cabin and to prevent window condensation. Previously, the same amount of cabin air was lost externally.

However, Denso’s new sys-tem only uses outside air for the driver and front passenger’s dashboard and front window vents. Compared to conven-

tional products, this reduces the amount of warm cabin air lost by half, which also helps to reduce the amount of energy needed to operate the AC.

The new AC system was launched in the Japanese mar-ket and in other regions of the world earlier this year. Denso, headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global automotive supplier of advanced technology, systems and components in the areas of thermal, powertrain control, electric, electronics and infor-mation and safety.

Consolidated global sales for the fi scal year ending 31 March, 2011, totalled $37.7 bil-lion. Last fiscal year, Denso spent 9.3 percent of its global consolidated sales on research and development.

Ruukki has recently launched Optim 550 W structural steel, which combines the properties

of weather-resistant steels and high-strength structural steels.

The structure made of weath-er-resistant steel develops a patinated surface. This means it needs no surface treatment and can withstand corrosion attack by the elements much better than conventional struc-tural steels.

In addition to its weather-resistance, the high strength of the steel can be utilised by machinery and equipment builders to lighten the tare weight of mobile machines and thus increase their payloads. This in turn reduces overall fuel consumption.

If colour coating is desired, it adheres to weather-resistant steels better than to convention-al structural steels.

“These steels are ideal for use in various rolling stock applications, as well as in the lattice structures of power line pylons and in agricultur-al trailers, for example,” stated Senior Vice President at Ruukki, Thomas Hörnfeldt.

Body Structures In TramsRuukki Optim 550 W steel

grade is used, among other things, in the body structures of trams.

The use of high-strength steels helps to light-en tram weight because the steel used can be thin-ner and still retain the properties required. A light-er tram structure means less ener-gy is required to operate it.

The Optim 550 W complements Ruukki’s range of weather-resistant steels. The Optim 960 W strength category steel grade, which was launched earlier, has been very well received in the market.

High-strength Ruukki Optim steels are made using a unique direct quenching process devel-oped by Ruukki. In addition to Optim steels, Ruukki also man-ufactures hard Ruukki Raex wear-resistant steels.

Fatigue and microsleep at the wheel are often the cause of serious accidents. However, the

initial signs of fatigue can be detected before a critical situa-tion arises.

Bosch Driver Drowsiness Detection monitor steer-ing movements and advise drivers to take a break in time. The required information is pro-vided either by the car’s electric power steering system, or by the steering angle sensor, which is part of the car’s ESP anti-skid system. The feature can therefore be installed cost-effec-tively and helps further increase road safety.

Bosch Driver Drowsiness Detection can be used in passen-ger cars and light commercial vehicles, and can also be inte-grated into various control units in vehicles. It was fi rst introduced as a standard feature in 2010, in the new Volkswagen Passat. The latest model with the function is

the new Passat Alltrack.The new driver drowsiness

detection function is based on an algorithm, which begins record-ing the driver’s steering behaviour the moment the trip begins. It then recognises changes over the course of long trips, and thus also the driver’s level of fatigue.

Typical signs of waning con-centration are phases during which, the driver is barely steer-ing, combined with slight, yet quick and abrupt steering move-ments to keep the car on track. Based on the frequency of these movements and other parame-ters, among them the length of a trip, use of turn signals, and the time of day, the function calcu-lates the driver’s level of fatigue. If that level exceeds a certain value, an icon such as a coffee cup fl ashes on the instrument panel to warn drivers that they need a rest.

The Bosch Driver Drowsiness Detection function thus contrib-ute to improving road safety.

Denso HVAC Unit

Optim 550W Weather Resistant Structural Steel

Auto Monitor

2621 MAY 2012

G L O B A L W A T C H

International auto round-upDelphi pension probe faces hurdles

A government investigation into the Treasury Department’s role in the decision of GM to ‘top up’ the pensions of hour-ly retyrees at Delphi has been stymied because three former administration offi cials refuse to cooperate. The special inspec-tor general overseeing the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Programme—the fund used to bail out banks, insurance com-panies and automakers—told Congress that former auto czar Ron Bloom will not answer questions about the Obama administration’s role in the treatment of hourly and sala-ried pensions. Two other key auto task force advisers—Harry Wilson and Matthew Feldman —also won’t cooperate, Special Inspector General Christy Romero told Congress.

The three “have refused to meet with SIGTARP and pro-vide information and answers to questions concerning the role they played. SIGTARP believes the Auto Task Force played a role in the pension decision and these individuals’ failure to speak to SIGTARP on this issue poses a signifi cant obstacle to SIGTARP’s ability to complete its audit.” Some 20,000 salaried reti-rees at Delphi lost pensions and insurance benefi ts. Troy-based Delphi, while in bankruptcy in 2009, terminated the pension plans of 70,000 people and left a $7.2 billion shortfall.

The Pension Benefi t Guaranty assumed the plans and must pay $six billion of the losses. In a move that has brought harsh criticism from Congress, GM “topped up” the pensions of most union Delphi hourly work-ers and retirees, primarily those from the United Auto Workers union. GM did not do the same for Delphi’s 20,000 salaried retyrees and pension partici-pants. The automaker also didn’t agree to top up the pensions of smaller unions. Then-UAW President Ron Gettelf inger called the treatment of sala-ried retirees at Delphi “a grave injustice.” Michigan’s two US senators, House Speaker John Boehner and many others in Congress have urged GM to reconsider its decision not to cover Delphi’s salaried pensions. Of salaried and hourly workers, about half have seen their pen-sions cut by PBGC as required under the law. The Treasury has insisted it didn’t make the deci-sion to top up hourly Delphi retyree pensions, but that it understood why GM decided to do so. GM expects that agree-ment will cost $1 billion. GM said it made the decisions “ because of its dependence” on the UAW.

Russia new-car sales up 14 percent in April

Sales of new cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia rose 14 percent in April, the Moscow-based Association for European Businesses (AEB) said. The rise in demand to 266,267 vehicles was slightly more than the 13 percent growth rate seen in March. The AEB raised its forecast for annual vehicle sales by 50,000 units to 2.85 million. Lada continued to be Russia’s top-selling brand last month

with sales of 50,102, but volume fell 11 percent. Sales of No 2 Renault rose 24 percent to 17,914, ahead of Kia at No 3, which sold 17,305 cars, up 23 percent. GM’s Chevrolet increased sales 10 per-cent to 17,180 to secure fourth place, ahead of Hyundai at No. 5 with 15,734, a rise of six percent. Ford was among the automakers that increased sales the most last month, with sales up 26 percent to 12,421, along with Volkswagen whose sales rose 82 percent to 14,768. GM’s Opel brand also performed strongly with sales of 7,169, a rise of 23 percent. AEB said 880,540 units were sold in the fi rst four months of 2012, up 18 percent year-on-year.

Supplier to buy ex-Mopar site, add 450 jobs

Brose North America will invest $60 million and add 450 jobs as it acquires the New Boston Chrysler Mopar site in Wayne County. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation said that Brose North America will expand in Michigan, adding 450 new full-time engineering and manufacturing jobs. Brose, a supplier of mechatronic compo-nents and electric motor drives for vehicle bodies and interi-ors, will receive a $3.5 million Michigan Business Development Programme incentive to acquire the former Chrysler Mopar site on Bell Road in New Boston. The new jobs will be in Wayne County and at its Auburn Hills and Warren locations. Jan Kowal, President, Brose North America, said the company’s growth in the region has accelerated the need for additional workers and man-ufacturing capacity.

Snyder met with Brose execu-tives during a trip to Europe in March, when he and a Michigan delegation visited Germany and Italy to promote business oppor-tunities in Michigan with major company executives and gov-ernment offi cials. Brose has had a North American presence since 1993 with its US headquarters and research and development centre located in Auburn Hills and a manufacturing facility in Warren. It supplies mechatron-ic systems and electric drives for about 80 automotive man-ufacturers and more than 30 suppliers.

GM to offer Chevy Trax outside US

GM said that later this year it will begin offering a new small Chevrolet SUV outside the United States that eventually will be sold in more than 140 markets. The automaker said the fi ve-pas-senger Chevy Trax will make its debut at the Paris Motor Show in September and will launch fi rst in Mexico during the fourth quar-ter. GM said the Trax will not be sold in the US because of strong sales of the Chevy Equinox.

Jaguar Land Rover will boost spending with UK suppliers

Jaguar Land Rover will spend an additional one billion pounds ($1.62 billion) with UK suppliers over the next four years as strong global demand for its Range Rover Evoque premium compact SUV continues. JLR said it would spend the additional amount on top of supply contracts worth

two billion pounds signed in March 2011 with British suppli-ers. The company will also open a new logistics plant this sum-mer in Ellesmere Port, England, which will create about 300 jobs, it said. JLR has sold more than 60,000 Evoques worldwide since its launch in September 2011. Last year the company said it would spend 355 million pounds to build a new engine plant in cen-tral England, creating 750 new jobs. In a separate announce-ment last year, JLR committed to spending 1.5 billion pounds a year on product development over the next fi ve years.

Low tyre pressure causing crashes

A new government study says fi ve percent of vehicles involved in crashes experienced tyre prob-lems. The study warned that underinfl ated tyres are at sig-nifi cantly higher risk of causing a crash. The National Highway Traffi c Safety Administration says a study of crash data from 2005-2007 found that vehicles with tyres underinfl ated by 25 percent or more were three times as likely to be involved in a crash linked to tyre problems. Passenger cars accounted for 66 percent of the tyre-related crashes.

Tyres with worn tread also experienced a big increase in crashes linked to tyre issues. The study also found that poorly maintained tyres or underinfl at-ed tyres were more likely to have problems in bad weather.

Of the sample of vehicles stud-ied, 11.2 percent had problems linked to tyres in bad weather, compared to 3.9 percent when weather was not a factor. Senior Vice President for Public Affairs for the Rubber Manufacturers Association, Dan Zielinski said the study reiterated the need to properly maintain and infl ate tyres. When tyres are not prop-erly infl ated, they don’t grip the roadway as well. Heat can build up, which can lead to a fail-ure. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the trade group that represents Detroit’s Big Three automakers, Toyota and eight others, said it is review-ing the study. But automakers emphasize the need to keep tyres properly infl ated.

Tyre-pressure monitoring systems became standard in the 2008 model year. Congress passed a 2000 law requiring that all vehicles be equipped with a tyre-pressure monitor. That law came in the wake of a recall of 13 million tyres on Ford Explorers and other vehicles that were linked to nearly 280 deaths.

The regulation mandates that tyre-pressure monitoring sys-tems alert drivers if any tyre is 25 percent or more below the rec-ommended infl ation level and is driven for more than 20 min-utes. A radio transmitter sends a signal to an onboard computer that lights a warning signal on the dashboard.

Prior studies have shown that 28 percent of vehicles on the road have at least one tyre underinfl at-ed by 25 percent or more. A 2009 study by NHTSA showed that 57 percent of vehicles with monitor-ing systems had tyres that were properly infl ated, compared with 43 percent of vehicles on average.

Major automotive buyers create opportunities for UK supply chain

Over £4.5 billion investments in UK automotive facilities over the past 18 months is creating major new growth opportuni-ties for component companies across the country as vehicle manufacturers look to source commodities for their new model production.

The UK supply chain has the capability to provide more than 80 percent of all component types required for local vehicle assem-bly with vehicle manufacturers currently purchasing between 60-75 percent of their nation-al production value within the UK. The investment, which has already created thousands of jobs at vehicle plants, means thou-sands more could be created off the back of high-value contracts from OEMs and suppliers.

“Greater automotive com-modity sourcing from the UK is an encouraging step towards ensuring new business opportunities are generat-ed at every level of the supply chain, progressing the global competitiveness of the UK’s domestic supply base,” said SMMT Chief Executive, Paul Everitt. “Leveraging investment

through the supply chain is cen-tral to guaranteeing further investment in skills, R&D and capital equipment required to sustain economic recovery and attract long-term inward invest-ment in the UK.”

Increased OEM demand for UK-manufactured automo-tive commodities continues to optimise opportunities for UK supplier growth and SMMT is working to help them maxim-ise the current opportunities, facilitating one-to-one buyer and supplier meetings, based on automotive commodity demand at its ‘Meet the Buyer’ events.

The annual publication of UK Automotive Commodity Demand helps to match OEMs with UK suppliers and this year, plastic injection moulded components, trim interiors, vehicle upholstery, forgings and stampings are among the most highly sought-after com-ponents by UK-based OEMs.

In 2011, the SMMT host-ed four nationwide ‘Meet the Buyer’ events, facilitating more than 400 one-to-one meetings between buyers and suppliers, covering more than 80 different automotive commodities. This year’s ‘Meet the Buyer’ event will take place on 3 July in the West Midlands, UK.

Nissan said it plans to run three daily assembly shifts at US plants building a revamped Altima, as the company tries to challenge Toyota’s Camry. Production of the 2013 Altima began at Nissan’s Smyrna plant and the car goes on sale late next month. The compa-ny’s sedan outsold Honda’s Accord in 2011 and takes aim at Camry now, according to a Bloomberg report.

Competition among mid-size sedans is fi erce this year with the Altima coming on the heels of GM’s new Chevrolet Malibu, and followed by Honda’s revamped Accord and Ford’s restyled Fusion. Camry, redesigned in 2011, remains the segment’s volume leader, with sales of Hyundai’s Sonata and VW’s new Passat sedan rising.

Combined sales of those models and Kia’s Optima sedan grew 24 percent this year to 674,108, more than double the 10 percent industrywide increase for all cars and light trucks sold in the US, accord-ing to Autodata. Through April, Camry led Altima, the second-best selling car, by 29,626. The best year of US Altima sales was 2007 when Nissan sold 284,762. The Camry also peaked that

year at 473,108. Toyota has said it wants to sell to at least 360,000 this year.

Nissan can build more than 300,000 Altimas a year at Smyrna, and at its Canton facility. Capacity will grow as a result of running three shifts at both facilities and may rise to 400,000 units by next year should US demand for Altimas reach that level.

Toyota already has capac-ity to produce 450,000 Camrys annually at its Georgetown plant and at Fuji Heav y Industries’s Subaru factory in Lafayette that builds the model under contract for Toyota. The 2013 Altima has a $21,500 base price that’s $200 lower than that of the current entry-level car. Altima’s 2.5-litre, 182-horsepower engine gets 38 miles per gallon in highway driving, the best in the seg-ment, and 31 mpg in combined city and highway driving. Smartphone connectivity and Bluetooth audio functions are standard on all versions of the Altima, the company said. The top-end Altima, with a 270 HP, V-6 engine, will cost $30,080, Nissan said. The company’s North American unit is based in Franklin, Tenn.

Nissan expands Altima capacity

Auto Monitor

C L A S S I F I E D S2821 MAY 2012

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Getting Personalwith Atul Gupta, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Suzuki Motors India

Atul Gupta is VP Sales and Marketing at Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited (SMIPL). He has experience of 27 years in the two-wheeler industry and has been associated with Suzuki Motorcycle since 2007. Prior to joining Suzuki Motorcycle, Gupta was Associate Vice President Sales and Marketing at Yamaha Motors.

He commenced his career in 1984 with Escorts. He has also worked with market leaders like TVS Suzuki in the technical training portfolio. Two years forth, he joined TVS Suzuki in 1986, where he served an 11-year long stint. For the fi rst seven years, he was nation-al sales manager and the next four years, he handled the marketing domain. Gupta worked with HFCL between 1997 and 2004. He was also associated with Yamaha Motors India as Marketing head for two-and-half years.

Gupta is a graduate in Mechanical Engineering and pursued his post

graduate studies in Business Administration from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.

In Person

An experience I won’t forget…

If not in the auto industry, where would you be? Interior designing has always been a bit of a passion for me. I like to get involved in spaces and like to pay attention to detail from a design point of view whether it is at home, offi ce or even expos. Somewhere, the love of design probably has been the reason why I have a built a career in the auto-motive industry where every half a dozen years, a design revolution takes place. And I guess, when I do hang up my boots, I would probably be designing interiors

What car do you drive? What do you dream of driving? Well, you drive the badge you market. So, quite naturally, I am driving a Suzuki SX4. What I am really looking forward to is the roll out of the Maruti Suzuki XA-Alpha, which was recently show-cased at Auto Expo. It looks a magnifi cent, sporty mini-SUV. So, that’s the one I am looking forward to. That said, coming from the Suzuki stable, who wouldn’t want to ride a Hayabusa all the time?

Your most recent indulgence Spectacles, really! I see it as a way to have a clear vision. But, given the choice (and the prices!), it mostly certainly has moved beyond necessity to an indulgence.

What are you currently reading?This questionnaire! Much though I would love to spend time catching up on my reading, the fast pace of the two-wheeler industry makes it impossible to have uninterrupted time

What is Mr Gupta doing when not talking auto? I think all of us privileged in the jobs we do, the income we earn and the opportunities we enjoy. I do believe that we need to be able to use this platform to make a meaningful contribu-tion to the community around us in whatever we can. Outside my work, I try to get involved in issues where I feel I can make a difference

Outdoor activity you would miss offi ce for…Frankly, anything that involves travel-ling with family and loved ones is right up my street and I wouldn’t really mind skipping offi ce on occasion to see new sights and sounds in the company of people one enjoys spending time with Where did you go for your last holiday? Hong Kong. Charming, eclectic, modern and yet a lot of the old world charm. Loved it!

You get angry when…With pretentions and pretentious people

What is the one thing you would like to change about you? Honestly, Nothing!

Best thing to have happened to you…My family and loved ones! It is undoubtedly the best thing to ever have happened to me

My most memorable experience has been that of parasailing while I was in Switzerland. It was my first attempt at adventure sport and I still cannot get over the experience. I guess a part of it was about getting over the factor of the unknown and then enjoying the sheer sense of exuberance when

one breaks his own boundaries. The sensational feeling of being a free bird and sailing thousands of feet above

the ground in clear space will always stay with me. I would do that all over again anytime!

Regn. No. MH/MR/WEST/20/2012-2014. RNI No. MAHENG/2000/11414Licenced to post at Mumbai patrika channel sorting office G.P.O. Mumbai 400 001.Date Of Mailing:16th & 17th Fortnightly Issue. Date Of Publication: 13th of Every Month

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