Goyal urges auto component makers to explore investment from EFTA countries | Auto
 "Piyush Goyal, Piyush")
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal (File Photo: PTI)
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday asked Indian automobile component manufacturers to attract investments from the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, in a bid to reach the target of $100 billion worth of automobile components’ exports by 2030.
While addressing the 64th Annual Session of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), he said, “If you were to look at our agreements with different countries, like the EFTA agreement with Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland, now they have committed to put in $100 billion in India. They don’t have much manufacturing in those four countries, but they do have some technologies. They would certainly be interested in investing for profits in the (Indian) market, even if they don’t have a particular technology.”
On September 4, the Swiss government submitted a dispatch to its Parliament, as a first step towards ratifying the EFTA agreement.
Goyal argued that the automobile industry needed to market the after-sales sector by making customers realise the importance of using Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) products via social media campaigns or through other means.
“We need to educate them that the value (one) pays for an OEM product would always be far less in terms of the value and the years of service that (one) is getting. When you collectively look at the new automobile market and the after-sales (sector), I think the future for your sector is absolutely bright, and there is nobody in the world who can compete with the Indian component manufacturers,” he added.
The minister urged the industry leaders to prepare a roadmap to become the largest auto market in the world, emphasising combining the industry’s organic growth with international outreach to secure investments and focus on research and development (R&D). Currently, India is the third-largest auto market in the world.
“The government is soon going to come out with the guidelines for the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), where Rs 1 trillion has been allocated for supporting public-private academia partnerships, and I hope all of you will take benefits of that,” Goyal remarked.
Further, he invited the auto component industry leaders to examine the development potential of the government’s upcoming 20 industrial smart cities. Goyal also asked the industry leaders to capture global opportunities in new-age technologies such as Electric Vehicles (EVs).
“Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025 will reflect in a much bigger way about EV and its associated ecosystem. They are getting bicycles on board also. That sector needs to grow in India. We used to have an edge once upon a time. We lost a lot of that edge in the last 3-4 decades,” he said.
The minister also talked about the huge potential for the auto sector to achieve economies of scale by catering to the domestic market of 1.4 billion aspirational Indians, urging the industry to become a leading exporter of auto components and move towards self-reliance.
First Published: Sep 09 2024 | 8:30 PM IST
