The second phase of the Indian Government’s Automotive Mission Plan aims to boost vehicle sales from 1.98 million units in 2014 to between 12 and 15 million vehicles a year by 2030. Deval Desai, Vice President & Country Head, India at Magna International, doesn’t think that figure is far off the mark.
“If you look at the history of the India automotive market,” he says, “the volumes have trebled every ten years like clockwork. It’s all going to depend on stable government and massive infrastructure improvements.”
Speaking ahead of his appearance at Automotive Megatrends India, Desai explained that with more cars on the road, lightweighting would become an even bigger priority for OEMs operating in India, which would need to meet stricter emissions and safety standards. This will entail specific challenges.
What is the importance of lightweighting in the context of India?
If you look at the Indian market, there’s been a renewed focus on safety. Some vehicles involved in NCAP crash ratings didn’t do well, and it’s likely that the Indian government will introduce regulations similar to Euro NCAP ratings. This is applicable to lightweighting in that when you look at safety, you look at putting in structures, which means adding weight. To balance this out, you have to look at techniques and technologies that offset that weight increase, because India is also going to introduce corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) style regulations.
What challenges does a supplier like Magna face when serving emerging markets with lightweighting solutions?
Certain lightweighting solutions are more mature in developed markets. Their relevance to the Indian market is dependent on volume. When you have mainstream OEMs implementing techniques on a major scale, that’s when it becomes justifiable to put that technology at the forefront of any market.
For example, consider powertrain lightweighting. One solution is to use different materials for the engine block. This is something that’s only just starting to appear in North America, and it won’t be until later that it will have relevance in the Indian market. Conversely though, the use of lightweight latches is considered mainstream here.
Another consideration here is the increasing use of global vehicle platforms. If a vehicle is made in four or five regions and is already being manufactured using certain technologies, the hurdle is lower because we can make a business case for implementing that technology in India.
In which areas will Magna focus its efforts?
The biggest bang for the buck is where your dollar per pound has a maximum benefit in terms of MPG, so body-in-white chassis is a main area. We’ve just finished a project called the Multi-Material Lightweight Vehicle (MMLV) where we demonstrated that by using our products and processes in body-in-white construction, we were able to realise significant lightweighting.
Drivetrain and engine are also key areas of focus for Magna. And a further area is the exterior, where you have options such as a plastic tailgate. These are typically made of steel, and contain numerous components. We’ve recently launched programmes that can achieve 30% to 40% mass savings, which is a significant figure in contributing to the overall efficiency of the vehicle.
Commonisation strategies also remain important, as they can help achieve complexity reduction. For example, when considering 25 different components to develop a front-end module, commonising certain components gives us leverage in achieving lightweighting. We’re also trying to use some new materials such as aluminium, and carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). Some of these are not ready for the prime time, but that’s something we’re working towards.
Xavier Boucherat
