PM highlights significance of mobility sector at 62nd SIAM Annual Convention

The 2^nd special plenary session on “Indian Auto Industry for India’s Economic Growth”, Guest of Honour Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India said “For making India a 5 trillion dollar economy and to achieve the Government’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the automobile industry will play a critical role. Within the next 5 years, we are looking at making the auto industry touch a market size of 15 lakh crore. We strongly urge the industry to be quality, innovation and safety centric. With a thrust on innovation in renewable sources of fuel like ethanol based Flex Engine and green hydrogen, vehicular pollution can be reduced substantially.”

Vinod Aggarwal, Vice President, SIAM and Managing Director & CEO, VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd., Sunjay Kapur, President, ACMA and Chairman, SonaComstar, Dr Bornali Bhandari, Senior Fellow, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and GirishWagh, Chairman, SIAM Commercial Vehicle CEOs Council and Executive Director (CVBU), Tata Motors Ltd also spoke in this session.

The third plenary session titled “Decarbonising Indian Auto Sector” witnessed the participation of Dr. J. R. Bhatt, Advisor/Scientist, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, Andre Aranha Correa Do Lago, Brazilian Ambassador to India, Sharad Verma, Managing Director and Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group, K N Radhakrishnan, Chairman, SIAM Two Wheeler CEOs Council and Director & CEO, TVS Motor Company Ltd, Diego Graffi, Chairman, SIAM Three-Wheeler CEOs Council and Managing Director & CEO, Piaggio Vehicle Pvt. Ltd, major auto makers and other dignitaries.

Dr. J. R. Bhatt, said, “Climate change is one of the most important environmental challenges today. India’s vision for transport must be based on low carbon emissions and affordability.”

Andre Aranha Correa Do Lago said, “Brazil and India are the two largest sugarcane producers and have the potential to produce enormous amounts of ethanol. Brazil will work with India on Flex-fuel technology, sustainable aviation fuels, 2nd generation ethanol, hybrid flex fuel vehicles, fuel cells, etc.”

Talking about climate change and the need for sustainable mobility, Sharad Vermasaid, “India needs to solve 3 key considerations, which are carbon footprint reduction, economic affordability of vehicles, and self-sufficiency of the industry while ensuring continued competitive advantage.”

In the special plenary session 4 titled “Building the Nation, Responsibly”, Guest of Honour, Arun Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India, commented, “We need to encash the disruption of modern technologies and innovative approaches such as EVs, biofuels, and others. The FAME-II scheme of the government helped in catapulting EV adoption. The Government and the industry need to make dedicated efforts to help India achieve the target of net-zero by 2070, while making the country auto manufacturing hub for the world.”

Ms Sumita Dawra, Additional Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, said, “Our country is making great strides in every segment including automobile sector. As manufacturing is the backbone of the economy, we are constantly working to improve our ease of doing business by removing or integrating the approval and compliance requirements. PLI scheme by the government is providing the necessary support to the automobile sectors to grow swiftly.”

Kenichi Ayukawa, President SIAM and Executive Vice Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. made the concluding remarks, thanking all the stakeholders.

SIAM APPOINTS VINOD AGGARWAL AS ITS NEW PRESIDENT

SIAM elected Vinod Aggarwal, MD & CEO, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd (VECV) as it’s new President for 2022-23. Vinod Aggarwal, who was the Vice President of SIAM succeeds Kenichi Ayukawa, Executive Vice Chairman & Whole Time Director, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

The election for new office bearers was conducted during the Executive Committee Meeting, which was held after SIAM’s Annual General Meeting.

After taking over as SIAM President, Aggarwal said, “The Indian automotive industry is currently at a very exciting juncture. The industry is witnessing rapid adoption and focus on connectivity, e-mobility and alternate fuels, and other technological advancements, to provide the consumers with not just modern, but also safe and environment friendly vehicles. We are grateful to the government for it's constant focus on improving the infrastructure through significant investments and such policies that modernise this industry.  I am humbled by the opportunity to contribute to the new era of Amrit Kaal, working closely together with the SIAM members.”

The members of SIAM also elected Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd, as the Vice President of SIAM for 2022-23.

Satyakam Arya, CEO & MD, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles was elected as the Treasurer of SIAM for 2022-23.