Synerject talks tech with India's two-wheeler OEMs

HPi11 fuel pump is a single-stage electric turbine fuel pump for use in IC engines with fuel-injection systems.

Synerject, a JV between Continental Automotive and Orbital Corp, believes its EMS and EFI systems will help two-wheeler OEMs achieve improved fuel efficiency and drive a greener tomorrow. Jaishankar Jayaramiah reports. 

For global automobile component manufacturers and technology providers in the areas of fuel injection and engine management, India is emerging as a key market on the back of the government tightening emissions norms as well as the growing recognition of introducing safety features.

The US-based Synerject is one among a few global companies which has been drawing a road map to penetrate the Indian two- and three-wheeler markets with its Engine Management System (EMS) and Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) products.

Headquartered in Virginia, Synerject’s ambitious business expectations in the Indian market seem plausible given that its parent company Continental, one of the world’s top five auto parts suppliers, already has its large presence in India with multiple  production facilities and marketing network. The company has an advantage of leveraging and utilising Continental’s production facilities, both in India and worldwide.

In fact Continental Automotive Corporation holds a majority stake of 70 percent in Synerject while the remaining 30 percent is owned by Orbital Corporation.  Today, Continental has four manufacturing locations, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Manesar and Pune, located strategically in the automotive hubs of the country.

Talking to Autocar Professional, Torsten Bellon, CEO and president of Synerject, says: “Our current presence in India is within Continental, which means we have a small team in Bangalore dedicated for two-wheeler applications. Our plans are ready for more local presence, depending on business opportunities. Thanks to Continental’s presence in India, the execution can and will start on a certain level and not from scratch.”

He adds, “Our approach is different from others as we have a modular approach towards engine management. The company manufactures modules as a package with integrated components for EFI and EMS,” he says.

For instance, the company has a module christened M3A Module, which is a complete and simple package suitable for all single-cylinder, four-stroke, small displacement engine applications from 50cc to 250cc two-wheelers. The module integrates components like an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) with its printed circuit board, plastic housing, an aluminium throttle, fuel injector and sensors, he says.

GUNNING FOR SMALL-CAPACITY BIKE MARKET

Synerject is targeting the upto-250cc bike market in Asia, primarily in India. This segment demands different powertrain and fuel injection system technologies. “We are, at present, in close cooperation with four major Indian OEMs,” says Bellon without identifying the OEMs.

Synerject’s optimistic approach to the Indian market is thanks to the two-wheeler segment notching steady growth over the past year and a half; in fact it  has almost  doubled in the past five years.

The other thrust area is the gradual technology upgradation in the two-wheeler industry, which Synerject is hoping will bring it more business growth. The company expects to get a majority of its business from the 100-150cc segment in India.

The current size of the Indian two-wheeler market stands at 16 million units per annum and is expected to touch the 20-million mark in 2016.  At present, only about 100,000 two-wheelers are equipped with electronic-backed fuel injection and engine management. The market will grow when the government tightens the regulatory norms for better safety features and pollution control, elaborates Bellon.

Bellon says Synerject's global turnover stood at around $ 130 million (Rs 779 crore) in 2013 and it expects to clock $ 140 million (Rs 839 crore) in sales in calendar year 2014. At present, the two- and three-wheeler markets contribute a third of its turnover. The company has three standalone manufacturing facilities across the world – two in the US and one in China.

In Asia, Synerject holds Taiwan, which accounts for 30 percent of its total turnover, as its trump card. The company is one of the market leaders in Taiwan in the EFI / EMS space. Two-wheeler manufacturers Sanyang and Kymco are two major OEM customers and the company has been supplying the bulk of its products from its Chinese manufacturing facility to the Taiwanese market, reveals Bellon.

He concludes by saying that the company has been supplying its EMS and EFI products to around 10-12 major two-wheeler OEMs across the world including European manufacturers like Ducati and Peugeot and Malaysia’s Modenas.

Also read: Interview with Torsten Bellon, CEO, Synerject  http://bit.ly/1trW0Zr