Exclusive: Applus+ IDIADA likely to build proving ground in Andhra Pradesh

Applus+ IDIADA, a leading Spanish firm that provides design, engineering, testing and homologation services to the automotive industry globally, is planning to expand its current R&D capabilities and consolidate its presence in India.

As a part of its consolidation drive, the local arm of Applus+ IDIADA, a unit of the Group’s international network of subsidiaries and branch offices spread across 25 countries, is likely to set up a world-class proving ground in Andhra Pradesh for providing advanced automotive testing services to OEMs and potential component suppliers.

The company is learnt to have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government on the sidelines of the recently concluded CII Partnership Summit organised by the state government. The two-day event, conducted to attract new investments, create jobs and boost the scope of doing business in the state of Andhra Pradesh, was held on January 27-28 January in Visakhapatnam.

According to the AP government website, a total of 665 MoUs worth Rs 10.5 lakh crore of investments with the potential to create around 22 lakh jobs in the coming years were signed during the investors meet.

It can be recalled that Autocar Professional had reported in May 2016 that Applus+ IDIADA was keen on setting up an advanced proving ground facility in India. Reliable sources aware of the latest development(s) indicate that the company has chosen Andhra Pradesh as its state of preference to set up the facility.

Company officials, however, have declined to comment on the new development.

Speaking to Autocar Professional, Mandip Singh Tack, director, Business Unit India, Applus+ IDIADA Group (pictured above), clarified, “I had said in my interaction that we are looking at setting up a proving ground facility in India. Nevertheless, I won’t comment on this as of now. Until we have some concrete agreements in place, I can’t announce our next steps. I expect that over the next two months, I would be able to officially speak with more clarity on this. I would still be working with the OEMs in the background to understand their needs and requirements from a particular facility like this, and would also look at advanced technology testing as well. We would like to help support and contribute to the mobility solutions of the 21^st century (India).”

The top company official also declined to disclose if they have chosen Andhra Pradesh as their preferred state of choice for the same. “The site is currently under evaluation,” he added.

New crash and safety norms in India to drive demand for testing
Passive safety simulation, NVH and crash tests are understood to be among the core areas of expertise for Applus+ IDIADA in India. This is aligned with the growing interest towards upcoming crash tests and vehicle safety standards including the Bharat New Car Assessment (Bharat NCAP) protocol.

Global convergence of several automotive standards for the industry including emission crackdown and crash safety ratings, among other norms, along with trend of switching to cleaner transportation solutions with new technologies are shaping up the opportunities for the engineering service providers around the world.

As a result, many global auto engineering, R&D and homologation service providers are investing in growing markets including India, and are also exploring research in new areas such as ADAS, electrification of vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell capabilities and others.

The capacity expansion plan of Applus+ IDIADA, which has also been a consultant to the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP) over the years in developing automotive test centres in India, is in line with the nodal government agency’s drive of setting up multiple safety test facilities including high-speed test tracks in the country.

Interestingly, the automotive engineering service provider has commenced the first phase of operations of proving ground in Zhaoyuan in Shandong province, China in October-November last year. The test facility, a 150-hectare complex still under construction, is designed and managed by Applus+ IDIADA. According to the company, the world-class proving ground in China will house total of 16 tracks including a 5.2 kilometre-long high-speed circuit.

“Six of these tracks, namely the multipurpose platform, the straight line braking track, the pass-by noise test track, the wet handling, wet circle and the dynamic platform will soon be operative,” quotes the company’s global website.

Focus on passenger car and M&HCV segments
In India, the company, with its presence only in the automotive sector currently, is focusing on the passenger car and medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicle segments. The Indian unit currently has close to 150 engineers with expertise across functional areas including interior and exterior design, passive safety simulation, NVH (noise-vibration-harshness) simulation, vehicle dynamics, durability testing, brake analysis and durability tests, benchmarking and full-vehicle validation.

The Applus+ Group reported a turnover of 1,702 million euros in CY2015 and employs approximately 18,700 people across 70 countries. The company generated close to 84 percent of its total revenues from business outside of Spain. Besides automotive, the Group also caters to aerospace, shipping, defence, oil and gas, telecom, power and other sectors.