Autocar Professional’s May 15 issue bats for increased safety, bowls a ‘Lighting Special’

With 16 deaths every hour on its roads, India continues to have the worst safety record in the world. Autocar Professional’s webinar on ‘Towards A Safer India’ held on May 4, the first day of the UN Global Road Safety Week – saw global and Indian industry representatives debate and offer solutions to reduce the accident rate and save lives.

Roadmap to safety

The 6 panelists for the webinar, which saw over 200 attendees log in, comprised Alejandro Furas, technical director, Global NCAP; Kartikeya Joshi, marketing and sales head of Bosch Chassis Systems India; Raghav Gulur, head of Technical Center, Continental Automotive India; A V Mannikar, senior deputy director and head (Passive Safety and Safety & Homologation Labs), ARAI; Vidyakant Revankar, deputy general manager (Safety Systems), Mahindra & Mahindra; and Saji Cherian, director (Operations), SaveLife Foundation.

Their detailed presentations, accompanied by facts and figures, showcased just why a national movement on road safety is critical and the need of the hour. All speakers were of a consensus that there is a dire need to implement smarter, life-saving technologies, improve driver and rider discipline, design better roads, and also have speedy post-accident care facilities.

Making moves in India

The past fortnight has seen two Japanese OEMs make big moves in the Indian market. Our New Focus section covers Honda’s entry into the small SUV market with its BR-V and also details Isuzu’s Make-In-India programme which has begun with its all-new plant in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh.

Localisation is key for the success of an MNC in India and Benecke-Kaliko, one of the world’s largest suppliers of interior material, is looking to expand its business speedily to justify setting up a greenfield plant in the country.

Lighting Special

Automotive lighting is a key area of vehicle design and technology. Our annual Automotive Lighting Special sheds light on the latest developments at a clutch of suppliers in India. Find out the flush-with-orders Magneti Marelli Motherson Auto System’s latest plans, check out what Amit Mahipal Gupta, joint MD of Autolite India, has to say about growing the LED business, and be informed on Lumax’s all-new design centre to be opened in Taiwan on May 18. We also reveal Hella India Lighting’s recent modernisation at its plant at Derabassi, near Chandigarh, and that it is set to enter the high-volume two-wheeler segment in India soon.

On the vehicle sales front, April 2016 has brought good tidings to most automakers – we reveal the full stats, company-wise and segment-wise. There’s also a sales analysis of the scooter market which is giving new verve to overall two-wheeler numbers. All this, along with plenty of exciting news. Don’t miss this issue.

Where to buy?

Autocar Professional magazine is available through all good newsagents and for download from Magzster.

You can also buy one-off copies of Autocar Professional magazine – contact Ganesh at ganesh@haymarket.co.in.

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