Chennai, November 26, 2013: As part of its plan to address the burgeoning needs of the Indian auto industry, the Society of Automotive Engineers India (SAEINDIA), India’s largest automotive fraternity and knowledge base and an affiliate of SAE International, USA, has announced SIMCOMVEC, 8thSAEINDIA International Mobility Conference and 1st Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress to be held at Chennai Trade Center, Nandambakkam from December 4–7.
SIMCOMVEC will focus on ‘Technologies for Safe, Green and Connected Vehicles’. The four-day conference will bring together innovative minds from the automotive community across the globe to congregate and exchange ideas on recent advances for Emissions in Commercial Vehicles, Alternate Fuels and Powertrain, Emerging Trends in Electronics & Vehicle Connectivity, Advanced Manufacturing Methods, Opportunities and Challenges in Mass Transportation and Skill Development for Employability, to name a few.
The theme for the conference was unveiled on November 20 by industry experts like Srivats Ram, SIMCOMVEC Steering Committee chairman (MD, Wheels India), Dr R. Mahadevan, ex-president SAEINDIA (Director, India Pistons) and Dr Aravind Bharadwaj, SIMCOMVEC Steering Committee Member (Head - TPDS, Mahindra Research Valley, M&M).
This is the first ever event being organised in India which is presenting a platform for synergy in technologies for commercial vehicles and personal mobility. The highlight of SIMCOMVEC is the impressive line-up of international and Indian experts including Donald Hillebrand of SAE International, Vinod Dasari of Ashok Leyland, Randy Clark of Michelin, Bharat Vedak of John Deere, Donald Schulte of Paccar, Tom Stower of Eaton, Walter Lucas of AVL, and Joerg Leutzner of Continental, besides K. Rajaraman of Chennai Metro Rail, Dilip Chenoy of National Skill Development Corporation, Nitin Gokarn of NATRIP, and Sarangarajan of Hyundai.
Srivats Ram said, “The automotive industry is evolving technologies driven by the changing consumer requirements to be green, connected and safe. While SAE India has been conducting a biennial automotive mobility conference for a number of years, this year, for the first time at SIMCOMVEC 2013, we are proud to bring an engineering conference that covers not only the car industry but also the commercial vehicle and off-highway segments. We expect that such conferences that cover all spectrum of mobility will become increasingly relevant to the development of our industry and country in the future.”
Dr R Mahadevan said, “The auto component industry in our country has played a significant role in making India a preferred and low-cost hub for design and manufacture of quality parts in the APAC region. In the context of the sluggishness we are witnessing in recent times, it becomes necessary to revisit our strategy with increased thrust on localisation and adoption of new and cost effective technologies in areas like emission, safety and comfort.
SIMCOMVEC will provide a platform to review the industry needs and discuss innovative solutions that potentially will pave the way for regaining growth.”
Dr. Aravind Bharadwaj said, “Indian customers have always been receptive to experiment with new technology solutions. The convergence of IT, electronics, and communication technologies for telematics solutions offers an excellent possibility to integrate these services into the vehicles and the industry is yet to fully explore this potential. Going forward, hybrid vehicles and fuel cell cars will assume greater importance in future and the Indian government is giving an impetus and encouragement to these areas. SIMCOMVEC will serve as a platform for exchanged learning and raise the bar for innovation, improved processes, and technology up gradation. In addition, it will also provide the Indian mobility community a great networking opportunity with global leaders in the automotive fraternity.”