The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is in talks with the Union Commerce Ministry to formulate a strategy to increase exports to Sri Lanka, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.   

SIAM’s director-general Vishnu Mathur told Autocar Professional that 22 countries have been identified as potential markets. SIAM wants government support to help negotiate tariff barriers and import duties.

India’s exports to Sri Lanka which includes cars, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles have been affected by high duties have brought exports to a standstill. Exports to Algeria, an important African market, have been affected by new regulations that prevent sale of India-made vehicles.

SIAM also wants the government to extend lines of credit in Africa and countries that accept Indian norms.

Meanwhile, Sugato Sen, SIAM’s deputy director-general, says there are areas of concern regarding vehicle recalls which SIAM says should come under the purview of Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR) and not the Motor Vehicles Act. At present, SIAM has a voluntary code for vehicle recalls.

SIAM says the 100 vehicle complaints proposed for a recall to take effect should be the trigger for ordering an investigation. A committee comprising ARAI, SIAM and the roads ministry has sent a draft policy to the CMVR Technical Standing Committee that will take a final decision on the vehicle recall policy.

On other fronts, SIAM hopes to finalise the Bharat New Vehicle Safety Program next year. The program envisages setting up facilities for vehicle testing at Pune, Gurgaon and Chennai as well as star ratings for vehicles. The project will be spearheaded by the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP) which will submit a report to the CMVR Technical Standing Committee soon. The star ratings will be on the lines of the  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) that created the 5-star Safety Ratings Program to provide consumers with information about crash protection and rollover safety. The star ratings will be awarded following independent crash tests by specialist laboratories. All vehicles will be assessed under identical testing standards and conditions.