With growing vehicle connectivity and digitalisation of the shopfloor, the leading German validation and certification agency says it is seeing a higher demand for its services around these areas from the automotive sector in India that contributes to over 40% of its total revenues in the country.
30 Sep 2025 | 5223 Views | By Mayank Dhingra
Leading independent testing, validation and certification agency TÜV SÜD says it is registering a growing demand for cybersecurity and functional safety validation from the automotive sector in India, where the company has a major presence with a robust workforce of over 2,500 people.
The company, which is headquartered in ...
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Leading independent testing, validation and certification agency TÜV SÜD says it is registering a growing demand for cybersecurity and functional safety validation from the automotive sector in India, where the company has a major presence with a robust workforce of over 2,500 people.
The company, which is headquartered in Munich, Germany, says adherence to standards like the ISO 27001 (cybersecurity), and ISO 26262 (functional safety) is becoming extremely critical, as both products and processes increasingly transition towards being more connected and digitised, and therefore, susceptible to unwarranted hacks and cyber attacks.
In an exclusive interview with Autocar Professional, Ishan Palit, CEO, TÜV SÜD, said, “As the industry transitions towards connectivity, the cybersecurity and functional safety standards are becoming more relevant than ever before. Meeting new standards such as the ISO 26262 is gaining precedence, and we are validating both - on the enterprise level as well as the products.”
“Beyond certification, there is a lot of demand for knowledge around these topics as well,” he added.
TÜV SÜD, which is involved in the qualification of automotive products and processes conducts audits and certifies automotive OEM and component suppliers based on their adherence to various global standards as per the desired category. For instance, under the ISO 14000 standards, it evaluates a company for its environmental management system, while the ISO/TS 16949 assesses a manufacturer around parameters relevant for product and process quality management systems.
The company says it has been conducting these periodic assessments in India since its inception in the country in 1994, and within the automotive industry, has been certifying all leading OEMs, including the likes of Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor India, Tata Motors, and Mahindra & Mahindra, Ford, and General Motors, among others, including ancillaries. Today, automotive is its largest revenue driver and contributes to over 40% of its total annual revenue in the country.
“We audit not just the OEM, but the entire supply chain. In India, we started evaluating every OEM, including Maruti Suzuki, followed by Hyundai Motor India, local OEMs like Tata Motors, and M&M, as well as Ford, and GM (American OEMs). We have certified every company for their quality management systems,” Palit highlighted.
“As new technologies have come into play over the years, we have had a critical role to play in strengthening the consumer trust in these emerging technologies. That is our reason for existence, and till today we continue to do so; just that the technologies have changed,” he said.
With continuous evolution in technology in the automotive world, Palit mentioned that the major focus today revolves around electrification and autonomous driving “On the electrification side, TÜV SÜD has been involved in battery testing. While India has its own battery standards (derived from global standards) and ARAI does the battery homologation, we have been working with large battery manufacturers globally both in the development and validation processes,” Palit explained.
The company outlines that it has a large battery test lab in Detroit, two of them in China, one in Germany, as well as battery testing capabilities in South Korea. It claims that these facilities are equipped to perform tests such as nail penetration, temperature shock and drop test to validate as well as participate in end-to-end battery development.
With the growing uncertainties arising due to geopolitical challenges, particularly the US-imposed tariffs impacting automotive component exports from India, TÜV SÜD says its widespread presence around the world makes it the right partner for Tier-1 suppliers in India exploring to tap into newer markets with their best-cost structures and high-quality products.
“The fact that we are present in 50 countries, gives us the advantage of knowing the local regulations in each market,” Palit pointed out while adding that in the past, Scandinavian or South East Asian countries were not even on the radar of Indian component makers, who are now open to exploring these as viable options for expanding their exports from India.
“We have the ability to guide these TIer-1s about the key regulatory requirements for their products in these markets. Different companies have different target markets, and they are doing their due diligence right now,” he added.
In the emerging domains of electrification and autonomous driving, Palit also highlighted the underlying potential for Tier-1s to transition into system integrators. “I see automotive players becoming system integrators in due course, and move up the value chain not just from mechanical engineering perspective, but also from the perspective of embedding the software elements into these products. India’s opportunity is particularly quite big in this regard,” Palit noted with optimism.
Betting big on India potential
For TÜV SÜD, India comes across as a strategic market where the company is anticipating a robust 15% CAGR over the next five years. “There are very few markets where the business growth can outperform the GDP growth rate by 2x or even more. India is one of those markets,” Palit pointed out.
He further added that right now, India is the fastest growing market in the entire TÜV SÜD global portfolio that today comprises over 30,000 employees located across more than 1,000 locations around the world. “India is one of our fastest growing and most strategic markets where we also have several centres of competence designing methodologies for certification and validation globally,” Palit explained.
He further added that with a strong intellectual capacity, India must lead on the design front in both hardware and software. He showed confidence in the ability of Indian automobile component suppliers to bring products that are high-value in nature, and must move up the value chain to not just respond to RFQs but lead in cutting-edge technology development.
“India is also becoming a centre of competence for several specific topics such as cybersecurity, and within the TÜV SÜD group, India enjoys a great reputation,” Palit signed off on an optimistic note.