Invest ahead of demand, build tech depth to become global hub: ACMA President

As India’s auto component continues to grow with a potential to become a preferred market for global suppliers, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) President Vikram Raghupati Singhania believes investing ahead of demand and collaborating across value chain are crucial while competitiveness will increasingly benchmarked not just on cost but also on technology capability, quality consistency, speed, and reliability.

Indian auto component industry today stands on a position of strength as suppliers here now serve OEMs and Tier 1s across global markets while meeting strict standards of quality, delivery and compliance, but scale without technology will not sustain, Singhania said, while speaking at 60th ACMA Excellence Awards.

"Investment in R&D, advanced manufacturing, digitization, and skills is no longer optional. It is central to future growth...Scale without technology will not sustain. Cost advantage without innovation will not endure.”

He said the coming decade would belong to those who “invest ahead of demand, embed technology deeply and collaborate across the value chain." He said, "India has a real opportunity to emerge as a preferential global hub for next-generation auto components,” while cautioning that sustained investment and disciplined execution would be required.

Speaking about the industry's robust growth, Singhania said the performance reflects “resilience, scale, and growing technological debt,” but cautioned that the operating environment is becoming more complex.

The industry faces “sharp increases in technology costs, rapid shifts towards electrification and electronics, and supply chain risks in critical materials, sustainability and carbon compliance pressures, skill gaps in advanced manufacturing, and intensified global competition.”