With India’s economic growth touching new highs, the 4th edition of ATMA Annual Conclave focussed on how the Auto & Tyre sectors were closely aligned to set the wheels of economy in motion. Leading experts deliberated on the trajectory of India’s automotive industry and the key role to be played by the Tyre Industry in technological upgradation, safety and sustainability.

ATMA Annual Conclave brought thought leaders from Government, Industry and Research together on one platform and set the agenda for accelerated growth in India’s manufacturing sector. Some of the high ranking Government officials that addressed the conclave included Mr Tarun Kapoor, Advisor to Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Mr Anurag Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), Mr Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Mr Sudhendu Jyoti Sinha, Adviser (Infrastructure Connectivity & E-Mobility), NITI Aayog.

High echelons of Auto Industry were represented by Mr Hisashi Takeuchi, MD & CEO Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Mr Vinod Aggarwal, MD & CEO VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd & President SIAM.

Captains of Indian Tyre Industry included Mr Anshuman Singhania, Chairman Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) & MD JK Tyre & Industries Ltd.,  Mr Arnab Banerjee, Vice Chairman ATMA & MD Ceat Ltd. Besides a host of industry leaders including Dr Raghupati Singhania, CMD JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., Mr Arun Mammen, VCMD MRF Ltd., Mr Anant Goenka, Vice Chairman, RPG Group, Mr Sandeep Mahajan, Chairman & MD, Goodyear India Ltd., Mr Rahul Mammen, MD MRF Ltd., Mr Satish Sharma, President APMEA, Apollo Tyres Ltd. and  Mr Hiroshi Yoshizane, MD Bridgestone India participated.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Anshuman Singhania, Chairman ATMA said “Indian Tyre Industry is aiming to increase its export value to USD 5 billion+ and emerge amongst the top-3 global tyre hubs by 2030”.

Indian Tyre exports have witnessed growth at an accelerated pace and have nearly doubled in the last 4 years. Indian manufactured tyres are being exported to more than 170 countries. Major global markets such as the EU, US, Brazil, UAE and UK recognize the quality of tyres made in India, with India’s tyre exports currently standing at USD 3 billion, which is over 25 percent of industry turnover, said Mr Singhania.

“The good work being done by the auto industry is appreciable. There are very few sectors where we find the full ecosystem in India and the Indian content in the final product is absolutely the way we want. Going forward we also have the capacities to design, technical capabilities and we can also move forward depending on the change in technologies”, said Mr Tarun Kapoor.

“India in many ways is at a take-off point when it comes to its economic outlook due to a combination of factors such as a strong and decisive political leadership, strong macroeconomic numbers, as well as one of the youngest working age populations in the world. With 65% of the population in the working age and median age of just 28, we have a lot of tailwind going for us and that is being harnessed by the government through the investment in infrastructure, both physical as well as digital infrastructure”, said Mr Rajesh Kumar Singh.

“By and large the consensus is that the quality of roads or the vehicles as the cause of accidents, the engineering reasons, have substantially gone down. The real reason is lack of education. ATMA has come out with a road safety report. So that’s very good. And I really sincerely hope that everybody has to work, every part of the society has to work for road safety, it is a change of attitude, which will bring it in. Without that nothing will happen and the other part is enforcement. Once again, we need to have technology to put that in”, said Mr Anurag Jain.

“In 2030, we are estimating car manufacturing in India to be about 7.5 million per year. This means at least 37 million tyres to be manufactured for original equipment use alone. The aftermarket requirement and export are on top of this. So this means we are talking about 10 crore car tyres to be made in India every year. I think the Indian tyre industry is exceptionally fortunate and must use this as an opportunity”, said Mr Hisashi Takeuchi.

Sustainability as an imperative for global success in the Tyre Industry value chain came under sharp focus with Mr Karthik Ganesan, Fellow and Director CEEW and Mr Michele Bertoncello, Partner McKinsey providing Indian and International perspective respectively.

ATMA Annual Conclave 2024 had three hi-profile Panel Discussions too. Mr. Satish Sharma, President, APMEA, Apollo Tyres Ltd. chaired the session on “Navigating the Automotive Sector into the Next Decade: Segment-wise Strategies” with panel members including Mr. Ganesh Mani, Chief Operating Officer, Ashok Leyland Ltd., Mr. Ram Suresh Akella, Executive Officer- Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Aniruddha Kulkarni, Vice President & Head Engineering, CVBU, Tata Motors Ltd. and Mr. Sachin Kulkarni, Executive Director & Board Member-Corporate Procurement, VW Group India.

For the session on “Using Technology for Productivity and Transformation in Auto Industry & Tyre Sector” Mr. Rajinder Singh Sachdeva, COO, VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd. and Mr. Feroz Ali Khan, Head (Global Regulations- Technical) Centre of Innovation, Hero Moto Corp Ltd. represented the Auto Industry while Mr. Sandeep Mahajan, Chairman & MD, Goodyear India Ltd. and Mr. Anuj Kathuria, President, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. presented the perspective on behalf of Tyre Industry. The session was chaired by Mr. Anant Goenka, Vice Chairman, RPG Group.

The third panel discussion was sharply focussed on Indian OEMs & Tyre Companies winning the EV transition globally. Four leaders from the industry including Mr. Nishant Arya, VCMD, JBM Group, Mr. Mahesh Babu, CEO, SWITCH Mobility and Mr. Rahul Mammen, MD, MRF Ltd. presented insightful remarks on the subject. The session was moderated by Mr. Kaushik Madhavan, VP – Asia Region Automotive & Transportation, Markets & Markets.

ATMA Safety Award 2024 was presented to TATA Motors Ltd. for leading the way in implementing safety advancements in the Automotive Sector and ATMA Sustainability Award 2024 was received by Mr. Mohan Kurian, Chairman, INROAD Project for exemplary contribution towards the project which will help India become Atmanirbhar in Natural Rubber.

A White Paper titled “Winning in the Global Tyre Industry” prepared by McKinsey was released on the occasion by Mr. Hisashi Takeuchi and Dr. Raghupati Singhania.