Indian auto industry to be a global leader by 2020: I.B.M.

New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) Come 2020, the Indian automobile
industry will be a leader on global stage with the likes of
Tatas leading innovation with breakthrough product like Nano,
according to I.T. and consultancy giant I.B.M.

"It is abundantly clear that the Indian automotive
industry will have arrived as a leader on the global
automotive stage by 2020," I.B.M. said in its study Automotive
2020 — Clarity Beyond Chaos.

The study, which interviewed 125 executives of original
equipment manufacturers, component suppliers and their parties
in 15 countries, said India would continue to cast a long
shadow on the dynamics of redistribution of work across the
global automotive landscape.

"The Tata Nano showed India's ability to innovate. It has
increased India's stature in the global automotive stage,"
I.B.M. Automotive Industry Vice-President Global Leader Sanjay
Rishi told PTI.

India would play a significant role in rebalancing of core
product development vis-a-vis application development, he
added.

The study highlighted abundantly available young
technical manpower as one of the primary drivers for the
redistribution.

The country could be a leader in innovation toward
service-based offerings, both for the domestic market as well
as for the global market, it added.

"Global innovation demands for electronics and embedded
software system provide an unparalleled opportunity for India
to extend its knowledge of information technology process.
These skills are projected to be in high demand by 2020 and
would provide an as yet untapped avenue for growth," I.B.M.
said.

It added that the country has a strong argument to be a
key hub of product development, innovation and manufacture of
the green, intelligent, connected vehicle of the future.

"As ecosystems collide, there exists an opportunity for
business model innovation. Most of this innovation is service
oriented and India's established experience in services is a
unique strength — one that must be leveraged or lost to other
economies poised to compete," the I.B.M. study pointed out.

Rishi, however, cautioned that Indian O.E.M.s and
component suppliers have a long way to go to reach the level
of the current global leading automobile companies in terms of
technical prowess.

He said as Indian O.E.M.s strive to become competitive
technologically, the challenge would be to create and sustain
leadership talents.

"The key question would be how would India attract,
retain leadership talent and would it be able to provide the
same to global O.E.M.s," he said.

Rishi added that going forward there would be more
alliances, technical partnership and joint ventures between
Indian O.E.M.s and global auto manufacturers although there
would be place for wholly-owned subsidiaries to operate in the
India market.