November 21, 2008

Indian auto component majors eying Russian market

RIA Novosti cited Mr Rantideb Maitra executive director of India's Engineering Export Promotion Council as saying that India plans to take over a substantial part of Russia's auto components market.

He said this will be a trial visit. If five or seven Indian companies get a foothold in Russia, there could be up to 150 of them in Russia next year.

Mr Maitra said that India was an active participant in international fairs and exhibitions and that participation was yielding positive results. He said an examination of the participants of any major exhibition will prove that India is a major player, translating its participation into orders. He added that the establishment of foreign car assembly plants in north-west Russia gives Indian companies a chance to supply auto components to that market.

Mr Maitra said India is a leading exporter of auto components. Auto production giants such as Mercedes, Ford and BMW, order their components in India. He said there are several centers in India producing auto components for international companies. General Motors buys them from Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, while Mercedes places its orders with the production units based in Puna.

Mr Maitra also said that Indian companies are ready for fair competition with firms from industrialized countries, including China. India has one of the largest workforces in the technical sector and believes in its bright future because of the great number of graduates with a technical education who enter the job market every year. He said "The Soviet Union was India's partner, and I see no reason why Russia cannot remain its partner."