India Good Vendor Base for Auto Industry

India has got a good base for raw material for auto sector starting from low cost cars to high end cars. One of the 100 suppliers of the Tata Nano, NK would be interested in supplying their products even for their low-priced cars like Nano. It is long way to go for Indian vendors with so many foreign car makers pouring in India the vendors not only have to satisfy their demands but should also maintain their quality. The opportunities are plenty; all they have to do is make right use of it. One of the auto players Mahindra & Mahindra, after launching their SUV Scorpio started the full-service vendors.

However, Indian vendors still have long way to go. Says Pawan Goenka, president, automobile sector, Mahindra and Mahindra, “The way in which the foreign players are entering India, the vendors here would be required to not only maintain their quality standards but also increase the volumes to cater to such players. As I see it now, though there are not enough players in India, there is lot of opportunities.” M&M started the full-service vendors after they launched their SUV, Scorpio, and it was only then that they developed the vendor base.
With an investment of over Rs 26,000 crore would be pumped in to India by 2010 will help India to have quality vendors. Though there are many foreign players (vendors), who want to tap this opportunity, but the Indian vendors still have an upper hand.

Another leading player who positions itself strongly in Indian auto industry is Maruti Udyog. The company holds 220 vendors across India who directly supply to the company and out of these, 14 vendors are into original JVs with the company.

Have a powerful vendor base in India rather than importing components from abroad and to make the transfer technology and best practices to Indian vendors, Suzuki Motor Corporation arranged 110 collaborations with Japanese vendors. Sona Koyo, one of the Maruti suppliers is also a supplier to Tata Nano.

R&D teams from leading auto firms have also interacted with the vendors for making the components with right specifications. These vendors have helped Maruti to launch successfully its seven models in less than 36 months.
One of the number one companies in aluminium dye-casting, Endurance Group based in Aurangabad manufactures and supplies auto components, such as alloy wheels, suspension, braking and transmission, to all the major two-wheeler and four-wheeler-makers. The company also has plants Italy and Germany.