Maruti Suzuki asks auto component industry to produce electronics, key parts in India to cut imports

New Delhi: The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Friday asked the components makers to start manufacturing vehicle electronics and certain key parts in India in order to cut imports of such articles. The local manufacturing of such parts would not only help Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), but also support the government’s Make in India initiative, MSI MD and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa said while speaking at the ACMA annual convention here. “I have a challenge and an invitation to offer to you (components industry). The MSI car is over 90 percent local, component-wise. But some key parts and electronics are areas where we still need to import. But we want to Make-in-India,” Ayukawa said. [caption id=“attachment_5037561” align=“alignleft” width=“385”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] If anybody can make electronic components and some key parts in India with quality and reliability, it will not only help MSI, but the entire Indian automobile industry, he added. Ayukawa said the best opportunity to win in the future lies in developing in-house research and development (R&D) capability. “If India has to be competitive in the world of tomorrow, my message is - start developing in-house R&D capability… (which) is a very long drawn process and the results come slowly. We have to be patient and stay committed,” he added. On government policy, Ayukawa said that if the government sets targets on the end-goals and allows freedom to the industry players to choose the technology, it would be best suited to achieve the end-goals. “Such technology-agnostic approach will give the freedom of technology-choice, while keeping the focus on the target,” he added. Ayukawa also emphasised on the virtues of quality manufacturing of auto components.