The Hindu Business Line : Global auto majors plan to test cars in India

New Delhi, Oct. 14 Global car makers such as BMW, Nissan, Toyota, and Honda are in talks with the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) to avail themselves of its facilities for testing the durability and performance of their vehicles for the global market.

The move is primarily aimed at global car makers, who would like to take advantage of cost reduction that countries such as India offer, apart from climatic conditions that would enable manufacturers get accurate account of the performance of their cars.

“We are getting inquiries from Nissan, Honda, BMW among others, mainly for testing the durability and performance of their cars for the Asian as well as the global markets,” said Mr Rajesh Singh, Officiating CEO and Project Director, NATRIP.

He said that as the Asian market was evolving and increasing in significance for global car makers, manufacturers have been exploring opportunities to test their future cars here.

This would help them ascertain the car’s performance as per the Asian weather conditions so as to get the most accurate results, besides the cost advantage of 25-30 per cent that India offers.

Moreover, according to the industry, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have concerns related to piracy issues in China, hence they prefer to consider India as a base for testing, research and development processes.

Considering the interest of global auto majors, NATRIP expects to clock 25-30 per cent of the revenue from international OEMs as a part of the research and development work that would be outsourced to it after its facilities become fully operational, added Mr Singh.

Besides, the organisation would be recruiting about 2000 engineers, who will enable component makers and vehicle manufacturers develop components in view of the future norms.

The association, which recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Vehicle Certification Agency of the UK, is now chalking out plans to engage other European bodies to enable Indian manufacturers and component makers get validation for their products for overseas markets.

Funded by the Union Government, NATRIP’s Manesar centre began operations recently to carry out homologation tests. It also has centres in Chennai and Vehicle Research & Development Establishment near Pune. Going forward, the organisation plans to open three more centres in Silchar, Rai Bareily and Indore.

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