Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala’s capital city, is fast becoming a R&D hub of major global automotive players, thanks to the ecosystem offered by Technopark, India’s first IT Park.

Announcing that the place will host a global automotive conclave in November, the State Industries Minister P.Rajeeve alluded to making Thiruvananthapuram a global automotive technology hub. He was inaugurating the global headquarters and R&D centre of Acsia Technologies in Technopark.

Jijimon Chandran, founder and CEO of Acsia told businessline that global automotive technology companies like dSPACE and Nissan Digital have recognized the potential of Thiruvananthapuram and established their presence, contributing to the city’s growing reputation as a hub of innovation.

Acsia Technologies is a global leader in automotive software specializing in digital cockpits & displays, e-mobility and Telematics.

The global automotive industry, according to him, is projected to have over 470 million connected vehicles on the roads by 2025, with the market for automotive software, ECUs, and sensors expected to exceed $320 billion by 2030.

This rapidly growing industry requires the kind of innovation and expertise that Thiruvananthapuram is well-equipped to provide with Technopark offers excellent connectivity to major cities and global markets, he said.

The capital city is already home to scientists involved in spacecraft and sophisticated defence equipment development.

“If we pitch correctly, automotive technology companies will prefer Technopark as we have the infrastructure, R&D ecosystem and engineering talent pool”, he adds.

dSPACE (Digital Signal Processing and Control Engineering), a technology leader in simulation and validation solutions to automotive majors worldwide has chosen Thiruvananthapuram to set up its first competence centre in Asia. The other centres of the company are located in Germany and Croatia.

“We selected Thiruvananthapuram due to the presence of established automotive companies like Nissan Digital and Tata Elxsi. The talented human resources, low attrition rate, infrastructure, and government support are significant factors in our decision”, Franklin George, Managing Director of dSPACE said.

Technopark delivers outstanding infrastructure and reliable services including high-speed internet. This combination makes the city an ideal hub for automotive innovations and growth, said Srinivas Aravapalli, Founder and CEO, and Kishore L.M. president and COO of BlueBinaries, a specialized engineering and technology firm.

Col Sanjeev Nair (retd), CEO, Technopark emphasized that the burgeoning R&D system is crucial for helping companies navigate complex challenges and become trusted partners for global automakers.