Indian cars are increasingly going high-tech. So far, IT-driven features have been used only in expensive cars. But that is surely going to be a thing of the past as such features are set to become ubiquitous over the next few years in the automobiles industry.
Be it the fast-increasing competition or the growing focus on passenger safety and comfort; the rising awareness about keeping the environment safe or a crying need for in-car entertainment ? each auto manufacturer is trying to best the other in the milieu. Small wonder then that cars in India now come equipped with world-class features. Auto experts say the trend will gain speed as the government makes some hi-tech features mandatory so that Indian cars meet global standards.
In the past few years, there has been so much of computerisation and use of IT in the auto sector that the term `carputer? has become an everyday word.
Take for example Dilip Chhabria?s Ambierod, a super luxury car he unveiled at the auto expo. Priced at Rs 4 crore, the car comes with features like the instrument panel (IP). The IP has an advanced ?carputer?, which automates driving functions by using the satellite navigation system. The Ambierod has three 10-19 inches LCD TV screens, and offers Internet mobility and video conferencing. Music and movies can be viewed on demand.
Auto experts feel some of these hi-tech features will not remain confined to high-end luxury cars for long and will be available across car segments over the next few years. But, initially, the focus of car makers will be on areas like fuel efficiency and safety as far as mass-market cars are concerned.
?With the government expected to come up with more stringent safety and emission norms in the future, all manufacturers would be compelled to introduce features like an anti-braking system and air bags,? says IV Rao, executive director, R&D, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.
What is actually pushing automobile players to make cars fuel-efficient is the rising oil prices. For instance, Honda Siel has recently introduced a V-TECH engine for greater power, speed and fuel economy. Companies are also aggressively looking at hybrid vehicles as well as alternate fuel options to make cars environment-friendly. While Hyundai has introduced the CNG version of its largest selling car Santro, Honda has unveiled its Civic hybrid.
Currently, players like Honda are providing vehicles that are already E10-enabled, which means that they use fuel that has 10% ethanol mix, and is cleaner. Maruti will roll out E10-enabled cars from April.
A lot of technology will be used for safety in the coming years. With advancement in technology, it is now possible to do on-board diagnosis of various control systems and their individual parts in cars.
Vehicles are now equipped with malfunction indicators (on the speedometer) for various control functions like EMS (engine management system), airbag operations, antilock braking, electronic power and so on. This is in addition to other innovative safety features like pinch cards, key-less entry and engine immobilisers.
Maruti is mulling introducing OBDs in India from 2010. ?Currently, no Maruti car in India is OBD-enabled, but we will introduce the first level of it in 2010 and the second level, or OBD 2, will be introduced in 2013,? says Rao. This move is in step with the Centre?s plan to come up with on-board diagnostic (OBD-I) norms for passenger cars from April 2010 and a stricter version of it will follow in 2013.
But, Indian motoring enthusiasts still have miles to go before they can drive high-tech cars that cruise along the roads of the developed world. For instance, the GPS navigation system, fairly common in the West, is still to take off in India due to a lack of sufficient satellite network. This is despite the fact that a few global manufacturers are providing it in India as an add-on feature in some top-end models.
?At present, India has a bad satellite network which hampers the entire purpose of using a navigation system. However, the pace by which technology is now driving Indian automobile industry?s growth, the time is not far when a navigation system will become an essential feature in Indian cars,? says Jnaneswar Sen, senior general manager (marketing), Honda Siel Car India.
Adds Ajay Sahney, country head of Blaupunkt, ?Due to the non-availability of digitised maps and inadequate infrastructure, the car navigation system took years to come to India. Although in a nascent stage, the technology now falls in the affordable zone and will gradually pick up in days to come.?
Even the car entertainment systems are evolving very fast. From the simple audio systems to devices that have connectivity to iPods, bluetooth and USBs, entertainment device manufacturers are continuously upgrading technology. ?Companies are now planning to come up with video screening, which is expected to be followed by digital audio and video broadcasting systems in cars,? adds Sahney.
However, the high cost of introducing such technologies is restricting the growth of IT usage in automobiles. ?The investment that goes into developing such products is huge. So, additional safety, comfort and high-tech features are usually introduced in high-end cars,? says an industry expert.
Actually, companies are investing heavily in developing these technologies in-house to cut costs. For instance, Hyundai, is investing Rs 184 crore or $40 million at its newly set up R&D centre in Hyderabad for computer-aided designing of all its upcoming models. General Motors has recently tied up with the IIT, Kharagpur, to carry out joint research in the areas of electronics, controls and software (ECS) at its new lab in Bangalore. This will help the auto major to develop high performance and reliable ECS technologies for its luxury motor vehicles.
Even Maruti has announced an investment of 200 billion yen in India (besides the Rs 9,000 crore planned already), and a substantial part of this new funding will go into R&D. As part of its investment plans, the company is mulling an R&D centre in Haryana and has filed an application with the state government.
According to industry estimates, the total R&D investment by major automakers in India during 2006-07 was about Rs 939 crore. Of this, about Rs 650 crore were spent on four-wheelers, about Rs 257 on two- three-wheelers and Rs 32 crore on engines. These investments are expected to go up in the coming years.
That is not all. According to software and services industry lobby group Nasscom, the use of technology in the auto sector has opened up new areas for the components industry, which is growing at a CAGR of about 20%. It says that India has the potential to emerge as a major destination for original equipment manufacturers across the world with exhaustive use of IT in the sector.
