Vocal for Local - Dynamics of Localising the EV Supply Chain

#EVEcosystemConclave #ElectricVehicles #FutureSeries #Emobility

As customer demand rises, all EV components will achieve economies of scale but they require a robust supply chain to enable production lines to deliver more efficiently.

January 2023: The consistent acceleration of electrification is putting enormous pressure on the automotive supply chains across the world. At the same time, geopolitical and socio-economic dynamics are forcing markets to develop a local EV ecosystem. As customer demand rises, all EV components will achieve economies of scale but they require a robust supply chain to enable production lines to deliver more efficiently. In this context, top automotive professionals gathered together to deliberate on Going Vocal for Local - Dynamics of Localising the EV Supply Chain, at the Future Series EV Ecosystem Conclave organized by the Alumni bodies of IIT (BHU), Varanasi (Association of IIT BHU Alumni (AIBA) & AASSII), PanIIT Alumni India, and Pro MFG Media recently. The Conclave’s Supporting Partners were ACMA India, MeitY- NASSCOM Centre of Excellence, IIT Delhi Alumni Association and PHD Chamber of Commerce and industry. This Conclave brought together the entire mobility ecosystem on one platform.The Panel speakers includedRama Shankar Pandey, MD, Hella India Lighting Ltd. (Now Chief Executive Officer, Tata Green Batteries), Kiran Deshmukh, Chief Technology Officer, Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd., and Dr. Reji Mathai, Director, Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). The session was chaired by Dr. Pramod Joshi, Coach & Mentor, IIT (BHU) Alumnus.

The panellists deliberated on the following points:

• Advantages of a Local Supply Chain
• Challenges in Achieving the Same
• Encouraging Additive Manufacturing
• Designing a Future Ready Supply Chain
• Building a Collaborative Ecosystem
• Digitalizing the Supply Chain
• Role of Policy Reforms.

“When it comes to the EV supply chain, raw materials are not available in India and therefore, they need to be imported. Import costs have been on a rise due to various problems like geo-political challenges and so on. To address this issue, we need to develop a technology that will use indigenous raw materials easily, pointed out Kiran Deshmukh, Chief Technology Officer, Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd.Rama Shankar Pandey highlighted the role of skills. He said, “Many skills required for the technical support as well as repair in the EV industry are not aspirational. There is a need to fix this issue so that youth can be attracted towards this career option. Thankfully, our New Education Policy is very supportive for skill transformation with regards to the overall EV Ecosystem.”

Pro MFG Media Newsletter

Get regular manufacturing insights that matter and enable business.