The government is pushing the auto components industry to target a five-fold increase in exports to USD 100 billion by the end of the decade, to make India a global hub of the automotive industry.
Shradha Suri Marwah, ACMA President, said, “Whilst our industry is on a growth path, the government would like us to be much more aggressive on the export front and localise more. The government wishes the components sector to have a growth of 5X in exports and touch USD 100 billion by 2030 from the current USD 20 billion, thus capturing a 5% share of the global auto component exports.”
According to ACMA statistics, component exports from India totaled USD 20.1 billion in 2022-2023, representing a 5.2 percent increase year on year. North America contributed for 32% of total exports, followed by Europe and Asia.
Several global component manufacturers now consider India as an important market for domestic sales and exports, looking beyond China for a dependable and cost-effective base. The government has been attempting to position India as a global automotive powerhouse, as seen by the recent Bharat Mobility Global Expo, which brought the whole mobility ecosystem together on a single platform in one event.
The government has made it clear how important the mobility sector is for the economy’s future growth. At the Bharat Mobility Expo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the mobility sector will have a significant role in India’s road to a developed country. Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal also recently urged the Indian auto industry to target at least a 50 percent share of exports in the vehicles produced here.
Marwah said a five-fold growth could not be possible without significant exports of electronics and electric vehicle components. “I am given to understand that the Ministry of Heavy Industries will soon initiate work on the Automotive Mission Plan 2030. We are eager to participate and chart out the road map for the future,” she said.
Meanwhile, she noted that the industry needs to invest in capacity, quality, capability and digitisation to hit the USD 100 billion export figure. “In the last five years, the auto component sector has invested close to USD 3.5-4 billion in manufacturing and allied services. Looking forward, in the next five years, the number is going to go to USD 6-7 billion and a large part of that investment is going to be for new technologies,” she added.