India automotive component exports grow 4.4%

AUTOMOTIVE component exports grew 4.4% to $9.69 billion in 2013, data issued by the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) showed. The figure is one of the positive notes as India’s auto industry remains in doldrums. The country remains a net importer of components even with imports declining by 5% to $12.70 billion last year, ACMA records show.

ACMA executive director Vinnie Mehta said there are now 35 to 40 international purchasing offices operated by global automotive companies in India."80 per cent of our exports are to global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and tier I companies,” he told the PTI news agency. “Growing credibility of domestic component makers have led to many global companies setting up their sourcing centres in India.”

The US remains India’s biggest component export market with shipments to the country valued at $1.98 billion,down 7.1% from 2012. Exports to Germany, the second largest market, registered 8.6% increase to $780 million, while it was up 3.6% to the UK, the third largest, at 580 million.

Mr Mehta attributed to decrease in component imports to “decline in numbers are largely a reflection of the slowdown in the Indian automobile market.”

Domestic car sales in India declined for the first time in 11 years in 2013, posting a 9.59% dip with the auto industry reeling under a prolonged demand slump due to the economic slowdown, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Industry. (PTI)