The joint venture between Subros Limited and Denso is expected to provide fillip to designing innovative air-conditioning systems in the country I
 ndian automobile makers that have been introducing value-added features in their product profiles to lure consumers are set to get a leg up with one of the country’s leading automobile air-conditioning system makers Subros Limited forging a joint venture (JV) with Japanese auto parts manufacturer Denso to set up an R&D centre in India by September 2010. As per Subros officials, this will be Denso’s first R&D centre in India through a JV.R&D centre to help in designing innovative products
In this context, while speaking to a Machinist360 correspondent, Bipin Ojha, assistant general manager - marketing and services in Subros Limited, comments, “Setting up an R&D centre in the country will help in designing innovative air-conditioning systems. Every vehicle has different needs and the R&D centre will study those needs and design products accordingly.” Mr Ojha also added that this is the company’s first in-house R&D centre.
It is to be noted that air-conditioning systems have become indispensable in modern vehicles and since it has immense bearing on fuel efficiency of cars, customers opt for cars where is there is a fine balance between air-conditioning systems and fuel efficiency.
According to Rajeev Kumar, managing director of Reliable Autoexpo, a small-sized manufacturer of automotive parts in New Delhi, “One of the major bottlenecks in the Indian auto sector is the dearth of R&D activities. While companies make massive investments to expand their existing capacities, expenditure on R&D activities is not so significant. However, the JV signals that companies are gradually realising the significance of R&D activities in their business.”
The R&D centre will come up at one of the manufacturing units of Subros in Noida. While Subros will have 26% stake in the JV, the remaining 74% will be held by Denso. Meanwhile, Subros also has plans to expand its production capacity in the next 3-4 years.
Arup Choudhury |
