New Delhi, January 18:

While all the big-ticket investment and launch plans might have grabbed the headlines at the just concluded Auto Expo in New Delhi, it was the auto components industry that quietly went about garnering all the orders estimated at $150 million.

“The auto components industry has been the real story of the Auto Expo as most of the business has been generated by them,” Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) director general Dilip Chenoy said. Auto component delegations from over 24 countries were at the Expo to identify potential joint venture partners and opportunities to outsource parts from India.

Over 250 meetings for the visiting delegations were pre-arranged even before they set foot in Delhi apart from several delegations and businessmen who came on their own to look for partnerships with Indian components manufacturers. “Over 25 individual delegations visited the Auto Expo apart from other delegations and businessmen who came on their own. This kind of international participation is unprecedented,” Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) executive director Vishnu Mathur said.

Leading the way was a 30-member delegation from ACMA’s Spanish counterpart Sern Auto apart from delegations from Japan, France, Germany and even Iran and Iraq.

“The auto industry in Iran is looking up to India as a senior partner to procure technology from since they cannot access technology from the West,” Chenoy said. He revealed that three Indian manufacturers had signed deals to open up in the Iranian market.

Other international manufacturers like PSA Peugeot, Continental, Eaton and Magna also sent large delegations to assess the business potential in the Indian.

“PSA Peugeot spends about 30 billion euros to source parts. They have already placed orders for 9 million euros at the Expo from Indian companies that had contacted them earlier and we should see this figure grow over the next few months,” Mathur said.

“Presently they outsource about five per cent of the components from low cost countries but are looking to increase this to about 25-40 per cent in the next few yea-rs.” Mathur also said that this was a first time contact with the Indian industry for most visiting delegations and that the results of this would take time to fructify.

“Everybody is here to assess the auto manufacturers industry so after the first contact, we should see long term developments after they take a decision on whom to source what parts from,” he said, “The good news is that everyone has gone back impressed at the capabilities of the Indian industry as we not just offer them a price advantage but also sound engineering. India is going up the value chain as we provide value based long term support to customers that is setting us apart from the rest of the players.”

Over the next 10 years, the Indian components manufacturing industry could grow to as much as $20-$25 billion from its present size of $2 billion, he said. “By 2015, the world’s auto components industry is estimated to be $700 billion and even if we look at just three to four per cent of that chunk we have about $20-$25 billion in our pockets,” Mathur said.