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MNC CAR COS TAKE INDIAN TESTS FOR GLOBAL
ROADS
The Economic Times, Chanchal Pal Chauhan NEW DELHI,October
26,2007 |
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INDIAN expertise
in the automotive sector is coming handy for global car
companies like Japanese manufacturers Nissan, Toyota and
Honda and the German luxury car makers like BMW and Volkswagen
to test their vehicle performance and get international
certification.
These car makers are negotiating with the National Automotive
Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP) to
take on the rigorous robustness and performance tests
of their future vehicles intended for both overseas as
well as the Indian market. International players are also
preferring India over China to test their up-coming vehicles
due to its stronger Intellectual Property Rights system.
Many auto makers are already facing piracy issues with
different Chinese companies. These companies have shown
keen interest in the largest testing track in the world,
the 14.5 kilometre ‘Oval High Speed Circuit’ coming up
at Indore, where vehicles can drive up to a speed of 350
kmph.
A senior NATRiP official confirmed its negotiations with
various international car makers and said, “Besides the
Oval High Speed track we are also preparing 32 other tracks
which will complement all kinds of vehicle testing at
high speeds. Initially these car makers want to race their
high end and sports cars on our tracks which will be followed
by safety (including passive), emission and homologation
tests at our different centres. Besides these car makers,
an array of international component manufacturers’ from
Europe, Asia and the US have approached us for testing
and certifying their equipment.”
Car makers say that the NATRiP testing facilities give
an exact picture of the performance of the vehicles in
different climatic conditions, while the testing costs
are much lower compared to other international vehicle
testing agencies. “We expect to get international level
of tests at costs around 30% lower than Japan and Europe.
While NATRiP will be conducting different kinds of tests
on our automotive products, it will also provide internationally
recognised certification that will help us to access all
developed markets,” said a senior executive of Honda SIEL
Cars India. NATRiP has already tied up with the Vehicle
Certification Agency (VCA), UK’s testing and certification
agency. VCA, which is recognised in over 5%0 countries,
will give all assistance in testing to NATRiP and also
provide international certification of these products.
Auto-makers like Maruti Suzuki India and Hyundai Motors
India, which together produce over 70% of the cars manufactured
in India, have also shown keen interest to get their vehicles
tested and homologated at NATRiP’s upcoming centres at
Manesar in Haryana and at Oragadam near Chennai. |
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