Torna all'elenco degli articoli

INDIA'S CAR SECTOR UNVEILS AMBITIOUS PLANS
Nei prossimi 10 anni l'obiettivo č un fatturato globale di 145 miliardi di dollari
Amy Yee

India's fast-growing car industry hopes to quadruple total sales to $145bn over the next decade through a plan that seeks to boost research and development and increase exports.
Indian automakers generated sales of about $36bn last year, accounting for 5 per cent of gross domestic product. The sector is targeting 16 per cent annual growth to boost revenues to $145bn by 2016, or 10 per cent of GDP, according to a plan unveiled last week at the annual meeting of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).
In the next 10 years the auto industry will require $35bn-40bn of investment, or four times the total investment of the last 16 years, said Anand Mahindra, managing director of truck and tractor maker Mahindra & Mahindra.

India rolled out nearly 8m vehicles last year, including 1.3m passenger cars, accounting for 7 per cent of global automobile production. Already the world's second-largest maker of motorcycles, India is seeing a steady rise in sales of passenger cars on the back of rapid economic growth. Passenger car penetration is still low in India with only six to seven cars per 1,000 people. Siam has estimated that car sales growth could average at least 10 per cent until the end of the decade.

Most investment in the next decade will come from the industry, but the "automotive mission plan" called for government efforts to provide better infrastructure and an improved trade environment through tax breaks, relaxation of import duty on factory equipment and easier clearance of foreign direct investment. Raising the bar on research and development and stepping up competitiveness is at the top of the agenda, said Santosh Mohan Dev, minister of heavy industries, who pledged to support companies that reduce energy consumption and introduce alternative fuels such as hybrids.
The government and the industry are jointly investing about $400m in testing, research and development centres across the country. The first of these is expected to open in 2008 with all facilities running by 2011. Yet India's poor infrastructure remains a hurdle to growth. According to the plan, the car industry would require three times more power and a major upgrade of the country's burdened ports to achieve the export target.
Industry leaders also highlighted the enormous demand for trained workers to fill an estimated 25m jobs that will be created if the plan's goals are achieved.
They also urged the establishment of firm environmental policies and a national road safety board to help bring order to India's chaotic road network.

Amy Yee
Tratto dal «Financial Times» dell'11 settembre

• Agenda: ordine del giorno
• Alternative fuels: combustibili alternativi
• Annual growth: crescita annua(le)
• Automakers: produttori di automobili
• (to) Boost: incrementare
• Clearance: autorizzazione
• Facilities: impianti
• Factory equipment: attrezzature industriali
• Foreign direct investment: investimenti diretti esteri
• Global automobile production: produzione automobilistica globale
• Government efforts: sforzi da parte del governo
• Import duty: dazi d'importazione
• Maker of motorcycles: costruttore di motociclette
• Managing director: amministratore delegato
• Minister of heavy industries: ministro delle industrie pesanti
• Mission plan: piano di missione
• Passenger cars: (Usa) autovetture, berline (ma significa anche "carrozze passeggeri")
• Penetration: penetrazione (commerciale in un mercato)
• Relaxation: attenuazione, allentamento
• (to) Roll out: produrre a getto continuo, sfornare
• (to) Target: proporsi come obiettivo, puntare su
• Tax breaks: agevolazioni fiscali
• Testing centres: centri (di) sperimentazione
• Total sales: fatturato globale
• Trade environment: ambiente commerciale
• Trained workers: operai qualificati