“Diesel is there to remain. Our portfolio will proceed to develop,” asserted Ganesh Mani, President & Chief Working Officer, Ashok Leyland, setting the tone for a dialog that acknowledged each continuity and alter in India’s industrial car sector. Alongside him, Ravikiran Pothukuchi, Director-Enterprise Purposes, Dassault Systemes, India added, “The shopfloor sees the identical mannequin as design in actual time. That continuity is the way forward for manufacturing.”
This change unfolded throughout the second episode of India Management Talks, a thought-leadership sequence by Dassault Systèmes and ET Manufacturing. After Episode 1 examined how digital applied sciences are reshaping product improvement in passenger automobiles, Episode 2 shifted the main focus to India’s industrial car (CV) sector, an area the place entrenched reliance on diesel collides with the pressing want for cleaner fuels and quicker digitalisation.
Watch episode two right here.
The crossroads of India’s industrial car sector
India’s CV business stands at a pivotal second. The nation relies upon closely on diesel to energy long-haul freight, building logistics and mass transport, whilst sustainability targets and new applied sciences demand recent approaches. The twin actuality has made this decade one of the crucial complicated transition phases the sector has seen.
For Ashok Leyland, one in all India’s largest truck and bus makers, the answer is to not gamble on a single gas. As an alternative, it’s about extending diesel’s life whereas investing in hydrogen inside combustion engines, gas cells, LNG and electrical platforms.
“We prefer to be the final individual out on this business so far as diesel is anxious,” Mani mentioned, stressing the position diesel continues to play in India’s freight economic system. “On the similar time, we’re making ready for the subsequent wave of applied sciences. We should be market-ready throughout hydrogen, EV and LNG even earlier than scale arrives.”
Diesel because the bedrock
Globally, passenger automobiles are shifting quicker to electrification, however heavy industrial segments face more durable economics. Payload necessities, responsibility cycles and infrastructure gaps imply that diesel will stay dominant for longer. Ashok Leyland sees diesel as not solely a gas however the spine that may underpin India’s CV economic system for the foreseeable future.On the similar time, the corporate is trialling alternate options. Mani known as it “the cusp of a beautiful time within the industrial business” the place a number of fuels can co-exist. “Electrification, LNG, CNG and hydrogen gas cell will all evolve as choices,” he famous.
Dassault’s digital lens
If diesel is Ashok Leyland’s current anchor, digital continuity is the bridge to the longer term. Dassault Systèmes, which works throughout India’s manufacturing panorama, views CV manufacturing as ripe for model-based, digitally linked approaches. For Pothukuchi, digital continuity reduces shocks, accelerates innovation and integrates each stage of the worth chain.
“Expertise was an enabler. Now it’s pervasive,” he mentioned. “Digital continuity means design, manufacturing and utilization suggestions are all a part of a closed loop. That’s how we shorten time to market and construct resilience.”
Customisation at scale
Ashok Leyland has differentiated itself with platforms designed for scale and suppleness. The Avtar platform, a modular spine, is able to creating half 1,000,000 distinctive combos.
“Avtar offers us near 500,000 customisation prospects,” Mani mentioned, underlining the significance of tailoring vehicles and buses for various working environments.
On the digital entrance, its M-PASS suite takes telematics past easy monitoring. “M-PASS captures about 1,500 parameters per car and 500,000 information factors,” Mani defined. This trove of knowledge feeds immediately into design, predictive upkeep and fleet administration.
Information as a suggestions loop
The true energy of such information lies in its use as a suggestions loop. For patrons, it means improved uptime and optimised gas use. For the producer, it means predictive insights and steady enchancment in product design.
“A closed loop from utilization of telemetry again into design improves merchandise in actual time,” Pothukuchi mentioned. “This isn’t nearly reacting to in the present day’s points however constructing tomorrow’s aggressive edge.”
Constructing resilience
The previous few years have highlighted the volatility of the CV market. Demand has fluctuated with financial cycles, international provide disruptions and regulatory modifications. Producers usually struggled to regulate capability and prices to those swings. Dassault’s model-based engineering affords a means ahead.
“We’re constructing a replenishment technique to insulate the shopfloor from demand volatility,” Pothukuchi defined. “By connecting planning, design and execution on a single digital thread, we make sure that swings in demand don’t derail operations.”
Adoption challenges
But, readiness doesn’t robotically translate into adoption. Infrastructure, prices and coverage all form the tempo of transition. Charging and hydrogen refuelling stay restricted, whereas LNG requires an expanded distribution community. Mani was pragmatic: producers should put together a number of pathways, even when the timelines for every differ.
“We should be market-ready throughout hydrogen, EV and LNG even earlier than scale arrives,” he repeated. Sure functions, similar to city buses, could electrify rapidly. Lengthy-haul freight is more likely to stay diesel- or LNG-driven longer. “The transition is not going to be linear,” he added.
Coverage push and market path
The Indian authorities has been clear about decarbonisation targets, with schemes similar to FAME for electrification and assist for inexperienced hydrogen corridors. LNG terminals and gas coverage nudges are additionally in play. However implementation lags, and the CV business should bridge the hole between coverage ambition and operational actuality.
Mani’s balanced view displays this. “We’re on the cusp of a beautiful time within the industrial business,” he mentioned. “Our job is to serve current wants whereas making ready for the longer term.”
Dassault’s international playbook, native relevance
Dassault’s expertise throughout aerospace and international automotive is discovering resonance in India. Digital twins, model-based engineering and end-to-end integration should not buzzwords however sensible instruments. For Indian CV makers, they translate into quicker prototyping, fewer errors and stronger resilience in opposition to international shocks.
“Digital continuity means the shopfloor sees the identical mannequin as design in actual time,” Pothukuchi harassed. “That alignment is not non-compulsory for competitiveness.”
As Pothukuchi put it, “Expertise was an enabler. Now it’s pervasive.” Within the CV context, that pervasiveness connects not simply engineers and shopfloors, however fleet house owners, drivers and policymakers.
Wanting forward
The Ashok Leyland–Dassault change underscored the twin priorities of India’s CV sector: safeguard in the present day’s enterprise with diesel whereas constructing tomorrow’s readiness throughout different fuels. Layered over that is the digital spine that ensures agility and resilience.
“Diesel is there to remain. Our portfolio will proceed to develop,” Mani reiterated. For Pothukuchi, the problem is ensuring digital programs shut the loop: “A closed loop from utilization of telemetry again into design improves merchandise in actual time.”
Episode 2 of India Management Talks mirrored the balancing act shaping India’s industrial car future. Ashok Leyland exemplifies the business’s pragmatism, grounded in diesel, open to hydrogen and electrical. Dassault Systèmes exemplifies the digital scaffolding required to carry all of it collectively.
As this sequence continues, the conversations will develop to extra sectors and leaders. However the message from Episode 2 is obvious: India’s CV business is not going to be outlined by a single know-how. Will probably be outlined by the leaders who bridge the current and the potential.
