NORTH WEST COMPANIES ATTEND AUTOEXPO INDIA 2012 AND DEVELOP IMPORTANT CONTACTS IN A RAPIDLY GROWING MARKET
A range of companies from the region attended India’s largest automotive trade show, supported by the Northwest Automotive Alliance Business Excellence programme
PROJECT
AutoExpo 2012, 7-11 January, New Delhi, India
BACKGROUND
India is a huge and rapidly growing market, and it offers significant opportunities for UK automotive companies in terms of sales, and also for potential business partnerships. India’s economy is currently demonstrating growth rates of over 7%, and the country’s manufacturing sector is developing quickly. India has a population of over 1.2 billion people, with 572 million under the age of 24. The average Indian income is forecast to grow by 27 times in the next four decades; rising income levels and the change in consumer choices are creating a greater demand for products such as cars.
PROJECT AIM
To support and showcase a delegation of North West companies at AutoExpo India 2012, to promote business-to-business activity, closer collaboration and international trade.
NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT
There is a growing market in India, yet many North West companies aren’t currently in a position to benefit from this opportunity. Therefore this project supported companies to gain introductions to business contacts in India.
APPROACH
The Northwest Automotive Alliance (NAA) Business Excellence (BE) programme assisted four companies from the region – CCL, Hylomar, Performance Springs and Scorpion – to attend and exhibit at AutoExpo India 2012. The NAA covered the costs of the stand, and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) provided the coordination. Also, prior to the event, all companies were supported to commission an Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) market intelligence report, a service provided by UKTI. The NAA worked with UKTI to arrange high profile meetings, which included a reception with the UK High Commission. This reception enabled the delegation to meet the High Commissioner, Embassy and Trade officials and Indian automotive companies, including a Director from TATA.
OUTCOMES
Overall it was felt that this project helped to provide international exposure for the four participating companies for minimal cost; otherwise it would have been a considerable expense to exhibit.
Darren Monks, Managing Director at CCL, suppliers to brand name distributors and vehicle manufacturers, was interested in meeting potential distributors for the company’s products in India. Darren says
“Visiting India was a very worthwhile exercise as it enabled us to assess the level of development of the market. Our business is focused on replacement electrical parts rather than supplying to OEMs, and the market for our business in India is currently developing. Attending this event was very beneficial and we made some good contacts that we will be able to use when the time is right for our entry into India. We were only able to do this thanks to the support from the NAA Business Excellence programme.”
Ken Thompson from Hylomar says:
“We gained some interesting enquiries from AutoExpo India. The networking organised through UKTI was particularly useful. We are still in dialogue with companies that we obtained introductions to during this visit, and we believe that new opportunities will result from this.”
Stuart Buck, Sales Manager at Performance Springs, says
“India is an important growing market. The quality of the visitors at our stand from India’s automotive industry was excellent. However primarily this event allowed us to cement relationships with our existing customers in India, which was a very important outcome for us.”
