Filter sales gaining more momentum
Lucas TVS Ltd., headquartered in Chennai, is part of the TVS Group which has majority shareholding in the company. The company is the market leader in design and manufacturing of starters, alternators, wiping systems, blower motors, engine cooling fans, ignition products, compressor motors, brushless DC motors, compact special-purpose motors and related auto electrical components.
Lucas TVS has been the prime mover in auto electrical systems in India for over 50 years and is a leading supplier to all segments of the auto industry in the country. Lucas TVS products are synonymous with auto electricals and can be found in majority of the passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, tractors, two- and three-wheelers and also stationary engines for off-highway applications. With seven state of the art plants, Lucas TVS is present in all the automotive hubs in India and is able to cater to all major auto OEMs. The proud recipient of the Deming Quality Award and the Deming Grand Prize, Lucas TVS has a fully equipped Technical Center with extensive testing and validation facilities, making it one of the few Indian Tier-1 companies with an ‘Art to Part’ capability, earning more than 75 per cent of its revenue from products developed in-house. The company has established joint ventures with Delphi for diesel fuel injection business and with Koito of Japan for automotive lighting.
With a keen eye to support the customer Lucas TVS has strategic alliances with global partners for serving variety of customers needs with cutting edge technology for the Indian market. Its growing customer base covers all leading OEMs in India and is now expanding to clients in the US and Europe. In an exclusive interview to MOTORINDIA, Mr. Sunil D. Nair, Chief Operating Officer, Lucas TVS, traced the company history and outlined its journey over the years in close association with its distributors, the series of products turned out, the current market trend, its exports, the challenge from counterfeit products, and its future plans. The company started its journey over five decades ago as a JV with Lucas Electricals with a clear focus on becoming a market leader in auto electricals. Lucas TVS has focused on quality and customer first as its mantra and built that with strong engineering and manufacturing in house. With this background, the management always paid a special attention to supply of genuine products without compromising on quality. What contributed most to the success of the Lucas TVS brand is its largest aftermarket network with retail touch-points. Lucas TVS products are in fact sold at every nook and corner of the country. Mr. Nair said that in the aftermarket, the company products are ably distributed by the TVS Group firms like Lucas Indian Service, Madras Auto Service, IMPAL, TVS & Sons, etc. Its distributors with dedicated sales and service currently serve around 20,000 dealers pan-India.
A clear market leader
After establishing a clear market leadership in the auto electrical products, Lucas TVS has forayed into the filtration business with resounding success. Produced at the company’s most efficient Pant Nagar facility, the filters have become a preferred choice in the automotive aftermarket. Currently, the company produces a wide range of filtration products, including air / oil / fuel filters, backed with state-of-the-art imported technology. The assembly lines ensures quality manufacturing, with 50% use of imported media, and thus the company legitimately claims that it maintains the best product quality. Mr. Nair commented that –“The market is going to virtually explode in the next two yearswith all the vehicles built five years ago coming to the aftermarket and Lucas TVS is well placed to meet the requirements. “
Spurious filters
Referring to counterfeit trading in filters, Mr. Nair said it is always a problem in the aftermarket, and vigorous steps are taken to prevent it. In order to maintain the product genuineness, the company is adopting a stringent procedure by embossing the company logo for protection against counterfeit trading. The company is also paying close attention to its packaging and distribution to ensure that customers can detect original spares and it is available across the country. However, the consumer is the ultimate decider by being discriminately wise in selecting products.
Makers of counterfeit products find many ways of marketing them. For instance, the Chinese producers are using the company logo in their duplicate products in Auto Electricals and bring them to India for sale in the aftermarket. The items thus sold cover all components like engines, filters, etc. Customers are ultimately the ones who can change this and ensuring the use of genuine products will help greatly in combating the menace of counterfeiting.
Growing bigger
Mr. Nair further observed that though a late-comer, Lucas TVS currently is growing at a healthy clip and is leading in South India, where the market is growing steadily. At the same time, the company is also expanding its filter sales in the other parts of the country. There is wide scope for growth considering India’s aftermarket potential and expanding vehicle population. The ultimate aim of the company is to become one among the top three players in the filtration segment within the next five years.
Products of high standard
Mr. Nair said that on the Euro norms front, the company is meeting all Bharat-IV to Bharat-VI standards, and is also working with a new advanced business strategy to meet the growing technological needs. Mr. Nair commented that while manufacturers where outsourcing more and more Lucas TVS has focused on a larger manufacturing strategy of in-house and backward integration with cost controls to produce high quality at competitive prices. Lucas TVS is convinced that customers are highly perceptive and will recognize quality and value over the longer term. Mr. Sunil Nair has proved himself the guiding force in taking the company to greater heights in not only the Filtration Business but Aftermarket as a whole.