The FISITA World Automotive Congress, organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) India, was held in India for the first time, with the 37th edition of the event taking place in Chennai from 3-5 October.
The four-day event comprising of technical sessions, presentations and an expo for companies to showcase their innovations, turned out to be one of the largest biennial global confluences for the automotive industry. The conclave supported the theme, ‘Disruptive Technologies for Affordable & Sustainable Mobility’.
SAE India along with FISITA, the International Federation of Automotive Engineers, at a press briefing said that, at present the Indian automotive sector was worth over $2.4 trillion worldwide and that India was one of the largest markets with close to 25 million units.
At present, India is positioned in a way that it has advantages in the current changing automotive landscape globally, with the growing dominance of autonomous and connected vehicles.
The above factors proved to be the top reasons that drove SAE India and FISITA to bring the World Automotive Congress to the country. That apart, India has also emerged as one of the largest exporters of connected and software solutions for automobiles to many parts of the world.
Addressing the audience at the inaugural function of FISITA 2018, Dr. David L. Schutt, CEO, SAE International said: “Tackling urban mobility challenges requires a holistic, integrated and multi-modal and multi-stakeholder approach. Moving into the future, partnerships will play an increasing role which is why a platform like FISITA World Automotive Congress, with its unique conglomerate of global technology leaders, will accelerate disruption and help build sustainable mobility.”
The event hosted four Plenary sessions, wherein experts both locally and from around the world exchanged ideas and took part in brainstorming sessions on various highlighting topics such as, the disruptive technology trends, challenges to face in the future of the automobile industry and the significant role of India for the growth of the sector globally.
The best minds around the globe came together to address the key disruptions in the automotive industry such as Autonomous Vehicles, EVs, Connectivity & Shared Mobility.
Over 75 technical sessions saw close to about 300 research papers, selected from 1,200 submissions, presented by the respective authors, who came from different countries.
The ‘Student Congress’, brought out 35 of the best researches done by university students around the globe to the event. Along with the researches, the ‘Island of Excellence’ hosted technical demonstrations by numerous engineering students.
Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra and Mahindra, and Patron, FISITA 2018 Steering Committee, while addressing the press, said: “The automotive industry is going through a period of disruption where new technologies and newer business models are being adopted that can potentially disrupt and change the existing order.”
He mentioned that the rise of technology in the auto component manufacturing sector globally and its by-products such as mobility, connectivity, fuel efficiency, electric cars and autonomous driving, have brought forward a huge playfield for Indian manufacturers to compete and innovate in.
Dr. Goenka added: “The Indian auto component sector is already driving innovation and increasing its investments in R&D. The industry has to come together to accelerate efforts and derive solutions that help overcome challenges in this context.”
He also insisted that the OEMs are learning how to work with start-ups. “Start-up won’t know what works and not knowing what doesn’t work leads to inventions”, he said.
Dr. Aravind S. Bharadwaj, Chief Technology Officer, Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Chairman, FISITA 2018 Steering Committee, said: “By bringing together global experts, FISITA 2018 will provide the right platform to Indian automotive industry to look at the ever-transforming scenario.”
“This would allow them to recommend path-breaking initiatives, to cope with the challenges to find affordable and sustainable mobility solutions within the disruptive framework.” he added.
Mr. Murli Iyer, Global Advisor, SAE International, and VP Americas – FISITA, stated that, as the traditional industry was fast evolving into the mobility services sector of tomorrow, the theme chosen for this year’s congress was truly appropriate and futuristic in its approach. “During this conclave, positive solutions are expected for issues and concerns that the industry faces in terms of congenial policy framework”, he said.
Finally, Mr. N. Balasubramanian, Deputy Vice President – Product Engineering, Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre India, and Chairman, FISITA 2018 Organising Committee, mentioned that the concurrent exposition along with the Congress had attracted participation from both India and abroad, to a platform which was created to display cutting-edge technology, that included new launches and Ride-N-Drive area for live demonstration.
He stated: “The Indian automotive industry has risen in unison to support FISITA 2018 with generous sponsorship and patronage as detailed elsewhere.”