The automotive industry is undergoing a significant transformation, grappling with challenges that prevent it from committing to a single powertrain technology. While acknowledging this, Akash Passey, President of ZF Group in India, highlighted that while Indians are accustomed to change, this scenario is unnatural for developed markets where planning, technology, and living standards are advanced, and there is less tolerance for ambiguity. OEMs, both local and multinational, are experiencing this uncertainty, which is also affecting suppliers.
While some markets are focusing on hydrogen technology, India has strengths in ethanol, given its abundant sugarcane production. Passey anticipates the government will provide clear direction on which technologies to pursue. He suggests focusing on one or two technologies until a specific timeline, while still exploring other technologies on a smaller scale to stay informed. Attempting to adopt multiple technologies simultaneously can lead to confusion. He believes this situation will resolve itself as many new technologies are not yet practical enough for widespread use by suppliers or OEMs within the next three to five years.
Exploring Alternate Propulsion Technologies
Regarding electric vehicles (EVs) Passey acknowledges that the journey has just begun. EVs have been well-received in the two-wheeler and three-wheeler markets, but the technology is still in its early stages. While the automotive market in India currently focuses on EVs across two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and passenger vehicles, ZF is pioneering technologies that extend beyond EVs, including hydrogen internal combustion engines (H2 ICE) and fuel cells for commercial vehicles. The company is well-prepared for this evolution, leveraging digitisation, artificial intelligence (AI), and other cutting-edge technologies, he said.
Passey remarked that India is on the cusp of a transformative decade, with unprecedented changes expected over the next five to ten years. The company aims to stay sharp, maintain strong connections with OEMs, and achieve vastly different outcomes from where it stands today. The future promises significant advancements, and ZF is poised to lead the way, he added.
Growth & Adaptability
ZF operates 18 manufacturing units and ten technical centres in India, employing a total of 16,000 people. Passey stated, 'How much more Indian should we be? Of course, we will strengthen our presence to a new level. Our strategy is clear: we are engaged in all business lines (segments) and aim to be both manufacturing and engineering agnostic.'
Discussing lessons learned from the chip shortage and geopolitical crises, Passey emphasised the importance of having a strategy and the ability to implement it, either partially or fully. 'Worrying beyond a certain point doesn't help. You can never be fully prepared for every eventuality,' he noted.
Passey elaborated on ZF's strategic approach, outlining three key focus areas. 'First, we have an 'India for India' strategy, ensuring that we meet local needs. Second, 'India for global customers,' particularly in engineering services and components. Third, 'India for ZF worldwide,' since our 170-plus plants around the globe rely on support from cost-efficient countries including India. Therefore, we depend on smooth supply chains. We have made our supply chain more efficient, but our long-term strategy is to source as much as possible from India. We use local engineers to design solutions tailored to the requirements of Indian OEMs, which have global applicability.'
Technology Centre & Digitisation Initiatives
Of the ten technical centres that ZF India operates, the main centre in Hyderabad has now scaled up to 3,500 people. This centre offers cutting-edge technologies, including digitisation and AI, to its global customers and to ZF itself. 'Our Hyderabad facility is the best we have globally for software development. We are progressing rapidly in engineering and application development. While there are still gaps, these are the competencies we plan to build over the coming years. The growth of our engineering strength is a key focus area that will see substantial development in the near future,' Passey mentioned.
In 2018, ZF established a dedicated organisation in Chennai focused on Digital and IT Innovations. The ‘Digital Champions’ team, actively supported by functional leaders and IT team members, has adopted a 'learning by doing' approach. This strategy has significantly enhanced internal competence and helped mobilise and create a network of digital adopters within the organisation at an accelerated pace.
Since its inception, the team has delivered several Digital Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Bots, supporting various business functions, including Supply Chain, Quality, Sourcing & Purchasing, Human Resources, Finance, Product Engineering, and Business Development.
According to Ravi Kumar, Head of Operations, CVS, Region India, ZF, the company’s focus on digitalisation in India extends beyond RPA. Its Global IT Centre in India, with locations in Pune, Hyderabad, and Chennai, plays a crucial role in ZF’s global digital initiatives. The Indian IT team supports advanced technologies like AI, Machine Learning (ML), Analytics, Industry 4.0, Blockchain, and Cloud computing, which are essential for ZF's strategic vision of ‘Next Generation Mobility.’ This vision aims to innovate and advance commercial vehicle control systems, providing sustainable solutions for global markets.
The ZF Commercial Vehicles India plant in Ambattur, Chennai, has been the epicentre of many digital experiments. The team began by developing autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs) to transport components. Following this, they launched a real-time Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and loss management system. Building on these initial projects, the team is now evaluating additional use cases involving technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things), RPA, AI, ML, and Analytics.
Currently, the digital champions in Chennai are working to adopt ZF’s Digital Manufacturing Platform—an integrated cloud platform designed to collect, compute, and visualise data within the plant. This platform aims to harmonise solutions across ZF’s global production network, focusing on improving transparency and reducing costs by enhancing OEE, efficiency, quality, maintenance costs, and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), among other metrics.
The global company has been at the forefront of integrating advanced IT and digitalisation solutions across its manufacturing plants in India, aligning with ZF's global strategy to enhance operational efficiency, product quality, and sustainability through Industry 4.0 technologies. The team aims to onboard all plants across the country onto the platform by 2027, further cementing the company’s position as a leader in digital transformation in the automotive industry.
Leveraging AI To Enhance Manufacturing
AI is a transformative force in the manufacturing sector, and ZF India is poised to harness its full potential to enhance its manufacturing capabilities. Recognising the importance and impending relevance of AI in manufacturing, ZF Group in India initiated AI adoption four years ago. Today, ZF Commercial Vehicle Solutions India actively employs AI to inspect finished products on the production line.
The team is also integrating AI into production processes to proactively prevent defects. Beyond this, AI is being explored for training operators, improving their understanding of manufacturing processes, and guiding them on the correct sequence on the production line, thereby actively educating and preventing errors.
Additionally, 'we are in the process of employing AI to automate complex tasks and decision-making processes, reducing errors and increasing productivity. We also leverage IoT for energy tracking and Data Analytics for optimization,' Kumar said.
Passey said that ZF in India is continually exploring new AI applications to maintain a competitive edge. The focus is on integrating AI into every facet of the manufacturing process, including design, production, logistics, and customer service. By doing so, it aims to create a more agile, efficient, and responsive manufacturing environment capable of swiftly adapting to market demands and technological advancements.
According to him, the Indian arm of the global company collaborates with customers to provide a cutting-edge AI solution integrated with telematics systems, utilising a scalable platform. 'Currently, we monitor over 25,000 trucks in Europe, all managed from our centre in India. We partner with one of the leading OEMs, overseeing telematics for approximately 250,000 trucks and buses using our solution. The challenge lies in leveraging AI to enhance efficiency and quality of life, rather than perceiving it as a threat,' he signed off.
Also Read:
ZF India’s Integrated Solutions Aid OEMs Navigate Industry Transformation: Akash Passey