Lack of BS-IV components hits Truck Production
Published On May 30, 2017
Moving to the BS-IV norms was a significant step towards greener environment but it has become no less than a challenge for many manufacturers. Bosch, the German auto component maker is presently the only supplier of the fuel injection system for the BS-IV commercial vehicles in the market. Due to sudden ban on sales and registration of BS-III vehicles, Bosch is now facing a dearth in supply of these components which eventually is affecting the production of vehicles.
The shortage has resulted in production cut of leading truck maker Tata Motors by 50 percent whereas other manufacturers faced 20-40 percent low output in the month of April. However, Bosch India has stated that currently the component shortfall is at 20 percent and the normal supplies will be restored by next month.
Like other manufacturers, Bosch was also not expecting the sudden ban on the BS-III vehicles, so it would be a challenge for the company to meet the higher demand of BS-IV fuel injection system. Jan-Oliver Roehrl, additional director, Bosch said “At Bosch, we rely heavily on our international production network, which is spread across several locations across the globe. With most of the components and subcomponents being sourced from other markets, there was a lag in meeting the Indian market's peak demand immediately“.
The German auto component manufacturer said that it is ramping up the production capacity and hopefully the supply would get back on track from second quarter of FY18. Bosch India is localising the production and also since the same fuel injection system can be upgraded to BS-VI norms, a similar kind of shortage is unlikely to happen in future. The company has been manufacturing pumps and elements, among other parts for the diesel engines at its Bidadi facility located near Bengaluru.
Bosch invested about INR 630 crore in 2016-17 for the development of Bidadi plant which will undergo two phases with the second phase expected to be completed by 2019. The second phase which was started on May 22, will be manufacturing conventional as well as the new generation fuel injection systems.
