CHENNAI: Come October, Chennai will host the 16th Asia Pacific Automotive Conference (APAC), which is being held for the first time in India. The theme of the conference will be ‘To promote sustainable technologies for safe and smart mobility’. At the biennial conference, 38 countries are expected to participate, in the event to be held from October 6 – 8. Close to 140 papers are to be presented in over 16 sessions, and this will be the main draw of the event. The aim is to showcase the various advancements in technology and design in the automotive sector. In the last decade, there has been a shift from Europe to China and India, in terms of manufacturing automobiles. Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman of APAC16 and President — Automotive and Farm Equipment Sectors of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, unveiled the logo of the conference and spoke on the reasons why India still has not reached the international benchmark for automobile design. He said, “We do not yet have the ability to cover all the bases of designing an entire automobile. The advancements in India can be counted on my fingertips, but the technology coming from other countries is enormous.” Srivats Ram, Managing Director of Wheels India, added that Indian companies should take bets and invest in long-term advancements rather than think of the next two years and the dividends it will give them then. “We expect the Indian automobile market to achieve an annual turnover of USD 110 billion by 202, and it is, therefore, imperative of us to adopt sustainable processes,” he said. Dr Aravind Bharadwaj, Vice President and Chair of the SAE India Publication board, said that in Chennai’s context, the conference would help showcase the city as an emerging automotive hub. “The location of the conference is chosen by bidding, and it speaks volumes that India was selected,” he says. An exposition is planned along the sidelines of the conference. More than a 100 exhibitors are to participate, and will be showcasing the latest technology they have developed. This includes international and national companies.
Comments
0 comment