While negotiating Free Trade Agreement (FTAs), the sector that stands out is the auto component industry and Indian auto component manufacturers should now build the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem before other countries catch up, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, has said.

Noting that the component sector is the heart of the Indian auto industry, the minister complimented the industry for exporting more than the imports, and turning into a net surplus industry in terms of exports.

He also highlighted that FTAs being negotiated will open doors to many markets for the auto and auto component industry.

“The next 10 years of the auto industry will define the future and the roadmap for ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’. A $100 billion worth export in the next decade will make India Atmanirbhar,” said the minister.

He emphasised that Indian component manufacturers offer cost-competitiveness and high-quality precision engineering.

“Innovation and technology are skills required to grow constantly in this sector,” he said, adding that with the government acting as a facilitator in public-private partnerships (PPPs), along with expo like Bharat Mobility 2025, will spur the mobility sector.

“Bharat Mobility Global Expo shows that the Indian auto industry is confident to take on global competition,” said Goyal.

The Union Minister noted that electric vehicles have become a compulsive and economically viable case and urged the auto sector to build the EV ecosystem leveraging economies of scale for capturing world markets.

He noted that India must build its own EV ecosystem before other countries catch up, urging the participants from the auto component sector to build indigenous equipment and remove dependence on non-transparent, non-market economies of foreign countries.

“It is high-time India must become self-aligned in precision tooling,” Goyal said, adding that India must strive to become the epicentre of the auto and auto-component sector.