NGK Spark Plugs India plans to increase market share

NGK Spark Plug India Pvt. Ltd., a fully-owned subsidiary of NGK Spark Plugs Japan, has a variety of spark plugs which include nickel tip electrode, platinum tip electrode G-power, and iridium spark plugs for two-and four-wheelers. NGK products are popular among OEMs and in the aftermarket.

The company has another spark plug called hi-ignitability spark plug which lies between the nickel tip and platinum tip G-power spark plugs. The hi-ignitability spark plug has nickel tip electrode with efficiency and performance matching G-power spark plugs at relatively lower cost. It has been developed exclusively for the Indian market.

“There is a special metal in it and the technology is contained with NGK Spark Plugs Japan only. With India being a vast market with lot of opportunity available, we have great scope for development,” Sudipto Sanyal, Senior Manager, Sales and Marketing, NGK Spark Plugs (India), said. The company currently holds around 35% market share with two- wheeler and four- wheeler segment together and has around 22% in the aftermarket. It assembles around 1.8 - 2.0 million spark plugs a month, around 20 million a year, in its Bawal, Haryana, facility.

According to its vision 2020, NGK aims at 45% market share and increasing its current clientele comprisingii MMaruti,ti YYamaha,h Suzuki, Hero, HMSI and others.

Distinctive approach

With no customer base available in India and market being too scattered with little knowledge about spark plugs, NGK India had worked in a different manner to make its mark. Over the years, the company has educated endcustomers, mechanics, retailers, and distributors about the importance and ways to select a right spark plug for a vehicle. “Before we entered the market, there was a little or no information available with people about how to choose a spark plug. A spark plug has to withstand 20,000 - 30,000 voltage, 2,000-2,500 degree celsius temperature, around 50 kg/cm square pressure, corrosive activities and current flash-over apartt ffrom iignitingiti theth ffuel l burning process. This is the reason we started to give knowledge to people about spark plugs and train mechanics,” Sanyal said.

The company has trained over 450+ mechanics under its Ustaad Mechanics Club (UMC) under which they invite mechanics to their Bawal plant and give them basic training. It has also set up an Aftermarket Technical Service (ATS) team to deal with distributors, retailers and customer feedbacks. Today NGK India is renowned for its strong sales policies, discipline in network and innovative way of creating and managing a network of over 130 distributors, 300 sub-distributors, reaching up to around 8,000 retailers all over India.