Actia anticipates 40% increase in electronic content in CVs
Noida-based Actia India Pvt Ltd, the manufacturer and supplier of on-board systems, connected vehicle technology, DC to DC converters, diagnostics and testing solutions to automotive industry, anticipates a proliferation of electronic content in commercial vehicles. New regulations on fuel efficiency, quality and safety will necessitate increase in electronics parts in vehicles.
“There are many advantages in increasing the electronic content in commercial vehicles. Over a decade ago it was all a mesh of electric wires which carried with them many disadvantages. On an average there were 8kms of wires in a 12m bus. Now smart electronic systems will replace the chaotic electrical wiring. We expect 30-40% increase in electronics driven by the new regulations,” Anurag Jain, COO, Actia India Private Limited told Auto-ComponentsIndia.
Electronic system will easily identify, diagnose problems and flash them on the driver’s screen. Based on the message the driver can act upon the issue. This will reduce the maintenance cost of the vehicles and decrease the cost for OEMs, dealers and customers. In a nutshell everybody gets benefited in this common cost ground.
Commenting on the infrastructure challenges Jain said, “Diagnostics is not a new solution for the Indian market. We are supplying the state-of-the-art flashing diagnostic solution for a commercial vehicle player (name of the player not disclosed) in India. For electronics 25 degree Centigrade and 85% humidity is the biggest challenges. But we have qualified products that will function under any adverse condition. We can meet even any additional demand from the OEMs.” The diagnostic system and other electronic parts fitted in a car depend on the OEMs’ procurement sheet. The small segment leader Renault Kwid is fitted with the company’s diagnostic system. These technologies are not new to India. How much of all these get positioned in a car is the issue. Regulations will play a key role in this as the market is chasing European norms.
“Since the cabin comfort of the driver is becoming very important, we are currently providing onboard solutions, telematics and diagnostics to aftermarket and OEMs for the commercial vehicle segment. Electronics helps to follow rules and new regulations. Our products and systems have provisions for upgradation and interpolation. We already have many of them ready as we are supplying BS-VI driven products to the European market. Road conditions and infrastructure are not problems for us as we are also catering to the East Asian countries which have the same bad terrains as in India. Our products are qualified to face the adverse atmospheric conditions. The demand for message centre and communication is increasing day by day and the number of ECUs (Electronic Control Units) in the vehicle has multiplied. The challenge is in the authenticity of data. Our system can face the challenges and network with the server efficiently,” he said. In vehicles the component to component communication has increased. The number of ECUs in commercial vehicles will also increase. At least 10-15 ECUs will be fitted in a vehicle. The data has to be stored and prevented from the hackers. “We have defined set of protocols which can take care of the operations efficiently,” Jain said
“We are not a voluminous player in the instrument cluster but we have the capability to meet any demand from the market. We have good business in diagnostic and testing solutions for both commercial and passenger vehicles,” he said.
Actia has plans for localisation, which totally depends on volume. The company currently imports the products for India. With the increasing demand, it will start indigenous operations. “Implementation of regulation will enlighten us in all these grounds and exert influence on our future localisation commitments, Jain concluded.