Strategic Cornerstones
Panasonic Automotive Systems India banks on strategic cornerstones to grow the business.
Panasonic Automotive Systems India banks on strategic cornerstones to grow the business.
Panasonic Automotive Systems India (PASI) is building on its capabilities. The company is focussed on ‘Development’, ‘Manufacture’ and ‘Sale’ as the strategic cornerstones for growth in the automotive components segment. The auto components and parts in the fray include infotainment solutions including audio, video and navigation. It also includes sensors, relays, cameras, parking assistance systems, Telematics Control Unit (TCU), smart entry systems, and LED solutions for headlamps and batteries. If the recent display at Consumer Electronics Show 2021 is any indication, the company could draw from its global legacy with advancements like those at Panasonic Automotive Systems of America. The latter showcased the Augmented Reality (AR) Head-Up Display (HUD) known to offer features like eye-tracking technology, advanced optics, AI navigation accuracy, vibration control, real-time situational awareness, 3D imaging radar, compact packaging and 4K resolution. Bhupesh Kanyal, Group Chief, PASI, however, has clarified in the past on the company’s strategy to meet the diverse customer requirements across geographies like India with customised and localised solutions. In effect, the global approach will be localised for India.
PASI is known to be focussed broadly on three themes: ‘Beyond Comfort’, ‘Integrated Safety’ and ‘Electrification’. Under ‘Beyond Comfort’ it focusses on the automobile interiors such as cockpits, navigation systems and HUDs. Under ‘Integrated Safety’, it prioritises the safety of passengers in commute and prevention of on-road accidents. Here it banks on products like back and corner sensors, interior rearview mirrors, vehicle camera
modules, and steering angle sensors among others. In electrification, Panasonic provides Li-ion batteries for xEV, heater devices, and onboard charging systems. The India portfolio includes HUD, in-vehicle infotainment, TCU, temperature oil sensor and steering angle sensor.
The India portfolio
In India, the company’s HUD systems keep the drivers informed on relevant data while at the same time ensuring they are focussed on the hygiene factors associated with a safe drive. It is claimed to have built an in-house designed, cost-effective HUD technology range to meet the OEM needs. It offers windshield HUDs and combiner HUDs both. On the in-vehicle infotainment front, the company offers audio/video entertainment and information content via radio, media player, TV and video, telephony, navigation, speech controls, apps and connectivity to aid
OEMs, in turn, offering a holistically designed electronic cockpit to the consumer. Leveraging its over a decade of expertise in TCU, consumers can look forward to features like tracking vehicle location, SoS calls if met with an accident, anti-theft solutions like tracking the stolen vehicle, and record of diagnostic codes for service stations.
The vehicle owner or operator is
offered a complete State-of-Health (SoH) of the vehicle including ride mode, tyre pressure, fuel level and batter y charge status among other metrics with the convenience of access through a mobile app. Through the temperature oil sensor, information on the component heating for automobiles and industr y are provided. In automotive, the company calls it a key component for two-wheeler and four-wheeler fuel injection systems particularly relevant to the BSVI era. Its steering angle sensor predicts the steer direction of the driver thereby synergising between the steering and the drive wheels. Placed in the steering column, a single unit ensures redundancy, accuracy and diagnostics.
Premium and safe commute
Focussed on offering a premium commuting experience and passenger and environment safety, the company is claimed to have designed its technologies keeping the Indian customer in mind. It is also leveraging the experiences gathered on new age cost-efficient technology prioritising ease of use, safety and durability. The focus of the company is on core areas like development, manufacturing and sale of automotive components to major automotive players such as Maruti Suzuki India, Toyota Kirloskar Motors, Honda Cars India, RenaultNissan, Isuzu, Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, and India Yamaha Motor.
With a single-vehicle fitted with a number of devices like sensors, and known to generate terabytes of data signals on-road, the company recognises the role of connectivity invehicle telematics too. Acknowledging autonomous vehicles as the next major disruptive technology for the automotive industry, the company is preparing for the future. With a presence across automotive clusters like Gurugram, Chennai, Gujarat, Pune and Bangalore, the company isi adhering to the ‘Vocal for Local’ visionvis of the government. PASI’s manufacturingmanu plant at Jhajjar, Haryana, for instance, manufactures sensors and devices with a substantialsubstanti degree of localisation. A major revenue stream for the company is the infotainmentinfotainme solution’s BusinessBusiness-to-Business (B2BB2B) sales to OEMs. Both infotainment and HUD solutions present major opportunities fofor the cocompany.