Meghalaya honeymoon horror: Deceased's wife, her aides produced before court in Shillong
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Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Auto sector pushes 3-step plan to cut China dependence for rare earth magnets
Squeezed for supplies, automakers have made a three-pronged suggestion to improve supplies of rare earth magnets over the next three years to reduce dependence on China. The Indian auto industry made a presentation to the ministry of heavy industries last week detailing strategies to attain self-sufficiency in supply chains . It suggested incentives for Indian companies to start local assembly of rare earth magnets, recycling of used magnets and outreach to resource-rich countries such as Australia, Vietnam, Chile, and Peru to secure supplies. Over a longer 3-10 years phase, they have proposed incentives to be introduced for large industrial players to set up manufacturing units for rare earth magnets with backward integration for raw material. Auto parts makers are likely to run out of stock of rare earth magnets early next month, which is likely to affect production of about a dozen critical components that go into electric vehicle motors as well as vehicle speed detection and automatic gear shifting systems. China announced export controls on medium and heavy rare earth-related items with a view to 'safeguarding national security' on April 4 in response to US President Donald Trump's tariffs. China accounts for about 70% of global rare earth metals mining and nearly 90% of production. 'The goal should be to ensure that India develops not only downstream capabilities but also upstream processing infrastructure', automakers said in the presentation, a copy of which was reviewed by ET. 'Financial and policy support must be provided to encourage public private partnership,' to build a complete domestic value chain, it said. This would include incentives for encouraging local mining and production of heavy rare earth magnets. However, till the time local mining, ore magnet production arrangements are done, the government must undertake measures to arrange for import from non-China based sources like Vietnam, Brazil, Russia, among others. In the near-term, though, the industry has said that the Indian government engages with counterparts in Beijing to relax export restrictions and help in expediting export control licenses so that automobile production in the country is not disrupted. 'While those making electric vehicles will be particularly impacted, the restriction eventually will affect all companies as these magnets are used in several key components including in electric power steering, parts for engine cooling and sensing exhaust gas concentration, engine spark ignition, among others,' said a senior industry executive on condition of anonymity, While some parts makers in Europe recently got approvals to source rare earth magnets, their Indian arms are yet to get a go-ahead from the Chinese ministry of commerce. The issue is complicated by the tense business and political relationship between India and China, experts said. As many as 35 Indian component makers import rare earth magnets from China. In its latest report CareEdge Ratings said delays in rare earth elements (REE) shipments for Indian auto OEMs may impact electric, Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and hybrid vehicle production starting July 2025, particularly higher-end models that depend on REE-based technologies. 'Automakers might need to shift focus to mid-range or base models to address supply disruption. However, China's recent decision to temporarily allow REE exports to top US automakers offers hope for resolving the impasse for Indian companies as well', the ratings agency said in a note Thursday.
Economic Times
5 hours ago
- Economic Times
Mercedes-Benz looks to roll out more models offering customisation
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Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Niti Aayog : Central incentives only for zero emission vehicles
Taxpayers money will go towards incentivising only clean mobility solutions, with zero tailpipe emissions such as battery electric vehicles, Sudhendu Sinha, Programme Director (Electric Mobility, Transport & Infrastructure) at Niti Aayog told ET, adding hybrid vehicles will not be 'penalised' as they are more fuel efficient and emit lesser emissions than conventional petrol and diesel cars. 'Vehicles which are polluting don't New's to be supported. Less polluting vehicles (like hybrids) are welcome, they should not be penalised. But when it comes to the incentive, using taxpayers money to push forward (clean mobility), that should be going to vehicles which do not create pollution, so that is what electric vehicles are', Sinha said in an interview Thursday. Sinha said the government's targets to attain net zero emission are 'very aspirational'. Programmes are underway to not only encourage customer adoption of electric vehicles but also to build the country as manufacturing hub for clean vehicles. 'As far as dependence (on China) for lithium/critical materials is concerned, we are working on how alternate chemistry can evolve. Today, 16 out of 23 IITs are working on sustainable mobility, alternate chemistries, battery management systems, on the entire stream of telematics/ electronics. Our aspiration is not only to be an EV user, but an EV manufacturing hub', he informed. Sinha said if India wants to become a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles, it has to stay you ahead on the curve of innovation. He said, 'In addition to that, you must have control over supply chain, which is critical. You can't be always dependent on others. So you have to gradually learn the tricks of the entire manufacturing. And we should be able to do it this.' Live Events He cited the example of Norway, which decided to switch to electric in 1995. For an economy whose growth came in from gasoline, majority of their current new car sales today comes from electric, Sinha said. The Indian government too has been putting in place supportive policies to support the shift to clean vehicles in India. Sinha said, 'As far as GST rationalization is concerned in support of electric vehicles, six to eight times we have been able to reduce it (levies), not only for the vehicle, but also multiple components. Similarly, to sort out the financing issue, the year before last, in the budget, the dense charging infrastructure was brought in the list of harmonized infrastructure.' This has resulted in capital that is being ring-fenced by banks for investments in charging networks. The government has also launched the Rs 25,938 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for auto and parts makers to address costs disabilities in manufacturing locally advanced auto parts, he said. This, along with the Rs 10,900 crore PM e-Drive, will help support customer demand across categories of electric vehicles. Going ahead, he said while certain segments of the automotive industry 'can definitely do without state support, but to think that there should be no support, that is a wrong proposition'. 'Support is needed, but we have to channelize it. Those are the things that would come once we are able to wrap up that entire scheme. We have to analyse how we did, where, how we should go forward, etc', he said.
