Hero MotoCorp’s Acting CEO and CTO, Vikram Kasbekar, said on Friday that India’s automotive sector must build anti-fragile supply chains by focusing on collaboration, localization, and skill-building to withstand geopolitical shocks while simultaneously ensuring the affordability of electric two-wheelers.
Speaking at the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association’s (ACMA) 65th Annual Session in New Delhi, Kasbekar acknowledged that global disruptions—from semiconductor supply crunches to rare earth material shortages—have created deep vulnerabilities in the auto industry. “It’s a crisis for everyone. The major technology assimilation is done by the OEM, so it’s very important that the entire supply chain is supportive of this,” he said.
According to him, building agility must begin “from the design board,” with OEMs involving suppliers at the earliest stages. He emphasized that without such collaboration, gaps in the supply chain are inevitable. Adopting modular platforms, he added, would allow manufacturers to respond more swiftly to evolving requirements.
Further, he stressed that Indian manufacturers need short-, medium-, and long-term strategies to mitigate risks, particularly by developing critical inputs locally. “These things have to be developed locally. It is going to be one very big initiative that we need to address. And the entire supply chain, from T1 to maybe T4, needs to be further strengthened,” he said.
Kasbekar also underscored that quality should be treated as “a hygiene factor” across the supply chain. To achieve this, he called for upgrading the skills of both white- and blue-collar workers in line with evolving technologies such as mechatronics. Hero MotoCorp, he added, has been closely working with the Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) to reskill shop-floor workers.
“It’s not necessary to send all engineers back to school, but give them the exposure and opportunity to try out new things and work with supply chain partners, academia, and startups to find alternatives and circumvent situations,” he said.
On the policy front, Kasbekar pointed out that free trade agreements remain important. “Geopolitical risk sometimes makes it essential for us to have this. So strategic partners and strategic tie-ups are very important—to see that these people come, invest in India, because this is a growing economy,” he said.
Turning to electrification, Kasbekar said the two-wheeler segment is at the forefront of India’s EV transition, but affordability remains key. “One thing is certain: in the auto industry, anything that comes in, the entire ecosystem works toward reducing costs. The difference I think is unique here—only the EV powertrain,” he remarked.
Government support through schemes like FAME and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) programme has provided initial momentum, but he said the industry must drive down costs further to achieve positive contribution and EBITDA in EV operations. “Today, about a million vehicles plus are being sold, and there is huge demand because they find the operational cost quite low,” Kasbekar said.
He also highlighted the importance of addressing customer anxieties around range and charging speeds. “I remember that dialogue in the Maruti ad: ‘Kitna deti hai?’ So here also it is: ‘Kitna range hai?’ But more than that… once the battery drains, how fast can you charge it? So rapid charging is something which will de-risk those people,” he said.