Air bag makers eye $2 billion opportunity in India

New Delhi: The world’s largest air bag suppliers like Autoliv Inc, Takata Corp, TRW Automotive Inc and Toyoda Gosei Co are setting up plants and increasing capacity in India as it provides a US$ 2 billion opportunity due to tougher rules aimed at improving India's road safety. The planned changes will create an opportunity for makers of safety equipment, as cars without air bags will achieve only the lowest safety ratings after tests. By 2020, overall revenues from airbag sales in India are set to rise 11 per cent a year to hit US$ 2 billion, outpacing the 9 per cent growth expected in China, according to data from Transparency Market Research. By then, India is expected to be selling over 5 million cars a year. This is a the right time to invest to grow the business,” said Harish Lakshman, managing director of air bag maker Rane TRW Steering Systems Ltd. The company opened a new air bag assembly plant in August in southern India with capacity to make 500,000 units a year, investing Rs 18 crore (US$ 2.7 million). Toyoda Goesi Minda India, a joint venture between the Japanese company and India’s Uno Minda plans to increase its capacity by up to six times to 150,000 air bags over the next two to three years. “We expect that within five years the large airbag makers will have a manufacturing hub in India,” said Ayay Bandopadhyay, automotive research analyst at Transparency Market Research.