JULY 2019 | Manufacturing Today http://www.manufacturingtodayindia.comNEWS
KEY HAPPENINGS
14
CONSIDERING LOW-
COST EV FOR INDIA IN
COLLABORATION WITH
HYUNDAI: KIASouth Korean Kia Motors Cor-
poration is considering a low-
cost EV for India in collaboration
with Hyundai Motors and wants
personal usage for EVs to be
included for government sup-
port under the FAME II scheme
in India.
The company, which is a part
of the Hyundai Motor Group,
plans to launch four new mod-
els, including its upcoming SUV
Seltos, in the next two years in
India but said the low-cost EV
would be a separate project.
"We are still working on how
to make low cost EV. I am con-
sidering to develop EV for Indian
market together with Hyundai,"
Kia Motors president and CEO
Han-Woo Park said.
At the 2018 Auto Expo, Kia
had announced that it planned
to introduce a diverse range of
vehicles in India, including an
India exclusive compact electric
vehicle between 2019 and 2021.
He said Kia Motors already has
some products for hybrid, plug-
in-hybrid, electric vehicle and
fuel cell vehicles which are be-
ing sold globally. "We are ready
to introduce EV car in India but
it depends on infrastructure
and government support policy.
When the market is opportune,
we will introduce the EV anytime
to India," Park said. Hyundai is
gearing up to launch its electric
SUV Kona in India next month.
Park said at present the cost of
EV is very high, especially for the
Indian market and without gov-
ernment support it will be a big
challenge to sell EVs here.
"Last year, FAME II scheme
was announced, supporting
mainly two-wheeler and three-
wheelers...That doesn't include
four wheelers for personal us-
age," he added.MOST ASIAPAC COS SEE MOBILE TECH INVESTMENT
IMPROVE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE: ZEBRA STUDY
Zebra Technologies Corporation has an-
nounced the results of its latest Asia-Pacific
vision study on the Future of Field Operations,
which reveals mobile technology investment
to be a growing priority for up to 60% of Asia-
Pacific organiSations. The findings indicate
that investments will be made in disruptive
technologies and enterprise mobile devices to
enhance front-line worker productivity and cus-
tomer satisfaction in field operations including
fleet management, field services, proof of deliv-
ery and direct store delivery workflows.
“Driven by the acceleration of e-commerce
along with focus within companies on differ-entiating service levels, the field operations
industry is rapidly adapting the way it looks at
its mobile technology investments,” said Tan
Aik Jin, APAC vertical solutions lead, manu-
facturing and transportation & logistics, Ze-
bra Technologies.
“Based on our study, the top three trends
that are driving changes for field operations are
growing expectations of performance and con-
venience from end customers, the replacement
of paper in the field by mobile technology, and
the disruptions to field operations caused by
faster networks,” said Deep Agarwal, regional
sales director of India, Zebra Technologies.The logistics sector is likely to add 1.49 lakh
jobs in the April-September period of this fi-
nancial year mainly triggered by the growing
online seller base in smaller cities, accord-
ing to a report. The TeamLease Services
biannual Employment Outlook report for the
April-September 2019-20 estimated that the
logistic sector will witness a growth of 3%,
adding 1.49 lakh jobs. The report was based
on research done across 19 sectors and 14
geographies, surveying 775 enterprises in In-
dia and 85 businesses across the globe.
"Currently, the logistics sector employsaround 82.4 lakh people as of second half
of 2018-19. The penetration of ecommerce
companies to Tier-II and III cities has created
an increased demand for talent in this sector,"
Teamlease Services head of industrial, manu-
facturing and engg vertical Sudeep Sen said.
The sector is forecast to witness 14.19%
job growth. Railways, waterways, air freight
and warehousing are the areas wherein talent
absorption will be the highest, Sen said.
As per report, with 31,480 new jobs,
Mumbai tops the list of cities with maximum
opportunities for talent in the logistics sector.LOGISTICS SECTOR TO ADD 1.49 LAKH JOBS
IN APR-SEPT, SAYS TEAMLEASE REPORT
The sector is forecast to witness 14.19% job growth.