Some of the brightest minds in Automotive innovation visited Delhi in January as part of the UK presence at Auto Expo 2010. Advantage West Midlands headed up a delegation of industry experts and business leaders to showcase the region’s expertise to Indian automotive companies.
The West Midlands region has strong ties with India’s automotive industry, with around 35 Indian owned companies with operations in the region. Among them are big names such as Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Aditya Birla (Hindalco), as well as major Indian banks.
Given the region’s access to skills, talent and ingenuity, the Advantage West Midlands’ inward investment team is keen to build on this level of investment and further cement the West Midlands as being at the forefront of the UK’s automotive industry.
The team shared this message with Indian firms through a dedicated stand at Auto Expo as well as with a ‘Heart of England Low Carbon Vehicle Technology’ event hosted at the Taj Palace hotel, featuring presentations from Sir Andrew Cahn, Chief Executive, UK Trade and Investment and Richard Hutchins, Deputy Chief Executive of Advantage West Midlands, together with key Low Carbon Vehicle technology providers from the region. The successful event attracted over 60 attendees from Indian companies.
David Fisken, International Business Manager at Advantage West Midlands said: “We have had a proactive full-time inward investment representation in Mumbai since 2003, which we were able to successfully leverage, as well as work with our partners at UK Trade and Investment and Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers (SIAM), Automotive Components Manufacturing Association of India (ACMA) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), to facilitate networking opportunities during Auto Expo 2010. These discussions showed that there is a clear purchasing appetite for the UK’s smart technologies, so it was extremely valuable that we were able to talk face to face to a range of Indian automotive firms about our leadership in ultra low carbon vehicles, as well as put our regional strengths in context - that 33 per cent of the UK’s car production takes place within a 16 mile radius of Birmingham city centre and more than 60 per cent of the UK’s automotive R&D takes place in the West Midlands.”
The inward investment team has planned a follow-up trip to India this Summer, which will take the form of a national roadshow, stopping to meet with contacts in key locations including Delhi, Chennai and Pune. The team will again be discussing the region’s impressive automotive credentials, such as the Low Carbon Vehicle Technology Project, as well as highlighting a range of other benefits for potential investors.
The inward investment package that Advantage West Midlands offers to business is comprehensive, not only covering access to available grants and incentives from local and national government bodies, but also a range of free and confidential professional services such as land and commercial property searches and introductions to finance and technology providers.