India’s Tata Group is planning a foray into semiconductor manufacturing as the coffee-to-cars conglomerate seeks to mitigate the pain from the global chip crisis as well as reduce dependence on imports.
Besides making chips, plans to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles will also be announced soon, N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, the group’s main holding company, said at an event in Mumbai on Friday.
Mr Chandrasekaran had spoken about evaluating partnerships for cell and battery manufacturing in India and Europe in Tata Motors' annual report in June.
The initiatives by the $103 billion Tata Group are aligned to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attempts to make India a leader in semiconductor production and reduce its reliance on imports amid global chain disruptions.
Several international chip giants including Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing are exploring India as a potential manufacturing base, the nation’s Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.
Car makers around the globe are grappling with a semiconductor shortage, exacerbated by pandemic lockdowns in China, which have hobbled the car and the electronics sector by raising input costs for makers.
“Supply chain is getting very precarious and uncertain,” Shailesh Chandra, managing director at Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, said in an interview on Friday.
Lockdowns in China have worsened the visibility of semiconductors and the logistics have become the next challenge for Tata Motors given the lack of availability of containers, he said.
To mitigate the semiconductor crunch, Tata Motors is going for premium freight, finding alternatives for chips and buying them from the open market, Mr Chandra said.
He expects the shortage to persist for six months at least and sees the fourth quarter being more uncertain than the previous year.
The impact of the chip shortage is more “acute” in electric vehicles than petrol models, Mr Chandra said. The waiting period for electric vehicles at Tata Motors could be as much as six months, compared with four months for cars with internal combustion engines, he said.
Volvo Car has said it would have a hard time meeting its production forecast for this year due to issues procuring a specific type of semiconductor, while Renault earlier this month halted production of its new electric vehicle because of a lack of components.
Tata’s foray into semiconductor making will also help its group firm, Tata Motors, which makes the iconic Jaguar Land Rover brands and has suffered due to these shortages.
Tata Motors, which has a 70 per cent share of India’s nascent electric car market, also announced plans to launch its first ever pure electric car by 2025. The five-seater Avinya will have no petrol variants, Mr Chandra told reporters.
The company currently sells two battery-powered models, the Nexon EV and Tigor EV, but these cars also have variants that run on fossil fuels.
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Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
FIGHT CARD
From 5.30pm in the following order:
Featherweight
Marcelo Pontes (BRA) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) v Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Welterweight
Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR) v Gimbat Ismailov (RUS)
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) v Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (BEL) v Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
Catchweight 100kg
Mohamed Ali (EGY) v Marc Vleiger (NED)
Featherweight
James Bishop (AUS) v Mark Valerio (PHI)
Welterweight
Gerson Carvalho (BRA) v Abdelghani Saber (EGY)
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) v Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Bantamweight:
Fabio Mello (BRA) v Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magemedsultanov (RUS)
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) v Jayson Margallo (PHI)
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Roman Golovinov (UKR)
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
