By Sambuddha Sengupta

In what is likely to come as a major boost to the SME-dominated Indian auto component sector, Slovenia has invited Indian auto component companies to invest in the European country. This was said by Janez Premoze, the Slovenian ambassador to India, while speaking to media persons.

The ambassador added that Slovenia is also open to transferring engineering technologies to Indian corporates. It is expected that such initiatives would increase bilateral trade between the two countries.

Statistics show that India and Slovenia have done a trade of around 191 million euros from January to September 2011. During this period, Slovenia has exported goods worth around 60 million euros to India and imported goods worth nearly 131 million euros from India. 

Welcoming Slovenia’s offers to the Indian auto component sector, Ashwani Jotshi, regional secretary (West India) of Automotive Component Manufacturers’ Association of India, said “Trading of technology can be of great use for the Indian auto component sector. Introduction of any kind of technology is always welcome. The Indian auto industry is in need for newer innovation every day. With more and more companies and their products coming into the market, technologies that are both advanced and time saving are much in demand.”   

Benefits
Investing in Slovenia can prove beneficial in many ways for SMEs in the Indian auto component sector. Sectoral players will be able to expand their business horizon at a time when demand slowdown in the global scenario is hurting most industries. Besides, Slovenia will offer easier access to European markets for Indian firms, according to the ambassador. 

Also, rising auto component prices have resulted in sluggish growth in auto sales in India, which in turn has reduced demand for auto components in the domestic market. Therefore, venturing in foreign territories would be apt in the present scenario for Indian auto component players.