By Rui Hu, Video by Yiling Wang, iChongqing News

On May 15, 2019, iChongqing conducted an exclusive interview with Vivek Chaand Sehgal at Asia300 Global Business Forum Chongqing Summit (Asia300) in the Yuelai International Convention Center. It is Vivek Chaand Sehgal's, the founder and chairman of Samvardhana Motherson Group (India),  Second time to join Asia300 as a guest speaker. He will give a presentation on the Samvardhana Motherson Group (SMG) in the forum on May 16. We learned that he owns a giant automobile empire that covers 41 countries with 135,000 employees. With Motherson Group's large scale operation, he aims to solve customers` problems locally in a worldwide way.

Before the interview, Mr. Sehgal had been visiting his employees at a Chongqing factory. He said that it is his first time to come to Chongqing, and he is impressed by the city`s beauty. He also hopes for more cooperation possibilities with Chongqing in the future.

SMG has 24 factories in China

Mr. Sehgal indicated that he doesn`t want to make things complicated by transporting his products from one place to another, as a result, he started automobile factories all over the world. “We are a 99% percent automobile company and only focus on this industry”, Mr. Sehgal said, “as you mentioned, we aim to make SMG a globally preferred solution provider” he added. According to Mr. Sehgal, there are 24 factories belonging to SMG in China, 20 are in production, 4 more plants will be operational soon.

When asked about the worldwide declining vehicle sales in recent years, and how SMG would react, Mr. Sehgal agreed that the slowdown in global economic growth does have an impact on SMG as an auto parts supplier. Every country is struggling with this challenge, but as an auto parts supplier, the only preparation he can make is to simplify the problem: open a plant, boost employment, and serve the customers. SMG covers 9 auto parts with about 2000 products in order to satisfied diversity of customers worldwide.

Simplified the problems

Mr. Sehgal said that he is not on the political level to talk about the global situation, therefore, he concentrates on solving the challenges of the industry in a fundamental way. When talking about whether the new energy and hybrid vehicles would be the leading products in the future, Mr. Sehgal said the electronic car was invented in 1931, it is nothing new. However, if customers need it, SMG will comply to best meet market needs.

 

Did you know that:

• Vivek Chaand Sehgal chairs the $10.5 billion (revenue) Samavardhan Motherson Group, which was set up in 1975. 
• Sehgal draws the biggest chunk of his wealth from a one-third stake in flagship Motherson Sumi Systems, India's largest auto components maker.
• The company, which has Japan's Sumitomo Wiring Systems as a partner, has 250 factories with operations in 41 countries.
• Its clients include Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Ford and Toyota. (Forbes, 2019)