New Delhi: Be cautious the next time you decide to buy a car since it looks like all the attention is focussed on 'Make in India' and not make for India. It has recently come to light that companies use high-end products during manufacturing to foreign nations, but rather inferior quality car body is supplied to the Indian customers.
The car manufacturers in India are using galvanized steel to make the body of cars which are meant for shipment. However, they do not provide same zinc coated steel body to their Indian consumers who also buy premium products manufactured in the country.
“Indian cars which usually use coated steel, give the look and feel of international cars but not all cars provide perforation warranties, which is the right of the customer” said Professor AS Khanna from IIT Mumbai, who has steered a study on corrosion in cars in Mumbai, which proved that out of the 500 odd cars surveyed, four major rusted areas are bonnet, boot, rocker and door panels.
“Zinc coated steel is a solution of this perforation. It is called galvanized steel which primarily has two distinct benefits—first, it protects the steel from corrosive attack acting as a continuous and lasting shield between steel and the atmosphere. Secondly, it acts as a galvanic protector, sacrificing itself slowly in the presence of corrosive agents” said a source of Heavy Industry Ministry on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak media.
Though, despite being aware of these facts Ministry is not issuing any instructions to car manufacturers which have manufacturing unit established in India. Prof Khanna also supported this by saying “Zinc is an amazing corrosion protector because of its sacrificial properties.”
He further said, “Apart from these, use of Galvanized Advanced High Strength Steels helps in the reduction of car body weight, emissions and improves safety performance along with fuel efficiency, which is in line with the requirement of the new age cars for Indian roads.”
Indian car makers use galvanized steel for the body panels, but only for the export models. Galvanized steel has been used for decades across Europe, North America, Japan, and South Korea for body panels. The wide use is mainly owing to the regulatory frameworks in the developed economies.
However “Indian Government is not issuing any such regulatory directions for the benefits of the Indian consumer, reasons best Known to either auto lobby or to the officials who deals with the auto sectors in the Ministry,” said the source from Ministry.
The sixth largest car manufacturer in the world, India is a key market for the automotive sector. Steady economic growth and robust consumption trends make it one of the most attractive regions for auto companies to launch their products and align the designs with international models.
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