Blaupunkt re-starts India innings with a JV

German car multimedia maker charts comeback plan in India, similar to the one it did in China last year. We meet Blaupunkt's global CEO, Dr Lars Placke.

After disappearing from the shelves of retail car accessory shops in 2009, when Robert Bosch GmbH sold off its Blaupunkt arm to Aurelius, another German firm, the car multimedia manufacturer, is now back. It has entered into a joint venture with its longstanding Indian distributor, the Mumbai-based Auto Sonics which is co-promoted by PankajJagwani and Rahul Devjani.

The Indian partner has been associated with Blaupunkt since the German brand’s entry into India in 1999. India and China are the only markets where Blaupunkt has followed this model so far. The Blaupunkt Global Brand Community was the cornerstone laid to tap into new markets and to expand the existing product portfolio. Last year, Blaupunkt signed a JV with its Chinese partners – Y&Y Electronics and Dr Michael Xu. But unlike in China where it holds a 50 percent stake, Blaupunkt owns a majority stake in the Indian JV. This calendar 2012 is set to be the first full year of operations since the multiple restructuring in Blaupunkt. After being carved out of Bosch, Blaupunkt sold off its antenna business to the Kathrein Group. This was followed by the acquisition of KWest – an R&D centre specialising in embedded software. With the joint venture in place, Dr Placke and the Indian company are busy negotiating deals. “Even though we went off retail shelves, we continue to be present in the OEM space,” says Dr Placke. “Little over 50 percent” of Blaupunkt’s total business comes from OE customers. Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are its two major Indian customers. It also caters to and is negotiating for business with some other OEMs like General Motors India, Hyundai and Volkswagen. Blaupunkt India’s immediate priority is to expand its sales set-up. “The second step of the JV could well be setting up an assembly/production base, Dr Placke told Autocar Professional in an exclusive interview.

New platforms

Post-restructuring, Blaupunkt is working on introducing new platforms and products. A key introduction will be a space-saving cost effective car radio with integrated speakers. It will be seen in a new model made by an Indian OEM. Last year, Blaupunkt re-introduced headphones in the market globally. Incidentally, Blaupunkt started its business with the headphone way back in 1923.

Currently, Blaupunkt has four main platforms for products in the areas of connectivity, amplifier, radio, entry-level and high-end multimedia. “We will invent and invest in new platforms,” says Dr Placke. He has to as Blaupunkt plans to compete with Bosch in the high-end multimedia space. Bosch had retained that part of the car multimedia business while divesting Blaupunkt. Out of the 500 people at Blaupunkt, 196 are working on new projects.

Blaupunkt has its sole R&D centre in Germany and it has a production base is in Malaysia. India could be next, given its business potential. At the time of going to press, Blaupunkt was getting ready to inaugurate a bigger production facility in Malaysia.

Brand extension

Blaupunkt is popular in the car multimedia space. But few know that it also has a sunfilm business. Interestingly, this business was started in India. Blaupunkt India says it has got a good response in its many markets, with home market Mumbai as the most successful one. Interestingly, Blaupunktsunfilms are now exported to markets like Italy, Australia, South Africa and South America. In some European markets, Blaupunkt is also a brand for consumer electronics products like home audio, TV, AC and solar products. Will that be seen in India? It is unlikely that Blaupunkt may try it here anytime soon.

Even as Blaupunkt is working on enhancing its capabilities in products for the auto space, it is also working on expanding its presence in the industrial equipment market. Blaupunkt is a Tier 2 supplier for industrial audio. It supplies to customers who provide audio solutions in places like airports and railway stations. New speakers are being developed for industrial applications. At present, 10-12 percent of Blaupunkt’s business comes from such products.

Blaupunkt is far from

the level of business it enjoyed when it was carved out of Bosch. With new steps such as the Indian joint venture and the new Malaysian plant, plans are in place for a leap forward. With a lean organisation, DrPlacke is confident that his company can better cater to relatively smaller OEMs too while offering a faster turnaround time. With Blaupunkt beginning a new India innings, the challenge is to impress enough customers by offering products that will be like music to the ears.

SUMANTRA BAROOAH