Last year I made a presentation about doing business with India and highlighted Tamil Nadu as the place to be. I spoke of Chennai as being the Detroit of India…

What a difference a year makes. Here in Chennai, the Auto industry has moved on and using Detroit as shorthand for auto success is about as accurate as comparing the ransacked port of Ancient Carthage with the boxopolis of Shanghai. The Auto industry in the developed world has been challenged but it is not just a shortage of cash.  

The Detroit paradigm has run out of road and India, China and Brasil are transforming the auto industry around a very different logistics eco system of producers large and small; formal and informal players buzzing around target consumers and their needs. The product is affordable and, above all, constantly adapting to local concerns. (more…)