The automotive component industry is an important sector of the Indian economy and a major foreign exchange earner for the country. There are around 400 major players in the auto component sector. Most of them are distributed in the north, south, and, western parts of India around major Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers (AVMs). These AVMs contributed largely towards the development of component suppliers through technical and or financial collaborations.

The automotive component industry manufactures a wide range of parts including castings, forgings, finished, semi-finished components, assemblies, and subassemblies for all types of vehicles produced in India.

Presently, the Indian automotive component industry is highly fragmented. This industry can be divided into the organized and the unorganized categories of manufacturers. The organized component manufacturers supply components to at least one of the Original Equipment (OE) vehicle manufacturers. They also have access to technology due to their tie-ups with some of the foreign collaborators or through associate AVM. The unorganized sector predominantly caters to the

The OE market is predominantly catered to by the organized sector. The 400 odd organized producers contribute around 80 percent to this market. Presently, these manufacturers have grown in size and numbers beyond the control of OE manufacturers. They control about 65 percent of the aftermarket

There are 402 medium and large key players in auto components in the organized sector along with 6000 ancillary units. However in the unorganized sector there are approximately 5000 SSIs. The direct employment generated by the medium and large firms in the organized sector is 2,50,000. No figures are available for unorganized sector.

The geographical spread of medium and large companies as per records of Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) is as under

Tamilnadu current annual output in the automotive sector is estimated to be $3-3.5 billion with an estimated share of 25 per cent in the Indian automotive Industry and its contribution to the State's Gross State Domestic Product is 7-8 per cent. Tamilnadu's auto components sector constitutes 35 per cent of India's auto component production that is produced in units situated in Chennai. The Tamilnadu State government plans to transform the state into one of the top three manufacturing hubs for automotive and auto ancillary in Asia by 2015.

There are 107 key players in Tamilnadu's Auto Component Industry with an investment of about Rs.36000 million ($ 800 million). The output is US $ 1,2 billion out of which the exports are US $ 140 million. The auto component industry in Tamilnadu provides employment to about 45,000 people. More than 50% of the companies are ISO certified while 26% are QS certified.

The Key OEM customers of auto component industry in Tamilnadu are GM, Ford, Daimler Chrysler, BMW, Volvo, Nissan, Piaggio and New Holland.

Kerala, however, is not having a very well developed auto components industry.