India will take huge leap over China because of its software development st

Deepangshu Dev Sarmah | 30 November, 2009 | 04:56 PM

Harman International, the premium audio and entertainment system makers, and owners of brands such as JBL, AKG, Harman/Kardon and Mark Levinson officially launched the company in India in Bangalore recently. The company, which has been present in the Indian aftermarket through several of its brands including JBL and Infinity, had also set up a R&D Centre in Bangalore last year. Chairman, President and CEO, Dinesh Paliwal recently led a team of senior Harman officials to India, which he says would fast become one of the companyâ??s major development centres outside Germany and the US. Auto Monitor caught up with him to discuss the future business strategies for the Indian market

is strong in India to provide the sales, service and engineering support to their customers. We also have a strong sales network

How much can India contribute to Harman International’s global business?

We don’t have a very ambitious target from the Indian market. In China though, our target is to do a billion dollar in five years. Our target in India is to do one-third or even one-fourth of the Chinese market in as many years. This would primarily come from our automotive and professional businesses.
With India building infrastructure, we expect the growth in the automotive business to be faster. When it comes to emerging market growth, capital is not a concern. We can move in lot of intellectual property and tooling overnight.