Automotive

The Team

The Team is an amalgamation of domain specialised lawyers who are dedicated to handle issues arising in the automotive sector in India. The firm frequently advises on regulatory, policy & legislation and also handles contentious disputes leading to litigation and arbitration. The automotive team spread across offices in New Delhi and Mumbai provide regular support in coordination with the Mergers & Acquisition,Consumer, Dispute Resolution, Regulatory & Public Policy, Labour & Employment, Intellectual Property, Tax Law and other teams across various offices to provide transactional, advisory and litigation services.

Our Practice

The automotive sector is primarily regulated by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India where mayrid legislations, rules, regulations and standards are formulated. The changes in the automotive pollution norms formulated by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India and the transition poses a challenge to the sector.
Further, recent ventures and collaborations would lead to questions as to antitrust, the introduction of the vehicle recall policy raising questions on product liability and class action claims against the automotive companies.

Changes in the consumer protection law remains cause for concern. Other areas highlighted are Labour and employment legislation with introduction of the Labour Code .

The auto parts and component manufacturers as well automotive ancillaries sector forms a large part of the automotive umbrella, with MSMEs(Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) playing a pivotal role in the sector. Special legislation including Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 providing for specific compliances and regulations relating to MSMEs.

The sector is regulated by multiple laws, industrial development, land acquisition and requisition, environmental compliances and approvals, labour and employment, automotive emission and safety standards, Transfer pricing, Customs duty etc.

The sector is likely to lead in overall growth with increase in demand of vehicles, the introduction of alternate fuel vehicles as well as hybrid and electric vehicles in both two wheelers and four wheelers will lead to change in dynamics of the sector and likely to see introduction of relations around operation of autonomous vehicles.