The country's largest stainless steel maker Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) will tap the growing business opportunities in the domestic automotive industry, a company official said Wednesday. "The Indian passenger vehicle manufacturing industry became the fourth largest in the world, with sale increasing to 4.02 million units in 2017. Overall, auto sector consumes nearly 2 lakh tonne of stainless steel in a year.

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"The Indian automobile sector is pegged to grow at a rate of 15 per cent per annum, providing enough scope of growth to domestic producers of stainless steel. Jindal Stainless is eyeing the auto sector in a big way. The company plans to triple its supplies towards this segment in the next 5 years," Vijay Sharma, Head Sales, Jindal Stainless said in a statement.

At present, domestic automotive sector's 60 per cent demand of stainless steel is met through JSL, Sharma added. The company supplies stainless steel to major auto players like Honda Group, Yamaha, Bajaj, Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Toyota and others.

According to the 2020 BSVI norms, stainless steel is the most preferred metal for exhausts. It is the ideal metal for meeting the demands of the automotive industry given its resistance to heat, pressure, and ageing, Sharma said.

"The aesthetic appeal of stainless steel is another added advantage. The high strength-to-weight ratio and improved slide-ability, higher weldability, and corrosion resistance, even in wet abrasive applications, make it an optimum choice for usage in this sector. It is used in vital components such as vehicle exhaust, disk brakes, catalytic converters and specialised parts of diesel turbochargers," he said.

Besides, Sharma said, there is a opportunity for stainless steel in fuel tanks and bus bodies. It is best for bus body frames and panels.

Jindal Stainless has successfully developed and deployed stainless steel fuel tanks for commercial vehicles. The metal is fire resistance, light weight and cost effective, and due to these qualities it also helps in saving fuel cost. 

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All major global bus body manufacturers such as Volvo, Scania, Optare trust stainless steel, primarily to reduce weight and prolong battery life, he added.