Why is it so hard to design and build an indigenous engine

Bajaj leans heavily on its partners like KTM and Triumph. Mahindra and Tata Motors both use licensed engines or have their own designs built with AVL / Bosch-Mahle or Honeywell.

BHPian greenhorn recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I was reading about the new light combat tank here, and after a bit of digging, I noticed that the engine is a Cummins. I noticed that we have a general trend that despite making giant strides in vehicle design, us Indians are still stuck with foreign engines - this is everywhere.

• Two wheelers - Bajaj leans heavily on its partners like KTM and Triumph.
• Hero works with AVL
• TVS seems to be the exception

• Four wheelers - Mahindra and Tata both use Licensed engines or have their own designs built with AVL/Bosch-Mahle or Honeywell
• Locomotives - Diesel engines are Licensed

At least within the private sector, why is it so hard to build a decent engine? The tech has been around for a while. The Japanese were able to figure it out decades ago, and nowadays with most global manufacturers chasing EVs, there should be surplus talent on ICE available, especially ripe for reverse brain drain.

While semiconductor manufacturing may be a very aggressive target, this is something that, superficially looks doable. I recognize I have very little expertise in this area, but I am curious to understand the facts that are holding us back.

Here's what BHPian HillMan had to say about the matter:

I will differ here. Our Indian manufacturers have grown up and building their own engines. They do need to work with companies like AVL as they have time-tested advanced simulation environments. This software expertise is needed to bring down the testing time.

This does not mean they get credit for developing or patenting the designs.

Bosch builds electronics which are used by literally every manufacturer. These devices can be built by others, but Bosch has proven reliability over the years. It is best to use the product from their factory.

This is a global collaboration. Not that the technology is not known, it is just some companies are better at what they do and have evolved their manufacturing process to the point that they are most value for money. No one wants to reinvent the wheels here.

Now Tata Power builds super fast chargers for MG Motors and battery packs sourced from Tata for Commet EV. So it is collaboration.

Here's what BHPian GutsyGibbon had to say about the matter:

I think you are equating the home country of the brand with the country where the tech is created. While I worked at Bosch in the 90s, we very much worked on key logical modules in the ECUs including Diesel injection. Lot of my colleagues from Bosch went to lead R&D units of other German companies in India. Manu Saale left Bosch and is now the CEO of Mercedes Benz Research and Development. Contributions of such people/teams and the overall R&D investment in India have been huge.

Now for an Indian brand to not license any working tech and invent everything from scratch by tapping away talent from employers like Mercedes R&D is going to be a huge investment. For Manu Saale to quit Mercedes and work for Mahindra, it would have to be a very sweet deal. He is not going to do it for misplaced/namesake patriotism.

Here's what BHPian SmartCat had to say about the matter:

Some specialist companies like MTU, Cummins etc have decades of experience in engine development for heavy or military vehicles. So their engines offer the best balance between cost, power & fuel economy.

An indigenous engine developed in India might lose out on one of these 3 parameters. But BEML is developing an indigenous 1500 HP engine for military vehicles though. It is unlikely to be the "best", but its own engine is needed from a self-sufficiency point of view. So some compromises will be made here.

Tata/Mahindra/Bajaj/Hero/Royal Enfield/TVS etc leaning on specialist firms is a no-brainer because such firms spend a significant amount of R&D on engine development. After all, it is their only business. So for a relatively small fee, Indian companies will get access to the best ICE technology. They can then focus on what really matters for Tata/Mahindra/Bajaj - which is overall product development.

By the way, we see this specialization phenomenon more prominently in aircraft engines. Whether it is Boeing or Airbus or Embraer or COMAC, all of them use engines from one of these companies:

• General Electric
• Rolls Royce
• Pratt & Whitney
• CFM

Russians use their own engines for their passenger aircraft, but their efficiency is poor. Now it is not that Boeing cannot build an aircraft engine on their own. But it will never match the balance between cost (R&D + manufacturing), performance, reliability & fuel economy of the latest engines from specialists. Boeing would rather focus on other important matters like cutting corners in the development of a new variant of an old aircraft.

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