Ninan Philip, Director, Sales & Marketing, SPAL Automotive Technology India Pvt. Ltd
SPAL Automotive Technology India Pvt. Ltd. reinforced its commitment to India’s growing commercial vehicle and electric mobility sectors at Prawaas 5.0, showcasing a comprehensive portfolio of thermal management solutions tailored for different bus applications. The company highlighted its range of cooling fans, blowers, coolant pumps and next-generation high-voltage fans, while emphasizing its plans for localization and readiness to support the country’s transition towards electrification.
Participating in Prawaas for the third consecutive edition, SPAL used the platform to engage with OEMs, HVAC integrators, thermal system suppliers and fleet stakeholders. The company displayed application-specific cooling solutions designed to meet the varying operational requirements of school buses, staff buses, sleeper coaches and electric buses.
SPAL’s portfolio addresses diverse operating conditions across bus applications. For school and staff buses operating limited hours each day, the company offers long-life brushed fans with a service life of around 10,000 hours. Sleeper coaches, which typically operate for much longer durations, are served by a 20,000-hour Very Long Life (VLL) brushed fan that delivers higher durability while remaining more cost-effective than brushless alternatives. For electric buses, SPAL supplies brushless BLDC fans capable of delivering up to 40,000 hours of operational life.
The company also highlighted its dominant position in India’s electric bus market, supplying cooling solutions for HVAC, battery thermal management systems (BTMS) and traction cooling systems. Alongside its extensive fan portfolio, SPAL displayed Cooling pump with sealed Brushless Motor (resistant to Corrosion & Water -IP68/IP6K9K) has a vital role in keeping vehicles’ temperature under control. SPAL is offering to Indian market the Coolant pumps with 300W and 650W variants capable of delivering flow rates of 120 litres per minute and 200 litres per minute respectively.
“Our brushless fans have become the preferred choice for electric buses because they offer longer life and higher efficiency. Along with these, our coolant pumps play a critical role in battery thermal management and traction cooling, where reliability and durability are essential,” said Ninan Philip, Director, Sales & Marketing, SPAL Automotive Technology India Pvt. Ltd.
A major highlight at the exhibition was SPAL’s development of 600V-800V high-voltage cooling fans to respond to the growing demand for greater energy efficiency in electric vehicles while it eliminate the need for DC-DC converters by operating directly from high-voltage battery systems.
As India’s electric mobility ecosystem expands, SPAL sees significant opportunities beyond buses. While acknowledging that electric bus adoption has not yet matched the pace envisioned by government targets, Philip believes strong policy support, including initiatives aimed at deploying tens of thousands of electric buses, will continue driving long-term growth.
The company is also witnessing faster-than-expected electrification in trucks, particularly in mining, industrial logistics and off-highway applications, where battery cooling, motor cooling and oil cooling systems are becoming increasingly important.
“Government policies are creating long-term opportunities for electrification. While the pace may not yet match the larger vision, SPAL is fully prepared to support the market. Beyond buses, we see tremendous growth potential in electric trucks and off-highway vehicles as well,” he stated.
To strengthen its presence in India, SPAL has initiated a phased localization strategy. The company has already begun assembling its VLL brushed fans locally, while motors continue to be sourced from Italy. Local operations include injection moulding, assembly, balancing, testing and validation. As market demand grows, SPAL plans to extend localization to brushless products as well in future.
Reflecting on the exhibition, Philip described Prawaas as India’s answer to the Busworld Europe, providing an ideal platform to interact with OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers while demonstrating the breadth of SPAL’s thermal management portfolio.
