Tenneco Bets on India as Fastest‑Growing, Most Profitable Mega Region

India is emerging as a key growth and technology hub for Tenneco, with the US-based auto component maker betting on strong domestic demand, rising export opportunities and deeper localisation to scale its business in the country. The company expects India’s contribution to its global business to rise over the next few years, supported by faster growth than several other regions. At present, India contributes around 5-7% of the company’s global revenue, but this could move closer to 10% in the coming years as domestic volumes, export orders and content per vehicle improve further.

“India has been earmarked as the fastest growing mega region for Tenneco. Also the most profitable one,” said Arvind Chandra, CEO of Tenneco Clean Air India Ltd. In the first nine months of FY26, Tenneco India reported value-added revenue of about ₹3,512.2 crore, up 10% year-on-year, and profit after tax of ₹437.6 crore. Its EBITDA margin stood at 19%.

Chandra said Tenneco India’s role has been expanded from serving the domestic market to supporting global demand. The India unit has been designated as an export hub, giving it a larger role in the company’s future growth strategy. Exports currently account for about 5-7% of Tenneco India’s sales, but the company expects this share to move towards 20% in the coming years, led by both clean air and suspension businesses.

The export order book is already improving, helped by India’s cost competitiveness and rupee depreciation. “The weaker rupee makes us more competitive. That is one of the reasons why our export order book is improving,” he said. Recent trade agreements between India and developed markets such as the UK, EU, US and other countries are expected to further support exports.

Tenneco India currently operates across two broad segments: Clean Air and Powertrain Solutions, and Advanced Ride Technologies. Clean air contributes slightly more than half of the business, while ride technology accounts for the balance. The company expects export opportunities to grow across both clean air and advanced ride technology businesses. Its clean air portfolio benefits from India’s tighter emission regulations, which are now closer to global standards.

This allows India-made products to serve both domestic and overseas markets. The company also sees potential for exports from its suspension business, particularly if its DaVinci DCx platform gains traction outside India. “Now that it’s successful in India, even China is looking at it, Europe is looking at it,” Chandra said.

The strongest near-term growth trigger for Tenneco India is its DaVinci DCx suspension technology, which was first introduced on Mahindra & Mahindra’s XUV 7XO. Unlike semi-active or fully active electronic suspension systems, DaVinci DCx uses mechanical architecture to deliver adaptive damping. It uses specially engineered discs or shim stacks, that regulate hydraulic flow depending on road impact frequency. This allows the system to improve ride comfort without relying on sensors, motors, electronic control units or complex software. It gives a large part of the comfort benefit of more expensive electronic systems, but at a much lower cost.

The cost advantage could make DaVinci DCx relevant for a large part of the Indian passenger vehicle market, especially vehicles priced between ₹4 lakh and ₹30 lakh. The company also sees potential for similar technology in commercial vehicles. The company gets about 53% of its revenue from clean air and 47% ride tech. The mix could move towards ride technologies over time, as growth in the clean air business could moderate compared to the sharp jump seen during the BS4-to-BS6 transition.

The sharp increase in interest for DaVinci DCx is likely to require additional capacity. Tenneco is evaluating a new plant, potentially in south or west India, depending on where customer demand comes from. He said the new facility, its 13th, could be a leased greenfield plant rather than a land-owned unit, as this allows faster commissioning. Tenneco has earlier used this model to set up facilities quickly.

Localisation is another major priority for Tenneco India. The company has already achieved about 90% localisation across its existing India operations. However, newer technologies still have much lower localisation levels because several components are imported, Chandra said. The company is navigating fresh cost pressures from the West Asia conflict. “Right now supplies are coming in. We don’t have a supply problem. We have a cost problem,” Chandra said.