Blaupunkt re-starts India innings with a JV

May 9, 2012: After disappearing from the shelves of retail car accessory shops in 2009, when Robert Bosch GmbH sold off its Blaupunkt arm to Aurelius, another German firm, the car multimedia manufacturer is back. It has entered into a joint venture (JV) with its longstanding Indian distributor, the Mumbai-based Auto Sonics. Blaupunkt will hold the majority share in the JV. An official announcement is expected to be made by the company on Thursday (May 10).

The Indian partner has been associated with Blaupunkt since the German brand’s entry into India in 1999. India and China are the only markets where Blaupunkt has followed this model so far. Last year, Blaupunkt signed a JV with its Chinese partners -- Y&Y Electronics and Dr Michael Xu. But unlike in China where it holds a 50 percent stake, Blaupunkt owns a majority stake in the Indian JV.

2012 is set to be the first full year of operations since the multiple restructuring in Blaupunkt. After being carved out of Bosch, Blaupunkt sold off its antenna business to the Kathrein Group. This was followed by the acquisition of KWest – an R&D centre specialising in embedded software.

With the JV in place, Dr Lars Placke, Blaupunkt’s global CEO (pictured), and the Indian company are busy negotiating deals. “Even though we went off retail shelves, we continue to be present in the OEM space,” says Dr Placke. “Little over 50 percent” of Blaupunkt’s total business comes from OE customers. Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are its two major Indian customers. It also caters to and is negotiating for business with some other OEMs like General Motors India, Hyundai and Volkswagen. Blaupunkt India’s immediate priority is to expand its sales set-up. “The second step of the JV could well be setting up an assembly/production base,” Dr Placke told Autocar Professional in an exclusive interview.

(The full story appears in the May 15 issue of Autocar Professional)