Brose India exploring foray into motors and electronics for electric two-wheelers

The company has already showcased its motor and electronics to three OEMs in India, and is in advanced talks with one of them for developing e-bikes.

By Nilesh Wadhwa

26 Feb 2020

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The global development and IT service center is located in the new Brose administration building.

Brose produces window regulators, side door latches, door modules and seat height adjusters in Pune. The new manufacturing building alone is three times larger than the previous facility

480 employees currently work at the new Brose location in Pune in development, production and administration.

Bhalchandra Kulkarni (Brose Plant Manager Pune), Ulrich Schrickel (CEO Brose Group), Vasanth Kamath (President Brose India), Dr. Jürgen Morhard (Consul General of The Federal Republic of Germany, Mumbai) and Bernhard Steinrücke (Director General Indo-German Chamber of Commerce) at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Brose location in Pune.

Ulrich Schrickel, CEO, Brose Group: “This investment is not only a commitment to the Indian market; it is also a strategic move for the Brose Group.”

Automotive mechatronics supplier Brose India is exploring a foray into motors and electronics for electric scooters and motorcycles and plans to invest 17 million euros (Rs 132.67 crore) over the next 5 years. The company has already showcased its motor and electronics to three OEMs in India, and is in advanced "concrete" talks with one of them to begin supply.

The company opened its new campus in Hinjewadi, Pune recently. This has a footprint of around 175,000 square feet and is home to 480 employees. Brose is investing 3.2 million euros (Rs 24.97 crore) in a new building as its HQ, development and IT centre as well as the manufacturing plant.

Speaking on these investment plans, Ulrich Schrickel, CEO, Brose Group said, “This investment is not only a commitment to the Indian market; it is also a strategic move for the Brose Group. To improve competitiveness and efficiency we are further expanding the global engineering and IT service center in Pune and shortening the paths between development and manufacturing. Speed is a success factor for our company. The market trends in the global automotive business rely on extremely fast and consequent results.”

The company plans to develop twice as fast as the domestic market with an average growth rate of 20 percent per year until 2025. Vasanth Kamath, President, Brose India elaborated that, “The current plan is to grow to around 500 employees in total. They will work on cost-effective products for the domestic market and also support other Brose locations in these areas.

The new manufacturing building alone is three times larger than the previous facility. Kamath pointed out that, “Today we can proudly call ourselves the only supplier of door modules in India. However, our long-term goal is to deliver the entire Brose product portfolio of door systems, seat structures and electric drives to the Indian market.”

Brose aims to enhance more of its products with sensor technology and software solutions. This will enable the automotive supplier to create completely new mobility experiences and more incentives to buy. Schrickel added that “ With our competence in the integration of electronics, sensor technology and software into intelligent products Brose is actively shaping the future of mobility.”