Tenneco’s PV Suspension Share Grew from 48% to 55% in Eight Months: Arvind Chandra

Tenneco has expanded its share of India’s passenger vehicle suspension market from 48% to 55% in just eight months, driven by growing adoption of its Da Vinci suspension technology, new OEM programme wins, and increasing demand for premium ride quality, according to Arvind Chandra, Whole-time Director and CEO of Tenneco Clean Air India.

The Tier-1 supplier now commands a 55% share of the passenger vehicle shock absorber and strut market, meaning more than one in every two passenger vehicles sold in India uses a Tenneco suspension system.

What's Driving Tenneco's Market Share Growth in India

“We can now probably say that more than one in two cars in India has a Tenneco shock absorber,” Chandra told Autocar Professional. “Going from 48% to 55% in just eight months is crazy. In this industry, if you gain even one percentage point of market share, you normally do it over three years.”

According to Chandra, three factors have driven the company’s growth: higher content per vehicle, increasing exports, and market share gains from competitors.

Da Vinci Suspension: From One OEM to Industry-Wide Adoption

A major contributor has been the rapid acceptance of Tenneco’s Da Vinci mechanical suspension technology, which was first introduced with a single OEM before gaining wider industry interest.

“We started with one very strong disruptive OEM. After the first application became so successful, other Indian OEMs joined the fray, and overseas OEMs too. It has become like a FOMO situation,” he said.

While declining to identify the manufacturers, Chandra said Tenneco has secured additional applications with existing customers while also winning programmes from new Indian and overseas automakers.

New DCx32 Variant to Target A and B-Segment Cars

The company is now preparing to bring the technology to more affordable vehicles.

“We have now created a new Da Vinci for the low A and B segment. We are trying to make it standard across the entire Indian passenger vehicle market,” he said.

The new DCx32 variant has been developed specifically for A and B-segment passenger vehicles, allowing the company to significantly expand its addressable market.

Why Ride Quality Is the New Battleground for Indian Automakers

Chandra said suspension has become the next major area of differentiation for automakers as traditional differentiators such as infotainment, panoramic sunroofs, and ADAS become increasingly common.

“They’re not talking about sunroofs anymore. They’re not talking about ADAS anymore. They’re talking about ride quality,” he said.

He attributed the shift to rising consumer expectations, increasing disposable incomes, and growing competitive pressure from Chinese automakers.

“Chinese OEMs have the latest suspension technology. Indian OEMs know they have to differentiate, and ride quality has become one of the ways to do that,” he said.

Alongside premiumisation, Tenneco’s export growth and increasing technology content per vehicle have also helped the company outpace the broader market. The company’s Advanced Ride Technologies business grew 27.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of FY2027, helping drive overall value-added revenue growth of 18.4%.