Gabriel partners with Inalfa Roof Systems for local sunroof manufacturing at Chennai

Gabriel India, ANAND Group’s flagship company, has signed a Technical Collaboration and Alliance agreement with Inalfa Roof Systems to manufacture sunroofs for the Indian automotive market. Inalfa Roof Systems is a US$1.5 billion Dutch roof systems provider for the automotive and truck industry.

Gabriel India aims to invest Rs 170 crore into the technical collaboration over the next three years, with a revenue potential of Rs 1,000 crore by 2030. The company aims to evolve the alliance -Inalfa Gabriel Sunroof Systems (IGSS) - which will initially be a wholly-owned Gabriel India entity, into a 51:49 JV in the near term, of which 49% shareholding will be with Gabriel and 51% with Inalfa. 

According to Manoj Kolhatkar, Managing Director, Gabriel India, "The penetration of sunroofs is growing in the Indian market, and particularly in the SUV segment, it is as much as 70 percent. This extension of our business is not just a one-off diversification attempt, but a hint at our strategy of venturing into other product categories."

New 200,000 units capacity plan

To start off with, the alliance will aim for localisation of Inalfa's panoramic sunroof, starting Q1 CY24, when Gabriel India will come up with a 175,000-square-feet greenfield facility in Chennai, and commission supplies to Hyundai and Kia from its first assembly line having an installed capacity of 200,000 units. Gabriel India also aims to engage with other OEMs such as Tata Motors, M&M, and Maruti Suzuki, among others, with a focus on being the leading supplier of sunroofs in India, in alignment with the Make-in-India vision, and empower the country's self-reliance in this.  

Gabriel India will localise Inalfa's BLTS - bottom-loaded, tilt and slide, entry-level panoramic sunroof for Hyundai-Kia. It is understood that the product will be supplied to the Hyundai Group companies for their Creta and Seltos SUV models, respectively, on sale in the Indian market.

According to Inalfa Roof Systems, the BLTS has good acceptance around the world and has been developed at its global technical centre in the Netherlands. IGSS is anticipating a 12-15 percent annual growth rate for sunroof systems in India's passenger vehicle market in the coming years, with many PV OEMs already reporting up to 40 percent contribution of sunroof-equipped models to total sales.

"This is a landmark alliance. Globally, Inalfa has a 25 percent market share in the OEM supplies of sunroof systems. The alliance comes at a very auspicious time when the market opportunities are tremendous. This alliance sees Gabriel India diversify into sunroofs, beyond its core area of suspension systems," said Anjali Singh, Chairperson, Anand Group.

"OEMs such as Hyundai, Kia, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, and M&M have expressed a long-standing need for localising sunroofs in India. Gabriel aims to cater to the industry's requirements with this tie-up, which will soon see commissioning of a new plant near Chennai," Singh added. 

Global Roof Systems Supplier

The Netherlands-based Inalfa Roof Systems, which has 15 manufacturing plants and five engineering hubs, has a global technology centre located in the Netherlands. Globally, European and American OEMs, including Ford, General Motors, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are Inalfa's biggest customers.

"We are very excited with this partnership between Inalfa and Gabriel as India is the fastest-growing automotive market in the world. Our technology fits perfectly to the requirements of the market, and we will offer customised solutions in future," said Klaus Billetter, Group Chief Investment Officer, Member of the Board, Inalfa Roof Systems.

As per industry estimates, sunroof penetration in India is likely to grow from 500,000 units in FY23 to 700,000 units in FY24. The sunroof market is anticipated to grow to US$ 13.6 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 9.3  percent between 2010 and 2030.

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