Lumax Turns Towards China for Technology, Collaborations

Lumax Auto Technologies Ltd. is turning toward China for technical collaborations and tap advanced New Energy Vehicle know‑how as it readies proof‑of‑concepts for Indian conditions and weighs selective on‑ground presence in the mainland. 

“One clear shift we are seeing is China emerging as a clear winner… These technologies are very, very competitively positioned in the Chinese market, and they are working on the next level of technologies,” said Managing Director Anmol Jain.  The calculus is straightforward: China’s NEV share has crossed the halfway mark in recent months, concentrating scale, cost and learning effects that now radiate across global supply chains.

Elaborating it further during a post result conference call Jain noted that largely, one  sees that the interior space, premiumization trends, technology trends in China are way more advanced than today what India sees today.

He added that the company  would be definitely putting in the resources in China to try and get these technology trends into India at a competitive price point. "We are also establishing a local engineering, sourcing and development capability in China in this fiscal year for benchmarking of new trends and technologies and gain real-time access to information from the Chinese industry," he remarked during the call. 

Board approval this month to set up a branch office in China formalizes that eastward gaze, signaling intent to build a pipeline of collaborations rather than a one‑off bet. Earlier, group entities had already tested the channel with a China MoU around EV motors/controllers, providing a template for component‑level co‑development and localization. 

"We want to position Lumax Technologies moving up the ladder from a tier one to a tier 0.5". " And we wish to then further integrate a lot of the different technologies and products so that the customer should start looking at us as a system aggregator and an integrated solutions provider, rather than me selling, you know, different, different products from different, different entities" Jain added. 

Why China

China’s NEV retail share hit 52.7% in June 2025, with year‑to‑date penetration hovering around the 50% mark, evidence that the next wave of automotive innovation is clustering where electric demand, pricing pressure and iteration cycles are fastest. Price wars and a flood of new models are compressing costs and accelerating diffusion of technologies such as e‑axles, inverters and software‑defined architectures, reinforcing China’s role as the EV era’s manufacturing and technology fulcrum.

For Indian Tier‑1s, importing mature, scale‑tested modules and localizing them for cost and conditions can be faster and cheaper than greenfield development, especially in high‑voltage power electronics and integrated driveline systems.

Peer signals

Indian peers are hardwiring their China links, particularly where speed and cost curves are steepest in EV components and drivelines. Two recent deals frame the playbook: Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Sona Comstar) with a 60:40 JV with  Jinnaite Machinery (JNT) for development of Driveline systems for EVs targeted at Chinese and global markets. Likewise, Uno Minda’s 70:30 JV with Suzhou Inovance to make high‑voltage EV components  including combined charging units, e-axles, inverters, and motors for four-wheeler passenger and commercial vehicles.

Margin Math and BRIDGE

Lumax’s portfolio spans advanced plastics and interiors, mechatronics (including power window switches and telematics), antennas/vehicle communication, structures and control systems such as gear shifters, and alternate fuel systems—positioning it across both ICE and NEV value pools. An expanded customer mix anchored by Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota, Bajaj Auto and HMSI supports a pan‑India manufacturing footprint, now complemented by the full consolidation of IAC India in interiors. The company’s mid‑term thesis banks on higher content per vehicle, deeper OEM integration and software‑leaning electronics to lift wallet share and margin density. 

The management is targeting an EBITDA step‑up from roughly 14% today toward about 20%, using collaboration‑led product mix shifts, content gains and integration synergies as levers. The mid‑term plan—aptly named BRIDGE (Bold Roadmap Integrating Diverse Growth Engines)—runs on a “20/20/20” philosophy: sustaining around 20% revenue CAGR over five to six years, maintaining about 20% ROCE, and deriving at least 20% of total revenue from the “future of mobility” via electronification and alternate fuels. 

Being Watchful 

India’s auto supply chain is re‑routing for the electric age, and Lumax’s eastward turn is a pragmatic read of where the next productivity curve will be drawn: learn fast from the most advanced market, localize ruthlessly, and aim for profitable scale.

However, the volatility over geopolitics, export‑control frictions and IP concerns will need to be watched, even as currency swings and on‑off incentives reshape EV cost stacks across borders.