Musashi India, Delta Electronics and Toyota Tsusho join hands to manufacture and sell 2W EV drive units in India

Musashi Auto Parts India (Musashi), a fully owned subsidiary of Musashi Seimitsu Industries, Japan and a manufacturer of two-wheeler and four-wheeler transmission components in India, has entered into a joint venture (JV) with Delta Electronics, Inc. (Delta) and Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Toyota Tsusho) to sell EV drive units for two-wheelers in India. Under this JV, Musashi and Delta will jointly develop the EV drive unit and Toyota Tsusho will handle the distribution through its global logistics network.

Musashi holds a 51 percent investment share in this JV, followed by 34 percent by Delta and 15 percent by Toyota Tsusho.

The JV – Musashi Delta e-Axle India Private Limited – will establish a motor assembly factory and a drive unit assembly factory within the Musashi Bangalore plant and by September 2024, the JV aims to achieve a localisation level of more than 2/3rd of the total cost. The products manufactured will also be exported to the ASEAN and African markets.

Commenting on the partnership, Hiroshi Otsuka, President and Group CEO of Musashi Seimitsu Industries said, “The Indian market is one of the largest two-wheeler market and the emissions from these vehicles cause serious environmental harm; a reason for increased acceptance of electric mobility in two-wheeler market in India. By supplying EV drive units, this JV will lead the spread of two-wheeler EVs in the Indian market and around the world, while also contributing to the realisation of carbon neutrality.”

This joint venture is a high value partnership, including developing, manufacturing, and selling a high-performance drive unit that is compact, lightweight, and quiet, a critical requirement for EVs. Furthermore, it will enable rapid and flexible research and development that anticipates changes in the market and technology, as well as efficient procurement and sales by leveraging the respective business bases of Musashi, Delta, and Toyota Tsusho, the company stated.

“We have the advantage of having the world's top share in transmissions for two-wheeler vehicles, and by leveraging synergies with Delta Electronics, a leading manufacturer of electronic equipment, and Toyota Tsusho, which has a global logistics network, we are bringing ground-breaking EV adoption to India and the world. We will provide solutions which will support in our mission of realising a prosperous global society where people and the environment are in "harmony”; we will lead the spread of clean electric mobility by supplying high-performance EV drive units”, Otsuka added.

In the Indian market, Musashi India is working with BNC, an EV startup company in which Musashi has invested and collaborated, to develop products equipped with EV drive units. The company has agreed to start selling two-wheeler EVs from February 2024 and going forward, it aims to supply EV drive units to a wide range of customers, with the main target being the 125cc class, which is the volume zone for motorcycles in the Indian market.