Schaeffler India To Step Up Capex to ₹500 Cr in 2026 As Utilisation Crosses 85%

Schaeffler India Ltd will step up capital expenditure in calendar year 2026 after moderating investments in 2025, as the company looks to support growth and localisation. The company expects capex to return to levels seen during 2022-24, with around ₹500 crore planned in the current year.

The company had deliberately slowed spending in 2025 to around ₹384 crore to improve utilisation and capital efficiency. With plant utilisation now above 85%, management said investments will rise again to support capacity and new product localisation.

“Our capacity utilisation is over 85%,” said Hardevi Vazirani, Director Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Schaeffler India. “We had moderated capex in 2025 to focus on utilisation and capital efficiency. From 2026, we will step up again to the average levels of the previous three years, at over ₹500 crore to begin with.”

She said the capex plan aligns with the parent group’s five-year strategy for the period 2026-30. Investments are expected to scale up gradually from 2026 as demand grows and new products are localised for the Indian market.

In May 2025, the automotive and industrial component maker’s parent company, Schaeffler AG, reaffirmed its commitment to India, announcing plans to invest more than €100 million every year over the next five years to expand its operations in the country. The move underscores the company's long-term strategy to tap into India’s growing automotive and industrial sectors.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Harsha Kadam said the company aims to sustain double-digit growth over the medium term and will align capacity investments accordingly.

“We have always aimed to deliver double-digit growth. To sustain that, capacity investments will continue in line with growth,” Kadam said. He added that investments will be aligned with market demand and localisation opportunities rather than being rushed.

“We will bring in the appropriate products into India for localisation. We will not do something in a hurry and then realise the market has changed. So you may see phases where we moderate capex and phases where we accelerate it,” he said.

Kadam said the company continues to focus on productivity improvements and operational efficiency to extract more output from existing capacity. Plants are working on small measures to improve overall equipment efficiency and absorb higher volumes in the near term, he added.

Schaeffler India reported strong growth in the December quarter. Revenue rose 26.9% year-on-year to ₹2,643 crore in Q4 2025. EBITDA stood at ₹505.6 crore, with a margin of 19.1%. Profit after tax increased to ₹328 crore from ₹249 crore a year earlier. For the full year 2025, revenue rose 16.3% to ₹9,395 crore. EBITDA margin stood at 19.6%, while net profit came in at ₹1,196 crore. Free cash flow improved sharply during the year, supported by better margins and lower working capital intensity.