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Inside JK Tyre’s Growth Bet

Autocar Professional Bureau — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 10:34:25

JK Tyre and Industries Ltd is entering another investment cycle after running into a constraint manufacturers usually welcome: demand in parts of the business has been greater than the capacity available to serve it.

Over the past two years, the tyre maker says it had export orders it could not fully service as it chose to protect its position in India. That constraint now sits behind a ₹4,980-crore brownfield expansion in passenger-car radial (PCR) and truck and bus radial (TBR) capacity, on top of ₹1,130 crore of projects already under implementation.

The ₹4,980-crore programme, to be executed in phases through 2029, is expected to increase combined PCR and TBR capacity by about 24%.

"In the last two years, we were unable to fully capitalise on our export demand due to capacity constraints," Chief Financial Officer Sanjeev Aggarwal said.

When capacity became scarce, JK Tyre chose India. “Our stakes in India are very high,” Managing Director Anshuman Singhania told Autocar Professional. “We don't want to lose any of that market because gaining that market share again is very difficult. We want to ensure that our India presence is not diluted.”

But JK Tyre is not looking to only make more tyres as fresh capacity comes on stream. It is also trying to change the mix of what it sells by focusing on larger-rim and higher-performance passenger tyres, expanding exports and building services that generate revenue throughout a tyre’s operating life.

That shift comes at a difficult point in the commodity cycle. Raw materials account for about 67% of JK Tyre's costs, according to management, and price increases have yet to fully catch up with the recent rise in input costs. The next capacity cycle therefore has to do more than lift volumes. It also has to improve realisations and the returns generated from the additional capacity.

More Capacity, Better Mix

Passenger-car tyres provide the clearest indication of where JK Tyre wants the mix to move.

“Our winning story is premiumisation,” Singhania said. “In passenger cars, we classify 16-inch and above as premium tyres. That segment was around 19% of our passenger-car radial mix in FY19 and is around 30% today.”

The company has a longer-term aspiration of taking its domestic premium PCR mix to around 40%. Its product push includes larger rim sizes, Levitas ultra-high-performance tyres, Puncture Guard and connected tyres.

The new capacity is intended to give JK Tyre more room to pursue that shift. “We have travelled quite a bit on premiumisation, and we are pushing this much more strongly as new capacities come in,” Singhania said. “We are increasing our capability to serve the market and participate more actively in premium tyres, not only in replacement but also with OEMs.”

For JK Tyre, premiumisation is not simply about selling a more expensive tyre. Larger rim sizes, ultra-high-performance products and EV applications allow it to participate in parts of the passenger-vehicle market where product specifications are becoming more demanding and realisations can potentially be higher.

The shift in India's vehicle mix towards SUVs and larger wheels supports that strategy. Electrification adds another set of requirements.

JK Tyre does not need dedicated manufacturing lines for EV tyres, Singhania said, but the tyre itself has to change. “EVs are heavier, require better rolling resistance, and low noise is very important, whether it is a passenger car, truck or two- and three-wheeler,” he said.

The company supplies tyres across electric passenger vehicles, buses and two- and three-wheelers. Aggarwal claimed JK Tyre supplies close to 70% of India's electric-bus tyre requirement.

The move towards higher-value tyres is also increasing the importance of product development.

“Our backbone has always been R&D, and we have believed in giving the market innovative products,” Singhania said. “We spend close to 1.5% (of revenue) on R&D every year and have about 250 scientists and engineers at our Mysuru R&D facility.”

He pointed to Puncture Guard, Levitas and tyres with embedded sensors as examples of the company's product development.

The financial case for improving the mix has become more relevant as input costs have risen. Singhania said JK Tyre has taken price increases but has yet to completely recover the rise in raw-material costs.

“We have taken about 12.5% price increase. There is still an 8-9% gap that we will look to offset as we move through the second half,” he said. “In the replacement market, we are increasing prices in a staggered manner, while OEM pricing is index-based and comes with a lag. Overall, price increases are inevitable.”

The company had already warned in its May earnings call that its raw-material basket could increase 18-20% sequentially in Q1 FY27 because of the West Asia crisis and a weaker rupee. It had at the time taken price increases of 4-5% in the replacement market and 5-7% in exports, with further increases under way.

A richer mix can support better realisations, but it cannot fully protect a tyre manufacturer from a sharp commodity cycle. Pricing, sourcing and cost control therefore remain important alongside premiumisation.

JK Tyre has also changed parts of its sourcing strategy in response to geopolitical disruption. “We have swiftly shifted some sourcing from Europe and the Middle East towards the eastern side of the world,” Singhania said. “We have also accelerated alternate approvals for raw-material suppliers and introduced substitutions wherever technically possible.”

Where the New Capacity Goes

The ₹4,980-crore programme effectively has two jobs: create room for domestic growth, and restore headroom for exports.

“With the new capacities, we will not only restore those export volumes, but also increase them in both truck radials and passenger-car tyres,” Singhania said. “We have developed a host of new passenger-car products for Europe.”

In FY26, the company’s passenger-tyre exports had grown 20%, while total export volumes increased 5%, according to the company's May earnings call.

The export opportunity also illustrates the cost of running with little spare capacity. Every tyre allocated to an overseas customer competes with domestic replacement and OE demand, where JK Tyre has chosen to protect its existing position. Additional capacity removes some of that trade-off.

Until the larger projects arrive, the company is trying to extract more from its existing factories. “We are working a lot with our plants on increasing productivity and bringing in digital inputs that are helping improve efficiency and unlock capacity,” Singhania said.

The former Cavendish operations are one example. Aggarwal said output has increased from around 150 tonnes a day when JK Tyre acquired the business in 2016 to roughly 650 tonnes a day. Singhania said those plants now form an important manufacturing base for truck radial tyres and OEM supplies.

Internationally, JK Tornel in Mexico provides another manufacturing base. Singhania said the company is trying to improve throughput there while widening the product portfolio and distribution.

“We have developed a lot of higher rim sizes in passenger cars there,” he said. “The effort is around productivity enhancement, expanding the dealer network and introducing new products.”

The company’s capacity expansion will require additional borrowing as well. Aggarwal said JK Tyre's debt-to-EBITDA ratio had fallen from above three times around four years ago to roughly two times. Funding for the ₹1,130-crore project has already been tied up, while financing for the ₹4,980-crore programme is being arranged.

“We will raise some amount of debt for these projects over the next three to four years, so it is not going to increase immediately,” he said. “Funding for the ₹1,130-crore project has already been tied up, while we are in the process of tying up funding for the ₹4,980-crore programme.”

Management expects earnings growth to prevent leverage from increasing materially as the projects are funded. “This will not increase our overall leverage ratios significantly because profitability will also improve over the next two to three years,” Aggarwal said.

That assumption matters because the expansion is being undertaken while raw-material inflation is putting pressure on profitability. If margins take longer to recover, the investment cycle could put greater pressure on the balance sheet than management currently expects.

The returns from the capex will therefore depend on more than utilisation. JK Tyre will also need the additional capacity to produce a better mix and reopen markets that it has been unable to fully serve.

Beyond the Tyre

The more structural change in JK Tyre's business may be happening after the tyre leaves the factory.

The company already supplies tyre-pressure-monitoring systems and embedded sensors. The technology began with passenger vehicles and is moving into commercial tyres, while farm and off-highway applications could follow.

“We started with TPMS kits and have now graduated to embedded sensors,” Singhania said. “The journey started with passenger cars, and we are already taking it into commercial tyres. Farm and OTR tyres could follow.”

The technology is also being used as part of JK Tyre's fleet-management business.

JK Tyre says it serves about 1,500 fleets directly or through dealers, out of a base of roughly 1,800 fleets. Around 70 of these are large fleets with more than 1,000 vehicles each, where the company offers mobility solutions on a cost-per-kilometre basis.

“We call it a mobility solution where we charge the customer on a cost-per-kilometre basis,” Singhania said. “They are not paying for the full asset; they are paying per use. We take responsibility for the fleet and commit to delivering a certain kilometre life from the tyres.”

The model shifts part of the commercial relationship from a one-time product sale towards an ongoing service contract. It also gives JK Tyre data on how tyres perform in real-world conditions.

“We are seeing good results in monitoring tyre life and improving it,” Singhania said. “The feedback goes back to our R&D teams to improve the products as well. We are using technology to expand the entire mobility offering around the tyre.”

The company identifies fleet solutions, tyre management and the cost-per-kilometre model among the adjacent businesses that it has been scaling.

What remains unclear is how meaningful the business can become financially. JK Tyre does not separately disclose revenue or margins from mobility services.

For now, its importance lies in extending the relationship with fleet customers, collecting operating data and giving the company another way to differentiate itself beyond the physical tyre.

The same question of whether technology can translate into commercial value applies to JK Tyre's sustainable-material work.

The company has developed a tyre using up to 80% sustainable materials, including renewable, recyclable and reusable inputs. Management says it has already been road-tested and is being sold in the aftermarket.

The hurdle is cost. “Today we are selling it in the aftermarket, but it is an expensive product,” Singhania said. “We are in active discussions with OEMs, but we need to find the right balance in terms of economics.”

Aggarwal said wider OEM adoption could take longer. “Once mass production comes in, it should pick up pace,” he said. “But mass production and OEM acceptance will take some time because of the higher price of the product.”

The commercial test is similar across much of the company's technology portfolio. Embedded sensors, EV products and sustainable materials ultimately need to command a better realisation, reduce customers' operating costs or strengthen the relationship enough to justify the additional investment.

JK Tyre has already established that it needs more capacity. Its plants are tight enough for some export demand to have gone unserved, while India remains the first priority. The harder question is what happens once that constraint eases.

The return on the ₹4,980-crore programme will depend not only on how many additional tyres JK Tyre sells, but on where they are sold and what sits around them: larger-rim products, exports, connected services and fleet contracts. That will determine whether the next expansion cycle simply makes JK Tyre bigger, or changes the economics of the business as well.

The De-Risking Playbook: Inside Gestamp’s Aggressive OEM Diversification in India

Shahkar Abidi — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 15:50:44

When Spanish metal-forming giant Gestamp Automoción officially opened its fifth Indian manufacturing plant in Bhagapura, Gujarat, on September 8, the ribbon-cutting marked far more than a routine capacity addition. The Rs 523.7 crore facility, spanning 31,790 square meters, seems indicative of a calculated structural change for a tier-one supplier, which having learned its lessons the hard way, is seeking to insulate itself from customer concentration risk in one of the world's most hyper-competitive auto markets.

Francisco J. Riberas, Executive Chairman of Gestamp, noted in an interaction with Autocar Professional, "We already started from some years ago to do a very important diversification of our sales to the different customers. Right now, already, we have a very important part of our sales which are linked to the Indian manufacturers, the domestic Indian manufacturers, and also to other foreign brands, not only from Europe, but also from Asia. Today, we have a very diversified customer base,” Riberas explained during a call.

Riberas noted that as the company builds out its presence in existing geographies, the logical next step is to move further up closer to the Northern India automotive hub as customer nominations and new vehicle program awards materialize.

Two Decades of Presence

Gestamp entered India in 2006 and, after initially participating in industrial projects through partnerships, began developing its own manufacturing footprint in the country from 2010 onwards. Since then, the company has expanded to five facilities: three in the state of Maharashtra (in Pune), one in Tamil Nadu (Chennai), and one in Gujarat (Bhagapura). Gestamp’s total manufacturing footprint in India now stands at 188,000 sqm and includes 14 stamping production lines, five of which use hot stamping technology. Two additional hot stamping lines are currently being installed and will further strengthen the company’s manufacturing capabilities in the country.

Furthermore, the company's India operations generate approximately 2,300 jobs through its activities in the development and production of body-in-white (BiW) components and assemblies, chassis parts, as well as mechanisms such as hinges and door checks. Gestamp's revenues in India increased by more than 80% over the last five full financial years, reaching €245 million by the end of 2025, the company stated in a statement.

Why Gestamp Picked Gujarat's Automotive Manufacturing Corridor

The automotive hub in Gujarat, which has been Gestamp's latest entry, is anchored primarily by the Sanand–Hansalpur–Becharaji corridor near Ahmedabad/Mehsana and the Halol belt near Panchmahal, and is one of India's fastest-growing automobile and electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing hubs. Maruti Suzuki India / Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG), Tata Motors, Honda Cars India, JSW MG Motor India are some of the major OEMs operating in that geography.

In India, Gestamp competes with the likes of Uno Minda, Varroc, Spark Minda, Flash Group, among several others.

The Past and Evolving Present

Gestamp's operations in India have not been without their own set of headwinds. For instance, Gestamp's Chennai facility ,which was among its earliest ones, witnessed over the past five years a story of recovery, peak, and then a hard landing after Ford decided in September 2021 to stop making cars in India. It was a big jolt to Gestamp as Ford India) historically accounted for more than 70% of the company's sales. As a result the company had to rewire its business strategy, onboarding new customer programs and leads supplying components to Renault Nissan, Nissan Motor India, Hyundai Motor India, PCA Automobiles, and Vinfast.

Likewise, Gestamp's fortunes in western India were earlier heavily dependent on Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, offering large body panels to the OEM. Realizing the risk associated with concentration with a single customer, Gestamp parallely expanded to supply various stamping press parts & Battery Box Management systems to FIAT India, Mahindra & Mahindra, MG Motors and TATA.

This redrawing of its business diversification blueprint should be seen in the context of the fact that Volkswagen had apparently been struggling to capture meaningful market share in India, culminating in its recent decision to forge a joint venture with steel-to-automotive conglomerate JSW Group to salvage its local presence.

The Way Forward

Riberas framed India as Gestamp’s primary strategic growth market, positioning the country as a crucial counterweight to stagnating vehicle production across legacy European and North American markets. The top executive highlighted that structural changes in Indian vehicle design, driven by tightening crash-safety standards, lightweighting requirements, and electric vehicle adoption, are creating an unprecedented demand for advanced metal-forming technologies.

“India is a key strategic priority for Gestamp. After two decades here, we have established ourselves as a trusted technology partner for both domestic and international automakers operating in the country,” Riberas said. “India right now is probably the area in the world which is expected to have the most important growth in the next years to come. Our idea is to become a very relevant player in India”. Riberas continued.

How Yulu is Re-Engineering Deal Terms to Insulate New Capital

Shahkar Abidi — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 15:23:33

As global venture capital remains highly selective, electric two-wheeler startups in India are shifting from simple valuation discussions to complex financial engineering to secure capital.

Regulatory documents filed by Bengaluru-based Yulu Bikes Private Limited with the Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), and sourced via data intelligence platform Tracxn, reveal how the micro-mobility operator is structurally protecting incoming backers. Built directly into the terms of its latest Series C1 Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) is a programmatic mechanism designed to insulate lead investors if other members of the funding syndicate fail to close their portions of the deal.

The Indian EV Market Context

India’s two-wheeler electrification push is accelerating, driven by robust delivery-fleet demand and government subsidies. However, scaling a battery-swapping network and maintaining a capital-intensive fleet requires consistent injections of institutional funding. For Indian startups, securing large-scale syndicates—deals where multiple global investment firms pool resources—has become essential. Yet, coordinating these multi-party international transactions introduces significant closing risks. Yulu’s new share terms address this vulnerability head-on by programmatically shifting equity ownership if a co-investor pulls out.

Yulu's Funding History and FY25 Financials

Yulu, which is backed by the likes of Bajaj Auto, GEF Capital, Rocketship, Magna, among several others has so far raised about $198 million in nine rounds since its inception in 2017, as per Tracxn. It offers a platform for shared electric two-wheeler rentals, competing with the likes of Baaz, EVeez, EV91 Technologies along with over a dozen others.

Yulu reported a revenue of Rs 241.9 crore in FY25, while its net loss stood at Rs 126 crore during the same period.

Deconstructing the 'Long Stop' Protection

To understand how Yulu is de-risking this round, it helps to break down the key terms of the transaction:

Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS): These are specialized preferred investment shares. They rank ahead of ordinary equity shares, meaning these investors get paid first in a dividend or liquidation event. Eventually, these shares must convert into standard equity.

The Conversion Ratio: Typically, Yulu's preferred shares convert into regular equity at a 1:10 ratio—meaning 10 ordinary equity shares are issued for every 1 preferred share held.

The 'Long Stop' Trigger: A Long Stop Date is simply a final legal deadline by which a transaction must be completed. Under the new terms, if designated co-investors; specifically referred to as the OPP Group or GEF, fail to purchase their agreed-upon shares by this deadline through no fault of their own, a safety-net formula is triggered.

The Automatic Sweetener: If a co-investor fails to close, the conversion ratio automatically adjusts upward from 1:10, scaling up to a maximum of 1:10.56. This means the remaining active investors will automatically receive more ordinary shares for their initial investment, increasing their overall ownership percentage in Yulu to compensate for the missing syndicate capital.

Yulu Series C1: Share Price and Valuation Breakdown

The scale of the transaction is underscored by the high price premium built into the shares. While each Series C1 share has a nominal face value of Rs 100, the initial price at which they convert into equity is set at Rs 8,439.079 per share.

The formula used to calculate the adjusted conversion ratio is tied to a baseline enterprise valuation of Rs 10,815 Million (excluding additional subscription amounts) and a baseline of 1,340,764 outstanding shares.

Additionally, the newly issued Series C and C1 shares carry a non-cumulative preferential dividend of 0.001% per annum and rank equally (pari passu) with Yulu's historical Series B, B1, B2, and B3 share waves, ensuring new investors enter the capital stack with substantial senior protections.

Way Forward for Yulu and Indian EV Startups

As the Indian EV market matures, Yulu’s highly structured Series C1 terms show that startup success is no longer just about product market fit—it is increasingly about deploying sophisticated financial architecture to give global investors peace of mind.

From Watches to Factory Automation: Inside Titan Engineering’s Next Growth Bet

Darshan Nakhwa — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:53:57

Inside Titan Engineering & Automation Limited’s facilities in Hosur, robots, gantries, conveyors and vision systems work across assembly lines built for products ranging from automotive electronics to electric powertrain components.

A majority of the company’s automotive projects over the past four to five years have been related to electric vehicles, spanning both two-wheelers and passenger vehicles, according to M Venkatesan, Vice President and Head of Automation Business at TEAL.

It is a long way from where the business began. “We were building machines for Titan before, watches,” Venkatesan told Autocar Professional.

In Titan's early watchmaking years, India's foreign-exchange controls and import restrictions made sourcing production equipment from overseas difficult. That pushed the company to develop an in-house engineering capability, with its engineers designing and building some of the machinery needed for the watch business.

That internal capability gradually moved outside the watch plant. Delphi became one of its early automation customers, opening the door to the automotive industry. What began as an internal engineering support function eventually grew into Titan's Precision Engineering Division, which became Titan Engineering & Automation Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary, in 2017.

The journey was not linear. TEAL experimented with tools, plastic injection moulds, automotive components and oil-and-gas work before narrowing its focus to automation for assembly and testing, and precision manufacturing for aerospace and defence.

“We are an exploratory company,” Sridhar NP, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TEAL, said. “Unless you explore, you never know what that territory looks like.”

“We did all this... and then we sort of narrowed down. And now we think we are in the sweet spot,” he said.

From an Internal Capability to a ₹1,500-Crore Business

That experimentation has produced a business of meaningful scale.

TEAL today operates across automation solutions, aerospace and defence, and electronics manufacturing. Its automation business develops turnkey assembly and testing systems for automobiles, new energy, electronics, medical devices and consumer goods, while its aerospace and defence operations manufacture high-precision components and sub-assemblies.

According to Titan’s FY26 annual report, TEAL has served more than 160 customers, delivered over 850 unique assembly lines and exports to more than 21 countries. It has more than 650,000 sq ft of shop-floor space.

Its financial growth accelerated sharply in FY26. Income jumped 73% to ₹1,497 crore from ₹866 crore in the previous year, while profit before tax more than doubled to ₹259 crore from ₹113 crore. Profit after tax stood at ₹192 crore.

The company has now reached a point where the constraint is no longer just finding business. Its existing capacity is fully utilised, according to Sridhar, and TEAL plans to invest close to ₹400 crore this year.

“This year we are going to be investing close to 400 crore,” Sridhar said. “And that investment will continue. I think there is a lot of opportunity. Expansion will keep happening.”

On the growth outlook, Sridhar noted that he sees room for TEAL to maintain its recent pace if India's economic and investment momentum remains supportive.

“We have been growing at 20-25%,” he said. “If all goes well for the country, GDP growth is the same, momentum is there, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be growing at this pace.”

Titan's annual reports show TEAL's income rose from ₹462 crore in FY20 to ₹1,497 crore in FY26, implying a compound annual growth rate of about 22% between FY20 and FY26, despite a Covid-led decline in FY21.

Building the Next Growth Engine

Automotive automation helped build TEAL, but the company expects its next phase to be broader.

Sridhar sees equipment for electronics manufacturing services, semiconductors, batteries, solar and other new-energy industries becoming important growth areas as India adds domestic manufacturing capacity.

“Semiconductor, solar, new energy, lithium-ion battery. All this will need equipment, and if you don't do something, it is going to get imported,” he said. “So we are seeing how we can build credible equipment capability in these segments. This is our focus now.”

The opportunity is not in making chips, solar modules or battery cells themselves. TEAL is positioning itself one level below these factories – designing the machines and automated systems required to assemble, handle, inspect and test products.

India’s manufacturing build-out provides the backdrop. As of June 2026, the government had approved 12 semiconductor manufacturing projects with proposed investment of around ₹1.64 lakh crore. The projects range from semiconductor fabrication to packaging, while the government’s Semicon 2.0 programme has also identified semiconductor equipment and materials as areas for domestic capability development.

Electronics provides an even larger existing manufacturing base. India’s electronics production rose 15.8% to about ₹13.11 lakh crore in FY26 from ₹11.32 lakh crore a year earlier, according to the government.

TEAL is already seeing that change in its own mix. Venkatesan estimated electronics at roughly 40% of the automation business, automotive at around 35%, with other segments accounting for much of the balance. He described electronics and automotive as the two key drivers of investment currently.

Sridhar expects the automation solutions business to scale faster than TEAL’s precision manufacturing operations.

“The equipment business is inherently scalable,” he said. Manufacturing services, in comparison, require greater customer-specific tailoring and capital. “It will grow, but I think the equipment will grow faster,” Sridhar said.

Titan’s annual report points in the same direction. TEAL is investing in capabilities including laser technologies, AI-based vision solutions and augmented reality, while focusing on green energy, semiconductors and electronics.

Automotive Changes Shape

The automotive sector will remain important to TEAL, but the nature of that business is changing.

Venkatesan said a majority of TEAL’s projects over the past four to five years have been EV-related, across both two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

Electrification creates demand for a different set of assembly and testing lines – battery packs, power electronics, electronic control systems and electric powertrain components – even as traditional engine and gearbox-related automation continues.

“Electrification is here to stay. It is going to grow faster. We are preparing ourselves,” Sridhar said.

He expects ICE-related automation to continue growing, albeit at a more muted pace, as India's passenger vehicle market remains underpenetrated.

The bigger change is likely to come from the rising electronics content of vehicles. “There is a certain EMS portion in automotive,” Sridhar said. “But I think if you really look at the EMS side of it. It is probably going to be the fastest, in terms of share and growth.”

“And we think we can do Semicon. We can do battery. We can do other new emerging segments,” he added. “We want to do import substitution.”

Vehicle manufacturing itself is also forcing changes in the machines TEAL builds.

Traditionally, an automation line could be designed for one specific product — an engine, motor or gearbox — and remain largely unchanged for years. Faster product cycles, multiple powertrain technologies and uncertainty over production volumes are making manufacturers seek more flexible equipment.

According to Venkatesan, that trend is changing now. Customers increasingly want systems that are highly flexible, modular in nature and adaptable to new products.

TEAL is responding with modular concepts that allow some stations and processes to be reconfigured, rather than forcing customers to invest in an entirely new line whenever a product changes.

The Automation Gap and Export

The larger opportunity for TEAL is not limited to newer industries. Indian factories themselves have room to become more automated.

India installed a record 9,120 industrial robots in 2024, up 7% from the previous year, according to the International Federation of Robotics. That made it the sixth-largest market globally for new installations. Automotive remained the biggest driver, accounting for 4,070 installations.

Yet the degree of automation within Indian factories varies widely, according to Sridhar. In many plants, the core manufacturing process may already be automated while machine tending — putting parts into a machine and taking them out — remains manual because the return on automating those activities can be harder to justify when labour costs are lower.
He expects that balance to gradually shift as manufacturers turn to higher levels of automation to unlock more production capacity.

Even as domestic manufacturing becomes a bigger opportunity, TEAL wants overseas business to regain momentum.

Its two principal businesses already have very different geographic profiles.

Around 95% of its manufacturing services business is export-oriented, Sridhar said. Automation is currently much more domestic, with the mix at roughly 70% India and 30% exports compared with around 50:50 earlier.

Sridhar expects automation exports to grow again, with the business mix “more likely to go back to 50-50.”

Venkatesan said overseas automation business had softened amid tariffs and weaker conditions in some international markets, but demand has started recovering over the past six months. He sees the recovery gaining pace from 2027.

TEAL’s export model is relatively asset-light outside India. The company designs and builds machines domestically and then sends engineers to customer factories for installation and commissioning. That approach has allowed it to export to more than 21 countries without building a large overseas workforce.

But it also creates another constraint. Engineers familiar with a machine often need to travel with it because installation and commissioning require detailed knowledge of how it was designed and built.

That makes engineering mobility and local technical support increasingly important if TEAL wants to scale overseas.

The Problem Money Alone Cannot Solve

TEAL can add factory space and machinery. Finding enough engineers may prove harder.

Asked about the biggest challenge to maintaining the company’s growth, Sridhar did not point first to demand, capital or competition.

“Competence, capability, people. Biggest challenge,” he said. Specialised engineering talent remains limited, he added, and “everybody is going to fish in the same pond as we go.”

The challenge is becoming more acute because semiconductors, electronics, batteries, EVs and factory automation require overlapping engineering capabilities.

“This is a niche skill now. We need to create supply of these niche skills,” Sridhar said. “If you want all these industries to grow, the first challenge we will face is how many people with the same skills exist.”

Artificial intelligence may help engineers work faster, but Sridhar does not see it replacing the physical skills required to build and commission machines.

“If I have to get a commissioning guy to bring up a machine at my customer's site, I can't use AI,” he said.

“There will be some productivity improvements... We still need engineers, we still need to design. We still need guys who can assemble.”

TEAL is looking at ways to work with government and institutions to expand the pool of specialised manufacturing talent.

There is some symmetry in TEAL's journey. Its engineering capability was born partly from Titan's need to reduce its dependence on imported watchmaking equipment. Three decades later, TEAL sees another import-substitution opportunity, this time in the machines needed to build EVs, electronics, batteries and semiconductors.

The difference is scale. TEAL is now a nearly ₹1,500-crore business with full capacity and another ₹400 crore of investment planned. After spending much of its history deciding where its engineering capabilities fit, the challenge now is whether it can add capacity and engineers quickly enough to capture the opportunities in front of it.

BKT Bets on Digital, AI and Rider Communities to Build Consumer Tyre Brand

Darshan Nakhwa — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 20:26:15

Balkrishna Industries Ltd (BKT) is targeting a place among the top three tyre brands in consumer recall as it steps up its business-to-consumer push in India, with digital marketing, artificial intelligence and community-led engagement becoming important parts of its brand-building strategy.

The shift comes as the company expands beyond its traditional strength in off-highway tyres into two-wheelers, commercial vehicles and passenger cars, requiring it to reach a much larger base of individual consumers.

“We want to be one of the most loved brands within the B2C space,” Mahesh Koppad, Chief Marketing Officer at BKT Tyres, told Autocar Professional. “We want to be in the top three brands when it comes to consumer recall.”

Historically, BKT primarily spoke to institutional customers, distributors, farmers and mining companies. Its new consumer business means it must increasingly engage with two-wheeler riders, car owners and fleet operators.

The marketing push is closely linked to BKT's broader growth plan. The tyre maker is targeting revenue of around ₹23,000 crore by FY30, compared with roughly ₹10,600 crore at the start of the five-year plan. It expects its on-highway tyre business to contribute about 20% of revenue by FY30 and is targeting around 5% market share in the segment.

BKT has adopted a modular approach to the new business. Its commercial vehicle radial tyre pilot was launched in Q4 FY26, while the premium passenger-car radial tyre pilot is scheduled for Q3 FY27. The initial focus for both is India's replacement market.

The company also relaunched its two-wheeler tyre business in February 2026 and has created a dedicated team to focus on its B2C and on-highway businesses. It is also expanding its consumer tyre portfolio and distribution network as it increases its focus on the segment.

Strong Auto Demand Supports B2C Push

BKT's consumer push comes against a strong domestic vehicle demand environment, with the automotive industry entering FY27 after record sales across major segments.

In FY26, domestic passenger vehicle sales rose 7.9% to a record 46.43 lakh units, while two-wheeler sales increased 10.7% to 2.17 crore units, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Commercial vehicle sales grew 12.6% to 10.80 lakh units. SIAM said passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and two-wheelers all posted their highest-ever annual sales during the year, with demand benefiting from GST rationalisation and repo-rate cuts.

The momentum has carried into FY27. India's passenger vehicle sales rose 25.9% year-on-year to 12.74 lakh units in Q1 FY27, while two-wheeler sales increased 20.3% to 56.29 lakh units. Commercial vehicle sales rose 18.3% to 2.65 lakh units.

The growth continued in July, with passenger vehicle sales rising 34.3% to 4.58 lakh units, while two-wheelers grew 22.6% to 19.23 lakh units and three-wheelers increased 33.4% to 92,560 units.

When asked whether the company expects any impact on demand from conflict in West Asia, Koppad said BKT has so far not seen a material hit to Indian demand.

“As of now, we don't see any impact of that in the demand that we see in India,” he said, adding that the company continues to see growth in both automobiles and tyres.

However, strong demand is being accompanied by a sharp increase in input costs.

The West Asia conflict has disrupted oil flows and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude rose above $94 a barrel on August 20, its highest level in three weeks, while oil shipments through the strait remained well below pre-war levels.

Higher crude prices matter for tyre companies because several inputs, including synthetic rubber and carbon black, are linked to petroleum prices. Natural rubber, steel, freight and energy costs have also been volatile. In July, JK Tyre said its raw-material costs had increased by more than 20% amid the oil rally, logistics disruption and higher costs for rubber, carbon black and steel.

BKT has itself raised tyre prices by around 5% in stages during Q1 FY27. The company has said raw-material prices increased about 5% on its cost base, potentially creating an impact equivalent to around 3% of sales. Management expects part of that increase to be offset by pricing but has warned of continued margin pressure.

The pressure is industry-wide. CEAT had already taken cumulative increases of around 5% by the end of Q1 and indicated further increases in July and August, while JK Tyre said in July that it expected cumulative price increases of 11-13% by the end of September.

Despite the cost pressure, BKT's Q1 FY27 standalone revenue rose 24% year-on-year to ₹3,409 crore, while EBITDA increased 7% to ₹703 crore and profit after tax rose 50% to ₹432 crore. Its EBITDA margin, however, contracted 315 basis points to 20.61%. OHT volumes rose 16% to a record 93,770 tonnes.

Against this backdrop, Koppad said marketing expenditure will continue to follow the company's long-term business strategy rather than short-term changes in demand.

Digital-First Marketing

As its consumer business expands, BKT is also changing the way it allocates marketing across media.

Koppad said television was the lead medium when BKT launched its broader brand refresh because the campaign had to reach customers as well as dealers and other channel partners. Digital and public relations supported the campaign.

For more targeted consumer communication, however, the company is increasingly adopting a digital-first approach. “We are also leaning more towards digital-first approach. And TV will be used as a medium to complement the overall reach,” Koppad said.

The strategy will vary depending on the customer. Agricultural communication, for instance, is likely to remain television-led because of the medium's reach in rural markets, while two-wheeler campaigns can rely more heavily on digital channels.

BKT's YouForward initiative, aimed primarily at two-wheeler users, was designed as a digital-first campaign.

Shift From Google to AI Search

The company is also preparing for changes in the way consumers research products online.Koppad said tyre discovery has moved progressively from conventional internet search towards video and, increasingly, AI platforms.

“Earlier it used to be Google search, then it moved to YouTube search, now it is AI search,” he said.

BKT is looking at how the brand can be represented in AI-led consumer conversations and is also using AI for content creation and optimisation.

The company is developing an omnichannel AI chatbot that could allow consumers to explore products and ask questions through its website and WhatsApp. The chatbot is currently under development and is not yet live.

Rider Communities Emerge as Influencers

BKT is also betting on rider communities as consumer behaviour in the two-wheeler tyre market evolves.

Tyres have traditionally been a relatively low-involvement purchase, often bought after a mechanic recommends replacement. But Koppad said a section of consumers increasingly research tyres online, check reviews and arrive at the point of purchase with a shortlist of brands. Rider communities are becoming part of that decision-making process.

“We are also looking at actively engaging with these communities, where the idea is that we want to make them our advocates, feel the product, understand the product, share their testimonials,” Koppad said.

BKT is mapping the consumer journey across search, e-commerce reviews and point-of-purchase interactions. It also wants engagement to continue beyond the sale, including through feedback, service communication and tyre-replacement reminders.

The aim is to convert existing users into advocates who can influence other buyers, reducing customer acquisition costs over time.

Tier-II, III Markets Provide Early Traction

BKT's long presence in agricultural tyres is also giving its new consumer business an advantage outside India's largest cities.

Koppad said the company is seeing early adoption in Tier-II and Tier-III markets, where customers already have some familiarity with the BKT brand because of its presence in the agricultural segment.

“Right now I would say, we are seeing early adoption coming from tier two, tier three markets, because we already have a strong residual equity of BKT from the agri segment,” he said.

Urban markets are relatively newer territory for BKT's consumer brand and therefore require greater awareness-building, although Koppad said the company is also seeing growth there.

The company is simultaneously expanding its distribution network and adding products to its consumer portfolio.

Sports Remains Long-Term Brand Investment

Even as BKT shifts more consumer marketing towards digital platforms, sports will remain a core part of its broader brand strategy.

The company has more than 40 sports sponsorships globally, according to Koppad. In India, its involvement in T20 cricket is now in its sixth year.

Rather than treating cricket as one blanket sponsorship, BKT works with individual teams and creates content tailored to their respective fan bases. Koppad said the company currently has sponsorship arrangements with about 8 teams.

Sports partnerships are also evaluated over a longer period rather than primarily on immediate sales leads.

“The third important thing for us also is the long-term commitment,” Koppad said, adding that such partnerships typically run for five years or longer.

Marketing Returns to Shift From Awareness to Conversion

BKT's measurement of marketing returns is also expected to change as the consumer business matures.

Koppad said the current phase is largely about building awareness in a crowded tyre market. Over time, particularly as passenger-car tyres enter the portfolio, the company expects to focus more closely on lead generation, conversion, consideration scores and brand affinity.

BKT is also working with partners to build a hyperlocal performance-marketing system that could connect digital leads more directly with the point of sale.

Marketing expenditure itself is expected to become more calibrated as awareness improves and the consumer business gains scale.

“As the business scales up, as the brand awareness grows, over a period of time, definitely the marketing expense will be calibrated, to ensure that it falls in line to a certain percentage of business,” Koppad said.

For BKT, the challenge is therefore larger than launching new tyre categories. It needs to transfer the recognition it has built over decades in off-highway tyres into a consumer market dominated by established brands with large dealer networks and high recall.

Its strategy is to combine that existing brand equity with digital discovery, AI, rider communities, sports and a wider distribution network, while gradually shifting marketing from broad awareness towards measurable customer acquisition.

With inputs from Nayan Jain

Explainer: What's in the Latest CAFE III Draft & Why it Matters

Kiran Murali — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 19:30:31

India is preparing to tighten fuel-efficiency norms for passenger vehicles once again. The Ministry of Power has released the latest draft of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) III regulations, which will govern fuel-consumption standards for passenger vehicles from 2027-28 to 2031-32. The draft is now open for public consultation before it is finalised.

While the latest notification introduces several refinements, the overall framework remains largely unchanged from the draft circulated to industry stakeholders in April this year. That April draft, however, was not placed in the public domain. Autocar Professional had reported on its key proposals, including the introduction of a market-based compliance mechanism, incentives for fuel-saving technologies and benefits for alternative fuels. The latest July draft largely retains those proposals while adding technical details, implementation timelines and an explanatory note.

Unlike the April draft, both the September 2025 draft and the July 2026 draft have been officially released for public consultation, allowing automakers, industry bodies and research organisations to study the proposals in detail and submit feedback before they are notified.

The new norms come at a time when India's passenger vehicle market is changing rapidly. SUVs account for a growing share of sales, hybrid technology is gaining acceptance, flex-fuel programmes are gathering pace, and electric vehicles continue to expand, although at a slower pace than initially expected. Instead of promoting one technology over another, the proposal looks to reward solutions that can reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The objective of CAFE III remains the same as the earlier phases—to reduce the amount of fuel consumed by the country's passenger vehicle fleet. Lower fuel consumption not only reduces carbon emissions but also helps lower crude oil imports, an important objective for a country that depends heavily on imported petroleum.

Unlike emission regulations such as Bharat Stage (BS) norms, which control pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter from individual vehicles, CAFE focuses on the average fuel efficiency of an automaker's entire passenger vehicle portfolio. That distinction is important because manufacturers are free to decide how they meet the targets, whether through better engines, lighter vehicles, hybrids, alternative fuels or electric vehicles.

Understanding CAFE and how the system works

CAFE stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy. Rather than prescribing a fuel-efficiency target for every model, it calculates the average fuel consumption of all passenger vehicles sold by a manufacturer during a financial year.

In simple terms, every manufacturer receives an annual fuel-consumption target based on the average weight of the vehicles it sells. If the company's fleet performs better than the prescribed target, it complies with the regulation. If not, it must make up the shortfall using the compliance mechanisms available under the framework.

India introduced the first phase of CAFE norms in 2017-18, followed by CAFE II from 2022-23. The proposed CAFE III framework will cover the period from 2027-28 to 2031-32. Each successive phase has tightened fuel-efficiency requirements while allowing manufacturers flexibility in choosing the technologies needed to achieve them.

The calculation is based on an equation:

Annual Average Fuel Consumption Standard = a × (W – b) + c

Here:

'a' is the slope or constant multiplier.
'W' is the weighted average unladen mass of all passenger vehicles sold by a manufacturer.
'b' is the industry's reference average vehicle weight.
'c' is another constant that changes every year.

The formula recognises that heavier vehicles naturally consume more fuel than lighter ones. Instead of giving every manufacturer the same target, CAFE adjusts the target according to the average weight of the vehicles sold.

According to an analysis of the latest draft by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), the proposed framework reduces the value of the slope (a) from 0.002 under CAFE II to 0.00158 in 2027-28, gradually declining to 0.00131 by 2031-32. At the same time, the industry's average weight (b) increases from 1,082 kg under CAFE II to 1,229 kg under CAFE III.

TERI also estimates that the corresponding corporate average CO2 emissions at the reference weight tighten from 94.76 gCO2/km in 2027-28 to 76.77 gCO2/km by 2031-32, before applying Carbon Neutrality Factors. According to the institute, this represents roughly a 21% increase in stringency over CAFE II in the first year, rising to nearly 34% by 2031-32.

Meanwhile, rating agency ICRA estimates that the target will begin at 94.8 g of CO2 per km in 2027-28 and tighten steadily to 78.9 g/km by 2031-32.

ICRA expects the progressively tighter CAFE III emission targets to steadily reduce fleet-average fuel consumption over the five-year compliance period. The rating agency said the stricter norms would lead to higher annual fuel savings even as passenger vehicle sales continue to grow.

It estimates that the improved fuel-efficiency standards could generate cumulative fuel savings worth around Rs 38,000 crore during the CAFE III period, highlighting the potential economic benefits of lower fuel consumption alongside reduced emissions.

What's new in the latest draft?

At first glance, the July 2026 draft looks very similar to the version circulated to stakeholders in April. That is because most of the key proposals—including the fuel-efficiency targets, Carbon Neutrality Factors (CNFs), super credits and the new compliance mechanism—have been retained.

The latest draft mainly builds on the April proposal by adding detailed technical criteria for fuel-saving technologies, refining definitions, advancing compliance timelines and including an explanatory note on the intent behind the regulations.

The bigger comparison, however, is with the September 2025 draft, which was the last version available in the public domain before the latest notification. One of the most significant changes is the way fuel-efficiency targets are calculated for vehicles of different weights.

The September 2025 proposal used a single slope value of 0.002 throughout the five-year period and a reference vehicle weight of 1,170 kg. The revised draft lowers the slope every year, beginning at 0.00158 in FY2027-28 and reaching 0.00131 by 2031-32, while increasing the reference weight to 1,229 kg.

According to TERI, these changes make the proposed regulation relatively less stringent for manufacturers whose portfolios are dominated by lighter passenger vehicles, while increasing compliance pressure on companies with heavier fleets, particularly those with a larger share of SUVs. In other words, the target line becomes flatter, reducing the advantage that heavier vehicles previously enjoyed under the weight-based formula.

The revised draft also reflects the government's effort to move away from a purely penalty-based approach to one that offers manufacturers multiple compliance options.

Earlier CAFE regulations largely required companies to meet their prescribed fleet-average fuel-consumption targets. CAFE III introduces a market-based mechanism under which manufacturers that outperform their targets generate credits, while those falling short accumulate debits. These are recorded in a digital compliance account, or "passbook," maintained for every manufacturer.

Manufacturers with surplus credits can retain them for future compliance periods or exchange them with other manufacturers through voluntary pooling. If a company is still left with a compliance deficit after using available credits, it can buy credits from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) at government-notified prices. The buyout price starts at Rs 2,500 per gram of CO2 per kilometre in FY2027-28 and gradually rises to Rs 4,500 by FY2031-32.

Carbon Neutrality Factors & Super Credits

One of the defining features of the proposed CAFE III framework is that it recognises multiple technology pathways instead of focusing only on pure electric vehicles.

This is where the Carbon Neutrality Factor (CNF) comes in. The draft allows manufacturers to discount a portion of a vehicle's declared CO2 emissions while calculating compliance.

Under the proposal, vehicles running on E20 or higher ethanol-blended petrol, including strong hybrids and plug-in hybrids using such fuel, qualify for an 8% Carbon Neutrality Factor. Flex-fuel ethanol vehicles and flex-fuel strong hybrids receive a much larger 22.3% benefit.

CNG vehicles receive a 5% CNF, or the prevailing compressed biogas blending percentage notified by the government, whichever is higher. Diesel vehicles will also receive a benefit linked to future biodiesel blending levels.

Alongside CNFs, the draft retains the system of super credits, which gives additional weight to cleaner vehicle technologies while calculating a manufacturer's fleet average.

Instead of counting each vehicle only once, certain vehicle categories are multiplied by a specified factor. Battery electric vehicles and Range Extended Electric Vehicles (REEVs) receive the highest multiplier of 3.0. Plug-in hybrids and flex-fuel strong hybrids receive a multiplier of 2.5, strong hybrids receive a multiplier of 1.6, while flex-fuel ethanol vehicles receive a multiplier of 1.1.

Together, CNFs and super credits underline one of the government's key policy messages. Rather than backing a single technology, CAFE III seeks to promote a mix of battery electric vehicles, hybrids, ethanol-based fuels, flex-fuel vehicles, CNG and other low-carbon options, allowing manufacturers to choose the most suitable path for improving fleet fuel efficiency.

Push for Fuel-saving Tech

One of the biggest additions in the latest CAFE III draft is the emphasis on technologies that improve fuel efficiency, even in conventional petrol and diesel vehicles. The draft allows manufacturers to claim compliance benefits for introducing certified fuel-saving technologies across their model range.

Under the proposal, each eligible technology can earn a benefit equivalent to 1 gram of CO2 per kilometre, subject to an overall cap of 9 gCO2/km for a vehicle until detailed government-approved certification procedures are put in place.

The list is extensive. It includes automatic start-stop systems that switch off the engine while idling, regenerative braking systems that recover energy during deceleration, tyre-pressure monitoring systems, six-speed or higher transmissions, efficient alternators, motor-generators used in mild hybrids, LED lighting, advanced glazing, electric water pumps, high-efficiency air-conditioning systems, solar-reflective paint and pulse-width-modulated radiator fans.

Compared with the April draft, the July notification goes a step further by specifying minimum performance requirements for most of these technologies. For example, it prescribes efficiency thresholds for alternators, minimum energy recovery levels for regenerative braking systems, performance standards for LED lighting and technical criteria for tyre pressure monitoring systems. The April draft had listed many of these parameters as placeholders, indicating that the technical specifications would be finalised later.

Some experts, however, believe the list may evolve before the regulations are finalised. TERI, in its assessment of the draft, notes that technologies such as automatic start-stop systems have already become common in many passenger vehicles. It argues that future incentives should increasingly reward newer technologies capable of delivering additional efficiency gains rather than those that are already widely adopted.

Preparing for the shift to WLTP

Another important feature of the proposed framework is the gradual transition to the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP).

At present, India's fuel-efficiency standards are based on the Modified Indian Driving Cycle (MIDC). Under the new draft, manufacturers will continue to comply using MIDC, but they will also have to report the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of every model under WLTP. The government will later notify a conversion factor that will allow future compliance to move to the global test cycle.

The dual-reporting requirement is intended to help regulators collect real-world data before making a complete transition. It also aligns India more closely with international testing practices, which many global automakers already use in other markets.

What next?

The draft notification is currently open for stakeholder comments before it is finalised. While some provisions may still be refined following industry feedback, the broad direction of policy appears settled.

The proposal indicates that the government wants the industry to move towards tighter fuel-efficiency standards without mandating a single technology pathway. Instead, it looks to reward manufacturers that improve efficiency through cleaner fuels, hybrid technologies, battery electric vehicles and a growing range of fuel-saving engineering solutions.

For automakers, compliance will become progressively more demanding over the next five years. At the same time, the introduction of credits, trading, pooling and incentives for multiple technologies gives companies greater flexibility in deciding how they meet those targets.

Brokerage Nomura believes the proposed CAFE III targets are achievable for most major passenger vehicle manufacturers, although the level of electrification required will vary widely across companies. Based on its estimates for the financial year 2027-28, Maruti Suzuki would need electric vehicles to account for around 1-3% of its sales to meet the norms, while Hyundai and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles would require an EV mix of 4-7% each. Mahindra & Mahindra, given its product portfolio, would need a significantly higher EV penetration of 13-15%, according to the brokerage.

Nomura, however, expects automakers such as Nissan, Renault and Volkswagen to accelerate their EV launches to comply with the proposed standards. It also estimates that the required EV share for all manufacturers is likely to increase by around 1-2 percentage points every year over the five-year CAFE III period as emission targets become progressively more stringent.

Tenneco Bets on India as Fastest‑Growing, Most Profitable Mega Region

Darshan Nakhwa — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 14:52:11

India is emerging as a key growth and technology hub for Tenneco, with the US-based auto component maker betting on strong domestic demand, rising export opportunities and deeper localisation to scale its business in the country. The company expects India’s contribution to its global business to rise over the next few years, supported by faster growth than several other regions. At present, India contributes around 5-7% of the company’s global revenue, but this could move closer to 10% in the coming years as domestic volumes, export orders and content per vehicle improve further.

“India has been earmarked as the fastest growing mega region for Tenneco. Also the most profitable one,” said Arvind Chandra, CEO of Tenneco Clean Air India Ltd. In the first nine months of FY26, Tenneco India reported value-added revenue of about ₹3,512.2 crore, up 10% year-on-year, and profit after tax of ₹437.6 crore. Its EBITDA margin stood at 19%.

Chandra said Tenneco India’s role has been expanded from serving the domestic market to supporting global demand. The India unit has been designated as an export hub, giving it a larger role in the company’s future growth strategy. Exports currently account for about 5-7% of Tenneco India’s sales, but the company expects this share to move towards 20% in the coming years, led by both clean air and suspension businesses.

The export order book is already improving, helped by India’s cost competitiveness and rupee depreciation. “The weaker rupee makes us more competitive. That is one of the reasons why our export order book is improving,” he said. Recent trade agreements between India and developed markets such as the UK, EU, US and other countries are expected to further support exports.

Tenneco India currently operates across two broad segments: Clean Air and Powertrain Solutions, and Advanced Ride Technologies. Clean air contributes slightly more than half of the business, while ride technology accounts for the balance. The company expects export opportunities to grow across both clean air and advanced ride technology businesses. Its clean air portfolio benefits from India’s tighter emission regulations, which are now closer to global standards.

This allows India-made products to serve both domestic and overseas markets. The company also sees potential for exports from its suspension business, particularly if its DaVinci DCx platform gains traction outside India. “Now that it’s successful in India, even China is looking at it, Europe is looking at it,” Chandra said.

The strongest near-term growth trigger for Tenneco India is its DaVinci DCx suspension technology, which was first introduced on Mahindra & Mahindra’s XUV 7XO. Unlike semi-active or fully active electronic suspension systems, DaVinci DCx uses mechanical architecture to deliver adaptive damping. It uses specially engineered discs or shim stacks, that regulate hydraulic flow depending on road impact frequency. This allows the system to improve ride comfort without relying on sensors, motors, electronic control units or complex software. It gives a large part of the comfort benefit of more expensive electronic systems, but at a much lower cost.

The cost advantage could make DaVinci DCx relevant for a large part of the Indian passenger vehicle market, especially vehicles priced between ₹4 lakh and ₹30 lakh. The company also sees potential for similar technology in commercial vehicles. The company gets about 53% of its revenue from clean air and 47% ride tech. The mix could move towards ride technologies over time, as growth in the clean air business could moderate compared to the sharp jump seen during the BS4-to-BS6 transition.

The sharp increase in interest for DaVinci DCx is likely to require additional capacity. Tenneco is evaluating a new plant, potentially in south or west India, depending on where customer demand comes from. He said the new facility, its 13th, could be a leased greenfield plant rather than a land-owned unit, as this allows faster commissioning. Tenneco has earlier used this model to set up facilities quickly.

Localisation is another major priority for Tenneco India. The company has already achieved about 90% localisation across its existing India operations. However, newer technologies still have much lower localisation levels because several components are imported, Chandra said. The company is navigating fresh cost pressures from the West Asia conflict. “Right now supplies are coming in. We don’t have a supply problem. We have a cost problem,” Chandra said.

Layam Group Sees Auto Hiring Shift to Software and EV Skills

Mukul Yudhveer Singh — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 14:46:27

India's automotive industry is becoming increasingly software- and electronics-driven. As new vehicle technologies gain momentum, the skills required across engineering, manufacturing and operations are evolving alongside them.

"Five years ago, automotive hiring was centered on production, quality, maintenance, tooling, supply chain and plant HR. While these jobs remain important, the strongest growth today is in areas such as EV powertrains, embedded software, battery systems, ADAS, telematics, cybersecurity, data analytics and digital manufacturing," says Rohet Ramesh, Director of staffing solutions provider Layam Group.

The shift is taking place alongside continued industry growth. India recorded vehicle sales of approximately 2.83 crore units in FY26, while EV registrations reached around 2.43 million units, taking EV penetration to 6.5%. As technology content within vehicles increases, demand for specialised engineering capabilities is rising alongside it.

According to Ramesh, the change reflects a broader evolution in the automotive sector. Manufacturers are increasingly seeking professionals who can work across mechanical, electrical, electronics and software domains, rather than within traditional discipline silos.

Much of the shift can be traced to the emergence of software-defined vehicles and increasingly sophisticated electronics architectures. Historically, automotive companies hired primarily for mechanical and manufacturing disciplines. Today, they are adding capabilities that were once associated more closely with technology companies.

Demand is growing for embedded software engineers, vehicle software architects, cybersecurity specialists, ADAS validation professionals, functional-safety engineers and connected-vehicle experts. On the electrification side, battery-pack designers, battery-management-system engineers, thermal-management specialists and power-electronics professionals are becoming increasingly important.

The result "is a more specialised hiring environment". "Companies are no longer simply looking for a mechanical engineer or an electrical engineer. They are increasingly looking for specific capabilities such as BMS testing, embedded software development, CAN protocols, battery diagnostics or sensor integration," says Ramesh.

The trend is visible across OEMs, suppliers and engineering service providers. As software content continues to increase, automotive organisations are competing for talent with IT services firms, semiconductor companies, AI-focused businesses and global capability centres. Recruiters, Ramesh argues, increasingly need to understand technology stacks and specialised engineering domains rather than relying solely on traditional job descriptions.

While talent shortages are frequently discussed, Ramesh believes the industry's more pressing challenge is job readiness. India continues to produce large numbers of engineers, diploma holders and ITI-certified professionals. However, many candidates enter the workforce without practical exposure to technologies that are becoming increasingly common in modern automotive operations.

In manufacturing environments, EV production requires familiarity with high-voltage systems, battery diagnostics, electronics testing and traceability processes. On the engineering side, software calibration, embedded systems, functional safety and systems integration are becoming increasingly important.

"The talent pool exists, but the industry has evolved faster than the education ecosystem. The challenge is not necessarily availability. It is ensuring that skills remain aligned with industry requirements," he says.

The changing skill mix is also influencing compensation. Layam estimates salary growth in automotive and vehicle manufacturing could reach around 9.9% in 2026, ahead of the broader India Inc average, with the strongest premiums concentrated in EVs, embedded software, electronics, ADAS, cybersecurity and automation-related functions.

Electrification is also creating new employment opportunities, although not evenly across the value chain. Much of the hiring momentum is concentrated in electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers, charging infrastructure, software development, testing and battery-pack assembly.

Citing workforce studies, Ramesh notes that a future scenario involving 30% EV penetration could create around 1.2 lakh jobs across manufacturing and electricity-related sectors, while affecting approximately 1.6 lakh jobs linked to petroleum and ICE-related activities.

Beyond hiring, workforce development is becoming an increasingly important strategic consideration. Automation and digital manufacturing are changing the skills required on the shopfloor. Factories increasingly need robotics technicians, PLC specialists, mechatronics professionals, digital quality inspectors and predictive-maintenance engineers. Even operator roles are becoming more technology-enabled through the use of connected manufacturing systems and digital work instructions.

As a result, companies are placing greater emphasis on reskilling, apprenticeships and industry-academia partnerships. "It is relatively straightforward to invest in new equipment or technologies. Developing skills takes longer and requires sustained effort from both industry and educational institutions," says Ramesh. In many ways, the evolution of automotive hiring mirrors the evolution of the vehicle itself. As products become smarter, connected and increasingly software-driven, the skills required to create them are changing as well.

Mercedes-Benz CTO Says India Now Helps Shape Software and Autonomous-Driving Technologies

Ketan Thakkar — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 15:00:00

Mercedes-Benz – the maker of the three-pointed star – is increasingly relying on India for some of the technologies shaping its future vehicles, with engineers in Bengaluru playing a growing role in software, infotainment and autonomous-driving development, the company's global chief technology officer said.

"There is a bit of India in each and every Mercedes because the competence level is so high," Dr Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG responsible for Development and Procurement, told Autocar India and Autocar Professional during his visit to India for the launch of the all-new S-Class.

The comments offer a window into how India's role inside global automotive companies is changing. Once largely associated with engineering support and localisation work, Indian teams are increasingly contributing to technologies at the centre of the industry's transition towards software-defined and increasingly automated vehicles.

For Mercedes-Benz, that shift is most visible at its Bengaluru operations, set up in 1996, which today represent the company's largest engineering centre outside Germany.

"We basically started with hardware, then powertrain, more hardware and so on. But in the last couple of years, what really happened is that the competence centre in terms of software was really developing and picking up like crazy," Burzer said.

He identified infotainment and autonomous driving as two areas where Indian teams have established significant expertise.

"The one is infotainment. And the other one is autonomous driving."

The remarks come as automakers face growing pressure from Tesla and a new generation of Chinese manufacturers that have accelerated development cycles and made software, connectivity and digital experiences key selling points.

Yet Burzer believes the rise of software plays to the strengths of established automakers rather than diminishing them.

"I see this as an opportunity," he said.

Mercedes-Benz is working with NVIDIA on future software architectures while advancing its Level 2++ driver-assistance systems and developing Level 3 and Level 4 autonomous-driving capabilities.

According to Burzer, the challenge is no longer simply writing software but integrating it into increasingly complex vehicles.

"We are, to my knowledge, one of the only OEMs that do Level 2++ with traditional combustion engines," he said.

Many of the industry's most advanced driver-assistance systems have been introduced first on dedicated EV platforms, where software has fewer mechanical systems to manage. Mercedes-Benz is deploying similar technologies across combustion-engine, hybrid and electric vehicles.

"To bring a software stack into a combustion-engine environment where you have a transmission and an engine is more complicated than on the EV side."

For Burzer, that complexity remains an advantage for manufacturers with deep engineering expertise.

"This is the beauty of competence and tradition. You need to know how this reacts and how the software stack interacts with traditional vehicle technologies."

Autonomous driving is another area where Mercedes-Benz sees India making a growing contribution.

The company continues to invest in simulation, validation and software development as it pushes towards higher levels of vehicle automation.

"AI is one of the most important topics," Burzer said.

"You don't always have to go on the street. You can basically do that virtually as well."

Mercedes-Benz's approach to autonomous driving also differs from some rivals.

While a number of manufacturers are moving towards camera-only perception systems, Mercedes-Benz continues to employ multiple sensing technologies.

"We have radars. We have mid-range radar. We have ultrasonic sensors. We have cameras. That's our philosophy."

The company also combines a conventional rules-based perception stack with a data-driven model trained on real-world driving behaviour.

"If this end-to-end system doesn't know what to do, then it falls back to the classic stack."

Despite the growing focus on software, Burzer was equally emphatic that hardware engineering remains central to Mercedes-Benz's identity.

"It's not only software," he said.

The Bengaluru centre continues to support hardware development, testing, manufacturing simulations and engineering activities alongside software programmes.

"We have simulation on sheet-metal forming and welding in India."

For Burzer, the increasing complexity of modern vehicles means no single location can develop a vehicle in isolation.

"Automotive engineering is the ultimate teamwork."

As software, electronics, manufacturing and vehicle engineering become more tightly linked, automakers are spreading responsibilities across global teams rather than concentrating them in one geography.

That shift is helping elevate India's role inside Mercedes-Benz.

For a market that accounts for a small share of the company's global sales, its contribution to the technologies shaping future Mercedes-Benz vehicles is becoming increasingly significant.

Bosch’s India Recast

Shahkar Abidi — Sat, 23 May 2026 09:00:00

On May 21, 2026, the German engineering giant Bosch Ltd announced a 50:50 joint venture with the TSF Group’s Brakes India and Wheels India. While the deal might appear to be a localized expansion of air systems for commercial vehicles (CVs), it serves as a microcosm for a much larger, more aggressive transformation as the automotive industry in India is set to evolve rapidly by 2030 and beyond.

This move into advanced, electronically controlled air systems, targeting air compression, processing, and suspension, marks a strategic strike into what Bosch leadership calls white spaces.

With a registered office in Chennai, the global supply chain including India will be managed by entities of Bosch, Brakes India and Wheels India.

The Bosch Mobility Shift

The foundation for this transition was laid globally on January 1, 2024, when the company realigned its core operations into a unified business sector branded simply as 'Bosch Mobility'.

Apart from a branding exercise, the development suggested of a structural acknowledgment that the silos of the 20th century—separate divisions for braking, steering, and engines were obsolete in an era of technological convergence.

In India, this global realignment has acted as a catalyst. Guruprasad Mudlapur, President of the Bosch Group in India, and Managing Director, Bosch Limited has been vocal about the need for cross-domain synergies to meet an Indian market that is forging its own auto path. The goal is to move from selling individual widgets to providing the entire mobility tech stack. “This joint venture is a decisive step to shape the future of advanced air systems. By integrating premier engineering and manufacturing prowess, we are co-creating state-of-the-art, intelligent modules that will empower our customers globally to build more advanced commercial vehicles.” he noted.

“The commercial vehicle industry is at a pivotal moment, shifting from mechanical hardware to software-driven architecture.” said Sandeep Nelamangala, Joint Managing Director, Bosch Limited, and President, Bosch Mobility India. “With air systems being an important portfolio extension, the planned joint venture enhances Bosch’s overall commercial vehicle motion management portfolio, strengthening its role in software-driven mobility.” The JV with the TSF Group is the clinical application of this philosophy. By partnering with established local experts in pneumatics and hydraulics, Bosch is using the joint venture as a shortcut to market leadership in advanced electronic modules, aiming for full operations by the end of 2026.

Consolidating the Tech Stack: The RBIC Acquisition

If the TSF joint venture represents an outward-facing expansion into new segments, the acquisition of Robert Bosch Chassis Systems (RBIC) represents a consolidation of the core. In a deal valued at approximately Rs 9070 crore, Bosch Ltd is bringing the market leader in Indian safety and braking systems entirely under its roof.

This acquisition is a valuable in de-risking the transition to electrification. While the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) threatens traditional powertrain components like fuel injectors, safety systems are powertrain agnostic. Whether a vehicle is powered by a diesel engine or a battery, it still requires anti-lock braking (ABS) and electronic stability programs (ESP).

“We are in the 10th generation of ESP today,” Bosch leadership remarked during a recent investor briefing, highlighting the transition from mechanical valves to sophisticated software features like hill-hold and parking assist. By integrating RBIC, Bosch Ltd is absorbing a business with a 17% revenue CAGR and expanding margins that now top 19%. More importantly, it gives the listed entity control over the Vehicle Motion Management systems that will define the dynamics of next-generation Indian SUVs and two-wheelers.

The TACO Partnership

While safety systems provide a steady floor, the growth ceiling for Bosch India is tied to the electric motor. In mid-March, the company announced another 50:50 joint venture, this time with Tata AutoComp Systems (TACO). This partnership is laser-focused on the high-value components of the EV world: e-axles and electric traction motors.

The logic here is one of industrial scale. An e-axle is a massive, complex component, often costing around EUR 1,000 per unit. Mudlapur has noted that "current volumes in the market for e-axles are very, very small". By partnering with a domestic heavyweight like Tata AutoComp—which already supplies components for India's leading EVs—Bosch is sharing the heavy capital expenditure load while securing its place in the supply chain of India's most successful EV platforms. Operations for this JV are on track to begin in mid-2026, with meaningful revenue recognition expected by Q3 FY28.

Driving Content Per Vehicle (CPV)

The underlying driver for all these moves is a dramatic rise in Content Per Vehicle (CPV). India’s automotive landscape is no longer defined by low-cost basic mobility; it is being reshaped by a regulatory push and shifting consumer preferences toward premium, safer vehicles.

Tightening safety norms and the upcoming CAFE Phase III regulations (scheduled for April 2027) are forcing OEMs to adopt technologies that Bosch is uniquely positioned to supply. Furthermore, the introduction of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in commercial vehicles—mandated for new models by January 2027, is turning the front of the truck into a high-tech sensor hub.

“India's journey as a global automotive hub is accelerating,” Mudlapur says. “We are deeply invested in delivering solutions spanning software-driven mobility, electrification, and hydrogen technology, while simultaneously focusing on making safety and connectivity accessible and scalable”.

The Competitive Crucible

However, Bosch is not navigating this transition in a vacuum. The company faces a "competitive crucible" that is redefining what it means to be a Tier-1 supplier
Competition is intensifying from three distinct fronts: Traditional Tier-1 suppliers are racing to localize their own high-tech portfolios. Secondly, agile new entrants are entering the market with flat organizational structures and software-first mindsets. Thirdly, global players like Bosch are reshaping their India strategies to compete on landed cost, benchmarking against massive production hubs like China.

Denso, Continental, ZF Friedrichshafen, Schaeffler, and Uno Minda, with Mahle, Valeo, BorgWarner are some of the players with which Bosch competes in India is various automotive segments.

“Indian manufacturing plants are number one globally in several product categories,” Mudlapur notes, adding that Bosch India houses the largest development center outside Germany. This massive R&D footprint—employing thousands of software engineers—is the company’s ultimate weapon in the war for the software-defined vehicle.

Resilience Pays

The story of Bosch India through 2030 is one of strategic patience rewarded. A decade ago, the company’s investments in ABS were bleeding as the market wasn't ready. Today, those same safety systems are the company’s most profitable engines of growth.

Bosch is now doubling down on all the potential factors that will dictate the next decade in the automotive industry.

How One Tax Cut Fuelled Every Car Maker Except MG Motor

Anurag Chaturvedi — Mon, 04 May 2026 17:08:40

The September 2025 Goods and Services Tax (GST) rationalisation lifted nearly every segment of India's passenger vehicle market in the second half of FY26. But the size of the lift ran from 23 percent at one end of the showroom to a near-doubling at the other. It redrew the pecking order in one of the country's most competitive sub-segments and left one original equipment manufacturer (OEM) finishing the year below its starting volumes.

MG Motor was the sole brand to finish with lower numbers than it started. The company's Windsor electric vehicle (EV), its primary volume driver, saw average monthly sales fall 13 percent in the post-reform period. MG did not change its product or its pricing. What changed was the competitive arithmetic around it.

Before September 2025, a small petrol car in India carried an effective tax burden of roughly 31 percent, comprising 28 percent GST and a compensation cess of about 3 percent. An EV was taxed at a flat 5 percent. The 26 percentage point gap between the two had been central to the EV value proposition in a price-sensitive market. After the reform, small petrol cars moved to a flat 18 percent with zero cess while EV taxation remained at 5 percent. The differential consequently halved to 13 percentage points. For cost-conscious buyers weighing an EV against a similarly sized petrol alternative, the calculation shifted, and not in the EV's favour.

Across the segments that did benefit, the size of each volume jump tracked the depth of the rate cut it received, and the pattern ran cleanly from the bottom of the price ladder to the top.

The deepest gain landed at the bottom of the price ladder. Micro hatches, a sub-segment that contains the Maruti Alto, came closest to a 100 percent jump in average monthly volumes between October 2025 and March 2026. The move translated into a saving of ₹50,000 to ₹65,000 on a ₹5 lakh car. No other sub-segment saw a proportional uplift of that size.

Moving up the ladder, the four-metre MUV sub-segment was the second-largest mover. The Renault Triber and its newly launched sibling, Nissan Gravite, both pitched at practical family use and both covered by the small-car rate band, benefited directly from the flat 18 percent rate.

The most telling reshuffle, however, came one rung higher, in the mid-size SUV class where median prices run above ₹18 lakh. The class as a whole grew 40 percent in average monthly volumes, posted a trailing twelve-month base of 838,000 units across about 20 competing models and is on course to cross one million units in FY 2026-27. The headline figure concealed a brisk internal redistribution. The segment's long-standing leader, the Hyundai Creta, gained just 3.3 percent, coming under pressure from the newly launched Tata Sierra. The Kia Seltos, in contrast, rose 47 percent. The Honda Elevate added 36 percent, and aided by their hybrid powertrain appeal, the Maruti Grand Vitara and Toyota Hyryder added 35 percent and 21 percent, respectively. The challengers, in other words, absorbed the larger share of the windfall while the market leader watched it pass through.

A similar challenger-led pattern surfaced in the mini SUV class. The class grew 33 percent overall, yet the Tata Punch alone rose 50 percent and cemented its position as India's most popular entry-SUV. Lower down the list, the four-metre SUV sub-segment that includes the Tata Nexon, the Hyundai Venue and the Maruti Brezza gained 28 percent, a figure matched by the utility MUV class anchored by the Mahindra Bolero and the Maruti Eeco. Medium hatches in the Maruti Swift, WagonR and Hyundai i20 mould rose 23 percent.

Even the top of the market participated, and more sharply than its price point suggested it would. Large premium MUVs such as the Toyota Vellfire and the Kia Carnival, both completely built units sold to a narrow buyer base, registered a 31 percent rise in average monthly volumes. Absolute numbers in that sub-segment are small, and the buyer profile is largely insulated from entry-level price sensitivity, which made the proportional surge unexpected.

The GST Council's decision was not aimed at any single company or powertrain. It was designed to broaden affordability across the passenger vehicle market, and on that count, the numbers clearly suggest it worked. That the same reform simultaneously narrowed the tax differential that had underpinned the EV value proposition is a consequence of the policy's design rather than its intent.

How One Tax Cut Fuelled Every Car Maker Except MG Motor

Anurag Chaturvedi — Mon, 04 May 2026 17:08:40

Across the segments that did benefit, the size of each volume jump tracked the depth of the rate cut it received, and the pattern ran cleanly from the bottom of the price ladder to the top.

How a Single GST Cut Shifted India's Car Market Out of Neutral

Anurag Chaturvedi — Mon, 04 May 2026 13:38:22

India's passenger vehicle industry added 91,000 cars to its monthly run-rate in the six months following the September 2025 Goods and Services Tax (GST) rationalisation. A permanent step-up that lifted average monthly sales from 345,627 units to more than 435,000, and turned the FY2025-26 total of five million units from a forecast into a certainty. More than the scale of the shift, it was the nature of it that carried weight. Demand at the bottom of the market had not disappeared, as purchasing-power worries had suggested through the first half of the year. It had simply been priced out.

The consistency of the recovery underlined its structural character. Between October 2025 and March 2026, monthly sales never once fell below 400,000 units. In the six months preceding the reform, the market had been virtually flat; by contrast, average volumes were lower by an unremarkable 1,327 units compared with the same period a year earlier.

The Council's intervention was narrow in design but broad in reach. Small cars, defined as those up to four metres in length with engines no larger than 1.2 litres petrol or 1.5 litres diesel, moved from a 28 percent tax with a compensation cess of 1 to 3 percent to a flat 18 percent with zero cess. On a ₹5 lakh vehicle, that change returned ₹50,000 to ₹65,000 to the buyer. Larger passenger vehicles above the four-metre line saw their cess slabs trimmed as well, which had ranged from 15 to 22 percent, though the relief there was variable. Electric vehicles, already taxed at 5 percent, were left untouched.

The response ran the length of the price ladder, from micro hatches at the entry point to large premium multi-utility vehicles (MUVs) several rungs higher. Every original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the country, bar one, posted volume gains in the second half of the fiscal year. The breadth of the gain mattered as much as its scale, because it exposed how much of the market had been waiting for the same trigger.

For years, the dominant questions asked of the Indian car market had been supply-side ones. Which new models were launching, which OEMs were expanding capacity, which segments remained underpenetrated. The post-GST surge collapsed that framing in a single quarter. The demand had always been present. A tax structure that made the most affordable new cars a financial stretch had been holding it back.

The clearest evidence came from the bottom of the market. In the months before the reform, the Micro Hatchbacks (Maruti Alto) had fallen off industry tracking charts. That near-absence worried analysts, because the Alto buyer is not typically a driver trading up from a smaller car but someone moving from a second-hand two-wheeler to a first four-wheeler. The sub-segment's disappearance was consequently read as a signal of distress in the lower middle class. After the rate change, micro hatch sales came closest to a 100 percent jump in average monthly volumes. The revival did not reflect new demand being created. It reflected existing demand that had been suppressed.

A market that responds this sharply to a single rate change is communicating something precise about the price elasticity at the base of the consumption pyramid. The ₹50,000 to ₹65,000 that the reform transferred back to entry-level buyers is often, at that price point, the difference between a loan being sanctioned and a sale falling through.

The rate change, moreover, is permanent. The step-up from 345,000 cars a month to 435,000 is therefore a structural reset of the industry's baseline rather than a festive-season tailwind or a financing-led blip. For every player in the market, the task now is to build on to the new baseline, not chase the surge that produced it.

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How One Tax Cut Fuelled Every Car Maker Except MG Motor

The Wages of Survival: The Hidden Cost of the Noida and Manesar Protests

Anurag Chaturvedi — Fri, 01 May 2026 20:56:06

India's industrial corridors are among its most promoted assets. The workforce running them is among its least discussed. Noida, Manesar, Faridabad and Ghaziabad form a belt of industrial estates within an hour of Delhi, producing auto components, electronics and much more on contract for multinationals whose brands appear on the finished goods. The workforce that keeps them running is predominantly migrant, hired through private agencies on temporary contracts, and in most cases paid just enough to remain.

In early April, worker protests over wages broke out in Manesar. On April 9, Haryana raised its minimum wage for unskilled workers by 35%, the first revision since 2015. The jump exposed the pay gap with neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, and reached Noida within days. On April 13, roughly 45,000 workers walked off floors across the district. The unrest then moved to Bhiwadi in Rajasthan and to clusters in Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu.

A contract worker on a Noida auto-component line takes home between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000 a month. The contract workers on these lines have come in from Bihar, Rajasthan and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Hence, more than half of their earnings goes to rent, food and transport. "At which point you'd be better off taking an Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 job locally [in his hometown]," says Balasubramanian A, senior vice president at TeamLease Services, one of the largest staffing firms. However, the key question is: Does a revised wage number settle anything?

The Productivity Factor

Bala's reading is that wages cannot be lifted in isolation, because the shop floor underneath them is not yet productive enough to carry them. "India has a productivity problem, not a jobs problem," he says. "Earlier in my career, I would have said India has an unemployment problem. That's not the truth at all." India ranks third globally by purchasing power parity, he notes, but sits 119th of roughly 200 on per-capita output, per IMF 2026 data. Income per capita tracks GDP per capita, which means a wage floor cannot be legislated far above the productivity floor without something breaking.

Most of the firms Bala is describing, he argues, are not exploiting workers by paying minimums. Many are losing money, barely surviving, or operating on single-digit margins. Which firms fall into which bucket he does not break down, and the public filings of listed Tier 1 suppliers in the belt tell a mixed story.

The risk Bala flags is not that wages rise. It is who stops hiring when they do. "Bigger companies have the capital to invest in technology, automation and processes. SMEs don't. And ironically, SMEs are the ones who create more jobs per rupee of revenue. They are more dependent on labour than on technology." His question is direct. "Do you want higher wages and fewer jobs? It could lead to exactly that situation."

The Presence Factor

Sudhakar Sethuraman, a partner at Deloitte whose practice covers employment-linked tax and regulatory compliance at OEMs working with American, French, Japanese and Korean collaborators, suggests that the unrest cannot be seen only in terms of wages and productivity, but also a failure of connection and communication. "What is primarily required is transparent, clear communication that outlines what is in it for the individual," he says. "Not communication at the end of the year, but constant communication with people. They are not machines." An employee, he adds, should feel "that the organisation, to which they are giving 8 to 10 hours a day, which is more than 50% of their waking hours, genuinely stands with them". When a workplace issue surfaces, "somewhere, some of these fundamentals will be missing".

An earlier generation of managers, particularly in the Indo-Japanese joint ventures, built their factories around exactly that discipline. In many of those plants, there was no separate canteen for blue-collar and white-collar employees. The managing director and the trainee ate in the same space. Chief operating officers walked the operational corridor every day, stopping at stations to ask trainees about the day's production.

Industry practitioners who were on those floors recall a more prosaic source of efficiency: leadership watched how materials moved through the plant, saw that storage had been placed too far from the line, shifted it closer, and watched output rise because someone had bothered to pay attention. That habit has thinned. Contract labour is now a significant share of the workforce on Indian Tier 1 floors, inside a chain where the OEM, the supplier, the contracting agency and the worker sit as four legally distinct entities. The managerial walk, in many plants, has been replaced by HR dashboards and remote-monitoring software. Employers once knew where an employee's children were studying, whether they were looking at an ITI programme. That continuity, in Sudhakar's words, delivers "greater employee commitment and significantly higher output". Bala does not accept the communication frame. "Communication isn't exactly broken," he counters. "Both sides know what the other is thinking. They're just unable to find a middle ground. The fact that you can't resolve something doesn't mean you don't understand the other side."

Upskilling: The New Blueprint for India’s Automotive Workforce

Prerna Lidhoo — Fri, 01 May 2026 20:52:14

Not too long ago, some of the toughest jobs on an automotive shopfloor were also the most physically demanding and the most risky. Workers handled heavy panels, worked in high-heat zones or carried out repetitive welding and painting tasks in environments where consistency often came at the cost of safety. Today, many of those roles look very different. Robots take on the hazardous, high-precision work, while the human worker stands a step back, monitoring systems, responding to alerts and stepping in when judgment is required. And as Vinkesh Gulati, chairperson of Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) puts it, the real story of the future of work in India’s auto industry lies in how labour is becoming safer, smarter and far more skilled than before. “Automation does not eliminate human roles, it elevates them and that shift from doing tasks to understanding systems is already underway,” he said.

At ASDC, he adds, this has meant a complete rethink of how workers are trained. The traditional model of role-based skilling is being replaced with capability-based learning. Workers are now expected to go beyond execution to interpretation which includes reading dashboards, responding to predictive maintenance alerts and making judgment calls in real time.

“The future shopfloor professional must understand not just what to do, but why systems behave the way they do,” Gulati explains. That’s why ASDC is embedding data literacy, sensor diagnostics and process intelligence into its training frameworks aligned closely with actual factory deployments.

For millions of workers in repetitive roles, this transition could have been disruptive. But Gulati insists inclusion is central to the transition. ASDC is rolling out short-cycle, vernacular-friendly training programmes designed to help workers move up the value chain without being left behind. “Assembly workers are being trained to monitor multiple stations, interpret alerts and take corrective action. The goal is not just productivity, it is long-term employability with dignity,” he said.

AI is not replacing roles as much as redefining them. Take quality inspection which was once heavily dependent on manual checks. Today, AI handles much of the detection but humans step in for exception management, training algorithms and validating edge cases. At the same time, entirely new roles are being created as the industry shifts toward electrification and software- defined vehicles. These include battery assembly specialists, BMS validation technicians, thermal safety experts, ADAS calibration engineers and OTA validation professionals. ASDC has developed qualification packs for many of these roles in partnership with industry. “Demand is outpacing supply highlighting the urgency of scaling structured skilling interventions,” Gulati notes. Despite all the noise around robotics, India’s automotive sector is still only about 25–30% automated today, especially when the broader supplier ecosystem is included. That figure is expected to rise to nearly 50% by the end of the decade. Automation, he said, will deepen in areas where precision, safety and consistency are critical like Body-in-white, assembly lines and internal logistics, where autonomous mobile robots are likely to become commonplace.

“The real change will be in how humans interact with automated systems, rather than a complete replacement of labour. Human involvement will remain critical in assembly, customization and quality oversight,” Gulati says. He added that leading companies are investing in internal mobility frameworks, mapping employees to adjacent roles and enabling structured retraining while maintaining job continuity. However, this approach is uneven. Smaller suppliers, often constrained by tight margins, find it harder to invest in long term workforce transformation.

Hiring is Changing

While macro uncertainties, be it geopolitical tensions in West Asia or rising logistics costs add caution to workforce planning, the industry isn’t freezing hiring. Instead, it’s becoming far more selective. “There is a clear preference for multi-skilled, job-ready professionals, particularly those with digital and systems understanding,” Gulati says. Hiring for traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) roles is slowing, while demand is accelerating in electronics, EV systems, software integration and supply chain digitisation, he adds. This is also where ASDC sees its role expanding in bridging the gap between industry expectations and workforce readiness through hands-on, certification-driven training, according to Gulati.

On the policy side, India’s new labour codes are beginning to reshape workforce structures by standardising wages, working hours and compliance frameworks. For companies, this means more predictable workforce management. For workers, it promises greater income stability and protection provided implementation remains consistent. “In a sector like automotive, this balance between flexibility and compliance discipline is essential for the next phase of growth,” Gulati says.

If AI is reshaping the present, electrification and software-defined vehicles are redefining the future. Over the next 10–15 years, demand for traditional powertrain skills will steadily decline. In their place, a new cluster of competencies is emerging: high-voltage safety, battery technology, thermal management, power electronics, embedded diagnostics and even vehicle cybersecurity. The disruption will be particularly sharp in the after-sales ecosystem, which is still heavily ICE-focused today.

ASDC is working to integrate EV-focused training into ITIs and state-level programmes, but Gulati acknowledges a fundamental challenge: “The pace of technological change is faster than formal systems can adapt.” Which is why continuous, industry-led skilling, not one-time training, will define the future of labour in India’s automotive sector, he said.

How Tata Motors’ Lucknow Plant Evolved from the 407 Era to a Million-Vehicle Milestone

Shahkar Abidi — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:16:16

On April 25, 2026, the industrial landscape of Uttar Pradesh marked an important milestone as Tata Motors celebrated the rollout of its 10th lakh commercial vehicle from its Lucknow facility. This achievement is the culmination of a three-and-a-half-decade journey that began in the mid-1980s. At that time, the state government provided 6,000 acres on Deva Road, hoping a modern private-sector entrant could repair an industrial reputation then marred by labour unrest at state-owned firms. The plant’s first truck, a variant of the LP-1210, eventually debuted in late 1992, following a 1986 groundbreaking ceremony.

Strategic Entry
The decision to establish this greenfield site was deeply tied to the 1986 launch of the Tata 407. As a purely homegrown light commercial vehicle, the 407 did more than just capture the domestic market from international rivals; it effectively rescued the company from a financial crisis. The resulting surge in demand necessitated a specialised production hub beyond the traditional centres in Jamshedpur and Pune, positioning Lucknow as a critical pillar in Tata’s national strategy. Today, that strategy has evolved from simple assembly to high-tech customisation through an on-site Engineering Research Centre that validates new designs for specific customer needs.

Flexibility is Key
The facility's modern identity is defined by what leadership calls "multi-fuel" agility. Vishal Badshah, Vice President and Head of Operations at Tata Motors, notes that the plant is capable of producing diesel, CNG, electric, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the same assembly lines. Badshah describes this integrated approach as one of the industry's most innovative practices, bolstered by a Digital Command Control Centre that monitors critical manufacturing processes in real time. This technological leap allows the plant to handle everything from 4-tonne light trucks to massive 55-tonne heavy-duty haulers without traditional production bottlenecks.

Expanding the Product Portfolio
A significant portion of the plant’s legacy involves its role in the bus segment, which currently accounts for roughly 25% of total production. This capability was sharpened by a 2006 partnership with the Brazilian firm Marcopolo S.A., which focused on "fully built" buses—vehicles delivered with the body and interior complete, rather than just the frame. Although Marcopolo exited the venture after 15 years to refresh its global strategy, Tata Motors successfully integrated the expertise, continuing to manufacture the Starbus and Ultra brands independently.

Way Ahead
Looking ahead, the Lucknow facility is positioned for significant growth without the immediate requirement for physical expansion. During the last fiscal year, the plant utilised approximately 60% of its one-lakh-unit annual capacity, producing 56,000 vehicles. This spare capacity provides a strategic cushion as the market shifts towards greener technologies like hydrogen and electric power.

UCAL: How a 70-Year-Old Auto Parts Group is Re-Engineering for the EV Era

Autocar Professional Bureau — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:07:49

In June 2007, Adithya Srivatsa Jayakar was a high school graduate preparing for a sociology degree at Butler University, but his real education began on the factory floors of Illinois.

He joined Amtec Precision Products, a U.S. subsidiary of the Chennai-based UCAL Ltd., as a trainee, just two years after the Indian parent company acquired the firm to gain a foothold in the American automotive and defense markets. Nearly two decades later, after an Executive MBA from Notre Dame and a rotation through every major corporate function, Jayakar was appointed Deputy Managing Director in November 2024 to steer the legacy manufacturer through evolving technologies and market dynamics.

Today, UCAL, a company built on the precision of carburetors and mechanical fuel pumps, is aggressively pivoting toward a future defined by mechatronics and electric vehicles (EVs).

Under Jayakar’s leadership, the firm is attempting to balance the books by milking the high-margin aftermarket, while investing significantly in electronics that will keep it relevant in a decarbonized world.

Jayakar is the son of Jayakar Krishnamurthy, CMD of UCAL Ltd. His grandfather, Dr. V. Krishnamurthy, was the founding Chairman of Maruti Suzuki and also the Chairman of BHEL and SAIL.

The Survival Strategy: Aftermarkets and Exports
The shift is not just a strategic choice; it is a necessity for business resilience as legacy products phase out. UCAL’s response has been to aggressively target the aftermarket segment, which Jayakar describes as "a significant market." Unlike selling directly to car manufacturers (Original Equipment Manufacturers or OEMs), the aftermarket allows for higher margins and direct consumer reach. To achieve this, UCAL rapidly expanded its distribution channels and increased its market reach to new geographies.

Simultaneously, UCAL is leveraging its legacy expertise to fuel a surge in export earnings from regions like Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. In the more advanced North American market, it is pitching high-tech indigenous innovations like specialized fuel rails for premium cars and vacuum pumps.

“We want to play as a dominant player in newer technologies,” Jayakar says, emphasizing that the company is no longer just a component maker but an engineering-led firm.

Engineering the Pivot: From Mechanical to Mechatronics

The broader automotive component industry is currently caught in a transition between two eras. Companies like UCAL, and its competitors Uno Minda and Endurance Technologies, must master mechatronics, the fusion of mechanical systems with electronics. For UCAL, this means repurposing decades of air and fuel management knowledge into EV architectures.

UCAL has established a dedicated R&D center for electronics to develop sensors and embedded systems for green mobility. This technical transformation is backed by a heavy investment cycle; between FY21 and FY25, UCAL’s capital expenditure (capex) totaled approximately Rs 107.48 crore, peaking at Rs 45.79 crore in FY24 as new production lines were established. At its Maraimalai Nagar plant, the company has commissioned lines for high-potential components like Intake Throttle Valves, while a new facility at Mahindra World City is dedicated solely to export-bound water outlets.

Currently, core products like throttle bodies and oil pumps still account for over 50% of revenue, but the move into premium segments is gaining ground. Sales of throttle bodies alone grew by over 20% year-on-year during FY25, helping to buffer the declining demand for older technologies.

The Road Ahead: A Decarbonized Identity

As the Indian government pushes for aggressive sustainable mobility goals, UCAL is attempting to integrate sustainability into its operational identity. The company now draws more than 70% of its power from renewable sources like wind and solar and is exploring "net zero" opportunities in hydrogen and micro-mobility.

For Adithya Jayakar, the goal is to complete the transformation he began as a trainee in Illinois: moving UCAL from a local carburetor manufacturer to a global, diversified engineering powerhouse capable of surviving the electric revolution. While the transition is fraught with challenges like material scarcity and infrastructure gaps, UCAL’s proactive shift suggests a firm determined not to be left behind in the combustion era.

UCAL: How a 70-Year-Old Auto Parts Group is Re-Engineering for the EV Era

Autocar Professional Bureau — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:07:49

In June 2007, Adithya Srivatsa Jayakar was a high school graduate preparing for a sociology degree at Butler University, but his real education began on the factory floors of Illinois.

Today, UCAL, a company built on the precision of carburetors and mechanical fuel pumps, is aggressively pivoting toward a future defined by mechatronics and electric vehicles (EVs).

Jayakar is the son of Jayakar Krishnamurthy, CMD of UCAL Ltd. His grandfather, Dr. V. Krishnamurthy, was the founding Chairman of Maruti Suzuki and also the Chairman of BHEL and SAIL.

“We want to play as a dominant player in newer technologies,” Jayakar says, emphasizing that the company is no longer just a component maker but an engineering-led firm.

Engineering the Pivot: From Mechanical to Mechatronics

The Road Ahead: A Decarbonized Identity

UCAL: How a 70-Year-Old Auto Parts Group is Re-Engineering for the EV Era

Autocar Professional Bureau — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:07:49

In June 2007, Adithya Srivatsa Jayakar was a high school graduate preparing for a sociology degree at Butler University, but his real education began on the factory floors of Illinois.

Today, UCAL, a company built on the precision of carburetors and mechanical fuel pumps, is aggressively pivoting toward a future defined by mechatronics and electric vehicles (EVs).

Jayakar is the son of Jayakar Krishnamurthy, CMD of UCAL Ltd. His grandfather, Dr. V. Krishnamurthy, was the founding Chairman of Maruti Suzuki and also the Chairman of BHEL and SAIL.

“We want to play as a dominant player in newer technologies,” Jayakar says, emphasizing that the company is no longer just a component maker but an engineering-led firm.

Engineering the Pivot: From Mechanical to Mechatronics

The Road Ahead: A Decarbonized Identity

Middle East Conflict Forces India to Rethink Energy Dependence

Arunima Pal — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 14:30:25

As escalating conflict in the Middle East keeps global energy markets on edge, India will have to attempt a radical shift toward bio-energy sovereignty. Faced with an 85% reliance on imported energy and a volatile geopolitical landscape, the world’s most populous nation would have to work to establish a "new normal" that prioritizes domestic self-reliance over fragile global supply chains, remarked industry captains.

"Most of the countries that actually suffered from this (energy sourcing), they will work out a new normal for energy," said Atul Mulay, President of Corporate Strategy at Praj Industries, a leading bio-energy technology provider.

Industry experts pointed out that the anticipated shift should be seen in the context of logistical bottlenecks, including the near blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, which have made energy security synonymous with national sovereignty. New Delhi has walked a diplomatic tightrope, navigating U.S. pressure on Russian crude sourcing while monitoring shifting alliances in the Middle East.

The impact has been tremendous. Geopolitical tensions since the beginning of the Iran-US-Israel war on February 28 have not only raised crude prices but also created severe shortages of gas and commodities including those used in the automotive ecosystem. India will also have to consider a future where its neighbourhood is likely to change in the coming years with some countries forming their own 'NATO-like' regional forces, which may further complicate matters.

Automotive Friction

India's new normal will depend heavily on reducing the country's fuel sourcing needs. According to experts, this could be largely achieved through greater adoption of biofuels, which are abundant considering India remains largely an agrarian economy. For instance, the nation's ethanol blending program has been one of its success stories in the green transition with the government advancing its E20 (20% ethanol blending in petrol) targets by five years, moving the deadline from 2030 to 2025.

This trajectory has established India as the third-largest ethanol producer in the world. India’s adaptability has resulted in the production of 1700 crore liters of ethanol, significantly exceeding the 1000 crore liters required for the 2025 target, leading the government to permit exports.

As per the government data, ethanol blending has already saved an estimated 1.55 lakh crore rupees and substituted roughly 2.66 lakh metric tons of crude oil. The program has led to a reduction of 800 lakh metric tons of CO2 emissions and approximately Rs 1.36 lakh crore has been paid back to farmers for ethanol feedstocks.. There were even plans to take the blending levels to E27, E30, and even further up.

However, the ethanol blending program faced its share of challenges. Last year, there was social media outrage over the issue from certain sections of the general public and media, who worried about its corrosive nature harming the health of their vehicles. Motorists, especially those with older vehicles not explicitly designed for E20, voiced fears of a drastic reduction in mileage and long-term corrosion of mechanical components.

Anecdotal reports suggest efficiency losses of 15-20%, although official Automotive Research Association of India tests indicate a smaller dip of 1-6% , varying by vehicle and usage. Although the government denied the allegations, with Minister Nitin Gadkari even terming them "politically motivated", critics' apprehensions have not been successfully addressed.

Consequently, the ethanol blending program appears to have plateaued since then, as the government has not officially announced any policy regarding increasing the blending levels.

Bharati Balaji, Dy. Director General, All India Distillers’ Association (AIDA) stated that the ethanol blending programme assumes critical importance in this context (Iran-US-Israel war). Accelerating the adoption of higher blending levels will not only reduce import dependence but also enhance energy security and provide greater stability against external shocks. India’s ethanol industry has already made substantial investments and is well-positioned to support this transition.India’s 1800 crore litre ethanol capacity is a strategic energy reserve to explore. "A calibrated and forward-looking roadmap to increase blending targets will be essential to fully leverage the country’s existing production capacity and ensure long-term sustainability of the biofuel ecosystem" Balaji noted.

The Stalled Promise of CBG

While ethanol has flourished, India’s SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) program has languished. Originally targeting 5,000 Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants, the program has barely 130 plants on the ground.

In 2018, the Indian government unveiled an energy roadmap that was as audacious as it was green: a plan to deploy 5,000 large-scale compressed biogas (CBG) plants to convert the nation’s agricultural waste into 15 million metric tons of homegrown fuel. Seven years into the initiative, known as SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation), the arithmetic of India’s energy transition is failing to add up.

As of January 2026, only 133 plants are functional, producing a mere 926 tonnes per day. This supply crunch comes at a precarious time for the domestic automotive industry. Sales of CNG-powered passenger vehicles have surged, with market share jumping from 6% in 2020 to nearly 20% in 2025. While major manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors have moved aggressively toward gas-based models, the fueling infrastructure remains stuck in a cycle of lack of local focusl and systemic bottlenecks.

Compressed Biogas (CBG) is a renewable, eco-friendly fuel chemically identical to the natural gas (CNG) used to power cars and trucks. While standard natural gas is a fossil fuel extracted from the earth, CBG is green because it is produced from organic waste that would otherwise be discarded or burned.

Dr. DK Ojha, Deputy Director General with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG), during a recent interaction with Autocar Professional suggested that biofuels, the fuels derived from organic matter like sugar, bamboo and others, are poised for significantly faster adoption by the automotive sector than electric vehicles (EVs). This shift is not merely a matter of preference but a pragmatic response to India’s unique economic and logistical landscape.

A Circular Future

Despite the current hurdles, the strategic imperative is clear. The move toward a bio-energy-led economy is not just about fuel; it is a circular economy model that keeps capital within the country. By shifting from imported crude to domestic ethanol and CBG, India can stop billions of dollars from flowing out to foreign regimes.

“If we build our own energy, produced within our borders, from our own resources, we don’t just insulate ourselves, we future-proof the nation." A circular bioeconomy can transform India’s vast agro-produce and agro-residue into sustainable fuels, reduce import dependence, and power true energy self-reliance. This is not just resilience, it is sovereignty in action.” Mulay concludes. As the global energy map is redrawn by conflict and new alliances, India’s best defense may well be its own fields.