Auto components industry’s revenues to grow by 5-7% in FY2024-25

Auto components industry’s revenues to grow by 5-7% in FY2024-25

With the liquidity position of the auto components industry comfortable across Tier 1 suppliers particularly, the auto components industry in India is set to witness a revenue growth of five to seven percent in FY2024-25 as compared to the high of 14 percent in FY2023-24.  

The stable cashflows and earnings supporting the comfortable liquidity position of Tier 1 suppliers in particular, the auto components industry in the country, according a ICRA Limited’s report will experience an improvement in operating margins – on a year-on-year basis – of roughly 50 bps in FY2024-25. This would be supported by better operating leverage, higher content per vehicle and value additions. 

The exposure to any sharp volatility in commodity prices and foreign exchange rates a continuing factor, the ICRA report projects that the industry will incur an expenditure of INR 200-250 billion in FY2024-25 towards capacity expansion and technological developments. Capex is anticipated to hover around eight to 10 percent of the operating income over the medium term. Contribution is also expected from the PLI scheme, which has been designed to exert a localisation push for electric vehicle components and technology. 

Providing an over view of ICRA’s take on the performance of the Indian auto industry, Vinutaa S, Vice President and Sector Head – Corporate Ratings, ICRA Limited, mentioned, "Demand from domestic original equipment manufacturers (OEM) constitutes over 50 percent of sales for the Indian auto component industry and the pace of growth in the segment is expected to moderate in FY2025. Growth in replacement demand is pegged at five to seven percent, after two to three years of healthy growth, following a relatively weak Q1 in the current fiscal. Exports, which account for close to 30 percent of the industry’s revenues, are likely to be impacted by subdued growth in end-user markets. Nevertheless, ancillaries will benefit from supplies to new platforms as the global OEMs diversify their vendor base and increase outsourcing.”

The moderation in revenue growth in FY2024-25 expected to stem from a moderation in the growth pace of domestic OEMs, the Indian auto components industry is poised to face the consequences of new vehicle registrations in Europe and the US on the exports front. The markets for vehicles over there are expected to remain tepid over the next few quarters, impacted by the weak global macroeconomic environment and geopolitical tensions. 

The rising supplies to new platforms because of vendor diversification initiatives by global OEMs/Tier-I players and higher value addition are expected to drive growth and stability in the auto components industry. 

An increase in outsourcing should augur well for the Indian auto component exporters and those suppliers that are into metal casting and forgings will experience better traction as plants in European Union wind up on the back of viability challenges. 

The aging of vehicles and rising sales of used vehicles in various markets of the world is expected to ensure good demand for suppliers that are into the aftermarket and export of components for the replacement segment. 

Over the medium-to-long term, the ICRA report mentions that stable growth in the auto components space will be fueled by electric vehicle (EV) linked opportunities, premiumisation of vehicles, focus on localisation and changes in regulatory norms. 

The disruption along the Red Sea resulting in a surge in container rates by two to three times in the year-to-date 2024 calendar year, the auto components industry will need to proactively track and tread caution from a supply chain point of view the sudden increase in shipping time by about two weeks. About two third of the exports from India are the US and Europe.

“ICRA’s interaction with large auto component suppliers indicates that the industry has incurred a capex of over Rs 20,000 crore (INR 200 billion) in FY2023-24 and is estimated to spend another Rs20,000-25,000 crore (INR 20-25 billion) in FY2024-25. The incremental investments would be made towards new products, product development for committed platforms, and development of advanced technology and EV components, apart from capex for capacity enhancements and upcoming regulatory changes. R&D, though, is still at an average of one to three percent of operating income, significantly lower than the global counterparts. ICRA expects auto ancillaries’ capex to hover around eight to 10 percent of operating income over the medium term, with the PLI scheme also contributing to accelerating capex towards advanced technology and EV components,” explained Vinutaa.

Image for representation purpose only.

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Automotive Components Industry in India Focuses On Value Addition And Greater Agility

Automotive Components Industry in India Focuses On Value Addition And Greater Agility

In line with the government's push to make India a key automotive manufacturing hub, the automotive components industry in India is confident that it will export more in 2024. 

Focusing on providing more and more opportunities to Indian auto components manufacturers in terms of exports, the Automotive Components Manufacturers’ Association (ACMA) has been helping them to participate in major auto shows the world over. It is also conducting B2B trade fairs such as iAutoConnect which took place in November 2023 in New Delhi, to ensure good international exposure.  

Clocking a 12.6 percent Y-o-Y growth in the first two quarters (H1) of FY2024, the Indian auto components industry, informed an ACMA source, is riding on a robust domestic demand as well as concentrating on exports to ensure stronger and sustainable growth. 

Reporting sales worth USD 36.1 billion in H1 FY2024 as against sales worth USD 33.9 billion during the same period last financial year, the source mentioned that auto component manufacturers are paying attention to significant value addition by adopting new technologies and bettering their agility to respond to the market requirements in the international as well as the home markets. 

Speaking at a press event in Delhi recently, ACMA President Shradha Suri Marwah averred that the auto component industry is mulling over investing around USD 7 billion over the next five years on capacity expansion and technology upgradation mainly because of the robust demand within the indigenous automobile industry, 

"The components industry continues to make investments for purposes of higher value-addition, technology upgradation, and localisation to stay relevant to both domestic and international customers. The industry is aiming to invest USD 6.5-7 billion in capex over the next five years as compared to USD 3.5-4 billion spent in the last five years. With good performance in sales across segments of the vehicle industry in the festive season, I am optimistic that the current fiscal year will witness another good performance from the auto components sector," Marwah noted.

Speaking on the growth, she iterated, “As vehicles sales started reaching pre-pandemic levels and supply-chain issues witnessed during the pandemic such as availability of semi-conductors, high input raw-material costs and non-availability of containers were mitigated, the auto components sector witnessed a steady growth in both domestic and the international markets in the first-half of FY2023-24.”

The findings of the apex body indicated that the auto component sales to OEMs in the domestic market stood at USD 30.8 billion registering a growth by 13.9 percent compared to the first half of the previous year. Consumption of increased value-added components and the shift in market preference towards larger and more powerful vehicles continued to contribute to the increased turnover of the auto-components sector.

Moreover, exports of auto components grew by 2.7 percent to USD 10.4 billion in H1 FY2024 from USD 10.1 billion in H1 FY2023. North America and Europe accounted for 33 percent of exports witnessing an increase of 2 and 12 percent respectively, while Asia accounted for 24 percent, witnessed a decline of 4 percent.

The imports grew by 3.6 percent from USD 10.2 billion in H1 FY202-23 to USD 10.6 billion in H1 FY2023-24. Asia accounted for 63 percent of imports followed by Europe and North America, with 27 percent and 9 percent respectively. Imports from Asia grew by 2 percent, from Europe by 8 percent and from North America by 2.5 percent.

The aftermarket also registered a modest growth in H1 FY2024 witnessing sales go up by 7.5 per cent to USD 5.5 billion from USD 5.4 billion in H1 FY2023.

Commenting on the performance of the auto component industry in India, ACMA Director General, Vinnie Mehta, said, “With vehicle sales and exports displaying steady performance, the auto component industry demonstrated a growth of 12.6 percent scaling a turnover of Rs. USD 36.1 billion in the first half of FY 2023-24. 

Auto Component supplies to all segments of the industry i.e., to OEMs, exports and also the aftermarket remained steadfast. Exports grew by 2.7 percent to USD 10.4 billion while imports grew by 3.6 percent to USD 10.6 billion. The aftermarket, estimated also witnessed a growth of 7.5 percent. Component sales to OEMs in the domestic market grew by 13.9 percent to Rs.2.54 lakh crore”.

Elaborating on the mood of the industry and outlook for the near to mid-term future, Shradha mentioned, “Going forward, considering the festive season has gone well with significant sales across most segments of the vehicle industry, I am optimistic that the current fiscal year will witness another good performance from the auto components sector. The components industry continues to make investments for purposes of higher value-addition, technology upgradation, and localisation to stay relevant to both domestic and international customers.”

 

*Image for representative purpose only.

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SAEINDIA International Mobility Conference 2022

SAEINDIA International Mobility Conference 2022

All set to conduct its International Mobility Conference in Bengaluru from October 12 to October 14, SAEINDIA (Society of Automotive Engineers India) is highlighting sustainable multi-modal mobility. Revealing the theme of the event as ‘Sustainable Multi-Modal Mobility Ecosystem’, the organisation is banking on industry leaders from diverse fields like EVs, automotive and aerospace as its members to add value. 

Venkat Raj, Deputy Director, SAEINDIA, expressed, “We are looking at 7 STGs – sustainability goals – that include affordable, safe and environmentally friendly mobility. In addition to waterways, metros, etc, more is being awaited in a sustainable way.” Celebrating 25 years in India, SAEINDIA has been increasingly getting interested in mobility engineering,” he added. 

Held in a post pandemic environment, the event, termed as SIIMC 2022 in short, is the 10th such in a row. In what is regarded as the organisation’s Indian chapter’s flagship event, the SIIMC 2022 will see over 700 mobility experts including industry thought leaders and professionals from research and development, manufacturing and services along with faculties, students and independent researchers come together and discuss trends and innovations shaping the future of mobility. 

Mahesh Babu, Patron – SIIMC 2022, and CEO, Switch Mobility India, said, “As the highest growth country in the next decade, India has to find sustainable ways to grow including in the area of mobility.” Stating that demand for mobility would have grown 50 percent by 2020, he averred, “People mobility is going to put tremendous pressure and the need therefore is to focus on public transport as a means of sustainable development. This is necessary despite the count of personal vehicles in India being much less than that in US or Europe. Consider this: India has the lowest per capita bus fleet in the world amid huge urbanisation. There is a need by people and experts to together achieve a sustainable multiple mobility platform.” 

Building on the good response received by the 9th edition, the event committee received 530 papers and ideations. Of these 150 would be selected and presented across 5 parallel sessions. There will be over 50 stalls and an exposition. The highlight of this edition will be TechHive, an event for start-ups. Expecting a footfall of 800 visitors, the event will cover topics like automotive, connected tech, SG, vehicle electronics and software, AI, electric and urban air mobility among others. 

Focusing on hyperloop, inland waterways and urban mass transport, the event, according to Dr Shankar Venugopal, Vice President – MRV, Mahindra & Mahindra, will have sustainability, democratisation, disruption and digitisation as the undercurrents. Stating that the quest for increased mobility has left an impact on the environment, Dr. Bala Bharadvaj, immediate past President of SAEINDIA, mentioned, “Our ability in terms of technology is much better. Look at unmanned vehicles, quad-copters, etc, to support mobility, monitor crops and take pictures. Such scenarios make urban air mobility promising but not without its own set of complications.” “Would such mediums help avoid traffic jams on the roads an create new ones in the air makes it exciting as emerging possibilities. No mobility works independently and that makes it important to ensure sustainable mediums through greener fuels like solar.” 
 

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EcoFlow DELTA Pro Gets TIME Honour

EcoFlow DELTA Pro Gets TIME Honour

EcoFlow, a portable power and renewable energy solutions company, has been recognised by the prestigious Time awards for its pioneering product EcoFlow DELTA Pro. The portable power station made it into the “Time100 Best Inventions of 2021” list in the sustainable category.  

EcoFlow DELTA Pro, launched in July 2021, is designed to provide long-lasting backup during load shedding and allows users to better monitor and control their daily electricity consumption, the company said in a release. The company claimed that DELTA Pro can fully charge from a household outlet in three hours. It’s also chargeable from solar panels or electric-vehicle charging stations.  

With a 3,600-watt-hour capacity, it can keep household essentials running for nearly 24 hours, and multiple units can be networked together to power a whole house for days. DELTA Pro’s X-Boost’s single unit can go up to 4500W while X-Stream has the fastest recharging power station. It gets fully charged in 1.8 hours and can monitor voltage, output among others remotely, the release said. 

Jenny Zhang, Global Marketing Director, EcoFlow, said, “We are honoured to make it to the TIME’s lists that are giving recognition to the 100 inventions, which are ‘making the world better, smarter, and even a bit more fun’. Such honours show us that we are on the right track. Our EcoFlow DELTA Pro has been one of the ground-breaking inventions of the year that paves the way for the world to embrace alternative, sustainable power sources.” 

The company claimed that EcoFlow products are the world's first eco-friendly portable power stations. (MT)  

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Freudenberg Group Achieves Record Sales Globally

Freudenberg Group Achieves Record Sales Globally

Freudenberg Group, a renowned global technology conglomerate celebrating its 175th anniversary this year, has announced unprecedented financial achievements for the fiscal year 2023. The conglomerate reported a historic surge in both revenues and operating profits, with sales reaching USD 12.8 billion, marking a 1.3 percent increase from the previous year's figures. Additionally, the operating profit soared to USD 1.19 billion, an impressive 15 percent rise compared to the preceding year, and breaking the USD 1 billion mark for the first time in the company's history.

The robust performance was underscored by Freudenberg's steadfast commitment to innovation, customer-centric strategies and adaptable problem-solving approaches across diverse industries. The conglomerate's success story reflects its unwavering dedication to delivering cutting-edge solutions and fostering strong relationships with its clientele on a global scale.

Freudenberg's Indian arm also experienced remarkable growth, reporting substantial sales of over INR 38 billion for the fiscal year 2023. Demonstrating its confidence in the Indian market, the group announced investments totalling close to INR 3.5 billion slated for the CY2024. These investments are earmarked for enhancing facilities in key regions such as Punjab, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. 

Notably, Freudenberg inaugurated a new production facility in Morinda, India, catering to its Vibracoustic Business Group and Freudenberg-NOK India joint venture. Moreover, the company's exports from India amounted to nearly INR 8 billion, highlighting its significant contribution to the country's economy.

In line with its global sustainability initiatives, Freudenberg Group is spearheading the transition towards renewable energy sources, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. Sustainability lies at the core of Freudenberg's operations, with a focus on optimising energy and material resource utilization. The conglomerate is committed to reducing its CO2 emissions to zero by 2045 through a multifaceted approach encompassing energy conservation, electrification and the generation of green electricity.

Freudenberg's proactive stance towards sustainability is evident in its ongoing endeavours to harness renewable energy including solar and wind power systems. The conglomerate has installed approximately 20 new photovoltaic systems worldwide with plans for an additional 60 systems at various stages of planning and execution. These initiatives underscore Freudenberg's unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and its determination to mitigate carbon emissions on a global scale.

Commenting on the group’s annual results and its financial figures made public, Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Mohsen Sohi, said, “Numerous records were set during fiscal year 2023. We achieved the highest figures ever for sales and operating profit. When we look back over the past 10 years, it becomes clear how impressive these figures are. Within a single decade, we have roughly doubled our sales and operating profit with an average annual growth rate of 6 and 7.7 percent, respectively. Our investments in research and development have grown by 9.4 percent annually, even more strongly and almost tripling. I would like to thank all our employees worldwide. Their commitment enabled us to achieve these historic results.”

Speaking at the occasion Director of Freudenberg Regional Corporate Center for India, G. Sivasailam, said, “As Freudenberg commemorates 175 years of operations globally this year, it is indeed a proud moment for Freudenberg India to be part of the continued growth journey. Freudenberg Group has been committed to its growing operations in the country, across diverse domains and across the group companies. We are continuing to invest in the expansion of our facilities and 2024 promises to be another year of key milestones we will achieve in India.”

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