India's ICE auto parts makers stare at uncertainty as new electric order rises

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: India's auto parts manufacturers are bracing for an uncertain future, as large automakers boost production of electric vehicles (EVs) at the expense of petrol and diesel models, in a shift that is transforming the requirements for components and increasing the role of technology.

Analysts believe that big auto ancillary companies will be able to gain market share and consolidate their position, as small players lack financial muscle to invest and diversify into high-value EV components. “The number of suppliers in the auto space is set to shrink in the next decade due to the transition to electric vehicles.

Big or small, every player in the segment is faced with the task of chalking out a plan of what they will do to fit in the new electric order of the auto space," Srihari Mulgund, partner-electric vehicle value chain at consulting firm EY-Parthenon, said. Bosch, Sona Comstar, UNO Minda, Samvardhana Motherson International, and Bharat Forge are some of the large companies competing in India's auto ancillary industry that's estimated at ₹6.14 trillion and provides direct employment to more than 15 lakh people across the country.

Also read | Why battery swapping for EVs remains a non-starter in India Maruti's joint venture with Japan's Suzuki Motor in the 1980s to produce affordable cars spawned the growth of a number of suppliers, as the then nascent auto sector created its own ecosystem to produce components. Players manufacturing fasteners, cables, chassis, cells, steering systems, braking systems and many such key components of a vehicle mushroomed in different parts of the country.