



Steel, paint, power and cars: Inside JSW’s ‘Chaebol-style’ strategy to disrupt the auto market
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi/Mumbai: In December 2024, industrialist Sajjan Jindal declared that steelmaker JSW would soon have its own automobile brand. “Our idea is not to be an outpost of a Chinese company to sell products in India," Jindal told the Financial Times.
“We want to manufacture the products in India, value-add in India, and sell them in India." The declaration came about nine months after the JSW Group had entered the automobile business after forming a joint venture with China-based SAIC Motor, which now owns the British-origin MG brand of vehicles. Jindal’s intention of doubling down on the automobile business will culminate in India getting its first new homegrown carmaker this millennium. But why does a legacy group, whose cash cow is the steel business, want to get into the intensely competitive automobile sector given the risks? India’s car market is one of the most consolidated in the world.
According to data from government portal Vahan, the top four carmakers—Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra, Tata Motors and Hyundai—controlled about 80% retail market share of the 4.5 million passenger vehicle market at the end of 2025. Much of that share comes from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, which make up 70% of the market. Brands such as Ford Motor, General Motors have fallen by the wayside in the ICE rink over the years, while other foreign giants, including Volkswagen Group, Nissan and Renault, continue to struggle.
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