New Delhi: Making massive strides in diversifying its presence across the electric vehicle (EV) space, auto components maker Uno Minda is targeting to touch revenue of over INR 1,500 crore in 5-6 years from its newly formed joint venture with FRIWO AG Germany, according to a senior company official.
Uno Minda, formerly known as Minda Industries, is engaged in the business of manufacturing alloy wheels, lamps, switches, acoustics, infotainment system, blow moulding components, controllers and telematics among others for both EV and internal combustion engines (ICE). As per the agreement, the Gurugram-based auto parts supplier holds a majority stake of 50.1%, with the rest held by FRIWO AG Germany– a global manufacturer of innovative power supply units and e-drive solutions.
“We are delighted to partner with FRIWO to expand our product capabilities and to serve the rising EV opportunities. By combining our technologies and production capabilities, we can become a true leader in the rapidly growing e-vehicles market. We target to achieve annual revenues of around INR 1,500 crore plus from FRIWO joint venture in the next 5-6 years,” Sunil Bohra Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) said in his address to the shareholders in the FY22 annual report.
In December 2021, the company entered into a joint venture agreement with FRIWO AG Germany to manufacture and supply various electric vehicle components for two- and three-wheeler electric vehicles in the Indian subcontinent with a planned capex of INR 390 crore in the next six years. The joint venture now holds one of the most formidable EV product portfolios in the industry with its bouquet of products which include battery packs and BMS, chargers (both On-board and Off-board), smart plug with RCD cable and motor controllers among others.
Post this development, the company’s kit value for two-wheelers and three-wheelers has increased 5-6 times to make it one of the most comprehensive offerings in the industry, the CFO noted. “Our potential kit value for EV two-wheelers has increased from INR 7,300 for ICE engine to INR 25,000 plus with our in-house developed products and further improved to INR 50,000 plus with FRIWO joint venture,” Bohra added.
Besides EV-specific products, the company has been actively engaged with the top six to seven new age electric two-wheeler OEMs for supply of electric as well as its traditional products. In the last financial year 2021-22, the company secured orders of more than INR 400 crore of peak annual sales value from these new age OEMs. “The peak sale is expected in FY25, as our company ramps up the production with an increased adoption of two-wheeler EVs,” the CFO added.
The company, which supplies to leading vehicle manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki, Renault, Nissan, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto Limited, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters, Hyundai, and Royal Enfield, started to strengthen its presence in the electric mobility sector with the establishment of its Center for Research, Engineering and Advanced Technologies (CREAT) in Pune in 2019. At present the centre employs over 200 engineers, working on an array of incubation, EV and non-EV projects.
Meanwhile, Uno Minda is also expanding the production capacities of its two-wheeler and four-wheeler alloy wheels business with a total capital expenditure (capex) of INR 430 crore. Out of this INR 240 crore is earmarked for four-wheeler alloy wheel capacity expansion of 60,000 and 30,000 wheels per month at Bawal and Gujarat plants, respectively. The rest will be spent on two-wheeler alloy wheel capacity expansion of two million wheels per annum at the Supa plant.
“We are very optimistic with increasing demand for both two-wheeler and four-wheeler alloy wheels. We are also enhancing our two-wheeler and four-wheeler alloy wheel capacities by almost 50% to serve these increasing demands. The expansion is expected to be commissioned in a phased manner over the next two years,” Bohra said.
The company closed FY22 with a revenue of INR 8,313 crores in comparison to INR 6,374 crores for FY21. The EBITDA for the same period in FY22 was at INR 885 crore in comparison to INR 727 crores in FY21.
