Production of passenger vehicles (PVs) in India recorded a healthy growth of 5.2 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2015-16 and 2018-19, due to a spurt in domestic and exports demand. “Domestic demand was driven by the expansion in the addressable market, development of infrastructure and stable cost of vehicle ownership, as crude oil prices remained low except in the few months when output was reduced due to sanctions imposed on Iran,” says a CRISIL research report. Demonetisation and implementation of the Goods & Services Tax (GST) resulted in the weakening of the economy. Coupled with the emission and safety norms introduced by the government of India, this resulted in sluggish growth in the PV industry after 2017-18. Production in 2018-19 remained flat, with India producing 4.03 million PVs, of which 3.38 million vehicles were sold in the domestic market and 0.68 million, exported. “However, in 2019-20, lower private consumption and inventory adjustment because of a change in emission norms from BS IV to BS VI, liquidity crisis and the onset of Covid-19 resulted in a decline of 15 per cent in production. Domestic sales fell 18 per cent, whereas exports remained flat. As Covid-19 spreads on close contact, the use of public transportation and shared mobility services were expected to be impacted and this has given a boost to personal mobility. Despite the real GDP likely to contract by 7.5 per cent in 2020-21, PV production is expected to decline by 3-5 per cent, as domestic sales are expected to come down by 3-5 per cent too, while exports may fall even further – say, by 30-35 per cent,” adds the CRISIL report. Sona BLW Precision Forgings, which is an automotive technology company, is primarily engaged in designing, manufacturing and supplying highly engineered, mission-critical automotive systems and components. It makes components, such as differential assemblies, differential gears, conventional and micro-hybrid starter motors, BSG systems, EV traction motors and motor control units to automotive OEMs across the US, Europe, India and China, for both electrified and non-electrified power-train segments. In addition, Sona is a leading supplier to the fast-growing global electric vehicle (EV) markets and derived 13.8 per cent of its revenue from the battery EV (BEV) market and 26.7 per cent from the micro hybrid market in 2020-21. “Our global market share of BEV differential assemblies 2020 was 8.7 per cent,” affirms Sunjay Kapur, chairman, Sona Comstar. “The company is among the top 10 players globally in the differential bevel gear market as also in the starter motor market, on the basis of respective volumes supplied to its end segments in 2020; also, it has been gaining global market share across products.” “A differential gear is a critical component of a vehicle’s power transmission system,” adds a Canara Bank Securities’ report on the company. “Differential gears are mounted as an assembly of high-precision bevel gears on the drive axle. A differential assembly plays an integral role in how a vehicle turns. These transitions between various players within the chain CDR market have only added to its burgeoning growth.” The report goes on to state that Sona Comstar, Sundaram Fasteners and India Pistons are the key manufacturers of differential gears in India – Sona Comstar being the largest manufacturer of differential gears for PVs, with an estimated market share of 55-60 per cent.
-
Sona Comstar is the largest manufacturer of differential gears for PVs
