Auto parts companies riding high on premiumisation

Mumbai: Makers of car sensors, sunroofs, alloy wheels, ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) instrument clusters and other such parts and systems are experiencing surging demand due to the premiumisation wave sweeping India’s growing automobile industry. These companies have become a major beneficiary of the growing demand for cars and SUVs with high-end features related to safety and comfort, stricter regulations and a thrust on making in India.

Pune-based Tata AutoComp Systems, which makes auto parts like seating systems, battery packs, ADAS, and telematics, has secured over Rs 10,000 crore worth of orders from automakers till date this fiscal year, said Arvind Goel, chairman.

“In terms of orderbook, this year is the highest ever for our group (including companies in India and outside). In value terms, it could be in excess of Rs 10,000 crore,” Goel told ET. He attributed the strong order flow to the rising value per car due to the addition of new features.

For instance, if a particular passenger carmaker sees rising demand for a variant that comes with massage seats, it will demand more of such seats that come with additional parts such as sensors, actuators, etc, increasing the overall cost and eventually enhancing the value of the supply for the seat system. Goel also attributed it to carmakers lining up multiple models for launch across segments over the next three years and a faster pace of introducing car facelifts and refreshes.“If there were no new models, there won’t be any new orders, just schedules,” he added. He expects Tata AutoComp group to end the current fiscal with revenues of about Rs 20,000 crore, 12% more than FY24.

Others are also benefiting from this trend. Uno Minda, India’s largest auto component maker in revenue terms, is seeing a rise in potential kit value-value of cumulative parts and supplies-for SUVs nearly doubling to Rs 2.06 lakh in FY24 from Rs 1.2 lakh in FY20. The company has seen the value spike even in supplies for scooters-to Rs 14,851 from Rs 4,517 in the same period, according to an investor presentation on its website.

“We now have a bouquet of over 20 product lines, and we will now be concentrating on vertical growth as a lot of localisation and import substitution is required,” Nirmal K Minda, chairman and managing director, Uno Minda, told ET.

Owing to the increase in the number of products the company is supplying, its kit value has been going up, he noted.

According to Mitul Shah, analyst at Dam Capital Advisors, the premiumisation trend seen in the past few years across segments is expected to continue for at least the next five to seven years till most features are available in the base model itself. “More than the vehicle manufacturers, the trend has benefitted and would continue to benefit select auto ancillary companies. It has led to a significant jump in revenues and profitability of auto ancillary firms and also reflects in their share prices that have delivered high returns to the tune of 10x in the last 4-5 years,” he said.

Both Tata AutoComp and Uno Minda are tapping into the Make in India trend.

Minda, which recently inked an agreement with Japan’s Aisin for making sunroofs, has secured a large order from a carmaker. Its kit value is estimated to be Rs25,000-30,000 per unit. Tata AutoComp recently started production and supplies of dual clutch transmission for cars which were imported till recently.