Annual revenue growth of leading auto component manufacturing companies will come down to 5-7 per cent in the next fiscal due to moderation in domestic volumes and a drop in exports, rating firm Icra said on Tuesday. According to Icra estimates, its sample of 45 auto ancillaries, with aggregate annual revenues of Rs 2.7 lakh crore in FY23, is likely to grow by 9-11 per cent in FY24, driven by healthy domestic demand despite a high base and moderate growth in exports. For FY25, the growth is likely to be relatively lower to 5-7 per cent, with expected moderation in domestic volume growth and a weak outlook for exports, Icra said. It also noted that capex towards capacity enhancements and technological development resulted in higher investment in FY24, which is likely to continue in FY25. The industry is estimated to incur a capex of at least Rs 20,000-25,000 crore in FY2025, with incremental investments being towards new product additions, product development for committed platforms, ...

Speaking in New Delhi, Jamess Quin, chief executive officer of Faradion Agency, said sodium-ion battery maker Faradion LTD on Thursday said it is actively exploring setting up a battery manufacturing base in India for various applications. The company has won its first order from Australia’s ICM. Citing “superior advantages,” ICM plans to convert sodium-ion batteries into lithium-ion batteries, which will play a key role in the global revolution in the automotive/mobile, storage and mobility industries. In a statement, the company said, “India is one of the largest markets for mobile devices in the world. India has recently made significant progress in the use of EV (electric vehicle) technology, making it a priority market for Paradion.” In addition, the company claims that Faradion’s sodium-ion technology offers a promising solution as the world seeks alternatives to its reliance on Chinese lithium-ion batteries. To this end, Faradion is actively ...

Seetarama Kotagiri, CEO-designate, Magna International Mumbai: Magna International of Canada, the world’s third-largest automotive parts supplier, last week announced the appointment of Seetarama Kotagiri as Chief Executive Officer. An engineer from Andhra Pradesh has gained decades of R&D expertise at the Ontario-based company. He started as a product engineer leading R&D and was later promoted to Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He will serve as the company’s global CEO from January 2021 onwards. In his first interview with the Indian media, Kothagiri told The Economic Times Chaliawala and Ketan Thakkar that the recovery from the new coronavirus pandemic was better than expected and that strong reserves helped Magna weather the crisis. He said the company is open to acquisitions as its business recovers outside of China, including India, where it can take on more commercial responsibilities. /p “Because of my pedigree, I must be biased against India,̶...

ET Cars Sanghi, Founder and Managing Director of JS Fourwheel Motors (P) Limited Nikunj, didn’t reluctantly enter the industry as a car dealer. Coincidentally, he is currently one of the top 10 dealers of Mahindra Mahindra owning 5-3S in Rajasthan Showroom and 1 3S factory of Hero MotoCorp. At a cost of Rs 25 JS crore Fourwheel Motors is striving to add 5-3SSS plants by 2020, taking its total number of dealerships to 11 homes and generating revenues of Rs 50 crore. The initial target was to achieve sales of Rs 50 billion by 2016 but unfortunately it did not materialize. NCR banned diesel vehicles for more than 10 years and the Supreme Court banned the registration of diesel vehicles above 2,000cc in the capital for eight months to curb pollution, affect sales and erode the company’s profits. As a result, profits have fallen by 40% in the last two years and sales have plummeted from 35% starting Rs billion. But now that these court orders have been dismissed, Sanghi is ...