ZF invests €200M to grow India business
June 29, 2021
ZF Group, headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Germany, reports that it will invest around €200 million as part of the group’s strategic plan to grow its business in India over the next decade. The plan will see consolidation of businesses by expanding its wholly owned subsidiaries, as well as capitalising on the capabilities of joint venture partners.
Dr Holger Klein, ZF Group member of the board responsible for Asia Pacific and India, stated ”Despite the current severe situation regarding COVID-19 in India, the ZF Group strongly believes in the long-term growth potential of the region. Therefore, we are launching a Refresh India four-point strategy. This includes an intensive plan to rapidly grow our business in one of the largest automotive markets in the world. We plan to invest around €200 million in the next few years to aid this growth through product launches, manufacturing, and engineering footprint expansions, hiring and other developments across all business domains.”
The ‘Refresh India’ four-point strategy is composed of four key areas that support the strategic repositioning of the ZF brand identity in the country. The journey of ZF Group in India is reported to have evolved significantly over the last few decades, and the new brand identity of the group in the region will be accurately represented in this new phase through Refresh India.
The four point strategy will include:
- Readapt
Through higher levels of localisation and a strong focus on design-to- market-solutions. ZF aims to introduce advanced global technological solutions at an affordable value for the Indian market. - Reinforce
India will become a global hub for worldwide requirements across R&D, IT & digital innovation, manufacturing and material sourcing. Substantial progress has been made recently to utilise the Indian supplier base for part requirements for the various divisions. ZF will continue to leverage India’s manufacturing capabilities by expanding its footprint in the country. The group will set up a new manufacturing facility in Chennai along with plans to increase the utilisation of other facilities. - Retain
Having won the distinction of ‘Great Places to Work’, ZF Group will continue to set high standards for performances in the areas of safety, quality, and sustainability. ZF will also continue to unlock its innovation power in the region by investing in the overall development of its employees. - Restructure
ZF Group divested its shareholding interest of 49% in Brakes India to meet the Anti-Trust guidelines of CCI, post the acquisition of WABCO. Furthermore, ZF Group is a majority stakeholder of WABCO India and is undertaking the necessary steps to ensure all regulatory guidelines are being adhered to. The integration of WABCO into the ZF Group is well underway and is expected to be completed by the end of the year as planned.
“ZF already enjoys a leading position across various technology solutions in automotive and non-automotive business segments, as a preferred partner of choice,” added Dr Klein. “ZF is also well positioned to shape the future e mobility and next-generation technology in the Indian market through its global portfolio. ZF is partnering with Mahindra Racing for Formula E supplying silicon carbide-based power electronics alongside the electric motor and transmission. This partnership heralds’ endless possibilities for future introduction of such advanced technologies in the region as these technologies get tested under the harshest conditions.”
Klein concluded, “In the Commercial Vehicle space, the acquisition of WABCO bolsters our manufacturing and engineering capabilities to increase the content per vehicle. In this next phase of growth, we will also continue to leverage India as a global sourcing hub across four areas: R&D majorly focusing on software development, IT & Digital Innovation, Manufacturing and Material Sourcing.”
