Minda Industries Ltd recently announced that it has entered into a Joint Venture agreement with FRIWO AG Germany to manufacture and supply various electric vehicle components in the Indian subcontinent. In a regulatory filing with Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the company said it will hold a majority stake of 50.1 per cent in the joint venture entity. The Joint Venture plans to incur a capital expenditure of around Rs. 390 crore for the next six years. The company also expects a surge in two-wheeler electric vehicles over the next 5-6 years in the country.
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Minda Industries will hold a majority stake of 50.1 per cent in the joint venture entity.
Minda Industries also plans to invest Rs. 71 crore in one or more tranches as an equity investment to partly fund the above expenditure. The remaining funding requirement will be met through a mix of internal accruals, equity investment and debt.
Nirmal K Minda, CMD, Uno Minda Group said, "Electrification will play an important role in the transformation of the mobility industry and presents major opportunities to the entire mobility ecosystem. We are delighted to partner with FR/WO to expand our product capabilities to serve such rising EV opportunities. By combining our technologies and production capabilities, we can create a true leader in the rapidly growing e-vehicles market. The partnership has been forged at an opportune time where the EV industry is on the cusp of a growth trajectory facilitated by favourable government policy and incentives. We are confident to play a key catalyst role in electric vehicle revolution and sustainability mobility in India."
Rolf Schwirz, CEO of FRIWO comments, "This Joint Venture is a great opportunity for FRIWO to facilitate its expertise and innovation driven e-mobility business. The Joint Venture will have a distinct product portfolio with shared facilities, sophisticated, but also market proven technology, high quality and engineering standards from both FRIWO and UNO MINDA, at optimized costs to the customers' benefit. This winning combination will enable the Joint Venture to successfully establish a leading position in the two and three-wheeler electric vehicles markets in India, as well as unlock the potential of other markets".
The joint venture will help the company to further strengthen the EV product portfolio and accelerate the manufacturing of various EV components in India.
The Board has also approved an investment of Euro 15 million in FRIWO AG via a capital increase to strengthen the industrial partnership between the two groups. The Joint Venture will combine the manufacturing and technology expertise of UNO MINDA and FRIWO's experience in providing e-mobility solutions to manufacture and market e-drive solutions for electrical two-and three-wheelers in India. The combined entity will be able to offer full-line e-drive-solutions for the Indian market. The joint venture will help the company to further strengthen the EV product portfolio and accelerate the development and manufacturing of various EV components in India.
