IMAP India: Industrials Update October 2024

Recent News

• Reliance Industries and Nvidia are to collaborate on building supercomputing infrastructure in India. Nvidia has also partnered with Infosys to roll out small language models based on diverse Indian dialects
• Amber Enterprises signed a JV with South-Korean based Korea Circuit to manufacture Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) in India
• India’s manufacturing PMI rose to 57.4 in October compared to 56.5 in the previous month; a PMI value above 50 indicates growth
• In order to boast India’s space sector ecosystem, the Government of India has approved a $120mn early-stage VC fund under the umbrella of IN-SPACe

Selection of Recent Transactions

DATE     TARGET                                            ACQUISITION

Oct’24     AAM  (India)                                    Bharat Forge acquired 100% in the Indian subsidiary of auto components
                                                                           manufacturing company for $65MN

Oct’24     Orient Cement                                 The Adani Group’s Ambuja Cement acquired ~47% of the CK Birla
                                                                           owned Orient Cement for $450MN

Oct’24     Thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel      JSW Steel & Japan’s JFE Steel acquired the electrical steel manufacturer
                                                                           for $440mn through a 50:50 JV.

Oct’24     Uraj Mobility                                      EV financing provider Mufin green finance invested ~$12mn in the
                                                                              EV 3-wheeler company

Oct’24     Aarav Unmanned Sytems                 The drone manufacture raised ~$2mn in a fundraise led by JSW Ventures

Oct’24     Stellapps                                           The dairy supply chain management company raised ~$26mn Cr in a
                                                                            fundraise led by Blume Ventures

Hybrids’ increasing share in the EV pie!

While sales of BEVs (battery electric vehicles) continue to grow overall, the growth rates have overall dropped. BEVs as a technology has achieved maturity for 2/3Ws, therefore countries with high usage of such vehicles are driving EV adoption. Developed countries that are primarily a 4W market are showing signs of sluggishness as adoption of BEVs beyond early enthusiasts is finding resistance – concerns being higher upfront costs with low resale value, range anxiety with insufficient charging infrastructure and falling government subsidies. Global sales growth for BEVs which averaged ~60% between 2020-23 is expected to reduce to ~20% over the next 4 years.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) or hybrids* with improved performance address many of the issues in BEVs -  along with the low carbon footprint, hybrids have lower upfront costs, higher resale value and alleviate range anxiety, thus gaining popularity in developed nations. Sales of hybrids are expected to increase across geographies going forward:

Globally, the largest players in the PHEV space include - Toyota, Honda,  Hyundai, Ford, BYD, KIA, Volkswagen, Nissan and General Motors.

*A hybrid uses more than one energy source, typically a combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor; Electric Vehicles (EVs) include both plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).