Uno Minda shares soar 19% to hit record high on deal with Chinese firm

Shares of auto components maker Uno Minda rose as much as 19% in intraday trade on Thursday after the company announced its partnership with China’s Suzhou lnovance Automotive Co to manufacture high voltage category electric vehicle products for passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle in India.

Uno Minda aims to further strengthen the partnership by transitioning it into a joint venture, subject to regulatory approvals.

Reacting to the development, shares of Uno Minda opened at ₹900 against their previous closing price of ₹861. The auto ancillary stock hit a 52-week high of ₹1,025 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), taking the company’s market cap to over ₹58,000 crore.

The auto component stock has gained 50% in 2024 and 82% over the past year.

Uno Minda, formerly known as Minda Industries, is a global Tier-1 supplier of automotive systems and solutions to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Under the new partnership, Uno Minda plans to make select electric vehicle products include Charging Control Unit (CCU), EV inverter, EV motors and nextgeneration 3-in-1 electric drive systems (e-Axle).

This partnership will significantly expand Uno Minda's electric four-wheeler product portfolio, enabling them to effectively cater to the growing Indian EV market, the company says in a statement.

Founded in 2003, lnovance is a leading global provider of products and solutions in general industry, elevator, rail transit and new-energy vehicle (NEV), achieving over $4.2 billion in revenue in FY23. Suzhou lnovance Automotive Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of lnovance, boasts a global presence with operations spanning Germany, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Hungary, India, Japan, Thailand, and China. lnovance Automotive is a leading provider of components and systems for both electric and hybrid vehicles and supplies to many of the leading Chinese and global passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle OEMs.

The partnership comes at a time when India's passenger car electric vehicle (EV) market is experiencing rapid growth, with sales nearly doubling in FY24 despite limited model availability. This trend is expected to accelerate with new vehicle launches and the entry of global OE Ms.

“Uno Minda is committed to leading the electric vehicle transformation across all vehicle categories. Similar to our success in e-2W, we are building a strong portfolio for e-4W. We are delighted to partner with lnovance Automotive to strengthen our EV product offerings for e-4W vehicles and accelerate India's transition to a sustainable and electrified future,” says Nirmal K Minda, chairman and managing director, Uno Minda Group.

“We are excited to collaborate with Uno Minda to expand our footprint in India's burgeoning EV market while developing innovative integrated electric drive units for the next generation of electric and hybrid vehicles,” says Li Juntian, CEO of lnovance Automotive.