New Delhi: Auto parts maker Sona Comstar has firmed up plans to diversify operations and double the share of revenue to 50% from markets like Japan, China and India amid rising geopolitical tensions in the West.
Speaking to ET, MD & group CEO Vivek Vikram Singh said, management structures were already in place for ensuring business continuity, even prior to the sudden demise of chairman Sunjay Kapur, and that the company will continue to implement its ongoing plans.
Kapur's wife Priya Sachdev has been appointed as a non-executive director in the company, while Jeffrey Mark is the new chairman.
"The company has been professionally run since 2015. Sunjay had separated ownership and management roles early on. The family holds 28% stake but is not involved in operations on a day-to-day basis," said Singh.
Though the US remains Sona Comstar's largest market, the company has also been getting several enquiries from customers in India in the past two months, said Singh, adding long-term plans are being firmed up to have a balanced revenue mix across geographies.
"Over the last decade, demand for automobiles globally has come down. To de-risk our business, we have broadened our focus from automobiles to mobility. We are expanding to meet requirements in other sectors which use motors, transmissions and censors," said Singh. "Geographically too, we are aiming for a 50:50 split between eastern and western markets."
While the Sona Group has factories in both India and China, it is considering opportunities to scale up operations to cater to the local market in the neighbouring country, he said. On potential opportunities for China given the global power realignment due to tariff wars between the US and China, Singh said, "Companies are looking at alternate production bases (away from China). India today has the capability to manufacture highly-engineered products at competitive costs, which makes it an attractive alternative destination."
"We have received multiple RFQs in the last two months," he said, without elaborating.
On importing rare earth magnets from China, Singh said the company has nearly a dozen applications pending.
Speaking to ET, MD & group CEO Vivek Vikram Singh said, management structures were already in place for ensuring business continuity, even prior to the sudden demise of chairman Sunjay Kapur, and that the company will continue to implement its ongoing plans.
Kapur's wife Priya Sachdev has been appointed as a non-executive director in the company, while Jeffrey Mark is the new chairman.
"The company has been professionally run since 2015. Sunjay had separated ownership and management roles early on. The family holds 28% stake but is not involved in operations on a day-to-day basis," said Singh.
Though the US remains Sona Comstar's largest market, the company has also been getting several enquiries from customers in India in the past two months, said Singh, adding long-term plans are being firmed up to have a balanced revenue mix across geographies.
"Over the last decade, demand for automobiles globally has come down. To de-risk our business, we have broadened our focus from automobiles to mobility. We are expanding to meet requirements in other sectors which use motors, transmissions and censors," said Singh. "Geographically too, we are aiming for a 50:50 split between eastern and western markets."
While the Sona Group has factories in both India and China, it is considering opportunities to scale up operations to cater to the local market in the neighbouring country, he said. On potential opportunities for China given the global power realignment due to tariff wars between the US and China, Singh said, "Companies are looking at alternate production bases (away from China). India today has the capability to manufacture highly-engineered products at competitive costs, which makes it an attractive alternative destination."
"We have received multiple RFQs in the last two months," he said, without elaborating.
On importing rare earth magnets from China, Singh said the company has nearly a dozen applications pending.
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