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Like its peers, the Uno Minda Group has worked out efficiencies to face the supply chain bottlenecks and the contingencies around skilled labour. It is also dealing with poaching from the tech industry known to have a similar set of requirements when it comes to trained manpower. In comparison to the tech industry facing the heat of a challenging micro and macro economic environment, Uno Minda and the industry as a whole are confident of tapping the diverse set of opportunities coming their way. Speaking for the former, Nirmal K Minda, Chairman and Managing Director, of Uno Minda Group is of the firm belief that the next decade will witness changes at an unprecedented pace unlike in the past four decades. Expecting the industry to scale 2-2.5x of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the group has well-demarcated strategies for both its OE sales as well as the aftermarket. Any diversification is undertaken only with the customer’s consent and with a suited joint alliance put in place.

Taking along JV partners, some dating back three decades, the motto is to combine the partner’s manufacturing capability and leverage the inherent low-cost manufacturing prowess. With a laser-sharp focus on localisation under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, the company is equally concerned with the welfare of its stakeholders who aspire to penetrate deeper into the domestic market. For those stakeholders, with export aspirations, the company steps in to help bring down costs further. In addition to a strategy adopted for its OE supplies, the company has also aligned its aftermarket portfolio to the needs arising out of mega trends like personalisation, autonomous, connected, and electrified.

Aftermarket strategy

The aftermarket segment has had its share of ups and downs. Over the last few years, especially during Covid-19, where there were serious issues with the availability of spare parts. “But there are many companies who did very well in that period. And I think the ones who started earlier, could manage the long-term spending and also managed the supply chains very well,” shared Rakesh Kher, Chief Executive Officer, Aftermarkets Division, Uno Minda Ltd. While admitting to demand not being as robust or deep, he expressed confidence in the situation being far more favourable today and not as challenging. “The demand