Automobile stock radar: CEAT, Uno Minda, Lumax and 7 other auto part makers give a rare peek into car industry’s future plans

Top management from CEAT, Uno Minda, Lumax, Rolex Rings and seven other auto component companies sat down with analysts at the Equirus India Growth Summit. What came out was a clear picture of where profits, exports and new technology are headed over the next three years.

From EV transmissions to LED headlights to tyre price hikes, here's what every company revealed about its next phase of growth as they talked with analysts at the Equirus India Growth Summit.

CEAT has already pushed through roughly a 10% price hike on replacement tyres since July, with another 2 to 3% increase planned for August. The reason is simple: natural rubber prices are sitting at a two year high, and overall raw material costs are expected to climb another 8 to 10% this quarter alone.

There is a silver lining though. CEAT's Camso business, which makes tyres for construction and forestry equipment, is now running at about 10 million dollars a month, with 60% of former Michelin customers already switched over to CEAT. That transition should be nearly complete by September.

Kross Ltd has just switched on a new axle beam extrusion plant, set to start commercial production in August 2026. Extrusion is the standard method used globally to make trailer axle beams, but in India, companies have always relied on welded construction instead.

Kross will be the first Indian company to use this extrusion process, and management believes it can charge a 2 to 3% price premium for it. The company currently holds around 27 to 28% market share in trailer axles, trailing only York's 43 to 45% share, and sees this new technology as its path to closing that gap.

Lumax Industries is targeting revenue of about 9,000 crore rupees by FY31, up sharply from current levels, driven almost entirely by the shift toward LED lighting. LED technology already makes up 90% of the company's 2,500 crore rupee order book.

The bigger opportunity is per car value. Lumax currently earns 15,000 to 20,000 rupees per passenger vehicle from lighting alone, and expects that number to jump 40 to 50% over the next two years as automakers adopt higher end lighting systems across their lineups.

After a rough FY26, Rolex Rings is seeing real recovery in its export markets. Business from customer Allison has climbed back close to FY25 levels after dropping 35 to 40% last year, and new orders are ramping up well in both the US and Europe.

Europe alone is expected to make up 26% of Rolex's revenue in FY27, up from just 18% two years ago. The company is also in talks for a possible joint venture with a European partner that would open the door to new customers while keeping manufacturing in India.

Sharda Motor currently earns about 300 crore rupees from lightweight auto parts like control arms and subframes, but management believes that number could grow four to five times to as much as 1,500 crore rupees by FY31.

That confidence comes from a new partnership with Korean firm Donghee, which is expected to boost the company's design and engineering strength. Combined, the two are already pitching new lightweighting products to major automakers, positioning Sharda to grab a meaningful slice of what could become a 10,000 crore rupee market.

Uno Minda is putting 320 crore rupees into a brand new 4 wheeler seating business, entering a market worth roughly 20,000 crore rupees. Each vehicle's seating kit could be worth 30,000 to 50,000 rupees, though the company admits competition in this space will be intense.

At the same time, Uno Minda already dominates switches for cars and two wheelers with over 50% market share, and just landed a fresh 600 crore rupee order in mass market infotainment systems, an area where it previously only served the premium segment.

Uniparts India makes parts for construction and farm equipment, and its construction equipment segment is now riding a surprising tailwind: data centre construction in the US. That segment already makes up 45% of the company's revenue and continues to gain strength.

Meanwhile, the company's agriculture business is finally turning a corner after three years of decline, with a full recovery expected in 2027. Uniparts is also actively scouting acquisitions, having evaluated a dozen potential targets since going public.

Varroc Engineering is targeting 20,000 crore rupees in revenue by FY31, roughly double where it stands today. Much of that growth is expected to come from electric vehicles, where Varroc earns far more per unit than it does from traditional fuel powered vehicles.

The company already earns about 35,000 rupees per electric two wheeler and up to 45,000 rupees per electric three wheeler in content value. Its overseas electronics business in Romania is expected to grow more than 40 times over, from just 45 crore rupees today to over 2,000 crore rupees by 2031.

Only 5% of Indian vehicles currently come with all wheel or four wheel drive, compared to about 40% in the United States. Divgi Torqtransfer sees that massive gap as its long term growth runway, supplying the transfer cases that make those drivetrains possible.

The company is also entering automatic transmissions for SUVs and pickup trucks, targeting 50,000 units and roughly 500 crore rupees in revenue from a market where only 30% of vehicles currently have automatic options. Production is expected to start in the second half of 2028.

Happy Forgings is entering heavy forgings, a notoriously difficult business to break into due to its long two year setup time, which works in the company's favor once it's established. Management sees 2,000 crore rupees of revenue potential from this business alone within three years of launch.

The company has already invested 500 crore rupees and plans to spend 1,000 crore rupees more, backed by data centre related orders from Cummins and Caterpillar. Gross margins on machined crankshafts could reach as high as 80%, nearly double what the company earns on its traditional forging business.