Indian automotive supplier Uno Minda has signed a joint venture agreement with Japanese trading company Toyoda Gosei Co Ltd to manufacture brake hoses and other automotive rubber hoses in the country, as per a statement.
The joint venture (JV) firm, to be called MINDA TG Rubber Pvt Ltd, will be set up with an investment of Rs 85.3 crore in a phased manner.
Uno Minda will own 51 per cent equity stake in the JV, while Toyoda Gosei Co and Toyota Tsusho Corporation will own 44 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively.
“With the rapid technological advancement, customers’ demands for hoses are proliferating. We wish to further strengthen our product portfolio with support of Toyoda Gosei which has comprehensive experience of automotive safety systems,” said Nirmal K Minda, chairman and managing director, Uno Minda Group.
The JV firm will start operations in September 2015 and will supply brake hoses and other automotive rubber hoses to automakers in the Indian market.
The two companies have an existing collaboration. In 2011, Toyoda Gosei and Minda formed Toyoda Gosei Minda India Pvt Ltd (TGMIN), which produces safety systems such as airbags.
“The new joint venture will strengthen the partnership between Toyoda Gosei and Minda and help both companies expand business in the growing market,” the statement said.
Toyoda Gosei group provides a variety of products internationally, with a network of around 100 plants and offices in 18 countries and regions.
On the other side, auto component manufacturer Uno Minda was founded in 1958 and has 37 manufacturing plants in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Spain; design centres in Taiwan and Japan; and sales offices in the US, Europe and Vietnam. It also has a strategic sourcing office in China.
In October, it had signed a JV pact with Japan’s Panasonic Corp to manufacture lead acid batteries.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
