Sona BLW gains as it enters China through JV with Jinnaite Machinery
The two firms signed a binding term sheet to set up a joint venture (JV) that will manufacture and supply driveline systems and components for automotive OEMs in China and across global markets. Sona Comstar will invest $12 million and hold a 60% stake, while JNT will contribute $8 million in assets and business in the first phase.
Operations are expected to kick off in the second half of the current financial year, targeting both EV and internal combustion engine customers.
The move is part of Sona Comstars broader strategy to deepen its footprint in fast-growing Asian markets. China, which sold 11 million EVs in 2024, now accounts for two-thirds of global EV sales. Chinese OEMs dominate the space, capturing 76% of global EV market share, and boosting their exports from 1 million units in 2020 to over 6 million in 2024.
JNT runs a foundry with patented technologies, boasting 63 patents and 36 proprietary innovations, making it a key player in precision casting and mold-making. It has a strong customer base in the automotive, off-highway, and railway sectors. It supplies to the leading Chinese automotive OEMs, as well as North American, European, and Japanese OEMs.
Vivek Vikram Singh, MD & Group CEO of Sona Comstar, said: "I am excited to partner with JNT to establish a driveline manufacturing plant in China. This joint venture marks a significant step in our strategy to expand into the rapidly growing Asian markets. As the largest electric vehicle market in the world and a leader in EV technologies, China offers tremendous opportunities for innovation and growth. By leveraging the strengths of both partners, this venture is well-positioned for strong growth, and it has the potential to become a key supplier of driveline solutions for electric vehicles in the region. With a robust order book already in place, we expect operations to commence later this year."
Gurugram-based Sona BLW Precision Forgings primarily designs, manufactures, and supplies highly engineered, mission-critical automotive systems and components to automotive OEMs. It is a leading supplier to the fast-growing global Electric Vehicle (EV) market. Sona Comstar is the leading supplier of safety systems for railways in India.
The company had reported 10.38% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 164.12 crore on a 2.19% fall in revenue to Rs 864.75 crore in Q1 FY26 as compared with Q1 FY25.
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We are slowly seeing volume growth coming back and there are expectations of better pricing in the markets as of now. When you are looking at the sector, you should be looking at specialty chemicals and also companies where management have continued to invest in capacity over the last couple of years. That is very important. If any management has continued to expand its capacity despite the cyclical downturn that we saw in the industry, that shows that they are confident in terms of medium to long-term growth and if they are already ready with the capacities, those are the names that you need to bet on as you go banking, you need to be more bottom-up at this point of time. There are certain banks which are delivering on growth as well as asset quality. 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