ZF Bets Big on India's Long Game

At EXCON 2025, ZF Group's India leadership makes a strong case for why India's commercial vehicle and construction equipment story must be read through a long-term lens where localisation, technology depth and exports converge, writes Ashish Bhatia

- Ashish Bhatia

As the gates opened at EXCON 2025, the scale and confidence of the ZF Group India booth stood out immediately not just for its size, but for what it represented. Compared to the company's presence two years ago, the footprint had doubled. More importantly, it reflected a deeper strategic commitment to India at a time when short-term market signals remain mixed. In a candid interaction on the show floor, Akash Passey, President & Head – Region India, ZF Group, laid out why India continues to be one of ZF’s most meaningful growth markets globally despite a soft start to FY26.

FY26 began with uncertainty. Q1 volumes across commercial vehicles and construction equipment were muted, and industry growth projections hovered around a cautious two to four per cent across the next couple of fiscal cycles. Yet, Passey was unequivocal in his view that focusing narrowly on quarterly fluctuations risks missing the bigger picture. “India is offering the maximum growth in the world at this stage,” he said. “And our view here is very much long-term, five to ten years. These years are going to define India.”

That conviction is rooted in what ZF leadership sees on the ground. Infrastructure development is visible across cities—metros, offices, residential complexes and industrial corridors. While urban mobility disruptions are inevitable in the short term, the long-term productivity dividend is undeniable. Even the morning commute to EXCON told its own story. “I came here by metro because my car would take much longer,” Passey noted. “That is the reality today but eventually it is helping us.”