Tesla hits it off with Indian parts makers

India shift generated $135-150 mn business for component firms

- Alisha Sachdev

Indian auto parts makers are emerging as preferred suppliers to Tesla Inc. as it diversifies away from China, two people familiar with the development said, with the US electric car giant often willing to pay a higher price for the shift.

Tesla now sources a range of India-made components from small plastic parts and castings, to complex differential systems used in transmission, and wheel hubs. Industry data sourced by Mint showed that 30 component makers —including Indian firms and multinationals with manufacturing operations in India—exported parts worth $135-150 million to Tesla in 2022-23.

However, additional sales by Tier-2 and tier-3 suppliers, that is, suppliers who provide parts to direct suppliers, are likely to add to this figure.

Some of the biggest ones are Sona Comstar, the largest Indian supplier for Tesla, as well as Graziano Trasmissioni India Pvt. Ltd (DANA Graziano, a DANA group company), Tata AutoComp Systems Ltd, CISWW Engineering India Pvt. Ltd and Bharat Forge Ltd. Mint could not verify details of the suppliers’ business with Tesla, given their non-disclosure agreements with the US firm.