Gabriel India to make car sunroofs

 PUNE: Gabriel India, the BSE-listed auto component manufacture, on Tuesday signed a technical collaboration with the $1.5 billion (Rs 12,370 crore) Dutch-based Inalfa Roof Systems (Inalfa) to manufacture sunroofs for the fast-growing Indian automotive market with an initial investment of Rs 180 crore ($22 million).

The newly formed Inalfa Gabriel Sunroof Systems (IGSS), which will initially be a wholly owned subsidiary of Gabriel India, will manufacture sunroofs for passenger vehicles at a new plant near Chennai that will start operations in the Q1 of CY 2024 at a projected $22 million investment.

The IGSS will be converted into a joint venture between Inalfa and Gabriel India, with Inalfa holding 51 per cent shareholding.

The new company will create over 250 direct and indirect jobs in India.

“Gabriel’s alliance with Inalfa, Netherlands, known for its pioneering and high-quality roof systems, is a winner for both Gabriel and Inalfa in multiple ways,” said Anjali Singh, Executive Chairperson of the $2-billion Aanand Group, whose range of auto components and systems are present in more than 99 per cent of passenger vehicles on Indian roads.

Interestingly, some OEMs including Gabriel customers are seeing close to around 40 per cent of their passenger vehicle sales come with models equipped with sunroofs.

The partners say industry assessments project that automotive sunroof sales in India could cross well over 7 lakh units this calendar year as against 5 lakh units in 2022.

The global automotive sunroof market is expected to reach $13.6 billion (Rs 112,519 crore) with a CAGR of 9.3 per cent between 2010 and 2030.

Inalfa Roof Systems Group, with a $1.5 billion turnover, is a global market leader in automotive sunroof systems, with a presence in 15 locations worldwide.