Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. Business Report up until FY ended Mar. 2012
Business Highlights
Recent Years
Business Overview
-Sales in FY ended Mar. 31, 2012 increased by 17.8% to Rs. 14,212.5 million (FY ended Mar. 31, 2011: Rs. 12,067.8 million), despite Indian passenger car sales growing only 2%.
Recent Development in India
JTEKT Sona Automotive India Limited (JSAI)
-In FY ended Mar. 31, 2012, JSAI started mass production of Column Type Electric Power Steering System (C-EPS) for Nissan "Sunny".
-In FY ended Mar. 31, 2012, the development activities for Honda "Brio" and Ashock Nissan-MUV have been completed and the start of production for both items is scheduled for August, 2012.
Sona Fuji Kiko Automotive Limited (SFAL)
-In FY ended Mar. 31, 2012, SFAL continued with its production as bellow;
Sona Stampings Limited (SSL)
-In FY ended Mar. 31, 2012, SSL has shifted from its present location in Farukhnagar to a new industrial location premises in Gurgaon to improve the operational efficiency.
-In 2010, the Company sold small value investments in its two joint ventures, Sona AutoComp Europe SARL and Sona AutoCamp USA, in line with Comany's policy to divest from areas where the Company has no strategic control or direct participation in the management.
-In 2007, the Company announced that it established Jtekt Sona Automotive India Ltd. to manufacture electric power steering systems (EPSs) in the Bawal Industrial District in Haryana, India. Commercial production is scheduled to begin in January, 2010. Jtekt Sona Automotive India will produce 600,000 column-type EPSs for use in medium and small vehicles assembled at local plants of Japanese automakers. The new joint venture company is capitalized at 1.5 billion yen, of which 51 percent was provided by JTEKT and the remaining 49 percent was invested by the Company. The Company and JTEKT plan to invest a total of 3.5 billion yen to construct a manufacturing facility on a 40,000-square-meter land. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on Oct. 23, 2007)
-In FY2006, the Company entered into a majority owned joint venture "Arjan Stampings Private Limited" with Arjan Auto Private Limited. The joint venture will manufacture stamped parts used by customers in Europe for steering columns and seat recliners.
Business Overview
-Sales in FY ended Mar. 31, 2012 increased by 17.8% to Rs. 14,212.5 million (FY ended Mar. 31, 2011: Rs. 12,067.8 million), despite Indian passenger car sales growing only 2%.Recent Development in India
JTEKT Sona Automotive India Limited (JSAI)-In FY ended Mar. 31, 2012, JSAI started mass production of Column Type Electric Power Steering System (C-EPS) for Nissan "Sunny".
-In FY ended Mar. 31, 2012, the development activities for Honda "Brio" and Ashock Nissan-MUV have been completed and the start of production for both items is scheduled for August, 2012.
Sona Fuji Kiko Automotive Limited (SFAL)
-In FY ended Mar. 31, 2012, SFAL continued with its production as bellow;
- Jacket assembly and intermediate shaft for Nissan "Micra" and Maruti Suzuki "Wagon R"
- Jacket assembly and intermediate shaft for Toyota "Etios"
Sona Stampings Limited (SSL)
-In FY ended Mar. 31, 2012, SSL has shifted from its present location in Farukhnagar to a new industrial location premises in Gurgaon to improve the operational efficiency.
Divestitures
-In 2011, American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AAM) announced that it has assumed full ownership of the AAM Sona Axle Private Limited Joint Venture (AAM Sona Axle) in India. AAM Sona Axle, previously a joint venture between AAM and Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. manufactures and sells light truck, passenger car and SUV axle assemblies for the India market. (From a press release on January 7, 2011)-In 2010, the Company sold small value investments in its two joint ventures, Sona AutoComp Europe SARL and Sona AutoCamp USA, in line with Comany's policy to divest from areas where the Company has no strategic control or direct participation in the management.
Joint Venture
-In 2007, the Company announced that it has formed a joint venture with American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AAM). The new company, AAM Sona Axle Private Limited (AAM Sona Axle), will manufacture and sell light truck, passenger car and SUV axle assemblies for the India market. The Corporate headquarters of AAM Sona Axle will be located in Pune, India, and a new manufacturing facility will be constructed in north India. The facility is expected to launch in 2008 with the production of light vehicle axles for Tata Motors. (From a press release on Oct. 30, 2007)-In 2007, the Company announced that it established Jtekt Sona Automotive India Ltd. to manufacture electric power steering systems (EPSs) in the Bawal Industrial District in Haryana, India. Commercial production is scheduled to begin in January, 2010. Jtekt Sona Automotive India will produce 600,000 column-type EPSs for use in medium and small vehicles assembled at local plants of Japanese automakers. The new joint venture company is capitalized at 1.5 billion yen, of which 51 percent was provided by JTEKT and the remaining 49 percent was invested by the Company. The Company and JTEKT plan to invest a total of 3.5 billion yen to construct a manufacturing facility on a 40,000-square-meter land. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on Oct. 23, 2007)
-In FY2006, the Company entered into a majority owned joint venture "Arjan Stampings Private Limited" with Arjan Auto Private Limited. The joint venture will manufacture stamped parts used by customers in Europe for steering columns and seat recliners.
Contracts
| Year | Company name | OEM | Model | Product |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2012 | Sona Fuji Kiko Automotive Limited | Toyota |
Etios |
Jacket assembly and intermediate shaft |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2012 | Sona Fuji Kiko Automotive Limited | Nissan |
Micra |
Jacket assembly and intermediate shaft |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2012 | Sona Fuji Kiko Automotive Limited | Maruti Suzuki |
Wagon R |
Jacket assembly and intermediate shaft |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2011 | Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | Mahindra & Mahindra |
W408 |
- |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2011 | Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | Tata | Ace 0.5 ton | - |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2011 | Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | Maruti Suzuki | YP8 | |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | Tata | Nano | Differential case assembly |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | Tata | Nano | Steering column |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | Tata | Nano | Steering gear |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | Ford | Fiesta | - |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | Ford | Figo | - |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | Maruti Suzuki | Alto K series | - |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | Tata | Ace 1 ton | - |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | Sonalika | Rhino | - |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | Toyota | EFC | - |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Sona Fuji Kiko Automotive Ltd. | Nissan | Micra | Steering jacket assembly, Intermediate shaft |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Sona Fuji Kiko Automotive Ltd. | Nissan | Wagon R | Steering jacket assembly, Intermediate shaft |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Sona Fuji Kiko Automotive Ltd. | Toyota | Etios | Steering jacket assembly, Intermediate shaft |
Awards
| Year | Award | Company |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2012 | Production System Excellence Award & Human Resource Excellence Award | Maruti Suzuki |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Excellence Award under the categories of "Research & Development", "Tire 2 Up-gradation" | Maruti Suzuki |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Best Award for Quality | Ez-Go |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Quality Certificate | Toyota Kirloskar |
| FY ended Mar. 31. 2010 | Pursuit of Excellence in Quality | Tata |
R&D
R&D Expenditure |
(in Rs. million) |
| FY ended Mar. 31, 2012 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2011 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2010 | |
| Overall | 26.3 | 23.5 | 15.4 |
R&D Activities
-In FY ended Mar. 31, 2012, the Company's future areas of research include development of power transmission-electronic control unit (ECU) for electric/hybrid vehicle and refinement of steer by wire technology.Product Development
Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd.-In 2010, the Company has developed the EPAM (Electronic Power Assist Module) for off highway vehicle applications, which uses less fuel and costs about 20 percent cheaper than existing electronic power steering systems. Facilities to manufacture EPAM have been set up at the Dharuhera plant and the Company is now preparing for mass production in FY2012.
Technological Alliance
-The Company has technical partnership with JTEKT Corparation, Japan, Mando Corporation, Korea and Fuji Autotech AB, Sweden, as of Mar. 31, 2012.Investment Activities
Capital Expenditures |
(in Rs. million) |
| FY ended Mar. 31, 2012 | FY ended Mar. 31, 2011 | |
| Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd. | 1,146 | 419 |
-The Company incurred a capex of Rs. 1,146 million towards setting up a new facility at Dharuhera to manufacture steering systems and establishing an aluminum die-casting facility at Dharuhera.
Investment in India
Sona Koyo Steering Systems Ltd.<Investment projects 2010-2011>
- In order to improve quality and reduce costs, the Company is exploring options of backward integration. It has already initiated a project to set up an aluminum die casting plant at a new location in Malpura, near Dharuhera.
- The Company has also decided to set up facilities for internal sourcing, which essentially involves in-house machining of certain key components.
- Capital outlay of Rs.50 crore has been earmarked for the above-mentioned projects.
Jtekt Sona Automotive India Limited
-In FY ended Mar. 31, 2009, the Company announced that the construction of Jtekt Sona Automotive India plant has been completed in the month of February, 2009. The commercial supply of reduction gear assembly is expected to start from November, 2009 and that of C-EPS is expected to commence from March, 2010.
Sona Fuji Kiko Automotive Limited
-In FY ended Mar. 31, 2009, the Company announced that Sona Fuji Kiko Automotive facility at Bawal is near completion. The commercial production is expected to commence with effect from November, 2009.