In further consolidation of its operations in the Indian market, global technology company, ZF has increased its shares in the Rane TRW Steering Systems joint venture with the Rane Group. The German major will now hold majority shares in the JV with 51% stake. Until now, both partners held equal shares in the company.
The change in shareholding will also reflect in the name of the company. The company, which employs around 3,400 people, will henceforth operate under the name ZF Rane Automotive India.
In a media statement, the company said this JV will further enhance the abilities of the partners to offer newer technologies, expedite new product introductions, and localisation with Rane Group as a strategic partner to leverage competence, in line with ZF’s Refresh India strategy.
Dr Holger Klein, Member of the Board of Management (BOM), ZF Group called India a very important market for ZF, and said ZF wants to grow sustainably in this market. “By acquiring a majority stake from our long-standing partner Rane, we aim to further expand both our passenger car and commercial vehicle business for our customers in the India region,” Dr Klein said.
Harish Lakshman, Vice Chairman, Rane Group & Managing Director, Rane TRW Steering Systems said, “Our relationship with ZF has gone from strength-to-strength over the past 35 years and the transfer of 1% to ZF is a major step in taking the relationship to the next level. We look forward to bring superior technology matching the customer requirements.”
On his part, Suresh KV, President ZF India said the complementary nature of the partners has been the hallmark of this JV, which has resulted in the organization performing consistently over the years. Supporting the Indian customer base with ZF engineering and technology along with the customer connect and operations excellence of Rane will continue to be the goal of this JV in future, Suresh said.
Founded in 1987 by Rane and TRW to produce steering systems for commercial vehicles, the company added occupant protection systems for passenger cars in 1997. ZF Group became a co-owner of the company with the acquisition of TRW in 2015, which now produces steering gears, airbags and seat belt systems at five locations in India. In 2019, the partners opened a new occupant protection systems plant in Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu.