Nirmal K. Minda and Family

Uno Minda supplies components to vehicles running on combustion engines and to those running on electricity. The bet is that both markets matter for the next decade.

Nirmal K. Minda transformed a workshop founded by his father S.L. Minda in 1958 into Uno Minda, a Tier-1 automotive components supplier with manufacturing operations across India and over 13 other countries. The product range, covering lighting systems, switches, sensors, alloy wheels, seating and EV-specific components, covers categories where automotive OEMs outsource to suppliers who can meet precise specifications consistently across large volumes. Building credibility with major OEMs in this business takes years, because a failed component in a vehicle is a safety issue and a warranty cost.

The company's pivot toward EV-compatible components mirrors the broader transition in India's automotive sector, where the shift away from internal combustion engines is changing the bill of materials for each vehicle. Suppliers whose products are specific to combustion engines face potential volume decline; those who have invested early in EV technologies are positioned to grow with the transition. Uno Minda has invested on both sides, maintaining its combustion engine business while building the EV component portfolio that the next decade will require.