Post on Medial

Who REALLY benefits from Maruti & Tata’s EV plans? Not the shareholders 📛📛 It's such a major deal. And unlike in the past, the media & major institutional investors are also silent for some reason. Let's be more aware! Here's what you should know 👇 .. Cells make up an EV’s 40-60% of the cost. -> Thus, who makes the cells is going to earn the most out of growing EV sales -> This is why Tesla is also gradually expanding its presence in the cell manufacturing value chain -> Similarly, Ford, BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen have all formed JVs with Chinese suppliers to set up cell manufacturing supply chains of their own .. Meanwhile, here in India, Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki India Limited are not really investing in building their own cell manufacturing capacities. Who’s building the plants then? The promoter groups. Tata Sons & Suzuki Motors! .. Tata Motors plan? -> The cells will be bought from an independent Tata Group firm (Agratas Energy Solutions) which is building a mega factory in Gujarat and the UK -> Tata Motors will basically become the engine that makes money for Tata Sons, and not the remaining shareholders .. Maruti Suzuki is also walking down the same road. -> Parent Suzuki is building a Rs 10k crore cell manufacturing plant in Gujarat’s Hansalpur -> Once that’s live in 2026, Maruti Suzuki will buy the cells produced by the parent to power its cars -> Hence, the Japanese promoter will benefit from any growth in Maruti Suzuki’s EV biz, and not the other shareholders .. Some say that the parent companies are building cell & battery plants doing this to keep the balance sheets of listed units lighter. -> Well, Maruti has a massive lot of cash on the balance sheet, manifold more than what Suzuki is investing into that cell plant -> And the money that Tatas are investing to build cell plants could also have been directly infused into Tata Motors against fresh shares, giving it enough money to build the plant itself It's all about the money motive 😓😓 .. Whenever I raise this, I get the same argument. Cells are a risky business and need a lot of expertise, and promoters are doing this to de-risk the listed businesses. So, Tata Motors or Maruti Suzuki can’t take risks, or hire the right set of experts, but somehow their parents can? How does that add up? .. A decade ago, Suzuki established Suzuki Motor Gujarat. The plan? -> This entity would make and sell as many as 10L cars to Maruti Suzuki on a profit basis every year, which would be further sold by Maruti via its massive dealer network -> This was met with serious investor retaliation, following which Suzuki bent down, and agreed to supply all vehicles produced at no profit basis, without any profits Ten years later, such powerful investor scrutiny is nowhere to be seen.