During the 64th AGM conducted via video conferencing on Wednesday, Wheels India’s chairman S Ram informed shareholders that the company is anticipating growth in its aluminium wheels export business due to its strong relationships with global OEMs.

The company will start supplying cast aluminium wheels to OEMs in the latter part of the year, and they expect the demand for the company’s steel and aluminium wheels to grow.

In FY23, the demand for Commercial Vehicles (CVs) was driven by the government’s infrastructure drive, higher utilization of fleets, and replacement demand.

S. Ram explained: “This year, there is expected to be some growth in the goods segment of the CV industry and strong growth in the bus segment driven by a modernisation drive by STUs and strong demand for buses for the school/office segment. This should benefit demand for Wheels India’s wheels and air suspension systems.”

There were also some structural changes in the sub-segments of the CV industry to align with load rating changes that happened prior to the pandemic and higher horsepower vehicles in some segments. This should augment the demand for Wheels India’s wheels and air suspension solutions.  

Additionally, the supply of wheels and fabrications to the construction equipment industry saw strong growth in FY23, driven by both domestic and export demand. The demand is expected to grow at a more moderate level in the coming year.

Wheels India started operations at a plant machining large hub castings for the wind turbine industry near Chennai in FY23 and is expected to turn profitable in the coming year.