Bosch, Endurance say ready to meet govt ABS mandate for smaller bikes, allay supply fears of auto lobby
This attitude of two ABS manufacturers This is in stark contrast to the claims made by leading figures in the two-wheeler industry to the government that the domestic industry will not be able to meet the demand for these brakes if a draft instruction is implemented from January 1.
Currently only Two-wheelers with engine capacity over 125cc must have ABS. These accounted for 16% of the 19 million total sales in fiscal 2025. Bosch and Endurance together hold around 60-70% of the ABS supply market share in India, according to research and advisory firm Kotak Institutional Equities.
Members of the industry lobby The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) has forced the government to postpone the norms, citing supply concerns.
While Bosch told analysts there were no concerns about the ability of its sister company, which produces such components, to meet the new demand, Endurance Technologies management said it had increased capacity about fivefold.
Endurance management also said automakers are marshalling key components across all production lines to quickly meet demand for ABS.
Leading two-wheelers Bajaj Auto, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, TVS Motor Co. and Hero Motocorp were among those who expressed concerns over ABS supply constraints.
Technology, scale is not a problem
EY partner Som Kapoor said there is no technology gap that needs to be overcome to make ABS technology in India, so scaling supplies shouldn’t be a big challenge in India.
“There are a large number of global companies operating in India in the segment. Implementation of the norms will lead to an increase in the business of these companies and hence they will be happy to meet the increasing demand,” said Kapoor.
Bosch India Managing Director and CTO Guruprasad Mudlapur said that Bosch’s sister company, Bosch Chassis Systems India Pvt Ltd, is one of the leading players in ABS manufacturing.
“In terms of capacities, we are well prepared to meet the increased demand that is likely to arise from changes in legislation,” Mudlapur told investors during its second-quarter results earnings release on Nov. 11. “If the authority is implemented as drafted, we are well prepared to handle this.”
Anurag Jain, Endurance’s chief executive, said in the post-earnings call on Nov. 13 that the company has ordered a production line that could help increase ABS capacity by 1.2 million units and is ready to order a similar line, increasing the new capacity to 2.4 million, depending on the government decision.
“We have a line of sight to use this line, but we’ll need to see what the timeline is under this new guidance and the second 1.2 million line we’ll order based on this guidance we received this month,” Jain said. Jain said, adding that the existing capacity of 640,000 will be fully utilized to meet ABS demand by the end of March 2026.
“We are arranging backward integration of steel hoses, valves and ECU assemblies for the massive increase in single-channel ABS volumes. We also plan to install some of the ECU printed circuit boards through our SMT line,” Jain said. ECU is the abbreviation for electronic control unit.
Security and cost
While ABS increases the safety of two-wheelers by ensuring that the brakes do not lock on the roads to prevent skidding, the installation of the system may cause a price increase of 2000 TL. ₹3,000 to ₹6,000. This situation, which leading automobile manufacturers fear, will negatively affect the demand for entry-level bicycles in the country.
Moreover, leaders of Bajaj Auto and Honda have publicly stated that suppliers in India will not be able to meet the companies’ demands and will need more time to prepare.
Rakesh Sharma, managing director of Bajaj Auto, said in talks with the government: “It will be difficult to manage the capacity because something like that clearly does not exist. This includes all scooters, all 100cc, all 125cc bikes and it is a very large component and so clearly the government has taken into account that there should be a phased implementation.”
Yogesh Mathur, sales manager, Honda Motorcycle, said: Mint In an interview in July, it was said that dependence on imports would increase significantly if the government did not extend the deadline.
“Cost certainly has an impact. But what is more important is whether we are truly prepared in terms of supply,” Mathur said.
A group representing the two-wheeler manufacturer and Siam had met Union highways minister Nitin Gadkari on November 11 to express concerns over the implementation of the norms.
Queries sent to Siam, Bajaj Auto, Honda, TVS and Hero remained unanswered at the time of publication.
