New Delhi: UNO Minda is planning to start the construction of its second advanced electronics centre at Gurgaon in March this year. Along with the Pune centre, it will involve a capex of Rs 80-100 crore over the next 2-3 years.This will be a fresh investment and is not part of the earlier capex of Rs 500 crore planned for BS-VI and related products last April.Earlier the company had also spoken of a bout of Rs 1000 crore investment within 5 years in order to reach a turnover of Rs 10,000 crore by 2020.Meanwhile, the company's advanced electronics centre at Pune will also become operational by March 2018.“We are planning a capex of Rs 80-100 crore on the engineering centres over the next 2-3 years,” NK Minda , chairman of the UNO Minda Group told ETAuto. The fourth will be a centre of competency in core engineering including artificial intelligence, material sciences, optics, thermals and help the Group’s core expertise.The PhD staff here is also being ramped up to take up the count to 8 by year-end, from the current 2.With electric vehicles being the way forward, electronics will form 40 per cent of the car. Minda said that the group is also looking to enter into the battery management system either by harnessing its own technology or inking an alliance, in the absence of such requisite skills.Sensors and actuators are another area where UNO Minda will strengthen its presence further. The listed entity of the Group, Minda Industries reported am EBITDA of 11 percent-Rs 384 crore in FY17 on a topline of Rs 3500 crore.Overall, the Group is bullish of clocking a turnover of Rs 7,000 crore this fiscal with the auto industry looking up.

Source: Economic Times February 21, 2018 15:33 UTC