Wheels India Partners with Japan’s Topy Industries to Scale Alloy Wheel Business
By Cygnus | 15 Dec 2025
Wheels India Ltd has signed a technical assistance agreement with Japan’s Topy Industries to accelerate its expansion into the aluminium alloy wheel market, a segment seeing surging demand as automakers prioritize lightweight components for fuel efficiency and electric vehicles.
The partnership focuses on the design, development, and manufacturing of cast aluminium wheels. Under the terms of the deal, Topy Industries—a century-old Japanese giant—will provide engineering support and technical know-how to enhance Wheels India’s product quality and development cycles.
Targeting Japanese OEMs “This agreement brings valuable expertise to our aluminium wheel business,” said Srivats Ram, Managing Director of Wheels India. He noted that the collaboration is strategically aimed at winning contracts from Japanese Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) operating in India, a market segment where Topy holds significant influence.
The two companies already share a long-standing relationship through WIL Car Wheels Ltd, a joint venture focused on passenger car steel wheels in which Wheels India holds a 74% stake. The new pact extends this collaboration into the higher-margin aluminium segment.
Capacity expansion underway The move comes as Wheels India ramps up production to meet secured orders from global majors like Hyundai and Volkswagen, with supplies scheduled to commence next year.
To support this order book, the company is expanding its manufacturing facility in Thervoi Kandigai, Tamil Nadu. Annual capacity will rise from 500,000 to 700,000 wheels by the end of the current quarter. Looking ahead, the company targets a capacity of 1 million (10 lakh) wheels per annum by the end of FY27.
The expansion aligns with a broader industry trend where Indian component makers are localizing high-end technology to reduce reliance on imports and meet the stringent “lightweighting” norms required for modern vehicles.
Summary
Wheels India has inked a technical pact with Topy Industries of Japan to boost its aluminium alloy wheel capabilities. The deal aims to leverage Japanese engineering expertise to secure orders from global and Japanese automakers in India. Wheels India is simultaneously expanding its production capacity to 1 million wheels annually by FY27 to meet rising demand from clients like Hyundai and Volkswagen.
FAQs
Q1: What is the new agreement about?
Wheels India has partnered with Topy Industries to gain technical expertise in designing and manufacturing cast aluminium alloy wheels. This will help them improve product quality and compete for higher-value contracts.
Q2: Why focus on aluminium wheels?
Aluminium alloy wheels are lighter than traditional steel wheels, which improves fuel efficiency and vehicle performance. As automakers (especially EV makers) look to reduce vehicle weight, demand for alloy wheels is growing faster than steel.
Q3: Who are the key customers?
Wheels India has already won orders from Hyundai and Volkswagen for alloy wheels. The partnership with Topy is specifically designed to help them win business from Japanese carmakers (like Toyota, Suzuki, or Honda) in India.
Q4: What are the expansion plans?
The company is increasing its plant capacity from 500,000 to 700,000 wheels per year immediately, with a long-term target of hitting 1 million wheels annually by 2027.
Q5: Is this a new relationship?
No. Wheels India and Topy Industries already have a joint venture for steel wheels. This new agreement expands their cooperation into the aluminium segment.