Sterling Tools began as a fastener maker in 1979 and spent four decades becoming India’s second-largest supplier of high-tensile bolts to the automotive industry - a business that still funds everything else. Around 2020, it used that cash-generating foundation to enter the electric-vehicle space through a technical collaboration with China’s Jiangsu Gtake Electric, starting with a single product - the Motor Control Unit - and has since built a full-spectrum EV components platform across multiple subsidiaries and global partnerships. The recurring approach is to find a technology gap in India’s electrification supply chain, partner with an established foreign player to bring the know-how, and then localise manufacturing for an import-substitution opportunity - all while keeping the legacy fastener business completely separate and debt-free.
Business segments
Three engines at different stages - a four-decade fastener cash cow, a national-scale EV powertrain platform, and a greenfield high-voltage components bet under construction - each built with the cash flows of the one before.
1. Automotive fasteners: the cash engine that funds the group
A 47-year-old business making the specialised bolts that hold vehicles together, selling directly to almost every major automaker in India with raw-material costs passed through.
- Paid per fastener, with steel costs passed on - the company earns on a per-unit basis from OEMs, and the price of steel (its main raw material) is passed through to customers with a lag of one to two months, insulating margins from commodity swings.
- Deep OEM relationships built over decades - it supplies nearly every significant vehicle maker in the country, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp, Honda, Ashok Leyland, and Daimler India, and crossed INR 100 crore in revenue from a single marquee customer in FY26.
- Shifting toward stickier, higher-value parts - the product mix is moving from standard fasteners to complex, engineered parts for transmissions and engines, which carry better margins and are harder for customers to replace.
- Four plants, one wire-drawing unit, and 18 warehouses - manufacturing is spread across three fastener plants (Faridabad, Prithla, and Bengaluru) plus a wire-drawing facility in Ballabgarh, with the Bengaluru plant described as one of the most modern in the country.
- A net-debt-free foundation that funds the EV bets - the standalone fastener business crossed INR 725.9 crores in total income in FY26, carries no net debt, and generates the cash that the group uses to build its electric-mobility subsidiaries.
2. EV powertrain and power electronics: the group’s electrification platform
What started as a motor-control-unit licensing deal with a Chinese firm has grown into India’s largest MCU supplier, now expanding into integrated motors, chargers, and converters for two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and commercial vehicles.
- The Motor Control Unit is the entry point - the MCU is the component that converts DC battery current to AC to drive the motor, and the company chose it because it combines firmware and hardware, creating a differentiation that pure hardware electronics lacks.
- India’s largest MCU supplier, with a stronghold in fast scooters - the subsidiary holds roughly 26% of the overall Indian MCU market and around 50% in the high-speed scooter segment (above roughly 60-100 kmph), supplying over 20 regular customers including OLA Electric, Ampere, and Switch.
- Built through global technology licensing - the foundational partnership is with Jiangsu Gtake Electric of China for MCUs; more recently, the company signed a technology licensing agreement with the UK’s Advanced Electric Machines for rare-earth-magnet-free traction motors, and a licensing agreement with China’s Landworld for on-board chargers and DC/DC converters.
- Moving from single components to integrated systems - the product range now spans MCUs, integrated motor-and-controller systems, magnet-free motors, on-board chargers, and DC/DC converters, covering power ratings from 1 kilowatt to 200 kilowatt and voltage platforms from 48V to 700V.
- Engineering-heavy, with over 40% of staff in product and application roles - the subsidiary operates two technology centres, and its right-to-win with new customers rests on technical support capability, responsiveness, and the ability to offer higher levels of integration.
3. High-voltage DC contactors and relays: the import-substitution bet under construction
A greenfield subsidiary targeting a safety-critical component that every high-voltage electric vehicle needs - and that India currently imports - with commercial production starting in mid-2026.
- Safety-critical switches for high-voltage circuits - HVDC contactors and pre-charge relays are the components that connect and disconnect high-voltage power in electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, and energy storage systems, and the Indian market for them is estimated at roughly INR 300 crores today, expected to grow past INR 750 crores by the end of the decade.
- First-mover in local manufacturing - the subsidiary has built a fully automatic plant in Bengaluru’s Hi-Tech Defence & Aerospace Park with an investment of around Rs. 40 crore, and commercial production is set to begin in July/August 2026.
- Technology sourced from two Chinese specialists - a technical collaboration with Kunshan GLVAC Yuantong (a subsidiary of a roughly USD 97 million Chinese electronics firm) covers HVDC contactors and relays, while a second agreement with Zhejiang Meishuo Electric Technology Co., Ltd. adds latching relays for power-grid and consumer-appliance applications.
- Customer pipeline spans battery makers, Tier-1s, and OEMs - prospective clients already identified include battery-pack makers like Tata Autocomp and Forsee Power, BDU/PDU makers like Yazaki and Valeo, and vehicle OEMs such as Euler, Mahindra Electric, and Suzuki.
Group structure and partners
The listed parent holds the fasteners business, while each EV and electronics venture sits in a separate wholly owned subsidiary with its own technology partner - keeping the legacy cash engine ring-fenced from the growth bets.
- Sterling Tools Limited is the listed entity housing the automotive fasteners business, with promoters holding 65.02% as of March 2025.
- Sterling E-Mobility Solutions Limited (formerly Sterling Gtake E-Mobility) is the wholly owned EV powertrain subsidiary, originally conceived as a joint venture with Jiangsu Gtake Electric; the Chinese partner’s funds were never received due to changed FDI rules, but the exclusive technology relationship for India remains intact.
- Sterling Tools Limited has signed technical collaboration agreements for HVDC contactors and relays with Kunshan GLVAC Yuantong, and for latching relays with Zhejiang Meishuo Electric Technology, both of China.
- Other subsidiaries include Sterling E-Mobility Private Limited (acquired June 2024), Sterling Advanced Electric Machines Private Limited (incorporated December 2023, likely tied to the UK magnet-free motor partnership), and Sterling Overseas Pte. Limited (a Singapore entity set up in September 2024 for overseas expansion).