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This week: DWS and Invesco launch India joint ventures as asset management surges, Apple produces 1 in 5 iPhones locally while HP commits to full local PC manufacturing, Honda and Ford establish India as export manufacturing base, and much more.

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The number of jobs Apple’s ecosystem created in India in just 5 years.

International asset managers continue increasing their focus on India. Two prominent institutions are now following via joint ventures (JV): DWS and Invesco. Recent market developments underscore why India has become a focal point for global capital.

DWS is one of the largest fund managers in Europe and majority owned (around 80%) by Deutsche Bank. The bank itself is restructuring its India business and while it plans to sell its retail customer branch offices (see previous issues of India Rising), its focus on building alternative investment funds in the country is increasing.

According to Wealth Briefing, DWS will enter India and increase its Asia focus by acquiring a 40% stake (financials were not disclosed) in a unit of Nippon Life India Asset Management. Nippon Life India Asset Management is owned by Japan’s largest insurer Nippon Life.

Another asset management JV is being formed by Invesco and IndusInd International Holdings (IIHL). IIHL acquired a 60% stake in Invesco’s asset management company, the 16th largest in India with assets under management of INR 1.48 lakh crore (around EUR 1.64 billion).

These JVs position both firms to navigate an increasingly competitive and dynamic market. Several trends are converging to make India attractive:

The financial sector's commitment to India signals tangible capital flows into infrastructure, real estate, manufacturing, and technology. Importantly, investment is increasingly flowing beyond major metros into tier 2 and tier 3 cities, broadening the geographic footprint of opportunity.

For European businesses, these developments represent both validation and a call to attention. As international asset managers establish deeper roots and capital becomes more readily available across sectors and regions, the opportunities for strategic partnerships, market entry, and cross-border collaboration will only expand. Those who understand India's financial evolution today will be better positioned to capitalise on its growth tomorrow.

Sources: Financial Express, The Economic Times, Wealth Briefing, Tech Crunch, Times of India

India now produces one in five iPhones globally, and HP plans to manufacture all its India-bound personal computers locally within five years. These milestones mark India's transformation from an electronics importer to a manufacturing hub, a shift with significant implications for global supply chains and European technology companies.

India is the 2nd largest smartphone market. While geopolitical tensions and US-imposed tariffs certainly played a role in terms of speed of change, Apple continues to follow a long-term strategy with impressive numbers in India since starting prodcution 5 years ago:

Tata Electronics, already one of Apple’s largest suppliers, acquired the Indian operations of one of Apple’s Chinese suppliers. The USD 100 million investment consolidates Tata's position in Apple's supply chain and signals growing confidence from major Indian conglomerates in the electronics manufacturing sector.

HP's announcement carries equal weight. The US technology giant will produce all personal computers sold in India domestically within three to five years. CEO Enrique Lores cited the bifurcation of Western and Chinese technology ecosystems as a key driver, a frank acknowledgment of geopolitical realities reshaping manufacturing decisions.

India's Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme has clearly influenced this calculus. The program offers financial incentives to companies manufacturing IT hardware locally, effectively subsidising the transition from imports to domestic production. Combined with India's growing consumer market and improving manufacturing infrastructure, the economics increasingly favour local production over imports.

European companies in electronics, components, industrial technology, and adjacent sectors should carefully assess these developments. As India's manufacturing ecosystem matures, several opportunities and risks emerge:

India's transition from electronics importer to manufacturer is no longer emerging—it's established. The question for European businesses is whether they're positioned to benefit from this shift or will watch opportunities consolidate around early movers.

Sources: The Economic Times, IndianWeb2

India is the 3rd largest automotive market globally. With its domestic market attracting investments and gaining traction, local production has now reached capacities that allow to scale globally. Make in India for the world is becoming a reality not only for Maruti Suzuki as recently shared, but also for Honda and Ford.

The Japanese carmaker Honda announced a new strategy for growth in India and made it a strategic market in terms of focus and investment together with Japan and the US. Currently at around 2% market share, equal to Volkswagen and Skoda combined, Honda will produce its new EV model “0 alpha” in Alwar, Rajasthan for all Asian markets including India and Japan.

At the same time, the US carmaker Ford announced a USD 370 million investment at its plant in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Interestingly, the plant already stopped production in 2021 and will now be retooled to manufacture 235,000 new high-end engines for export annually from 2029 onwards.

These decisions reflect India's manufacturing maturity and cost competitiveness at scale. Boosted by recent GST adjustments, passenger car sales reached 557,373 units in October and drive expanding production levels of 20-40% by the leading carmakers Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, and Hyundai Motor India. This is also noticeable in the surge of India’s PMI numbers tracked by S&P Global.

For European manufacturers already facing margin pressure and navigating the transition to electric vehicles, India presents both opportunity and competition. As Honda and Ford establish export operations, they gain cost advantages and market access that could intensify competitive pressure in third markets. European automakers must decide whether to compete against Indian production or establish their own manufacturing presence to benefit from the same economics.

Sources: Times of India, Reuters, The Economic times

The Center for European Policy Analysis shares why India could become a crucial hub in the semiconductor sector.

It covers many of the topics we have been sharing over the past months: substantial private and public investments plus supply chain decentralisation are creating ecosystems that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

Find all details here.

Your random facts and stories about India and the Indo-European friendship.

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