Tenneco passenger-vehicle suspension share reaches 55%

Tenneco Clean Air India Limited said its passenger-vehicle shock absorber and strut market share reached approximately 55% in Q2 and H1 FY 2027, rising from 48% a year and a half earlier. The seven-percentage-point increase coincided with new platform awards, DaVinci suspension programme activity and local production of semi-active CVSAe technology.

How much has Tenneco's passenger-vehicle suspension share increased?

Tenneco's passenger-vehicle shock absorber and strut share increased by about seven percentage points to approximately 55% from 48% a year and a half earlier. Management identified this category as part of Advanced Ride Technologies, or ART, and said Tenneco retained a leadership position in passenger-vehicle suspension during H1 FY 2027.

The ART share increase was larger than the change management reported in commercial-truck clean-air solutions. Citing the Crisil Research Report, Tenneco said its commercial-truck clean-air share rose to 59% in H1 FY 2027, from 58% in FY 2026 and 57% in FY 2025. These measures cover separate products and vehicle segments, but both showed higher reported shares.

Management did not disclose industry volumes, the total value of the passenger-vehicle suspension market, or a customer-level split behind the 55% measure. It also did not assign portions of the increase to individual platform launches or technology programmes. The comparison is therefore management's stated market-share measure rather than a calculation based on disclosed unit sales.

Which new ART programmes did Tenneco secure in Q2 FY 2027?

Tenneco secured suspension content on three new vehicle platforms with a leading Indo-Chinese joint venture and won business in the three-wheeler segment from a leading Indo-Korean joint venture. The three-wheeler award adds an addressable market for the ART portfolio, while the three platform wins expand Tenneco's passenger-vehicle programme base.

Tenneco also started production for the three-door Thar suspension programme during Q2 FY 2027 under its DaVinci technology. It secured two next-generation models with an existing leading Japanese passenger-vehicle original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, and expanded engagement with a Vietnamese OEM through three additional platforms. Management did not disclose the revenue value, launch dates or production volumes for these awards.

Tenneco supplied what management described as India's first locally produced semi-active CVSAe during the quarter. Management presented the supply as a commercialization and localization milestone for advanced suspension technology. The call did not identify the customer or quantify the sales, volumes or ART revenue contribution associated with semi-active CVSAe.

Did Tenneco's ART segment grow faster than its other business?

Yes, Tenneco's ART value-added revenue, or VAR, grew faster than Clean Air and Powertrain Solutions in both Q2 and H1 FY 2027. Tenneco uses VAR as its operating measure because it excludes pass-through substrate costs, which management said provides a view of underlying operating performance and profitability.

ART VAR rose 37.8% year on year to Rs 801 crore in Q2 FY 2027, compared with 26.6% growth to Rs 721.8 crore in Clean Air and Powertrain Solutions. In H1 FY 2027, ART VAR increased 32.9% to Rs 1,520.1 crore, 15.1 percentage points faster than the 17.8% increase in Clean Air and Powertrain Solutions VAR to Rs 1,384.3 crore.

Management attributed ART's H1 FY 2027 growth to production volumes, new-programme ramp-ups and rising content on customer platforms. At group level, Tenneco reported VAR of Rs 1,522.9 crore in Q2 FY 2027, up 32.2%, and Rs 2,904.4 crore in H1 FY 2027, up 25.3%. ART therefore grew faster than the group's first-half VAR rate, although management did not quantify the contribution from each award.

What do Tenneco's order book and margins indicate next?

Tenneco reported a lifetime order book of approximately Rs 16,500 crore at the end of H1 FY 2027, which management said covered more than 100% of its FY 2030 revenue target. The company did not split this order book between ART and Clean Air and Powertrain Solutions, so the disclosed figure does not show how much future coverage belongs to passenger-vehicle suspension programmes.

Exports accounted for Rs 875 crore of the order book and represented 50% coverage of management's FY 2030 export-revenue target. Management said the order pipeline was supporting investment in capacity, localization and technology. Tenneco also plans a new Clean Air facility in West India requiring approximately Rs 45 crore of investment, with 12% to 14% additional hot-end capacity.

Profitability faced inflationary costs in Q2 FY 2027 from commodities, minimum-wage increases in a couple of states, currency weakness, premium freight and listed-company costs. EBITDA, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, rose 28.7% to Rs 261.6 crore, while the EBITDA margin was 17.2% of VAR. An analyst cited subsidiary margin of 11.6% in the quarter versus about 14% earlier; management said steel recoveries from OEMs can lag by about one quarter, while discussions over non-indexed inputs such as lube oil, plastic and rubber remained ongoing.

Conclusion

Tenneco's reported move to approximately 55% share in passenger-vehicle shock absorbers and struts accompanied faster ART growth than its Clean Air and Powertrain Solutions business in Q2 and H1 FY 2027. Three new platforms, the three-door Thar production start, DaVinci awards and locally produced semi-active CVSAe were the operating developments management highlighted in ART.

Investors can next watch the ramp-up of the newly awarded ART programmes, the outcome of OEM discussions on non-indexed commodity-cost recoveries and progress against the Rs 16,500 crore lifetime order book. Management's planned West India Clean Air plant is intended to add 12% to 14% hot-end capacity, while it did not provide a comparable ART capacity target or a timetable for margin recovery.