Pune and Ahmedabad, India, March 28, 2018

Adient, the global leader in automotive seating, and Arvind Limited, one of the world’s largest textile-to-retail conglomerates, announced the formation of Adient Arvind Automotive Fabrics, a joint venture that will develop, manufacture and sell automotive fabrics in India.

Adient Arvind Automotive Fabrics will be based in Ahmedabad, India, where it will manufacture high-end performance fabrics for automotive seating systems at a world-class fabric manufacturing facility. The joint venture will benefit from synergies between Adient and Arvind, each bringing industry-leading technology and design capabilities in their respective fields. Working closely with its customers on long-term product road maps, the new company will provide Indian and global automakers with unrivalled product quality and innovative solutions in fabrics, enabling them to deliver new levels of comfort, aesthetic variety and design versatility to end users in India.

“Adient is committed to delivering new value to our customers while enhancing our fabrics product portfolio through continuing advancements. This partnership with Arvind Limited gives us an exciting opportunity to do just that in India’s rapidly growing automotive market,” said Jef Vercammen, vice president, Global Fabrics at Adient. “Combining Adient’s global fabrics design and technological resources with Arvind’s extensive manufacturing capabilities will enable us to accelerate the pace at which we bring innovative automotive fabrics products to market in India.”

“We are transforming our business quickly through technologies and partnerships that enable us to explore and create new opportunities across our business divisions. One of our key pillars is to extend textile manufacturing into newer frontiers outside of fashion and into various spaces like human protection, construction and transport. This partnership is a watershed moment in this journey. The partnership will leverage Adient’s market presence and automotive expertise with Arvind’s textile manufacturing capabilities to provide customers superior and high-quality automotive seating solutions,” said Punit Lalbhai, executive director, Arvind Limited.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Arvind, a well-respected leader in the textiles industry with a long history of manufacturing excellence, from yarn production through to innovative textile products,” said Murali Rajagopalan, director and country manager, Adient India. “Through this collaboration Adient will gain a strong position from which to serve our Indian and global customers and ultimately offer more value to consumers in India.”

Adient is the majority stakeholder in the new company with a 50.5 percent share and expects the joint venture to be included in its consolidated financial statements. Arvind and Adient will each have representation on the board of directors of Adient Arvind Automotive Fabrics.