Mahindra to make A320 fuselage skins in B’luru for Airbus

Bengaluru: Airbus has awarded Mahindra Aerostructures a multi-year contract to manufacture fuselage skins for its A320neo family of aircraft, expanding the Indian company’s role in the European aircraft maker’s global supply chain.Mahindra will manufacture 11 fuselage skin panels for Sections 18 and 19, covering the rear fuselage and tail portions of the aircraft, at its Bengaluru facility. Eight of these will be for Section 18 and three for Section 19. The parts will be shipped to Airbus Aerostructures’ facility in Augsburg, Germany.Financial details of the contract were not disclosed.The deal is significant because it will require Mahindra to add specialised processes used in shaping and treating aircraft skin panels. The company plans to set up advanced chemical milling, surface treatment and stretch-forming production lines as part of the programme.Stretch forming allows metal sheets to be shaped into the curved contours required for an aircraft fuselage. Airbus said bringing the capability to India would deepen the range of complex aerostructure work being carried out in the country.Manufacturing engineering work, including tooling design, qualification, inspection and changes to production processes, has already begun. Delivery under the programme is targeted for 2028.“The manufacture of fuselage skins for the A320 family requires advanced process capabilities and precision at scale,” Mahindra Aerospace president Vinod Sahay said. The company will invest in specialised technologies and manufacturing infrastructure to support the Airbus programme, he added.Airbus India and South Asia president and MD Jürgen Westermeier said the contract reflected the “world-class precision manufacturing capabilities” available in India and would further integrate the country into Airbus’s global supply chain.The latest order builds on a series of Airbus contracts won by Mahindra Aerostructures. In Apr 2025, it was selected to manufacture and assemble the main fuselage of Airbus’s H130 helicopter. Four months later, it won a similar contract for the H125 helicopter, with production from its Bengaluru facility.Airbus has been steadily increasing the value and complexity of work sourced from India. The company currently procures more than $1.6 billion worth of components and services annually from the country, compared with $500 million in 2019, and has said it expects sourcing to cross $2 billion before the end of the decade.Its India manufacturing footprint also includes final assembly lines for the C295 military transport aircraft and the H125 helicopter, part of a broader push to develop local manufacturing alongside engineering, training and maintenance capabilities.Get the latest Business News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.