Exports
India's automobile exports have grown consistently and reached $4.5 billion in 2009, with United Kingdom being India's largest export market followed by Italy, Germany, Netherlands and South Africa. India's automobile exports are expected to cross $12 billion by 2014.
According to New York Times, India's strong engineering base and expertise in the manufacturing of low-cost, fuel-efficient cars has resulted in the expansion of manufacturing facilities of several automobile companies like Hyundai Motors, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen and Suzuki.
In 2008, Hyundai Motors alone exported 240,000 cars made in India. Nissan Motors plans to export 250,000 vehicles manufactured in its India plant by 2011. Similarly, General Motors announced its plans to export about 50,000 cars manufactured in India by 2011.
In September 2009, Ford Motors announced its plans to set up a plant in India with an annual capacity of 250,000 cars for US$500 million. The cars will be manufactured both for the Indian market and for export. The company said that the plant was a part of its plan to make India the hub for its global production business. Fiat Motors also announced that it would source more than US$1 billion worth auto components from India.
In July 2010, The Economic Times reported that PSA Peugeot Citroën was planning to re-enter the Indian market and open a production plant in Andhra Pradesh with an annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles, investing EUR 700M in the operation. PSA's intention to utilise this production facility for export purposes however remains unclear as of December 2010.
In 2009 India (0.23m) surpassed China (0.16m) as Asia's fourth largest exporter of cars after Japan (1.77m), Korea (1.12m) and Thailand (0.26m) by allowing foreign carmakers 100% ownership of factories in India, which China does not allow.
In recent years, India has emerged as a leading center for the manufacture of small cars. Hyundai, the biggest exporter from the country, now ships more than 250,000 cars annually from India. Apart from shipments to its parent Suzuki, Maruti Suzuki also manufactures small cars for Nissan, which sells them in Europe. Nissan will also export small cars from its new Indian assembly line. Tata Motors exports its passenger vehicles to Asian and African markets, and is in preparation to launch electric vehicles in Europe in 2010. The firm is also planning to launch an electric version of its low-cost car Nano in Europe and the U.S. Mahindra & Mahindra is preparing to introduce its pickup trucks and small SUV models in the U.S. market. Bajaj Auto is designing a low-cost car for the Renault Nissan Automotive India, which will market the product worldwide. Renault Nissan may also join domestic commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland in another small car project. While the possibilities are impressive, there are challenges that could thwart future growth of the Indian automobile industry. Since the demand for automobiles in recent years is directly linked to overall economic expansion and rising personal incomes, industry growth will slow if the economy weakens.
Read more about this topic: Automotive Industry In India