Global auto manufacturing majors are showing interest in Indian automobile market as car exports from India marked a fivefold increase in the past five years. With some of the world’s biggest car makers continuously making high profit from Indian market, the market is becoming a favorite zone for other big companies also.
Moreover, analysts conceive that car exports over the next three years will surge nearly 300 percent to more than half-a-million vehicles a year.
Giving further inspiration, Indian auto major Tata Motors’ $2,500 (about 1 lakh) worth Tata minicar has attracted the global attention. Moreover small cars built in local plants by Japanese and South Korean car makers such as Suzuki, Hyundai and Nissan are also witnessing high exports.
Earlier, India’s biggest car exporter, Hyundai added a midnight shift at its southern India plant to boost production 40 percent and to meet booming demand for its i10 minicar abroad. Both Hyundai and Suzuki are seeing Europe as the market for their made-in �India exports for their recently revealed subcompacts.
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Suzuki Motor Corp will make India a production hub and build a new “world car” in the country, its chief executive said on Tuesday, underlining the importance of the fast-growing market to the company.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd , in which Suzuki owns 54.2 percent, will make the car that will be sold globally, Osamu Suzuki said at an industry conference, without giving details.
Suzuki is scheduled to speak later in the day at a Maruti Suzuki news conference. He will unveil plans for the new car then, said a senior company official, who asked not to be named.
The car is likely to be unveiled at the upcoming Auto Expo in New Delhi in January, analysts say.
Number two car maker in India Hyundai Motor Co recently launched the i10 first in India, where the small car is built.
Suzuki is beefing up its vehicle line-up and dealer network in India in a bid to retain its marketshare of at least 50 percent.
Maruti Suzuki for the first time sold more cars in India than its parent in Japan during the first half of the fiscal year, with models such as the Alto and Swift hatchback hooking buyers.
Maruti Suzuki, founded by Suzuki and the Indian government in 1982, has dominated the local small car segment with its fuel-efficient vehicles, and is now shifting customers to more premium vehicles, including the SX4 sedan and the Grand Vitara sport utility.
Maruti, which will have a capacity to make 1 million units by 2010/11, is investing $1.75 billion in research and development.
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