Automotive industry in India

Market Size

The industry produced a total 14.25 million vehicles including PVs, commercial vehicles (CVs), three wheelers (3W) and 2W in April–October 2015, as against 13.83 in April–October 2014, registering a marginal growth of 3.07 per cent, year-to-year.

The sales of PVs grew by 8.51 per cent in April–October 2015 over the same period in the previous year. The overall CVs segment registered a growth of 8.02 per cent in April–October 2015 as compared to same period last year. Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles (M&HCVs) registered very strong growth of 32.3 per cent while sales of Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) declined by 5.24 per cent during April–October 2015, year-to-year.

In April–October 2015, overall automobile exports grew by 5.78 per cent. PVs, CVs, 3Ws and 2Ws registered growth of 6.34 per cent, 17.95 per cent, 18.59 per cent and 3.22 per cent, respectively, in April–October 2015 over April–October 2014.

Investments

In order to keep up with the growing demand, several auto makers have started investing heavily in various segments of the industry during the last few months. The industry has attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth US$13.48 billion during the period April 2000 to June 2015, according to data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Some of the major investments and developments in the automobile sector in India are as follows:

Government Initiatives

The Government of India encourages foreign investment in the automobile sector and allows 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route.

Some of the major initiatives taken by the Government of India are:

History

In 1897, the first car ran on an Indian road. Through the 1930s, cars were imports only, and in small numbers.

An embryonic automotive industry emerged in India in the 1940s. Hindustan Motors was launched in 1942, long-time competitor Premier in 1944, building Chrysler, Dodge, and Fiat products respectively. Mahindra & Mahindra was established by two brothers in 1945, and began assembly of Jeep CJ-3A utility vehicles. Following independence in 1947, the Government of India and the private sector launched efforts to create an automotive-component manufacturing industry to supply to the automobile industry. In 1953, an import substitution programme was launched, and the import of fully built-up cars began to be restricted.

The 1952 Tariff Commission

In 1952, the government appointed the first Tariff Commission, one of whose purposes was to come out with a feasibility plan for the indigenization of the Indian automobile industry. In 1953, the commission submitted their report, which recommended categorizing existing Indian car companies according to their manufacturing infrastructure, with licensed capacity to manufacture a certain number of vehicles, with capacity increases allowable, as per demands, in the future. The Tariff Commission recommendations were implemented with new policies that would eventually exclude companies that only imported parts for assembly, as well as those with no Indian partner. In 1954, following the Tariff Commission implementation, General Motors, Ford, and Rootes Group, which had assembly-only plants in Mumbai, decided to move out of India.

The Tariff commission policies, including similar restrictions that applied to other industries, came to be known as the "license raj", which proved to be the greatest undoing of the Indian automotive industry, where bureaucratic red tape ended up causing demand to outstrip supply, with month-long waiting periods for cars, scooters, and motorcycles.

Passenger Cars

Utility and Light Commercial Vehicles

Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles

Scooters, Mopeds and Motorcycles

known as Bajaj Chetak, by Bajaj became the largest sold scooter in the world

1970 to 1983

However, growth was relatively slow in the 1950s and 1960s, due to nationalisation and the license raj, hampered the growth of Indian private sector.

The beginning of the 1970s saw some growth potential and most of the collaboration license agreements came to an end but with option to continue manufacturing with renewed branding. Cars were still meant for the elite and Jeeps were largely used by government organizations and some rural belts. In commercial vehicle segments some developments were made by the end of the decade to cater improved goods movements. The two-wheeler segment remained unchanged except for to increased sales in urban among middle class. But more fillip was target towards farm tractors as India was embarking on a new Green Revolution. More Russian and eastern bloc imports were done to increase the demand.

But after 1970, with restrictions on the import of vehicles set, the automotive industry started to grow; but the growth was mainly driven by tractors, commercial vehicles and scooters. Cars still remained a major luxury item. In the 1970s, price controls were finally lifted, inserting a competitive element into the automobile market. However, by the 1980s, the automobile market was still dominated by Hindustan and Premier, who sold superannuated products in fairly limited numbers. During the eighties, a few competitors began to arrive on the scene.

The OPEC oil crisis saw increase need to installing or redesign some vehicle to fit diesel engines on medium commercial vehicle. Until the early 1970s Mahindra Jeeps were on Petrol and Premier commercial vehicles had Petrol model options. The Defence sector too had most trucks on Pertol engines.

1984 to 1992

From the end of the 1970s to the beginning of the 1980s saw no new models but the country continued with 2 decade old designs forcing government to encourage and let more manufacturers into fray.

In 1984, the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi established the Ordnance Factory Medak, near Hyderabad. It started manufacturing Infantry Combat Vehicles christened as Sarath, the backbone of India's mechanised infantry. OFMK is still the only manufacturing facility of ICVs in India. To manufacture the high-power engines used in ICVs and main battle tanks, Engine Factory Avadi, near Chennai was set in 1987. In 1986, to promote the auto industry, the government established the Delhi Auto Expo. The 1986 Expo was a showcase for how the Indian automotive industry was absorbing new technologies, promoting indigenous research and development, and adapting these technologies for the rugged conditions of India. The nine-day show was attended by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Post-1992 liberalisation

Eventually multinational automakers, such as, Suzuki and Toyota of Japan and Hyundai of South Korea, were allowed to invest in the Indian market, furthering the establishment of an automotive industry in India. Maruti Suzuki was the first, and the most successful of these new entries, and in part the result of government policies to promote the automotive industry beginning in the 1980s. As India began to liberalise its automobile market in 1991, a number of foreign firms also initiated joint ventures with existing Indian companies. The variety of options available to the consumer began to multiply in the nineties, whereas before there had usually only been one option in each price class. By 2000, there were 12 large automotive companies in the Indian market, most of them offshoots of global companies.

Slow export growth

Exports were slow to grow. Sales of small numbers of vehicles to tertiary markets and neighbouring countries began early, and in 1987 Maruti Suzuki shipped 480 cars to Europe (Hungary). After some growth in the mid-nineties, exports once again began to drop as the outmoded platforms provided to Indian manufacturers by multinationals were not competitive. This was not to last, and today India manufactures low-priced cars for markets across the globe. As of 18 March 2013, global brands such as Proton Holdings, PSA Group, Kia, Mazda, Chrysler, Dodge and Geely Holding Group were shelving plans for India due to the competitiveness of the market, as well as the global economic crisis.

Emission norms

In 2000, in tune with international standards to reduce vehicular pollution, the central government unveiled standards titled "India 2000", with later, upgraded guidelines to be known as Bharat stages. These standards are quite similar to the stringent European standards, and have been implemented in a phased manner, with the latest upgrade being implemented in 13 cities and, later, in the rest of the nation. Delhi (NCR), Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Kanpur, Lucknow, Solapur, and Agra are the 13 cities where Bharat Stage IV has been imposed while the rest of the nation is still under Bharat Stage III.

Local manufacture encouraged

India levies an import tax of 125% on electric cars, while the import tax on components such as gearboxes, airbags, drive axles, is 10%. Therefore, the taxes encourage cars to be assembled in India rather than be imported as completely built units.

Manufacturing facilities

The majority of India's car manufacturing industry is evenly divided into three "clusters". Around Chennai is the southernmost and largest, with a 35% revenue share, accounting for 60% of the country's automotive exports, and home of the operations of Heavy Vehicles Factory, Engine Factory Avadi, Ford, Hyundai, Renault, Mitsubishi, Nissan, BMW, Hindustan Motors, Daimler, Caparo, Mini, and Datsun.

Near Mumbai, Maharashtra, along the Chakan corridor near Pune, is the western cluster, with a 33% share of the market. Audi, Volkswagen, and Skoda are located in Aurangabad. Mahindra and Mahindra has an SUV and engine assembly plant at Nashik. General Motors, Tata Motors, Mercedes Benz, Land Rover, Jaguar Cars, Fiat, and Force Motors have assembly plants in the area.

The northern cluster is around the National Capital Region, and contributes 32%. Gurgaon and Manesar, in Haryana, are where the country's largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki, is based.

An emerging cluster is the state of Gujarat, with a manufacturing facility of General Motors in Halol, and a facility for Tata Nano at their plant in Sanand. Ford, Maruti Suzuki, and Peugeot-Citroen plants are also planned for Gujarat.

Kolkata with Hindustan Motors (inactive), Noida with Honda, and Bengaluru with Toyota are other automotive manufacturing regions around the country.

Andhra Pradesh

Gujarat

Haryana

Himachal Pradesh

Jharkhand

Karnataka

Kerala

Madhya Pradesh

Maharashtra

Punjab

Rajasthan

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India – Tapukara

Tamil Nadu

Telangana

Uttar Pradesh

Uttarakhand

West Bengal

Exports

India's automobile exports have grown consistently and reached $4.5 billion in 2009, with the United Kingdom being India's largest export market, followed by Italy, Germany, Netherlands, and South Africa.

According to the 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, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Maruti Suzuki.

In 2008, South Korean multinational 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, US automobile company, 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 announced that it would source more than US$1 billion worth auto components from India.

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).

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 that would have an annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles, investing € 700M in the operation. PSA's intention to utilise this production facility for export purposes however remains unclear as of December 2010.

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 Maruti Exports' shipments to Suzuki's other markets, 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 preparing to sell electric cars in Europe in 2010. The firm is planning to sell an electric version of its low-cost car the Tata Nano in Europe and in 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 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 for the Indian automobile industry are impressive, there are challenges that could thwart future growth. 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.

Top 10 export destinations

India exported $14.5 billion worth of automobiles in 2014. The 10 countries below imported 47.8% of that total.

Passenger vehicles in India

This list is of cars that are officially available and serviced in India. While other cars can be imported to the country at a steep 105% import duty, car-makers such as Alfa Romeo, McLaren, Pagani, Cadillac, Chrysler, SSC, Lincoln, Zenvo, SEAT, Smart, Daihatsu, Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, Saab, Spyker, Lotus, Ariel, Caterham, Peugeot-Citroën, Mazda, Jeep, Kia, GAZ, and Proton in various stages of official introduction into the Indian automobile industry.

Models currently manufactured by Indian companies

Defunct Indian automotive companies

Foreign automotive companies in India

Hyundai, Suzuki, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes Benz, Ford, Fiat, Honda, Chevrolet (of General Motors), Toyota, Lamborghini, Jaguar, and Skoda are the foreign automotive companies that manufacture and market their products in India.

Vehicles currently manufactured or assembled in India

Opel was present in India until 2006. As of 2013, Opel only provides spare parts and vehicle servicing to existing Opel vehicle owners.

Vehicles currently imported into India

Indian brands

Joint-venture (JV) brands

Foreign-owned brands

Electric vehicle and Hybrid vehicle (xEV) industry

During April 2012, the Indian government planned to unveil the road map for the development of domestic electric and hybrid vehicles (xEV) in the country. A discussion between the various stakeholders, including Government, industry, and academia, was expected to take place during 23–24 February. The final contours of the policy would have been formed after this set of discussions. Ministries such as Petroleum, Finance, Road Transport, and Power are involved in developing a broad framework for the sector. Along with these ministries, auto industry executives, such as Anand Mahindra (Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra) and Vikram Kirloskar (Vice-Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar), were involved in this task. The Government has also proposed to set up a Rs 740 crore research and development fund for the sector in the 12th five-year plan during 2012-17. The idea is to reduce the high cost of key imported components such as the battery and electric motor, and to develop such capabilities locally.

Electric car manufacturers in India

Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of India