India was the fourth largest car manufacturer in the world in 2019¹. Indian motor vehicles manufacturers produced 22.65 million motor vehicles in 2020-21 (Apr-Mar), a substantial decrease from the record of 30.91 million units sold in 2018-19. India was the largest manufacturer of three-wheelers (611 k units) and seventh largest commercial vehicle (625 k units) manufacturer in 2018-19 while India's two-wheeler manufacturers rolled out 18.35 m units during the same fiscal.
India is the largest manufacturer of tractors having sold approx. 0.84 m units in 2021-22 or around a third of the global output. Construction vehicle production was approx. 59 000 units in 2014. 2.17 million passenger cars were sold in India in 2017-18 (1.17 m during H1 18/19). The total turnover of the auto industry amounted to ca USD 145 billion in 2015-16 while the overall installed capacity (2/3/4-wheelers) was ca 33.5 m units at the end of 2016-17. The auto industry provides direct or indirect employment to over 13 million people.
Indian motor vehicle exports in 2020-21 amounted to 4.13 million vehicles incl. 404 k passenger cars, 50 k commercial vehicles, 3.28 m two-wheelers and 393 k three-wheelers.
Major car models exported (Apr-Dec '21) include models from the Maruti Suzuki stable incl. the Baleno, Brezza, Dzire and S-Presso models. Hyundai Motor India exported a large quantity of SUVs (over 42 000 out of a total of over exported 130 000 cars in '21) incl. the Creta model, Kia Motors India (Seltos and Sonet models) and Volkswagen India were among the other large passenger car exporters. Maruti Suzuki was the largest Indian car exporter in 2021 having shipped over 205 000 cars to over 100 countries. Over 43 000 medium and heavy duty trucks were exported from India in 2016-17 incl. makes such as Daimler, Mitsubishi Fuso, Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland.
Domestic motor vehicle sales in 2018-19 included 3.38 m passenger vehicles, 1.01 m commercial vehicles, 701 000 three wheelers and 21.18 m two-wheelers. The luxury car segment is relatively small with sales of approx. 35 000 cars in 2019. The total number of registered motor vehicles had increased to over 326 million by 2020, including 32.4 million cars (2019).
Vehicle Type | Sales (thousands) |
---|---|
Passenger | 3 069 |
Commercial | 717 |
Three wheelers | 261 |
Two wheelers | 13 466 |
Quadricycles | 124 |
¹ Source: OICA (The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers)
The total turnover of the Indian automotive component industry increased to ₹ 4.2 trillion (ca USD 51 billion) in 2021-22. Auto ancillary exports fetched ₹ 906 bn (USD 13.5 bn) in the same year while the total turnover of India's vehicle tyre industry amounted to an estimated ₹ 600 billion in 2019-20 producing ca 177 m tyres.
The French Groupe PSA, re-entered the Indian market for the first time since the production of the Peugeot 309 model by Premier Automobiles (PAL) ceased in the 1990s. PSA re-entered the Indian market with its Citroën brand, the launch product being the C5 Aircross SUV (launched in 2021).
South Korea's Kia Motors, another new entrant in the Indian auto market, has invested USD 1.1 bn in a new auto plant (capacity 300 000 units pa) located in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. The plant began rolling out cars in the latter half of 2019. Kia Motors' first offering was the Seltos SUV. Volvo Cars commenced the assembly of SUVs in India in Oct '17 while GM withdrew from the Indian auto market although it continues to export cars from its India plant. Ford folded up its car manufacturing operations in India in Q2/22. Chinese EV manufacturer BYD has announced plans to assemble EVs, starting with the Atto 3 (Yuan Plus) electric SUV model and eventually manufacture a range of EVs in India. BYD's plant is located at Sriperumbuder near Chennai (Tamil Nadu).
The Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance has announced an additional investment of approx. USD 600 m in India over the next 5-6 years (thru '29) enabling the launch of six new car models incl. EVs.
The Government of India had announced an ambitious target of all-electric vehicle sales by 2030. Electric car sales (total registered two and four-wheelers were at 544 000 and 54 000 units respectively as of Aug '22) are still at a very nascent stage in India but the gradual dependence on the fossil fuel combustion engine is bound to decrease in the long run. A new EV incentive scheme was approved by the govt in Mar '19. The scheme includes buyer incentives for EVs retailing for less than ₹ 1½ m . To boost EV sales the GST rate was cut in Jul '19 from to 12 % to 5 %. Overall electric vehicle sales were estimated have topped the one million mark in 2022.
Overall electric two-wheeler production is targeted at approx. a million units in 2022-23 with quite a few start-up companies foraying into this growing segment.
Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME)
MG Motor India's maiden launch model was the Hector SUV for which bookings started in Jun '19. MG Motor cars are manufactured at the modernized ex-GM plant located in Halol, Gujarat with an annual production capacity of 80 000 vehicles. An electric variant (ZS EV) of the ZS SUV was launched in 2020. The company is also contemplating a second plant for future production of additional models which include the larger Maxus D90 SUV. MG sold 28 162 cars in 2020.
Two-Wheelers | Cars, Jeeps & Taxis | Buses | Goods Vehicles | Misc (incl. tractors and three-wheelers) |
---|---|---|---|---|
187 | 33.6 | 1.9 | 12.2 | 18.4 |
Above video clips: Hyderabad's total motor vehicle population amounted to almost 5 million (inc. 850 000 cars) in 2016. Air and noise pollution are some of the more serious effects caused by an increasing number of motor vehicles in larger Indian cities. Hyderabad also lacks an efficient, integrated public transport. However, an expanding metro rail system is in operation since Dec '17 providing a means of transport of approx 0.4 million daily commuters.
City | Cars | All Motor Vehicles |
---|---|---|
Ahmedabad | 0.64 | 3.91 |
Delhi | 3.06 | 10.26 |
Bengaluru | 1.32 | 6.83 |
Chennai | 0.92 | 5.30 |
Kolkata | 0.35 | 0.80 |
Hyderabad | 0.44 | 2.72 |
Pune | 0.44 | 2.72 |
Lucknow | 0.27 | 1.98 |
Surat | 0.38 | 2.89 |
Jaipur | 0.36 | 2.58 |
Vadodara | 0.25 | 2.02 |
Coimbatore | 0.25 | 2.06 |
Chandigarh | 0.47 | 0.88 |
Mumbai (Greater) | 0.91 | 3.05 |
Manufacturer | Domestic | Exports | Total |
---|---|---|---|
Aston Martin | ca 15-20 | ||
Audi India | 3 293 (2021) | ||
BMW India | 8 236 (2021) | ||
FCA India | 11 238 | 9 809 (2018) | |
Ford India | 73 636 | 167 910 (2018) | 262 784 (2017) |
GM India (sales ended in 2017) | 25 823 (2016-17) | 79 495 (2018) | |
Honda Cars India | 134 741 | ||
Hyundai Motor India | 510 260 | 130 380 (2021) | 710 012 (2018) |
Isuzu Motors India | 5 886 (2018) | ca 500 (2018) | |
Jaguar Land Rover | 4 596 (2018) | ||
Jeep India | 12 136 (2021) | ||
Kia Motors India | 181 583 (2021) | 46 261 (2021) | 227 844 (2021) |
Lamborghini | 69 (2021) | - | |
Mahindra & Mahindra | 219 663 | 28 222 (FY18) | 262 137 (FY18) |
Maruti Suzuki India | 1 485 943 | 205 450 (2021) | 1 779 574 (FY18) |
Mercedes-Benz India | 7 893 (2020) | 11 242 (2021) | |
MG Motor India | 28 162 (2020) | ||
MINI India | 640 (2021) | ||
Nissan India | 23 580 | 64 720 (2018) | 151 001 |
Porsche | 474 (2021) | ||
Renault India | 88 869 | 12 129 (2018) | |
Škoda Auto India | 23,858 (2021) | ||
Tata Motors | 152 944 | ||
Toyota Kirloskar Motor | 130 768 (2021) | 9 361 (2018) | |
Volkswagen India | 32 324 | 64 164 (2018) | 135 000+ (FY18) |
Volvo | 1 724 (2021) |
Model | 2004/05 | 2006 | 2007-08 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
2011
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007-08: Indicates April 2007-March 2008, FY09=Apr'08-Mar'09 06-07: Indicates April 2006-March 2007 * Incl. of exports ** Apr-Dec 2006 ¹ Estimate ² 2004-05 ³ 2003-04 @ 04/04-12/04 |
|||||||
Aston Martin | ca 30 a year (2013) | ||||||
Audi A4 | - | - | 102 | 1,050 (All Audi models) | 1,658 (All Audi models) |
3,003 ( all models)
|
5,511 (All models)
|
Audi A6 | 105 (all Audi models-'05) | 300 (all Audi models) | 349 (all Audi models) | 111 (Jan-Apr) | 396 | ||
Audi A8 | - | - | 172 | 1,050 (all Audi models) | |||
Audi Q5 | |||||||
Audi Q7 | - | - | 350 | ||||
Audi RS 5 | |||||||
Audi R8 | - | - | - | 15 | |||
Audi TT | 5 (2005) | na | |||||
Bentley | 20 | 28 | ca 300 since 2003 | ||||
BMW 3 Series | - | - | 946 | 1,075 (FY09) | 1,155 |
2,220 (Jan-Nov)
|
2788 (2012)
|
BMW 5 Series | - | - | 822 | 1,352 (FY09) | 1,590 |
2,030 (Jan-Nov)
|
2618 (2012) |
BMW 6 series, X3 and X5 | ca 40 (X5) | 257 (all models) | 83 | 4 (6 series, Mar) | |||
BMW 7 Series | - | - | 251 | 279 (FY09) | |||
BMW X1 |
2461 (2012)
|
||||||
BMW X3, X5 and X6 |
16 (Jan)
|
X3 930 (2012)
|
|||||
BMW Z4 Roadster |
25
|
||||||
Chevrolet Aveo | - | - | 5,624 | 1,174 (Jan) | 746 (Feb) |
364 (Jan)
|
|
Chevrolet Aveo U-VA | - | - | 11,523 |
434 (Jan)
|
|||
Chevrolet Beat |
2,825 (Jan)
|
||||||
Chevrolet Captiva | - | - | 607 | 2,134 (FY09) | 201 (Feb) |
72 (Jan)
|
|
Chevrolet Cruze |
812 (Oct)
|
686 (Jan)
|
|||||
Chevrolet Forester (discontd.) | 260 (2003-2005) | - | - | - | - |
-
|
-
|
Chevrolet Optra Magnum | 9 191 | na | 6,058 (inc. SR-V model) | 1287 (Jan-Mar) | 89 (Feb) |
51 (Jan)
|
|
Chevrolet Spark | - | - | 22,060 | 7,265 (Jan-Mar) | 2,940 (Feb) |
3,477 (Jan)
|
|
Chevrolet SRV | |||||||
Chevrolet Tavera | 18 622 (2005) | na | 20,671 | 4,892 (Jan-Mar) | 945 (Feb) |
1,512 (Jan)
|
|
Ferrari | |||||||
Fiat Grande Punto | - | - | - | - |
~9,000 (Jun-Nov)
|
8,401 (all models in Apr-Jul)
|
|
Fiat Linea | - | - | - |
4,512 (FY09)
|
~ 12,000 (Jan-Nov)
|
||
Fiat Palio Stile | 791 (05-06) | 1,614 (06-07) | 3,303 | ||||
Fiat Petra/Adventure (discontd.) | 454 (05-06) | 584 (06-07) | |||||
Fiat 500 | - | - | - | ca 30 till Sept |
ca 65 till Jun '10
|
||
Force Trax | - | - | 7,053 | - | |||
Ford EcoSport | |||||||
Ford Endeavour | 1 818 (05-06) | na | 2,916 | 2,780 (FY09) | 184 (Oct) |
51,420 (all models Jan-May)
|
|
Ford Fiesta | ca 3 500 | na | 22,855 | ||||
Ford Figo | - | - | - | - | - |
58,000 (till Nov)
|
|
Ford Fusion (discontd.) | 329² | na | 2,678 | ||||
Ford Ikon (discontd.) | 24 536 | na | 4,797 | ||||
Ford Mondeo (discontd.) | 25² (05-06) | 0 | |||||
Hindustan Ambassador | 12 740 | na | 8,487 | ||||
Honda Accord | 3 324 (05-06) | 2,728 (06-07) | 2,133 | 4,108 (FY09) | 948 (Jan-Apr) |
288 (Jan)
|
|
Honda Amaze | |||||||
Honda Brio | |||||||
Honda City | 37 545 (2005-06) | 40,464 (06-07) | 40,536 (incl. Marina STW) | 18,482 (Jan-Apr) |
4,485 (Jan)
|
||
Honda Civic | na | 16,262 (06-07) | 16,723 | 2,386 (Jan-Apr) |
644 (Jan)
|
||
Honda CR-V | 1 858 (05-06) | 1,873 (06-07) | 3,425 | 501 (Jan-Mar) |
76 (Jan)
|
||
Honda Jazz |
3,069 (Jun-Jul)
|
490 (Jan)
|
|||||
Hyundai Accent | 24 383 | na | 8,274 | ||||
Hyundai Elantra (discontd.) | 2 331 (2005) | 1,683 (06-07) | 10 (Mar) | ||||
Hyundai Eon | |||||||
Hyundai Getz Prime | 5 483 | na | 16,787 | 9,442 (FY09) | |||
Hyundai i10 | - | - | 14,451 (2007) | 106,110 (FY09) | 24,990 (till Mar 12) | ||
Hyundai i20 | - | - | - | 4,991 (FY09) | 4,940 (Oct) | ||
Hyundai Santa Fe | |||||||
Hyundai Santro Xing | 103 301² | 163,838 (06-07) | 121,163 | 91,466 (FY09) | |||
Hyundai Sonata | 806 (2005) | 506 | 577 | 486 (FY09) | 232 (Jan-Apr) |
29 (Jan)
|
|
Hyundai Terracan (discontd.) | 318³ | - | |||||
Hyundai Tucson | 884 (March-Nov 05) | 533 (incl. Terracan) | 188 | 50 (FY09) | 13 (Jan-Apr) | ||
Hyundai Verna | na | na | 24,370 | 2,132 (Feb) |
5,502 (Jan)
|
||
ICML Rhino | - | - | |||||
Jaguar |
242 (incl. Land Rover)
|
891 (Apr-Mar '11) incl. Land Rovers
|
2289 (Apr-Mar'12) incl. Land Rovers
|
||||
Lamborghini |
ca 17 (2012)
|
||||||
Land Rover | ca 30 | na | ~90 (2008) | 242 (incl. Jaguar) |
35 (Jan)
|
||
Mahindra Bolero | - | - | 51,009 | 55,924 (FY09) | |||
Mahindra Max | - | - | - | 3,000 (Apr08-Feb09) | |||
Mahindra Scorpio | 31,661 (05-06) | 38,015 (06-07) | 41,443 | 27,000 (Apr08-Feb09) | 3,200 (Mar) |
ca 44,000 ('10-'11)
|
|
Mahindra Thar | |||||||
Mahindra XUV500 | |||||||
Mahindra Xylo | - | - | - | 7,201 (FY09) | ~10,500 (Jan-Apr) | ||
Maruti 800 | 116 262² | 79,245 (06-07) | 69,553 | 49,383 (FY09) | 9,915 (Apr-Jul) | ||
Maruti A-Star | - | - | - |
15,736 (FY09)
|
2,784 (Jun)
|
2,494 (Jan)
|
|
Maruti Alto | 126 223² | 200,000+ (Apr06-Feb07) | 227,173 | 218,127 (FY09) | 240,000 | ||
Maruti Baleno (discontd.) | 6 521 | na | |||||
Maruti DZire | - | - | 5,658 | 61,952 (FY09) |
8,995 incl. SX4 (Jan)
|
||
Maruti Esteem (discontd.) | 18 379 | na | 12,485 | ||||
Maruti Grand Vitara | na | na | 795 | 270 (FY09) | |||
Maruti Gypsy | na | na | 3,132 | 7,219 (FY09) | |||
Maruti Kizashi |
103 (Mar '11)
|
||||||
Maruti Omni | 60 377² | na | 88,273 | ||||
Maruti Ritz |
6,214 (Jun)
|
||||||
Maruti Swift | 34 463 (May-Nov 05) | na | 88,745 | 110,071 (FY09) | |||
Maruti SX4 | - | - | 31,192 | 1,953 (Feb) | |||
Maruti Versa | 4 291³ | na | 1,456 | 1,440 (FY09) | |||
Maruti Wagon R | 79 712² | na | 132,727 | 134,768 (FY09) | 140,000 |
163,000 (Apr-Mar '11)
|
|
Maruti Estilo | 65 345² | na | 50,635 (Zen and Estilo) | 32,694 (FY09) | |||
Mercedes C-Class | 785 | 883 | 1,127 | 1,765 | 1,607 |
5,109 (All models, Jan-Nov)
|
6,698 (all models Jan-Nov)
|
Mercedes E-Class | 825 (05) | 922 | 1,048 | 1,167 | 1,048 |
245 (Jan)
|
|
Mercedes S-Class | 144 (2005) | 248 | 518 | 561 | 467 |
22 (Jan)
|
|
Mercedes CLS/SLK/SL/CLK/M | na | 118 | 141 (incl. 80 M-class) | 125 (models other than C,E and S class) |
6 CBU imports(Jan)
|
||
Maybach | 3 ('04 and '05) | na | na | ||||
Mini Cooper | |||||||
Mitsubishi Lancer/Cedia | 2 509 | na | 2,582 | 1,570 (FY09) | |||
Mitsubishi Outlander | - | - | - | 278 (FY09) | |||
Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero | na | na | 1,676 | 1,814 (FY09) | |||
Nissan 370Z |
4 (Jan-Aug)
|
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Nissan Micra |
~6,000 (Jul-Nov)
|
10,247 (H1)
|
|||||
Nissan Teana | - | - | 347 | 58 (FY09) | 207 (FY10) |
179 (Apr-Nov)
|
58 (H1)
|
Nissan X-Trail | 253 (2005) | 250 | 173 | 100 (FY09) |
50 (Jul)
|
157 (H1)
|
|
Opel Corsa (discontd) | 8 369 | na | - | - | - |
-
|
-
|
Porsche (various models) | ca 100 (2005) | 160 | 168 | 168 | |||
Premier Rio | |||||||
Mahindra Verito (Renault Logan) | - | - | 25,884 | 13,419 (FY09) | 2,520 (Feb-Apr) |
555 (Jan)
|
|
Mahindra Reva | |||||||
Renault Fluence |
290 (Jun)
|
||||||
Renault Koleos | |||||||
Rolls-Royce | 5 (2005) | 7 (2006) | 12 (2007) | 14 (2008) | <10 (2009) |
80 (2010)
|
ca 250 till date (end 2013)
|
San Storm | na | na | |||||
Škoda Fabia | - | - | 1,906 | 6,634 |
5,510 (Jan-Mar) all Škoda models
|
9,257 (H1)
|
|
Škoda Octavia/Laura | 9 559 (05-06) | 11,433 | 10,944 | 7,459 (FY09) |
3,519 (H1)
|
||
Škoda Rapid | |||||||
Škoda Superb | na | 769 | 586 | 694 (FY09) | 541 (Apr-Jun) |
2,078 (H1)
|
|
Škoda Yeti |
1,310 (H1)
|
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Ssanyong Rexton | |||||||
Tata Aria | |||||||
Tata Indica | 111 574 (05-06) | 144,690 (06-07) | 135,642 | 111,257 (FY09) | 91,295 (Apr-Jan '10) |
11,448 (Jan)
|
|
Tata Indigo/Indigo XL/Indigo CS | 39 377 (05-06) | 34,310 (06-07) | 31,416 | 49,190 (FY09) | 41,724 (Apr-Jan '10) |
7,258 (Jan)
|
|
Tata Marina | 2 050 | na | |||||
Tata Nano |
21,535 (Jul-Jan '10)
|
77,000 (till12/10)
|
|||||
Tata Safari | 4 692 (05-06) | 15,816 (06-07) | 19,078 | 25,630 (Sumo+Safari: Apr-Jan '10) |
3,538 (Safari/Sumo Jan)
|
||
Tata Sumo / Sumo Victa | 33 213 (05-06) | 32,077 (06-07) | 28,622 | ||||
Tata Sumo Grande/MKII | |||||||
Tata Vista | |||||||
Tata Xenon XT | - | - | - | 161 (FY09) | |||
Toyota Camry | 794 (2005) | 1,001 (06-07) | 988 | 182 (Apr-Jun) | 44 (Apr-Jun) |
120 (H1)
|
|
Toyota Corolla Altis | 8 974 (2005) | na | 6,204 | 9,172 |
4,901 (H1)
|
||
Toyota Etios |
20,765 (H1)
|
||||||
Toyota Etios Liva |
3,154
|
737 (Jun)
|
|||||
Toyota Fortuner |
~3,100 (Aug-Dec)
|
5,475 (H1)
|
|||||
Toyota Innova | 32 000 (2005) | na | 48,069 | 42,740 |
25,307 (H1)
|
||
Toyota Land Cruiser 200 | |||||||
Toyota Land Cruiser Prado | 162 (2005) | na | 141 | 109 (FY09) | |||
Toyota Prius | |||||||
Toyota Qualis (discontd.) | 31 759² | na | |||||
VW New Beetle |
ca 240 till Jun '10
|
88 (H1)
|
|||||
VW Jetta | - | - | 1,566 (all VW models) | 1,957 (Jan-Aug: all VW models) |
975 (H1)
|
||
VW Passat | - | - |
27,946 (Vento and Polo)
|
383 (H1)
|
|||
VW Phaeton |
58 (till Jun '11)
|
||||||
VW Polo |
20,127 (H1)
|
||||||
VW Touareg | - | - | |||||
VW Vento | - | - | - | - | - |
17,555 (H1)
|
|
Volvo V40 Cross Country | |||||||
Volvo S60 | |||||||
Volvo S80 | - | - | ca 100 (all Volvo) | ca 90 ( all Volvo models) |
320 (all models)
|
||
Volco XC60 | |||||||
Volvo XC90 | - | - |
Audi sells the A3, A4, A6, A8 L, Q3, Q5, Q7, S4, S5, RS 6 Coupe, RS 7 Sportback, TT Coupe, and R8 range of models. Audi competes in a niche market along with BMW, JLR, Mercedes and Volvo cars and with sales of 4 187 cars compared to 3 293 cars sold in 2021. Audi has sold close to 80 000 cars since the company began operations in India. Audi assembles the A4, A6, Q3, Q5 and Q7 models at ŠkodaAuto's plant located at Aurangabad, Maharashtra while the other models are imported from Ingolstadt, Germany. Audi cars are available through over 60 dealers across India.
BMW has an assembly plant with an annual capacity of 14 000 units in Chenglepet located near Chennai that rolled out its 100 000th BMW car in Mar '22 after 15 years of auto production. The plant assembles BMW 1 Series, 3 Series, 3 Gran Turismo Series, new 5 Series, 7 Series, X1, X3, X5 and Mini Countryman models. The present local content of the assembled cars is around 50 per cent. BMW imports a few models too incl. the BMW X6, BMW X6 M, 6 Series Gran Coupé, M6 Gran Coupé, Z4 Roadster and i8 hybrid sports car. BMW sells its cars through a network of 40 dealers. BMW sales increased significantly in 2021 with 8 236 BMW and 640 MINI branded cars sold in comparison to 6 092 BMW and 512 MINI cars sold in 2020.
BYD assembles the Atto 3 SUV EV (deliveries to begin Jan '23) at its plant located in Sriperumbudur near Chennai.
Citroën commenced the production of the Citroën C5 Aircross SUV in Jan '21 from its new auto plant located at Thiruvallur close to Chennai followed by the launch of the Citroën C3 compact hatchback in Jul '22.
FCA discontinued the production of Fiat cars in India in 2019 and is currently selling Jeep models. Fiat had a long presence in India. Prior to FCA India, Fiat had a technical collaboration with Premier Automobiles, for the manufacture of the popular Padmini model, a small sedan based on the third generation Fiat 1100D dated from the early sixties. Fiat India's other former cars included the Uno, Siena and Palio. FCA launched the Jeep Compass SUV in July '17. The Compass is manufactured at FCA's Rangangaon plant along with the Tata Nexon SUV, Tata Bolt and Tata Zest. Possible future launches include the Jeep Renegade SUV.
Ford India sold 249 874 cars in 2016-17 of which 158 469 were exported and 91 405 units sold in India. Car export destinations include countries such as South Africa, the Middle East region and a few European countries. Ford operated two auto plants in India - Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Sanand (Gujarat) with a combined annual capacity for the manufacturing of up to 480 000 cars and 610 000 engines. Ford announced in Sep '21 the shutdown of its auto manufacturing in India (both plants) by Q2/22. Ford will continue to import some models (incl. the Mustang Mach-E EV and Mustang GT, the latter being a re-launch) and engine manufacturing for export markets from the Sanand plant will not be affected.
HCIL manufacture models inclue the Amaze, Jazz, City, CR-V and Accord models. HCIL's two auto plants are located in Surajpur, Greater NOIDA, U.P and Tapukara (Bhiwadi), Rajasthan with a capacity to manufacture 180 000 cars per annum. The Greater NOIDA plant ceased production in late '20. Honda India's domestic sales amounted to 170 026 cars during 2017-18. Honda began exporting Brio cars to South Africa/SADC countries in Oct '12 and exported a total of 5 610 cars during fiscal year 2017-18. Honda has sold 1.5 million cars since 1998 when Honda Siel Cars (former name of the company) begain producing Honda City sedans. The Civic sedan model will be re-launched (earlier sales discontd. in 2013) in Mar.
Hyundai Motor India's two adjacent car plants at Irungattukotai near Chennai have a combined capacity of 700 000 cars per annum, the parent company's largest auto manufacturing facilities outside of South Korea. HMIL plans to invest an additional ₹ 70 bn for expansion of its capacity to 800 000 units. Domestic auto sales amounted to 505 033 units in 2021 while cars exported totalled 130 380 in the same year. HMIL had sold ca 5.4 million cars (3 m cars exported till Jan '20) within India till Jun '18. HMIL exports cars to 85 countries across the globe.
Isuzu Motors India manufactures a range of pickup and a SUV model from its plant at Sri City, Andhra Pradesh where manufacturing started in 2015. The plant has a capacity to manufacture 50 000 vehicles per annum. Isuzu sold 5 886 vehicles in 2018. The company also exports vehicles to neighbouring countries such as Nepal and Bhutan.
Jeep's offerings include the Compass SUV and the Wrangler 4x4 off-road SUV. Both models are locally manufactured/assembled. Jeep India sold 12 136 units in 2021.
Kia Motors made a debut in the Indian car market in 2019 and become a major player in the SUV segment in a relatively short period of time and by end '22 the company had sold over 0.8 million cars in India while sales for 2022 amounted to 336 619 units incl. 254 556 units for the domestic market and 82 063 exported units. Trial production of the Seltos SUV commenced in Jan '19 at the newly built Ananthapur (AP) auto plant which has an annual capacity of 300 000 vehicles. The Seltos SUV was officially launched in Aug '19 followed by the Carnival MPV in Feb '20. The Carens RV was launched in Feb '22 and Kia's first EV will be launched in Jun '22.
M & M sold over 548 000 motor vehicles in 2017-18 of which over 520 000 were sold in India and ca 28 000 exported in. Group revenue increased to almost ₹ 476 bn. The company manufactures motor vehicle products at plants located across six Indian states incl. Chakan, Igatpuri Kandivali, Nagpur and Nashik in Maharashtra, Jaipur in Rajasthan, Mohali in Punjab, Haridwar and Rudrapur in Uttarakhand, Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh and Zaheerabad in Telangana. Ssangyong's Rexton G4 SUV was launched in Nov '18 and named as the Alturas G4 for the Indian market the sale of which was discontinued in 2022. Mahindra's newest SUV, the XUV700, was launched in Oct '21.
Mahindra Electric produces three models of electric vehicles, the Mahindra e2oPlus, a 4-door compact, eVerito sedan, eSupro van and an electric auto rickshaw, the e-Alfa Mini. The present monthly capacity of 400 units will gradually be increased up to 5 000 units in 2019. Mahindra Electric sold 10 276 EVs in 2018-19.
MSIL began manufacturing Suzuki Alto model cars in Dec 1983 in Gurgaon (Gurugram) after which it quickly overtook both Hindustan Motors and Premier Auto to become India's largest car manufacturer as early as the mid-eighties. The company's net sales amounted to ₹ 830 billion in 2018-19 while total auto sales increased to 1.86 million units (205 000 cars were exported in 2021) in the same year. Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan has a 56.2 % stake in MSIL. MSIL's total auto production crossed 20 million in June '18 while car exports reached almost 2.2 m in Dec '21. Maruti cars have been exported to over 100 countries since 1987. Maruti cars are sold through a network of over 4 000 outlets.
MSIL currently operates four assembly plants including an auto/transmission/engine plant in Manesar (Haryana) through a joint venture (Maruti Suzuki Automobiles India) with Suzuki Motor Corp. MSIL has a total auto manufacturing capacity of 1.55 million units per annum. Construction of a greenfield manufacturing facility at Sonipat (Haryana) is planned to commence in '22. The facility is expected to be completed in 2025. The plant will have a capacity to manufacture a million cars per annum.
Mercedes-Benz India's sales in 2022 increased to 15 822 compared to 11 242 units sold in 2021. Total sales since 1994, starting with the assembly of the E-class W 124 model, reached 110 000 in Nov '19. Total sales of E-series cars since 1995 reached 34 000 units in Feb '17. The cumulative sales for the C-Class range of car variant, since the model was launched in India in 2001, surpassed 37 000 units by Apr '22. Mercedes-Benz sells the A, B, C, E, S, CLA, CLS, GLA, GLC, GLE and GLS models in addition to the luxurious Maybach sedan and AMG models. The electric EQS sedan model is expected to be launched by end '22.
The Mercedes-Benz plant is located on a 100 acre site in Chakan, Maharashtra with a capacity to produce 20 000 cars per annum. Mercedes-Benz cars are sold in 47 cities located across India.
MG (Morris Garages) India first model launched in May '19 was the Hector SUV which is offered with three engine variants: 1.5 L turbo-petrol, 2 L diesel and a 48 V mild hybrid with the 1.5L petrol engine. The ZS EV, an electric SUV along with the premium Gloster SUV were launched in 2020 and the mid-sized SUV Astor in Oct '21. MG sold 28 162 cars in 2020. MG Motor's auto plant is located in Halol, Gujarat and is currently being expanded to an annual capacity of 100 000 vehicles.
Mini India offers a range of MINI car models incl. hatchback, convertible and the locally (at BMW Chennai plant) produced MINI Countryman SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) variants. MINI India sold 512 cars in 2020 compared to 641 cars sold in 2019.
Mitsubishi Motors manufactures the Pajero Sport SUV and its variants - the Pajero Sport Dual Tone-AT and the Pajero Sport Select Plus-AT. The Outlander crossover is also available. Mitsubishi's auto plant is located in Thiruvallur near Chennai.
Nissan sells a range of cars in the Indian market through a 95 dealer network. Nissan's production in India includes the Magnite and Kicks models at the Renault Nissan plant (capacity: 480 000 units pa) located near Chennai. Nissan Motor India wholesales amounted to 18 591 cars in India in H1/FY21 and exports were at 18 608 for the same half year period. Total exports since Nissan began production in India has surpassed 700 000 units.
Renault India's current range of cars include the Lodgy MPV, Duster crossover, Captur SUV and the KWID hatchback. Renault India sold 112 489 cars in 2017 (132 235 in 2016) through a network of over 500 sales outlets. A new compact SUV Triber was unveiled in June '19. Renault commenced delivery of the of its latest compact SUV, the Renault Kiger, in Mar '21. Cumulative sales of of the Kiger SUV reached 50 000 units in Jul '22.
Škoda Auto India's product range includes a range of cars assembled at Škoda's Aurangabad plant, ŠkodaAuto's first auto assembly plant setup outside of Europe. The current capacity is 50 000 units per annum. Škoda sold 23 858 cars in 2021. Škoda Auto has established itself in the Indian auto market having produced around 250 000 cars (early 2018) since the end of 2001.
SMG is a fully owned subsidiary of the Japanese Suzuki Motor Corporation. Car production commenced in Feb 2017 at a plant located near Hansalpur, Gujarat. The plant has an annual capacity of 250 000 vehicles. Another plant is under construction for the production of engines and transmission units. Vehicles produced for Maruti Suzuki include the Baleno and Swift hatchbacks. The second SMG auto plant (annual capacity 250 000 vehicles) in Gujarat began production of the Swift hatchback in Jan '19 Domestic production is supplied to Maruti Suzuki. A powertrain plant was also commissioned.
Tata Motors is India's largest (2016-17 net revenue - ₹ 448 bn) and is ranked as the fifth largest medium and heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer in the world. Tata Motors sold 542 561 units in 2016-17. Domestic car sales amounted to 153 151 units while utility and commercial vehicles sales added up to 325 211 units in 2016-17. Exports amounted to 64 199 vehicles in the same year. Tata Motors' cumulative passenger vehicle production crossed the five million mark in Mar '23.
Tata's low-cost (approx. 2 500 USD) people's car, the 4-door Nano, was unveiled at the AutoExpo 2008 in Delhi and launched on Mar 23 '09. Tata invested approx. ₹ 17 bn developing and producing the Nano. A dedicated auto plant (with an annual production capacity of 250,000 units) for the Nano at Sanang, Gujarat was inaugurated in June 1010. Unfortunately production of the Nano has practically come to a standstill in 2018 and production will end by Apr '20. Tata Marcopolo Motors Ltd. (TMML) manufactures fully built buses and coaches incl. low-floor intra-city models. Tata sold 14 917 buses in India in 2015-16. A new hatchback named Altroz, is expected to be launched in mid-'19.
Toyota Kirloskar sold 130 768 in 2021. Toyota's manufacturing plant is located at Bidadi, Karnataka and consists of two units with a total capacity of 310 000 units.
Selected defunct models
Volkswagen operates a 200 000 car annual capacity plant in Chakan near Pune (Maharashtra) spread over 570 acres. The plant manufactured over 135 000 cars in 2017-18 of which 45 239 were sold in India. VW India rolled out its ½ millionth manufactured car in May '15. VW launched the new Taigun, a compact SUVW in Sep '21. The Volkswagen Virtus sedan is expected to be launched in May '22 as a replacement for the older Vento sedan.
View of VW India auto plant
Volvo sells cars through a 25 strong dealership network in India. Car models sold include the V40 hatchback, V40 Cross Country, V90 Cross Country, S60 sedan, XC60, S60 Cross Country and S90 sedans, XC90, XC90 Excellence and the XC40 compact hybrid SUV. Volvo plans to launch the fully electric XC40 Recharge SUV model in H1/2022.
These car models are priced at approx. ₹ 4 million and ₹ 5 million respectively and are imported from Volvo's Gothenburg factory in Sweden. Volvo sold 1 724 car in 2021, a considerable increase over the 1 361 cars sold in 2020. Volvo Cars commenced assembly of the XC90 SUV in Oct 2017 in a plant located in Hoskote near Bengaluru. The XC60 and X90 models are also assembled in Volvo's India plant. The XC40 compact SUV and the XC60 SUV were the best-selling models for Volvo in 2020.
Aston Martin has a single dealership in Delhi although the car maker has plans to expand its presence elsewhere in India. Models on offer include the DBX (Aston Martin's first SUV model), DB11 and Vantage.
Bentley models on offer include the Bentayga, Continental coupe, Flying Spur and Mulsanne. Bentley sells its cars through three dealers located in Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
BMW Motarrad sold 5 191 and 2 563 motorcycles in 2021 and 2020 respectively including the popular G 310 R/GS models which are manufactured in India.
Bugatti launched its Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport sports car in Oct '10 with a price tag starting at ₹ 120 million.
Ferrari models on sale include the California convertible, FF, 458, 488 and F12 Berlinetta.
Jaguar offerings include the F-TYPE, F-PACE, XE and XF models. Jaguar commenced assembly of its XF in India in Jan '13 and presently assembles the F-PACE crossover and XF models. JLR sold 4 596 in 2018 compared to 3 954 cars in 2017. JLR has 29 sales outlets in 24 cities across India.
Jeep's offerings include the Compass SUV and the Wrangler 4x4 off-road SUV.
Lamborghini's offerings include the Aventador and Huracan sports cars. The Aventador S super sports car costs around ₹ 50 m. While Lamborghini sold 69 cars in 2021, cumulative sales had breached the 400 mark by Mar '22 since the brand was officially launched in India in 2007.
Land Rover models sold in India include the Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Velar, Range Rover Sport, Discovery, Discovery Sport and the New Defender.
Lexus sells the ES sedan, NX compact SUV, RX crossover, LX SUV models in India. Hybrid models include the ES 300h Luxury sedan, NX 300h Luxury compact SUV, NX 300h F Sport compact SUV, RX 450h and RX450 F Sport crossovers.
Maserati has re-entered the Indian market with the launch of the Quattroporte GTS super saloon in late 2017. New models to be launched in 2022 include the Levante Hybrid SUV and the MC20 super sports car.
Porsche has showrooms in Gurgaon, Kolkata, Kochi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad and plans to add four more in '22. Porsche sold a record 474 cars in 2021 which saw further increase in H1/22 with 378 cars sold. Porsche sells the electric Taycan, 718 Boxster, Cayman, 911 coupe models, Panamera/Panamera Turbo sports sedan and the Macan (187 units sold in '21) and Cayenne SUVs. Porsche has sold an estimated 3 500 cars in India over the years.
Roll-Royce cars are sold through RR dealers located in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. The flagship RR Phantom Rolls-Royce bears an ex-showroom price tag of ₹ 95 m and ₹ 114 m for the standard and extended wheelbase variants making these the costliest cars sold in Indina. India is now RR's third largest market in the Asia-Pacific region with estimated sales at over 250 cars since the marque was relaunched in India in 2005. Earlier on India was a major market for Rolls-Royces. According to John M. Faisal, an automobile historian, as many as 900 cars with the famous Spirit of Ecstasy mascot on the bonnet were sold to Indian princes before 1947. Read more here: Maharajas' rendezvous with Rolls-Royce >>
Triumph estimated sales for 2017 would amount to 1300 motorcycles. During 2018 the company expects to assemble ca 90 % of the models sold in India at its assembly facility located in Manesar.
General Motors ceasedt auto sales in the Indian market although export production continues at its Talegaon (Maharashtra) plant. SAIC purchased GM's former Halol (Gujarat) facility. GM sold 25 823 cars in 2016-17. GM produced around ½ million cars for the Indian market since launching its first offering, the Opel Astra sedan in 1996.
HM was a Kolkata based car manufacturer with manufacturing facilities at Uttarpara (West Bengal), Pithampur (Madhya Pradesh), Thiruvallur (Tamil Nadu) and Hosur (Karnataka). HM sold 9,211 motor vehicles in 2008-09 including Mitsubishi models. Ambassador (petrol, diesel and CNG) - Production of the Ambassador which was based on an early 50's Austin Oxford model ended in 2014. Over 800 000 Ambassadors were produced.
Image above: A Hindustan Contessa in Hyderabad. Contessas are now a rare sight on Indian roads. The Contessa's body is based on the early-seventies Vauxhall Victor (Opel Rekord). Production of the Contessa spanned two decades from 1982. Production ended in 2002. The Contessa was one of the few more luxurious cars built in India (alongwith the Standard Motors' Standard 2000 model) prior to economic reforms in the early nineties.
ICML, a unit of the Sonalika Group, manufactured the Extreme MPV and other models.
Premier produced a compact SUV called the Rio with total sales till date (Nov '11) amounting to ca 2000 units. Production ended in 2018 as the company ceased operations. Premier, the erstwhile manufacturer of the Premier Padmini small sedan made a comeback with the launch of the RiO mini SUV, based on the Chinese Zotye Nomad model. The RiO is reasonably priced at less than ₹ 500 000 and is powered by the Peugeot TUD5 1.5 l diesel engine. Premier also manufactured LCV's.
The Force Motors (erstwhile Bajaj Tempo) product portfolio includes a range of LCV's, utility and commercial vehicles. Force Motors has also planned a joint venture with Neoman for the manufacture of chassis and complete buses. Force Motors launched the 4WD Gurkha model in Oct '21 initially available as a 3-door version with manual transmission.
Olectra Greentech manufactures electric buses in collaboration with Chinese BYD Auto Industry, the latter being the largest electric vehicle manufacturer in the world. Over 100 eBuzz K7 and K9 buses are operating in eg Mumbai (BEST Undertaking), Hyderabad (TSRTC), Kerala, Nagpur, Pune and for the Himachal Pradesh Transport Road Transport Corp (HTRC). The electric buses come with a range 200 kms when fully charged. Charging takes less than 4 hrs.
Ather Energy manufactures the Ather 450 electric scooter.
India's second largest two/three-wheeler manufacturer (2016-17 net sales ₹ 214 bn) and the world's third largest in terms of volumes. Bajaj Auto sold 3.67 million units in 2016/17. Total exports amounted to approx. 2½ units to over 70 countries in 2021. Bajaj Auto's three plants are located at Waluj (Aurangabad, Maharashtra), Chakan (Dist. Pune, Maharashtra) and Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) with an annual total production capacity of over 6 m units and employing over 9 500 persons. As for electric vehicles Bajaj manufactures the Chetak electric scooter.
The Supreme Court of India approved quadricycles in 2018 as a new vehicle category (kerb weight under 475 kgs for this class) and once the Bajaj Qute has passed the mandatory safety and crash tests the model is expected to be launched in India and available to consumers. The vehicle is powered by a 216 cc one cylinder petrol engine.
Classic Legends, a subsidiary company of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, will introduce the legendary Jawa motorcycle brand in India. Three models will be available in 2019 featuring 293/334 cc single cylinder DOHC engines producing 27 to 31 bhp. BSA, another historic brand, is also reportedly making a comeback.
Mahindra Two Wheelers manufactures the Stallio motorcycle and various scooter models. The company sold 134,570 units in 2011-12.
Lohia Auto manufactures electric scooters at its plant located in Kashipur, Uttarakhand.
Hero MotoCorp Honda, the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, sold over 7.2 million units (mainly motorcycles) in 2017. The company has plants located at Dharuhera (Haryana), Gurgaon (Haryana), Haridwar (Uttarakhand) and Neemrana (Rajasthan). Net income amounted to ₹ 290 billion in 2015-16.
Honda manufactures scooters and motorcycles at four plants located in Manesar (Haryana), Tapukara (Rajasthan), Vithalapur (Gujarat) and Narsapura (Karnataka). The company sold 5.008 million two-wheelers in 2016-17. Exports amounted to 283 153 units. HMSI has sold 25 million Activa scooters in India since its launch in 2001.
Hop Electric manufactures a range of electric two-wheelers incl. the Oxo motorbike (to be launched in Q1/22), the Hop Leo and Hop Lyf scooters at its plant located in Jaipur.
Yamaha Motor India sold 786 000 motorcycles in India in 2016 in addition to exports.
LML sold approx. 75 000 two-wheelers in 2005-06. LML manufactures lifestyle motorcycles (150 cc), motorcycles (110 to 125 cc) and scooters (150 cc).
Okinawa Autotech manufactures an electric scooter models including the Praise with an ex-showroom (Delhi) price tag of approx. ₹ 59 900 and the Ridge model.
Ola Electric manufactures electric two-wheelers (S1 and S1 Pro models) from its plant located in Krishnigiri district (Tamil Nadu). Deliveries commenced in Oct '21.
Manufacturer of the legendary "Bullet" motorcycles. The Indian Police and defence forces use "Bullet" motorcycles. Royal Enfield sold 452 812 motorcycles (incl. export of 8 285 units) in 2015. Royal Enfield operates two factories located at Chennai and Jaipur.
Suzuki Motorcycle India cumulative scooter and motorcycle sales crossed the six million mark in early '21 (ca 590 k two-wheelers in 2021-21). Suzuki Motorcycle India's manufacturing plant is located in Gurugram, Haryana with an annual capacity of 750 k two-wheelers.
Pune based Tork Motorcycles plans to launch the Krator (aka T6X) electric motorcycle in early '22.
TVS Motor Co., the eight largest 2-wheeler manufacture in the world, recorded net sales of ₹ 223 bn and sold 2.11 million two-wheelers in India in 2021. TVS's plant is located at Hosur, Karnataka. TVS launched it first 3-wheeler, the TVS King, on March 9 '08. The 3-wheeler segment was till now dominated by Bajaj Auto and Piaggio.