An Update on Indias Small Economy Car Industry
TheIndian Auto Industryis one that has been steadily gaining attention over the years as their global market share has began to rise. Today India automakers produce over eleven million automobiles and export over 1.5 million of them. In recent years the trend has turned toward small, economy cars which is a perfect fit for a country that for decades has relied upon two wheeled transports. While many of the cars manufactured in India by IndianAuto manufacturershave been reviewed by experts and are said to be made of poor quality materials and are generally unattractive automobiles, the Indian automakers are certainly learning from past mistakes and are poised to create an even bigger splash in coming years as their market share continues to grow.
Today the Indian Automobile Industry is the sixth largest in the world and operates in three main locations, with production of vehicles in the country also including that of foreign manufacturers from the US and UK. In the southern region of the country near the city of Chennai (which is known today as India's version of Detroit) 35% of their overall production originates, while 33% comes from the west near Mumbai and Pune, and the remaining 32% of production comes from the north near the National Capital Region. With 75% of their overall production still consisting of two-wheeled vehicles, Indian automakers such as Maruti Suzuki have begun to change that trend as they now maintain 16% of the overall production share with their production of passenger vehicles, a number that is sure to rise.
First emerging in the 1940's India'sauto industryfinds its roots in 1945 when the company Mahindra & Mahindra began assembling Jeep CJ-3A utility vehicles. After claiming their independence from Great Britain in 1947 the Indian private sector took over production of automobiles and the industry has continued to grow year after year. With the focus today on fuel economy in the mind's of many consumers, India's auto industry is very capable of taking an even greater market share than predicted with their ever growing line of fuel efficient and inexpensive vehicles. Having already achieved double digit growth for over ten consecutive years, their new line of fuel efficient passenger cars may be on the verge of rivaling the industries of their Asian neighbors.
Although sales have stagnated slightly since 2009 this hasn't hinderedIndian automakersfrom continuing to strive to build better, more efficient cars. With the growth of other industry in the area the manufacture of quality automobiles is becoming ever closer to their grasp and while today the Indian Auto Industry may be ranked sixth, it may not be long before they find themselves even higher on the list.
