Indian Car Industry – Glimpse of Past, Present and Future

The future of Indian cars is purely dependent on advancements and innovations.

Just go back to the olden days when the old Fiat Padmini and Hindustan Ambassador were shinning on Indian roads. At that period of time, did anyone of us thought that the car market will prosper to such a height? No one of us ever imagined such a speedy and accelerated growth of the Indian market.

Since that old Fiat and Amby were introduced, the Indian car industry has travelled a long and bumpy road. Fortunately, today the industry shines at the top with a good number of cars running on roads. It also plays a key role in the industrial and economic development of the country.

Today, the Indian industry is flying with the wings of technology, advancement and innovation. The first car manufactured as a result of technological advancement is Maruti Suzuki 800 in 1983, a car that revitalized the Indian automobile sector. This car was a productive result of a joint venture between Government of India and Suzuki Motors of Japan. Thereafter, many car manufacturers across the world entered the Indian car market.

Some of the biggest car manufacturers who have set up their manufacturing facilities in India are Tata, Toyota, BMW, Audi, Ford, Skoda, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Honda, Hyundai, Maruti, Mercedes, Chevrolet Fiat, Mahindra, and Volvo. These manufactures are currently producing the world’s best car models, progressively booming the India’s economic growth. Some of these companies are also importing cars and other car accessories to meet the increasing demand of car market in India.

The reason why many foreign manufactures entered the Indian markets is availability of highly skilled engineers, low cost labor, technical know how, less investment, cheap machinery and raw materials, established quality systems and rewarding returns. Even the cost of production is reduced to about 25-30% as compared to overseas production. This pace of advancement and improved production not only paved way for foreign manufacturers but also provided enhanced ability to Indian car manufacturers for producing better models.

With the increasing number of cars running on the Indian roads, the future of Indian car industry is also running with a very high velocity. One of the leading car manufacturing companies, Ford, is planning to make India a regional hub for exporting small cars and engines. At the other edge, Skoda is planning to source some of the European operations from its Indian facility. It is believed that this operation will increase indigenization level for all the Indian cars to almost 70%, providing Indian cars a competitive edge in the global market.

Many car manufacturers are rolling out new cars and many are in pipeline. Today, the car market is congested with world class cars like the Volkswagen Jetta, BMW 7 series, Maruti Suzuki SX4, Ford Fiesta, and Honda Civic. Tata Motors is all set to roll out the world’s cheapest car, Hyundai Motors waiting to announce the launch of Hyundai i20, and Maruti Suzuki awaiting the launch of the global car, Maruti Suzuki A-Star. Likewise, many other car manufacturers including Volvo, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Honda Seil, Rolls Royce Phantom, and even Skoda has a slew of launches in their pipeline for the Indian car industry.

Apart from new cars rolling every day on Indian roads, there are many new features added to the cars. Cars are also becoming automated with the use of automatic transmission system. Some of the high-end technological dazzlers are loaded with advanced and top-notch technical features. Along with, the entry of alternative fuel options is also expected to hit the Indian car industry. India will also have cars powered with air and water in future.

So, the future is definite and India is soon to hit the world’s car market and become the third largest car industry after US and China. All the domestic and foreign car manufacturers are making various advancements in the car models with respect to design, technology, fuel efficiency, colors, innovation, style, performance, luxuries and price. These advancements are constantly flourishing the Indian car market, a market that has transformed from a small ray to a competitive sunrise industry.