Indian Automobile Industry An Introduction

Beginning from the era when there were only a few car varieties in Indian market, the
automobile industry has come up a long way with a diverse array of cars nowadays. A number
of companies are dominating the Indian automobile industry today. India is home to a vibrant
automobile of more than 40 million vehicles. It has been one of the few worldwide which saw
growing passenger car sales during the recession of the past two years. In fact, in 2009-10 it has
recorded its highest volumes ever.
When talking about top automobile companies, one name that would come in most of our
minds is Maruti Suzuki and this company has consistently been the leader in the automobile
industry in India. The automotive industry is one of the key drivers of Indias economy,
accounting for around 4 percent of Indias GDP and over 200,000 jobs.
Some Interesting facts
Indian Auto Industry is the
Largest Three Wheeler Market in the World
Second largest Two Wheeler Market in the World
Fourth largest Passenger Vehicle Market in Asia
Fourth largest Tractor Market in the World
Fifth largest Commercial Vehicle Market in the World
At present time, Indian automobile industry is making a major contribution in increasing the
country's GDP by 9% every year. New heights have been scaled by the industry in the year
2010. In January 2010, total automobile sales in the domestic market reached 11,14,157 units,
the figures shows an increment of 44.9% compared to the sales units of 7,68,698 in the same
period last year. Annually, the Indian automobile industry is growing at an average rate of 30%
and marking itself as one of the fastest growing industries in India. According to the New York
Times reports, several automobile companies like Hyundai Motors, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen
and Suzuki have expanded their manufacturing facilities owing to India's strong engineering
base and expertise in the manufacturing of low-cost, fuel-efficient cars.
The following statistics explains the market share of different vehicles in the Indian automobile
Industry. This data is valid for the Indian domestic market only.
Passenger Vehicles : 15.86%
Commercial Vehicles : 4.32%
Three Wheelers : 3.58%
Two Wheelers : 76.23%
The production data for April 2011 shows production growth of 20.28 percent over the same
period last year. The industry produced 16,26,675 vehicles in April 2011 as against 13,52,354 in
April 2010. The Overall growth in domestic sales in the month of April 2011 was 22.80 percent
over same period last year. Passenger Vehicles segment grew at 14.00 percent during April
2011 over the same month last year.
Introduction to Maruti Suzuki India Limited:
One of the countrys largest car manufacturers, Maruti Suzuki has been rightly crowned as one
of the kings in the Indian car industry, which continues shine on Indian roads even today.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL, formerly Maruti Udyog Limited), a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor
Corporation of Japan, is India's largest passenger car company, accounting for majority of the
domestic car market.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited is leading the passenger car segment in the automobile industry in
India for quite a longer number of years. The company began its journey in the year 1981 with
its name as Maruti Udyog Limited, and the company began to attract the market when it
introduced its popular four-wheeler model Maruti 800. It got its present name in the year 2007.
In fiscal 2009-10 Maruti Suzuki became the only Indian company to manufacture and sell One
Million cars in a year. The company has a sales network of 802 centres in 555 towns and cities,
and provides service support to customers at 2,740 workshops in over 1,335 towns and cities
(as on March 31, 2010). The company is focused on rapidly expanding the sales and service
further across the country. It has one of the largest service networks among all automobile
companies in India.
Introduction to Tata Motors Limited
Tata Motors Limited is Indias largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of
Rs.1,23,133 crores (USD 27 billion) in 2010-11. It is the leader in commercial vehicles in each
segment, and among the top three in passenger vehicles with winning products in the compact,
midsize car and utility vehicle segments. The company is the world's fourth largest truck
manufacturer, and the world's third largest bus manufacturer.
Established in 1945, Tata Motors' presence indeed cuts across the length and breadth of India.
Over 4 million Tata vehicles ply on Indian roads, since the first rolled out in 1954. Tata Motors,
the first company from India's engineering sector to be listed in the New York Stock Exchange
(September 2004), has also emerged as an international automobile company.
It was Tata Motors, which developed the first indigenously developed Light Commercial
Vehicle, Indias first Sports Utility Vehicle and, in 1998, the Tata Indica, India's first fully
indigenous passenger car. Within two years of launch, Tata Indica became India's largest selling
car in its segment.


Introduction to Mahindra & Mahindra
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited is the flagship company of the Mahindra Group, a multinational
conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. Mahindra & Mahindra is a major automobile
manufacturer of utility vehicles, passenger cars, pickups, commercial vehicles, and two
wheelers. Its tractors are sold on six continents. M&M made its entry into the passenger car
segment with the Logan in April 2007 under the Mahindra Renault joint venture
In 1947, Mahindra and Mahindra introduced India to the utility vehicle. More than 65 years
later, its still India's premier utility vehicle (UV) company. In addition to making groundbreaking
UVs like the Scorpio and Bolero, Mahindra offers cars, pickups, and commercial vehicles that
are rugged, reliable, environmentally friendly, and fuel-efficient.
With over 39,633 units over all, four wheelers of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, the car
manufacturer has shown its highest ever growth in July this year. A 41 percent overall and 42
percent domestic sales growth with 37,323 units compared to 26,303 units in July 2010. This
year Mahindra Verito recorded a phenomenal 117 percent growth with 1630 units compared
to 752 units in the previous year. The passenger vehicle segment showed an overall growth of
35 percent having sold 17312 units this year.