The automobile industry in India is the ninth largest in the world with an annual production of

over 2.3 million units in 2008.[2] In 2009, India emerged as Asia's fourth largest exporter of
automobiles, behind Japan, South Korea and Thailand.[3]

Following economic liberalization in India in 1991, the Indian automotive industry has
demonstrated sustained growth as a result of increased competitiveness and relaxed restrictions.
Several Indian automobile manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and
Mahindra, expanded their domestic and international operations. India's robust economic growth
led to the further expansion of its domestic automobile market which attracted significant India-
specific investment by multinational automobile manufacturers.[4] In February 2009, monthly
sales of passenger cars in India exceeded 100,000 units.[5]

Contents
 1 History
 2 Exports
 3 Post-liberalization industry
 4 Indian automobile companies
o 4.1 Multi-national companies in India
 5 Production facilities in India
 6 Further reading
 7 Footnotes
 8 External links

History

REVA, known as G-Wiz in Europe, is the world's largest selling electric car.[6]
Tata Nano is the least expensive car in production in the world. The price is about Rs. 100,000
(US$2,500).[7]

Maruti Suzuki's A-Star vehicle during its unveiling in Pragati Maidan, Delhi. A-Star, Suzuki's
fifth global car model, was designed and is made only in India.[8]

An embryonic automotive industry emerged in India in the 1940s. Following the independence,
in 1953, the Government of India and the private sector launched efforts to create an automotive
component manufacturing industry to supply to the automobile industry. However, the growth
was relatively slow in the 1950s and 1960s due to nationalization and the license raj which
hampered the Indian private sector. After 1970, the automotive industry started to grow, but the
growth was mainly driven by tractors, commercial vehicles and scooters. Cars were still a major
luxury Japanese manufacturers entered the Indian market ultimately leading to the establishment
of Maruti Udyog. A number of foreign firms initiated joint ventures with Indian companies.[9]

In the 1980s, a number of Japanese manufacturers launched joint-ventures for building

motorcycles and light commercial-vehicles. It was at this time that the Indian government chose
Suzuki for its joint-venture to manufacture small cars. Following the economic liberalization in
1991 and the gradual weakening of the license raj, a number of Indian and multi-national car
companies like Hyundai launched operations in Chennai with bestselling car called 'Santro' along
with No.1 local commercial vehicle maker of Tata's indian car launching called 'Indica' in Pune.
Since then, automotive component and automobile manufacturing growth has accelerated to
meet domestic and export demands.[9]

Timeline of Indian automobile industry:[9]

 1897 First Person to own a car in India - Mr Foster of M/s Crompton Greaves Company,
Mumbai
 1901 First Indian to own a car in India - Jamsetji Tata
 1905 First Woman to drive a car in India - Mrs. Suzanne RD Tata
 1905 Fiat Motors
 1911 First Taxi in India
 1924 Formation of traffic police
 1928 Chevrolet Motors
 1942 Hindustan Motors
 1944 Premier Automobiles Limited
 1945 Tata Motors
 1945 Bajaj Auto
  1947 Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
 1948 Ashok Motors
 1948 Standard Motors
 1974 Sipani Motors
 1981 Maruti Suzuki
 1994 Rover Company
 1994 Mercedes-Benz
 1994 General Motors India - Opel brand launch
 1995 Ford Motor Company
 1995 Honda Siel Cars India
 1995 REVA Electric Car Company
 1995 Daewoo Motors
 1996 Hyundai Motor Company
 1997 Toyota Kirloskar Motors
 1997 Fiat Motors (Re-Entry)
 1998 San Motors
 1998 Mitsubishi Motors
 2001 Ĺ koda Auto
 2003 General Motors India - Chevrolet brand launch
 2005 BMW
 2007 Audi Nissan-Renault
 2009 Land Rover and Jaguar VW

Exports

Hyundai i20, one of the most widely exported Indian cars. In 2009, India was Asia's fourth
largest exporter of automobiles.[10]

India has emerged as one of the world's largest manufacturers of small cars. According to 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 Motors, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen and Suzuki.[11]

In 2008, 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.[12] Similarly, General Motors
announced its plans to export about 50,000 cars manufactured in India by 2011.[13]
In September 2009, Ford Motors announced its plans to setup 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.[14] The company said that the plant was a part of its plan to make India the
hub for its global production business.[15] Fiat Motors also announced that it would source more
than US$1 billion worth auto components from India.[16]

According to Bloomberg L.P., in 2009 India surpassed China as Asia's fourth largest exporter of
cars.[17] India was the only major Asian automobile manufacturing nation which posted a growth
in automobile exports in January - July 2009 –

Country Exports  %Gain

Japan 1,770,000 n/a
S Korea 1,120,000 -31%
Thailand 263,768 -43%
India 229,809 18%
China 164,800 -60%

Post-liberalization industry
Following India's economic liberalization in 1991, the automobile industry was opened for 100
percent foreign direct investment. A surge in the country's economic growth rate and purchasing
power has fueled a 17% annual growth rate in the Indian automobile industry since 1991. The
automotive industry generates direct and indirect employment to about 13.1 million people as of
2006-07.[4]

The automotive parts and cars exports has grown at an annual rate of 30% per year in the 21st
century. However, the India's share of the overall global automotive industry remains low as of
2007. Increased competitin amongst automobile manufacturers provides for a variety of
competitive options for the consumer.[4]

India was one of the largest manufacturers of tractors in the world in 2005-06, when it produced
293,000 units. India produced 65 Million tyres during FY 2005-06. India's tyre production meets
domestic demand, as well as are exported to over 60 countries.[4]

Indian automobile companies

See also: List of cars available in India

The following are some of the notable Indian automobile manufacturers:

Company Description Product

Ashok Ashok Leyland is a commercial 18 seater to 82 seater double-decker buses,
Leyland vehicle manufacturing company based 7.5 tonne to 49 tonne in haulage vehicles,
in Chennai, India. In 1948, Ashok special application vehicles, and diesel
 Motors was set up in what was then
Madras, for the assembly of Austin
Cars. The Company's name changed
soon with equity participation by
British Leyland and Ashok Leyland
commenced manufacture of
engines for industrial, marine and genset
commercial vehicles in 1955. Ashok
applications.
Leyland has six manufacturing plants:
a plant at Ennore near Chennai, two
plants at Hosur (called Hosur I and
Hosur II, along with a press shop), and
the assembly plants at Alwar and
Bhandara.
Gas-cylinder carrier, copied from 3-wheel
Vidal & Sohn Tempo-Werke (German)
Hanseat; Matador, a version of Hanomag
Force Motors, formerly Bajaj Tempo, van and light-truck (1.5 tonne payload);
Force Motors is a Pune-based manufacturer of a Tempo-traveller, Indian version of
number of commercial vehicles Daimler-Benz T-1 transporter; Man-Force
Trucks, licensed version of MAN AG
trucks; and UV's copied from Daimler-
Benz.
Hindustan Motors is one of the oldest
Indian car manufacturers in India. It is
Trekker (discontinued), Landmaster
perhaps best known for the
(discontinued), Contessa
Hindustan Ambassador which has remained
(discontinued)—5th generation Vauxhall
Motors virtually unchanged for about 30
Victor, and the Ambassador—a version
years. It is still very popular as a taxi
of the 1950s Morris Oxford.
and is widely used by Indian
politicians.
The automotive section of Mahindra
started off when a first batch of
seventy five Utility Vehicles (UVs) Armada (discontinued), Voyager
Mahindra &
was imported in CKD condition from (discontinued), Bolero. Commander, CL,
Mahindra
Willys in 1947. It presently MaXX, Scorpio, and Mahindra and
Limited
manufactures Jeeps along with Mahindra Classic.
agricultural equipment and light
trucks.
Maruti Suzuki Maruti Suzki (formerly Maruti 800 - 2nd Generation Suzuki Alto
Udyog) was formed as a partnership Alto - 5th Generation Suzuki Alto
between the Government of India and Maruti Zen (discontinued) - 4th Generation
Suzuki of Japan. It brought India its Suzuki Cervo
first "affordable" car, the Maruti 800. WagonR - 2nd Generation
It is the biggest car manufacturer in Estilo - 1st Generation Suzuki MR Wagon
India and especially dominant in the AStar - 7th Generation Suzuki Alto
 Ritz
small car sector. Then it brought out
Swift
the Maruti 1000, made by Maruti
1000 (discontinued) - Generation Suzuki
Udyog was the first ever
Cultus
contemporary sedan-type car launched
Maruti Esteem (discontinued) - 2nd
in India. The car (which Suzuki sold
Generation Suzuki Cultus
in other countries as the
Swift DZire
Cultus/Swift/Geo Metro with a 1.3 L
Baleno (discontinued) - 2nd Generation
or 1.6 L engine) was introduced in
Suzuki Esteem
October, 1990. Sold at Rs. 3.81 lakh,
SX4
it was back then the costliest car
Omni
released in the Indian market. Then
Versa
the company replaced it with Esteem
Gypsy
and from that days on a line of Suzuki
Grand Vitara.
cars rolled out in the Indian market.
NO.1 CAR MAKER
Walchand Hirachand started Premier
Automobiles Ltd. (PAL) in 1942.
They assembled DeSoto and Plymouth
Premier
cars in 1946 in association with Padmini (discontinued), 118 NE
Automobiles
Chrysler from the United States. They (discontinued), and Premier Sigma.
Limited
also manufactured the Premier
Padmini which was a version of the
Fiat 1100.
REVA Electric Car Co. is the
producer of the Reva (G-Wiz), an
electric car intended for use as a City
car. More REVAs have been produced
REVA REVA (G-Wiz).
than any other currently selling
electric car and sales are increasing. It
is currently the world's leading electric
car manufacturing company.
Tata Motors, formerly known as
TELCO, is the largest automobile
manufacturer in India and commands
more than 70% of the commercial
vehicle market in India and has also
increased its share of passenger Tata Nano, Indica, Indigo, Indigo Marina,
vehicle market. It was responsible for Sumo, Safari and TL.
Tata Motors
developing India's first indigenous NO.3 CAR MAKER, NO.1
vehicle, the Indica. It has proved to be COMMERCIAL VEHICLE MAKER
a success in the market after initial
quality problems. The company also
exports the car to many countries.
Tata owns major stake in Jaguar and
Range Rover.
In addition to Bangalore-based REVA, which currently is the only company actually selling EVs
today, electric cars made in India includes:

 Mahindra & Mahindra: Four-seat model by 2010.[18]

 Tata: 2008-2009 (Also possibly a compressed air car).[19]
 Ajanta Group: clockmaker with plans for low-cost EV.[20]
 Tara: Low-cost EV less than a Tata Nano.[21]
 Hero Electric: 2013 Electric car.[22]

Multi-national companies in India

Company Description Product

In January 2008, Audi started production
Audi with the Audi A4 and A6 at its factory in A4, A6, A8, R8, Q7, and TT.
Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra.
BMW is a manufacturer of sport sedans.
BMW enjoys good brand recognition in
India. It has set up a plant in Chennai,
3 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series,
BMW Tamil Nadu, to manufacture cars locally
X3,X5and X6.
exclusively for the local market with no
plans for export. It set up the plant to
circumvent high import duties.
It roped in Sachin Tendulkar as one of its
brand ambassadors. Even Michael The Fiat Uno was one of the first products
Schumacher appeared in an ad for the to be introduced. The Fiat Palio/Fiat Siena
Palio. It has entered now into an alliance was later introduced and was initially a
with Tata Motors to jointly manufacture success with its style and ride comfort
cars at its plant in Ranjangaon, near coupled with solid build but has slowly lost
Pune. The facility will enable the two its sheen due to low fuel efficiency. Other
companies to make about 2,00,000 cars models were introduced such as the Palio
Fiat
per annum, and also house an engine Weekend, Palio Stile and Adventure. Fiat
manufacturing unit with a capacity of tried re-branding of the Fiat Siena to Fiat
2,50,000 units per annum. The alliance Petra without much success. Fiat
will also see Tata Motors use Fiat's diesel Bravo—sold in collaboration with Tata
technology—the 1.3 litre multijet diesel Motors, Fiat 500—sold in collaboration
engine—for its own vehicles. The two with Tata Motors, and Fiat Linea—sold
companies also have a distribution and in collaboration with Tata Motors.
service partnership.
Ford entered India in collaboration with
Ford Motor Mahindra & Mahindra in 1995 with a Escort (discontinued), Ikon, Endeavour,
Company plant in Tamil Nadu. The first model was Fusion, and Fiesta.
the Escort.
General Chevrolet has been a recognized brand in Tavera—rebadged Isuzu Panther, first
Motors India for several decades. The model Generation Subaru Forester,
lineup consists of vehicles from cheaper Aveo—second Generation Daewoo Kalos
 sister brands like Daewoo. General
Motors initially entered India with the
Opel brand, but the Opel brand was
dropped in March 2006 because sales
were at an all time low due to high prices
sedan, Aveo UV-A—first Generation
and General Motors wanted to focus
Daewoo Kalos hatchback,
more on their Chevrolet brand. Since the
Optra—rebadged Daewoo Lacetti,
Chevrolet brand was introduced in India,
SRV—rebadged Daewoo Lacetti,
there have been no new Opel products.
Spark—formerly Daewoo Matiz in India,
GM's Indian operations were originally a
and Captiva—recent launch in India.
JV between Hindustan Motors and GM,
with most of GM's vehicles assembled at
Hindustan's plant in Halol, Gujarat. Since
then, GM India is now wholly owned by
GM.
Honda Siel Cars entered India in 1995. It
sells 4 cars in India—the City, Civic,
Accord, and CR-V. The manufacturing
plant of Honda Siel is located in Manesar
Honda near Gurgaon. The model of Accord sold Jazz, City, Civic, Accord, and CR-V.
in India is the 2003 model. The most
inexpensive car from Honda—The
City. The most expensive—The Honda
Accord V6.
Santro—second generation Hyundai
Atos, Accent—second generation
Hyundai Accent sedan, Sonata—sold as
the Sonata Transform, Verna—third
When Hyundai entered India in 1998, the
generation Hyundai Accent sedan,
brand was virtually unknown in the
Getz—sold as the Getz Prime,
Hyundai Indian market. But now Hyundai has
Elantra—3rd generation Hyundai Elantra
good market share because of its models
seda€n (discontinued), Terracan
like SANTRO, Accent etc..
(discontinued), Tucson, i10—brand new
small car, global launch in India in 2007,
and i20.
NO.2 CAR MAKER
Logan (in partnership with Mahindra &
Renault -
Mahindra Limited).
Mercedes- Mercedes-Benz has had to cater to the C-Class, E-Class, S-Class, ML-Class, SL-
Benz ever gowning luxury segment in India, Class, CL-Class, SLK-Class, CLK-Class,
especially after the arrival of the other GL-Class, and CLS-Class.
luxury German manufacturers. Now,
Mercedes-Benz cars are launched in
India soon after the worldwide launch
and homologation as opposed to earlier,
 when Mercedes-Benz had monopolized
the niche Indian market. In 2007 they
launched the SLK-Class and CLS-Class.
Lancer - Sixth Generation Mitsubishi
Lancer, Cedia—seventh generation
Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Lancer, Pajero—second
-
Motors generation Mitsubishi Pajero,
Montero—third generation Mitsubishi
Pajero, and Outlander.
Ĺ koda Auto is an important car
manufacturer of India. It recently
Ĺ koda launched the Laura, the Octavia still Fabia, Octavia/Laura, and Superb.
continues to exist. Ĺ koda also offers the
Superb in India but it's not too popular.
Toyota Kirloskar sells 4 car models in
India. It stopped producing the Toyota Toyota Qualis (discontinued),
Qualis to make way for the Toyota Camry—7th generation Toyota Camry
Innova, which was launched in India in (the latest generation Camry),
Toyota 2005. The most expensive car from Corolla—9th generation Toyota Corolla,
Toyota is the Land Cruiser Prado. Toyota Innova, and Land Cruiser Prado
Kirloskar Motors Ltd. is a joint venture VX—latest generation Toyota Land
between Toyota and the Kirloskar Cruiser (PRADO).
Group.

The list of foreign cars sold in India as CBU (Completely Built Unit) is given below:

A Maruti 800 assembled at Gurgaon, Haryana, India.

 Audi: Audi A4, Audi R8, Audi A6, Audi A8, Audi TT, and Audi Q7.
 BMW: BMW 7 Series, BMW X5, BMW X3, BMW M3, BMW M5, and BMW M6.
 Land Rover: Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.
 Nissan: Teana and X-Trail.
 Porsche: Porsche 911, Porsche Boxster, Porsche Cayenne, and Porsche Cayman.
 Rolls Royce: Rolls Royce Phantom.
 Toyota: Land Cruiser Prado VX.
 Volkswagen: Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen Passat, and Volkswagen Touareg.
 Volvo: Volvo XC90 and Volvo S80.
  LamborghiniLamborghini Gallardo and Lamborghini MurciĂŠlago

Production facilities in India

 Ashok Leyland: Ennore, Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Hosur, Tamil Nadu (3 plants)
 Audi: Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
 BMW: Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
 Bajaj Auto Ltd: Akurdi, MIDC Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Maharashtra
 Caparo : Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
 Chevrolet: Halol, Gujrat.
 Daimler : Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
 Fiat: Pune (Ranjangaon), Maharashtra.
 Ford: Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
 Force Motors: Pune, Maharashtra
 General Motors: Talegaon Dabhade (Pune), Maharashtra
 Hindustan motors: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and Kolkata, West Bengal.
 Honda: Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
 Hyundai: Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
 Kinetic Motor Company Limited: M.I.D.C., Pimpri-Chinchwad Pune, Maharashtra
 Mahindra: Nashik, Maharashtra; Kandivali, Maharashtra; Igatpuri, Maharashtra;
Zahirabad, Andhra Pradesh; and Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
 Mercedes-Benz: Pune, Maharashtra.
 Mitsubishi: Thiruvallur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
 Renault-Nissan: Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
 Ĺ koda: Aurangabad, Maharashtra
 Suzuki: Gurgaon, Haryana, and Manesar, Haryana.
 TAFE Tractors : Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
 Tata: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh; Pimpri-Chinchwad (Pune) Maharashtra; Jamshedpur,
Jharkhand; Haridwar, Uttarakhand and Sanand, Gujarat.
 TVS Motors, Hosur, Tamil Nadu.
 Toyota: Bangalore, Karnataka.
 Volkswagen: Talegaon Dabhade (Pune), Maharashtra
 Volvo Trucks: Bangalore, Karnataka
 Royal Enfield: Chennai, Tamil nadu