Automakers Toeing Make In India Initiative With Robust Exports

The Make In India programme - a signature imitative by the Prime Minister has been one of the biggest motivators for the manufacturing industries, especially the automotive sector. This is reaffirmed by the fact that the passenger vehicle (comprising cars and utility vehicles) exports from India touched all-time high at 758,830 units last fiscal, witnessing a jump of 16.2 per cent. Furthermore, around 20 per cent of PVs that were manufactured in India were exported. Likewise, it is 13 per cent CV, 35 per cent three wheelers, and 12 per cent two-wheelers out of their total overall annual output during FY 2017.

Overall, Indian automobile industry exported a total of 758,830 units of passenger vehicles in FY 2016-17 as against 653,053 units in FY 2015-16, thereby registering a growth of 16.2 per cent. Also, the last fiscal saw the highest ever exports of cars and utility vehicles from India. The industry exported 602,341 units of cars and 154,153 units of utility vehicles out of the country.

SIAM Deputy Director General Sugato Sen told reporters, “Last year, we witnessed the maximum passenger vehicle exports towards emerging and existing markets. At least 1/5th of the total production of PVs was shipped overseas. The percentage may go up with India becoming the global hub for auto giants.”

The year 2016-17 also witnessed the highest exports of commercial vehicles bettering the feat achieved in 2015-16 as the total numbers stood at 1,08,271 units vis-à-vis 1,03,124 units in the previous fiscal, up by nearly 5 per cent. Scooter exports also recorded the highest growth so far at 293,592 units as compared to 257,481 units in 2015-16, up by 14.02 per cent.

In the PV space, Hyundai India ruled the roost and held on to its position as the country’s largest exporter of passenger vehicles in the year gone by. The company shipped out 167,120 units, up by 3.02 per cent, However, there has been a change in the pecking order as Ford India (at 158,469 units) supplanted domestic market leader Maruti Suzuki (1,22,039 units) to attain the second spot. The surprise package was Renault India which has gone past Tata Motors, Honda Cars India and Mahindra & Mahindra.