[mohitchalla]

We have witnessed a steep growth in the demand for new cars in the last one year, despite of COVID. India being a developing country, I believe this demand will keep on increasing year-on-year. With the increase in demand, we should also have a proportional increase in choices.

While we have seen a wider product offering from most of the manufacturers, it was also sad to see some promising brands like Fiat and Chevrolet have left India for good. While we got KIA, it is just Hyundai with a different styling. The only truly new, exciting brand that has entered India in the past few years is Citroën. Here is my wish list of global car brands that should come to India:

• Mazda - A brand with a wide model range, most of which are already well suited to the Indian market. It is also that one Japanese brand that actually delivers exceptionally high quality interiors. The SKYACTIV Technology engines can go head-to-head with Honda’s iVTEC.
  
• Subaru - The gold standard of AWD systems and the boxer engines. Enough said!
  
• Acura - Since Honda has been diluting its own premium standing in the Indian market, it is time to start offering the Acura badge to customers looking for a more premium experience.
  
• Infinity - Because why not?
  
• Genesis - Again from the Hyundai family, but much more luxurious with competitive pricing in its segment.
  
• Daihatsu - The economical Toyota. A better choice over the rabadged Maruti Suzuki cars.

Share your views and what other brands do you think should come to India?

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by mohitchalla

• Mazda
  
• Subaru
  
• Acura
  
• Infinity
  
• Genesis
  
• Daihatsu

Out of this list I wish Toyota could bring Daihatsu here. They have a wonderful portfolio that could do well in India. Neither their quality is inferior.

Infinity --> Infiniti

OTOH I wish instead of bringing in new brands, if existing brands could offer such offerings in the current badge, why not?

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by mohitchalla

• Mazda - A brand with a wide model range, most of which are already well suited to the Indian market. It is also that one Japanese brand that actually delivers exceptionally high quality interiors. The SKYACTIV Technology engines can go head-to-head with Honda’s iVTEC.
  
• Subaru - The gold standard of AWD systems and the boxer engines. Enough said!
  
• Acura - Since Honda has been diluting its own premium standing in the Indian market, it is time to start offering the Acura badge to customers looking for a more premium experience.
  
• Infinity - Because why not?
  
• Genesis - Again from the Hyundai family, but much more luxurious with competitive pricing in its segment.
  
• Daihatsu - The economical Toyota. A better choice over the rabadged Maruti Suzuki cars.

After driving many Mazdas in the US, I must say I'm very impressed. They do have a very competent hatchback (2/3), sedan(2/3), and crossover lineup(CX30, CX5) that can make it big in India.

Not sure about Subaru - our weather conditions don't really need AWD. Plus, I don't know of any Subaru model with gasoline engines under <1200 cc.

Premium brands (Acura, Infiniti, Genesis) - forget it. India's luxury car market is small and about prestige compared. Lower-end Infinitis and Acuras aren't very impressive for the big bucks they'll charge in India.

Daihatsu - why establish a new brand when Toyota can slap their badge on existing Maruti models? If Toyota were serious, Daihatsu should have been introduced in the mid 2000s after the Qualis became a runaway success.

[ronello]

Alfa Romeo please...from an enthusiast's perspective.

[Marauder]

Originally Posted by mohitchalla

• Mazda - A brand with a wide model range, most of which are already well suited to the Indian market. It is also that one Japanese brand that actually delivers exceptionally high quality interiors. The SKYACTIV Technology engines can go head-to-head with Honda’s iVTEC.
  

Share your views and what other brands do you think should come to India?

Mazda would have been extremely successful in India had they come to our shores about 5 years ago. Their sedans like the 2, 3 and 6 could have taken the fight to the City, Octavia and Superb while the SUVs like CX-3, CX-5 and CX-8 would compete against the Creta, Tucson and Fortuner, respectively.

Mazda may not have turned out to be a big volume player but in the premium space, it is a better alternative to VW and Skoda, for Indian tastes.

But now, I feel that Mazdas would just bomb in the Indian market. Sedans are dead in India, Mazda don't have turbocharged engines and their SKYACTIV-X engines may be too expensive for India. Mazda in general is moving to an even more premium space in other markets. The CX-30 is a CX-3 sized SUV priced on par with the CX-5. In India, no one is willing to pay a premium for SUVs which look puny. Also, Mazda is reluctant to put touchscreens on their infotainment systems. This may be fatal in our market.

Among other brands, I'd like to see Peugeot making a comeback. PSA/Stellantis has already entered our market with Citroen but Peugeot's current range may be more appealing to the Indian consumers. The 208, 2008 and 3008 look amazing and are loaded to gills with features. They offer softer rides and light steering wheels, which our market prefers.

[saikarthik]

Slightly OT, but I would like to see OEMs present in India first to bring good models that are available in international markets (Toyota, Nissan). Look at their product offering in India.

Also secondly, the other players can start local assembly or at least CKD assembly of CBU units that are popular in India but many shy away due to CBU cost like the VW imports (if makes good business case).

[museycal]

From the OP, Genesis seems to have the highest probability to come to India, as Hyundai already has strong foothold here and they are on top of the game in marketing and value proposition. The recent Genesis designs are killing it too, whether sedans (G70, G80, G90) or crossovers (GV70, GV80). Though IIRC, the Genesis brand of cars are yet to arrive in RHD configuration worldwide, I may be wrong on this one though.

I'd love to see more GM and Stellantis brands in the country. Cadillac & GMC from GM and DS, Dodge & Alfa Romeo from Stellantis. These brands have good products in luxury, sports and UV segments with some great desirable cars in the fold.

Toyota bringing in Subaru, especially with an affordable halo car like BR-Z will be great too.

[Amrik Singh]

These are the models that we would like to have in India. But, stepping into the shoes of investor, just think if they could get good returns on theirinvestments? Smaller engines (low powered and less costly) are not preferred while bigger engines are getting difficult to feed with rising cost of fuel.
Established manufacturers are winding up their business here which would be a deterrent to anyone even thinking of investing. IC Engines are on the brink of extinction. So everyone must be on 'watch and move' mode.

[sunilch]

From your list, below two are the only ones that I wish to be available here. They have good products and are economical too. Rest of the brands you have listed are unlikely to find any takers here and do not add much value. Acura or Infiniti for example, do not add any value as such as for us luxury (or even performance) is still one of the three German Brands

Originally Posted by mohitchalla

• Mazda - A brand with a wide model range, most of which are already well suited to the Indian market. It is also that one Japanese brand that actually delivers exceptionally high quality interiors. The SKYACTIV Technology engines can go head-to-head with Honda’s iVTEC.
  
• Subaru - The gold standard of AWD systems and the boxer engines. Enough said!

However, there is a long list of cars that I believe current Car Makers present in India should launch. Some are very value for money and others are quite niche products that will find takers her for sure. Toyota and Ford do have some very good products that will find good use here. But we do have another thread for the same I believe.

[Lalvaz]

Great thread. I would like to see many of these brands launch in India, but would also like to see more Chinese brands enter India. Changli's small electric cars are so reasonably priced and would definitely meet the needs of a large section of the market. I would love to see them launch a US $ 900 EV here.

[DriveOnceMore]

To be Honest, we Indian's don't deserve variety in automotive market.
Whatever any company does, majority of us (i.e. aroun70%) are going to buy Maruti or Hyundai only.
Investing in all new country is not an easy and cheap task.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by DriveOnceMore

To be Honest, we Indian's don't deserve variety in automotive market.
Whatever any company does, majority of us (i.e. aroun70%) are going to buy Maruti or Hyundai only.
Investing in all new country is not an easy and cheap task.

I don't think Indian people are entirely responsible.
'Foreign' Manufacturers are equally responsible for their sorry affairs.

Most of these 'Foreign' brands are guilty of:
1. Not rolling out timely updates of existing products.
2. Launching 'cheapened' & safety-compromised platforms of their vehicles in India.
3. Not introducing new products quickly enough.

Take the case of Ford.
Their EcoSport was very well received when it was launched back in 2012, and used to have a long waiting period.
What did Ford do?
Instead of improving the product with facelifts etc. they just sat on it, till it became too old & out-dated.
Neither did they bother to launch any new product in 4.3m SUV space despite having suitable products in their global portfolio.

Take another example, Renault.
They introduced the Duster way back in 2012.
The Duster too enjoyed good success initially, despite the terrible interiors.
What did Renault do after this?
They didn't bother to launch the new platform Duster.
They didn't bother to improve the horrible interiors of the Duster, despite 9 years of existence.


One more example, Citroen.
They came to India with one good product. Agreed.
But, they price it so astronomically high, that no one even bothers to have a look at the car, forget buying it.

[dhanushs]

I think Mazda, if launched and managed in the right way, will do wonderfully in India. .

They have the right product and also a great brand image.

[DriveOnceMore]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

I don't think Indian people are entirely responsible.
'Foreign' Manufacturers are equally responsible for their sorry affairs.

Most of these 'Foreign' brands are guilty of:
1. Not rolling out timely updates of existing products.
2. Launching 'cheapened' & safety-compromised platforms of their vehicles in India.
3. Not introducing new products quickly enough.

Agree that Ford did not launch new / next gen Ecosport.
But they did launch MADE FOR INDIA Figo twins which are 'cheapened' version as you say but comparable or way better on safety than many of the highest selling cars from MSIL.
Ford did bring timely updates to all the products inside out.

Renaults missed the train on Duster update front.
But they launched good products based on their CMF-A platform like Triber / Kiger / Kwid.
All these product offer value, safety (Triber is 4 star GNCAP rated car and hopefully Kiger would be too).

Too early to comment on Citroen.

[Sahil]

Besides Tesla, I don't think we really need more brands in India. What we need is better and more models of each brand HOWEVER at better prices especially when they are CKD.
India has become a market to milk profits, I hope there comes a day when our locally manufactured cars are at par with their prices in the west. This will only be a reality when the govt also supports with realistic taxation.