[shortbread]

Just read a report that India has become the worlds 7th largest vehicle maker.

• Six years ahead of target set by Auto Mission Plan
• New target to reach top 5 by 2020

India should push itself as an export base rather than a destination to just assemble and sell locally. But I am sure things are looking quite positive on this front going forward. Especially with the likes of Tata, Mahindra, Bajaj etc... pushing their export volumes and other MNCs joining the Hyundai bandwagon and make India the prime destination for small cars.

Source: India 7th largest vehicle producing country globally: Govt - The Economic Times

[Simhi]

@shortbread - yes, for 2009 India ranks seventh. Those interested in such statistics can also refer to the wikipedia site on automotive industry. You have breakup based on country as well as manufacturer

Reference: Automotive industry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[theMAG]

Not bad. Being the 7th largest country in the world in land mass and, and now 7th largest in automobile production. Our middle class is resurgent than ever before !

Originally Posted by theMAG

Not bad. Being the 7th largest country in the world in land mass and, and now 7th largest in automobile production. Our middle class is resurgent than ever before !

Very true. But I hope our government will do more to make our roads more comfortable and safe.

[Parm]

way to go India and Indians who have the buying power to buy the vehicle!

i would like to see better infrastructure to match the vehicles on the roads!

[designersf]

The Government can do all it can in its power but we sill still be left wanting for more. Reason? India is not as big as China or USA. More cars = more traffic jams = more pollution. So we need alternate sources of transportation like Metro to help reduce the burden on cars.

I'm not sure of this but when you take the number of cars/unit area, I think India will be ranked very very high. In number of people/unit area, India is No1. So congestion is inevitable. Hope something is done regarding this.

[shortbread]

It is true that the traffic conditions in our cities are getting worse by the day. In contrast most parts of rural India still struggles for a decent road network let alone personal transportation. There needs to be a push in developing infrastructure rather than taking the easier option and curbing growth. For the middle class the aspirational pull of going from no wheels to two and then four is huge and there is very little stopping them in doing so when they can afford it. No matter how good or cheap public transport gets the freedom, comfort, pride and privacy of travelling in ones own vehicle is irreplacable.

Then comes the benefits the industry provides to the nation both in terms of jobs and income. There must be a greater push for exports rather than just domestic consumption.

But again the state of traffic in India is horrible and is only getting worser by the day. The time, energy and finances wasted in bureaucracy, politics, corruption is shocking and far greater than the efforts taken to resolve any issue. Not long before India also starts suffring like the chinese with week long traffic jams.

[vasoo]

Good recognition. We still have long way to go in terms of accommodating all that vehicles that are rolling out. I wonder what would have happened if projects such as GQ were never envisaged. Now that it is in place, many similar projects followed suite and we have much better interstate roads than 10 years before.

[GTO]

Thanks in no small part to the train of new launches (that keep interest levels high) & our robust economy that has defied global trends. Anyone who's anyone in the world of car manufacturing has set up an Indian base.

What's equally important is, our market has also matured in the same time. The cheapest price tag isn't important, value (VFM) is. An increasing number of buyers are opting in on safety features (though the outright % is still paltry). Old models are getting replaced fast, and we get the latest cars at about the same time as our counterparts in the developed nations. Thanks to platforms such as Team-BHP, the customer is more informed than ever before.

Our core focus for the coming years:

- Infrastructural development, one that makes road travel as safe & efficient as the best in the world.

- Exports, as shortbread stated. Hyundai has shown the others that India can make for an excellent export base.

- Alternate fuels & technology. India has the talent to make it work.

- Managing growth : Such a large volume of new cars poses its own challenges. Example : When the same manufacturers with the same cars meet Euro V & VI emission norms in other countries, I don't see why we should cut them any slack. Also, about time we kickstart our own world-class crash testing standards and implement them (atleast) for cars not crash-tested in the EU.

[tj123]

I am proud that we are some where on the car manufacturing radar, but a long way to go compared to our neighbors. But I am also apprehensive about the countless number of vehicles coming up on Indian road , we don’t have proper Road infrastructure and parking facility to support such growth, its going to be a sure recipe for disaster. I am afraid we are blindly following the western ways without taking any learning’s, the trend in Europe is for smaller fuel efficient cars, coupled with excellent mass rapid transportation system.

Government should encourage environment friendly technologies and make it difficult for manufacturers to dump obsolete technology here.

[lakshmig_cbe]

India: 3rd largest market by 2020 - report

Tuesday, June 14, 2011, AutomotiveWorld.com


J.D. Power and Associates predicts that India will become the third largest market by 2020. Last year, it overtook France, the UK and Italy to take the sixth spot globally with sales of more than 2.7 million light vehicles (passenger cars and light commercial vehicles). By 2020, annual sales in the country should reach 11 million units, according to the recent J.D. Power report titled “India Automotive 2020: The Next Giant from Asia.” By this time, light vehicle sales in China are expected to reach 35 million units, followed by the US with 17.4 million units.

“India has quickly become one of the largest and fastest-growing automotive markets in the world,” said John Humphrey, senior vice president of global automotive operations at J.D. Power and Associates. “This momentum has been driven by a more open and market-driven economy, an empowered and less risk-averse workforce, a more consumer-driven culture and an emphasis on small car production.”

India’s government has been working to position the country as a global hub for small passenger car production. As part of efforts to encourage the industry’s growth, the government has cut sales tax of small cars and provided incentives to OEMs to build and export vehicles. Last year, nearly 80% of all new passenger vehicles sold in India were classified as either mini cars or subcompact passenger cars. The average transaction price for all new passenger vehicles sold in the country in 2010 was about US$10,000. India’s top selling passenger car, the Maruti Suzuki Alto, had an average transaction price of about US$6,200. India’s emphasis on small vehicles has helped sales to grow quickly, though it also means that earnings at vehicle manufacturers will depend heavily on small car segments, where profit margins are usually thin.

“Should fuel prices continue to climb globally in the future—and as demand for inexpensive and reliable transportation increases in many of the world’s developing markets—India could find itself well-positioned to fulfil the needs of the small car segment,” said Humphrey. “That said, profit margins are thinner in the small car segment, so automakers are going to need to manage their businesses carefully to optimize profits.”

The report also highlights the challenges faced by India’s automotive industry. Referred to as the ‘three deficits’, the key challenges have been identified as continual international trade deficits; chronic government budget deficits; and an underdeveloped power generation and distribution infrastructure. J.D. Power believes it is the country’s lagging infrastructure poses the biggest potential obstacle to future growth. India’s government is investing heavily in power generation and road/rail networks to address the problem.

A fourth challenge has also been identified in the lack of a broad-based automotive components and parts production industry, as well as the engineering talent.

“Right now, much of the industry still depends on smaller local parts makers to produce components for vehicles,” said Humphrey. “For India to build vehicles of high quality, and in large volumes—especially for export—significant improvements to the components industry will need to be made.”

Published on Tuesday, June 14, 2011

[vinya_jag]

2020 is still a long way to go.
The dynamics might change the same way it changed to good some time back.

Today the govt is getting a lot of revenue out of our automobile industry. More manufacturers coming into India, more cars being sold, more fuel consumed, more taxes into the Govt kitty from everywhere.

But we don't have the infrastructure to match the auto growth. India cannot go the way US did. We have different problems. SPACE is the biggest.

Where are we selling cars the most? My guess is in big cities. Mostly for office commute.

Will this change? I guess so:
The telecom world would probably overtake the auto world.
We would have high speed optical channels into houses. In a completely interconnect world, the need to commute would have reduced a great deal in the days to come. So would the need for cars. Cities will have improved mass transport and this combined with communication will be a killer to the auto world.

Imagine a world where you need to check your mobile to see where the bus to your destination is; when would it reach your stop; And how full it is.

Better planned cities, greener cities, mass transport, bicycles, walk is the need for our future.

And if India does go as per these reports (3rd largest market), I am not sure we will all be a happy bunch. We will be living in a much more complicated world.

[dot]

Originally Posted by lakshmig_cbe

A fourth challenge has also been identified in the lack of a broad-based automotive components and parts production industry, as well as the engineering talent.

“Right now, much of the industry still depends on smaller local parts makers to produce components for vehicles,” said Humphrey. “For India to build vehicles of high quality, and in large volumes—especially for export—significant improvements to the components industry will need to be made.”

I wonder what this is supposed to mean. Hyundai, Ford, Tata, Maruti, VW are exporting cars made in their Indian plants. Many components are coming from local vendors. Where is the glut? I know it takes time for a part supplier to meet specifications. But it happens eventually. What has talent got to do with anything here? Better engineering/machining skills?

Is it just me, or did I feel that the report is bit condescending?

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

Where are we selling cars the most? My guess is in big cities. Mostly for office commute.

Will this change? I guess so:
The telecom world would probably overtake the auto world.
We would have high speed optical channels into houses. In a completely interconnect world, the need to commute would have reduced a great deal in the days to come. So would the need for cars. Cities will have improved mass transport and this combined with communication will be a killer to the auto world.

Imagine a world where you need to check your mobile to see where the bus to your destination is; when would it reach your stop; And how full it is.

Fantastic post. Has a lot of thought in it and provokes a lot more. The communication + automobile synergy is coming, no doubt.

[Aditya]

India Becomes 5th largest Car Maker in the World. Please continue the discussion in the new thread.