Automotive Industry in India

FACTS: The Automotive industry in India is one of the largest in the world and one of the fastest growing globally. The Indian automotive industry started from 1991with the governments de-licensing of the sector and subsequent opening up for 100 per cent FDI through automatic route. Since then many large global companies have set up their facilities in India taking the production of vehicle from 2 million in 1991 to 17.5 million in 2010 (including 2 wheeled and 4 wheeled).

At present, India is the worlds

Largest tractor and three-wheel vehicle producer. Second largest two-wheel vehicle producer. Fourth largest commercial vehicle producer. Fourth largest passenger car producer.

Production And Service Segmentation: According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, annual car sales are projected to increase up to 5 million vehicles by 2015 and more than 9 million by 2020. By 2050, the country is expected to top the world in car volumes with approximately 611 million vehicles on the nation's roads. The automotive industry of India is categorised into passenger cars, two wheelers, commercial vehicles and three wheelers, with two wheelers dominating the market. More than 75% of the vehicles sold are two wheelers. Nearly 59% of these two wheelers sold were motorcycles and about 12% were scooters. Mopeds occupy a small portion in the two wheeler market however; electric two wheelers are yet to penetrate. The passenger vehicles are further categorised into passenger cars, utility vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles. All sedan, hatchback, station wagon and sports cars fall under passenger cars. Tata Nano, is the worlds cheapest passenger car, manufactured by Tata Motors - a leading automaker of India. Multi-purpose vehicles or peoplecarriers are similar in shape to a van and are taller than a sedan, hatchback or a station wagon, and are designed for maximum interior room. Utility vehicles are designed for specific tasks. The passenger vehicles manufacturing account for about 15% of the market in India. Commercial vehicles are categorised into heavy, medium and light. They account for about 5% of the market. Three wheelers are categorised into passenger carriers and goods carriers. Three wheelers account for about 4% of the market in India.

Exports: India's automobile exports have grown consistently and reached $4.5 billion in 2009, with United Kingdom being India's largest export market followed by Italy, Germany, Netherlands and South Africa. India's automobile exports are expected to cross $12 billion by 2014. 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. 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. Similarly, General Motors announced its plans to export about 50,000 cars manufactured in India by 2011.

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. The company said that the plant was a part of its plan to make India the hub for its global production business. Fiat Motors also announced that it would source more than US$1 billion worth auto components from India. In July 2010, The Economic Times reported that PSA Peugeot Citron was planning to re-enter the Indian market and open a production plant in Andhra Pradesh with an annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles, investing EUR 700M in the operation. PSA's intention to utilise this production facility for export purposes however remains unclear as of December 2010.

Sales: The Indian Automotive Industry after de-licensing in July 1991 has grown at a spectacular rate on an average of 17% for last few years. The industry has attained a turnover of USD 35.8 billion, (INR 165,000 crores) and an investment of USD 10.9 billion. The industry has provided direct and indirect employment to 13.1 million people. Automobile industry is currently contributing about 5% of the total GDP of India. Indias current GDP is about $ 1.4 trillion and is expected to grow to $ 3.75 trillion by 2020. The projected size in 2016 of the Indian automotive industry varies between $ 122 billion and $ 159 billion including USD 35 billion in exports. This translates into a contribution of 10% to 11% towards Indias GDP by 2016, which is more than double the current contribution.

Investment: A chunk of India's car manufacturing industry is based in and around Chennai, also known as the "Detroit of India" with the India operations of Ford, Hyundai, Renault and Nissan headquartered in the city and BMW having an assembly plant on the outskirts. Chennai accounts for 60 per cent of the country's automotive exports. Gurgaon and Manesar in Haryana are hubs where all of the Maruti Suzuki cars in India are manufactured. The Chakan corridor near Pune, Maharashtra is another vehicular production hub with companies like General Motors, Volkswagen, Skoda, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Motors, Mercedes Benz, Land Rover, Fiat and Force Motors having assembly plants in the area. Ahmedabad with the Tata Nano plant, Halol again with General Motors, Aurangabad with Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen, Kolkatta with Hindustan Motors, Noida with Honda and Bangalore with Toyota are some of the other automotive manufacturing regions around the country.

Future Plans: The Government has prepared a ten-year Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) to draw a future plan of action and remove obstacles in the way of competition, such as that required infrastructure be put in place well in time to alleviate its constraining impact on the growth. The plan envisages a tax holiday for the industry on investments exceeding $225,000, 100% tax deductions of export profits, and deductions of 50% on foreign-exchange earnings. It also calls for a one-stop clearance for foreign-direct-investment proposals in the sector and deductions of 30% of net income for 10 years for new industrial undertakings. To bring down the cost of power and fuel, which accounts for 6% of the manufacturing costs in the auto sector, captive power generation would be encouraged to enable industries to access reliable, quality and cost-effective power. Key Competitors: Tata Motors Maruti Suzuki India Hyundai Motor India Mahindra & Mahindra Ashok Leyland

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