Maruti Suzuki becomes India’s top exporter of passenger cars

The Dollar Business Bureau

Most popular car manufacturer in India, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has become the largest exporter of passenger cars from the country in the first half of the current fiscal, replacing Hyundai Motor India Ltd.

During the period April-September of the ongoing fiscal, Maruti Suzuki shipped 57,300 units of passenger cars, an increase of 6% compared to 54,008 units exported in the same period a year earlier, as per the recent data by apex industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

The number one exporter for a long time, Hyundai Motor India Ltd exported 44,585 units of passenger cars, witnessing a steep drop of 29.25% compared to 63,014 units shipped in the same period a year ago. The company has now been moved to the fourth position after Volkswagen and General Motors.

During the April-September period, 50,410 units of passenger cars were exported by Volkswagen India, a growth of 16.92% compared to 43,114 units over year-ago period.

The company now becomes the second largest exporter of passenger cars, after Maruti Suzuki.

General Motors, which had decided in May this year, to end selling its vehicles in the domestic market after struggling for over two decades to make a mark in the country, is become the third-largest exporter of passenger cars.

In the first six months of the current financial year, General Motors shipped 45,222 units of passenger cars as compared to 30,613 units in the same period last year, recording an increase of 47.72%.

It exports vehicles from the manufacturing unit at Talegaon in the state of Maharashtra.

Ford India also posted a notable rise in passenger cars exports during the period. Its exports from India stood at 42,412 units compared to 31,467 units in the year-earlier period, recording a growth of 34.78%.

Nissan Motor India, the third-largest exporter from India last year, witnessed a decline of 37.11% in its overseas shipments during the April-September period, exporting 30,872 units, compared to 49,091 units in the similar period last year. The company now is on the sixth spot in passenger cars export from India.