With more and more foreign investments in India, our country
has been witnessing a tough competition in this area.Though the domestic market has been witnessing quite a slope downhill these days, international automobile majors like Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Ford have been particularly doing well in our country.The oldest Indian company being Hindustan Motors which has undertaken the operations for distribution and marketing of automobiles produced by Mitsubishi.
Hindustan Motors : The flagship model of Hindustan motors has been the AMBASSADOR which has been the face of Indian car for so many years and still continues to be in the liking of many officials in our country.Apart from that it also markets Mitsubishi Lancer, Pajero and the newly launched Montero.
Fiat : This Italian car maker initially tasted success with the popular Premier Padmini that boasts as the family car during the eighties. Since then it had not been able to capture the attention of Indian consumers with critically acclaimed models like Palio, Siena, Petra.Fiat had made a reentry into the Indian market in the year 1998 with the launch of a sedan called Siena and its estate called Siena weekend but tasted very little success.
In 2002, Indian market witnessed the launch of Palio which did moderate business in the cities but had its share of concerns of a poor dealership and poor service backup. Now Fiat vehicles in India are marketed by Tata which may help fiat regain its old position by a face lifted version of Palio called Palio Stile.
Maruthi Suzuki : A fruitful collaboration of Maruti Udyog Ltd and Suzuki motors of Japan has resulted in manufacuring cars that fits the bill perfectly for a country like India keeping in view all the requirementslike economy, maintenance etc; which made the car maker to rule the roost for over a decade. The company’s flagship model Maruthi 800 had soarng sales in the late eighties and nineties as a result of which the company has been able to bring more models like Esteem,Zen, Baleno, WagonR ,Swift and Sx4.
Hyundai : This Korean car maker has carved a success story for itself under the shadow of Maruthi Suzuki and threatens its rivals with good offerings.It voiced its entry into the Indian car market with thw runaway success of the Santro and later came up with quality products like Accent, Elantra, Terracan, Getz, Tucson and Sonata. Though the reliability of Korean engines were questioned initially , the company responded well by making some refined products.
Ford : This American auto giant entered Indian market in the late nineties starting a collaboration with Mahindra & Mahindra and launched its sedan Escort which did quite well. but it ruled the mid size sedan segment with the launch of ikon.It later launched a crossover called the Fusion, an SUV Endeavour, and a sedan Fiesta which is a leader in its segment.
Ford initially was apprehensive of entering the small car segment but later made up plans by announcing the launch of a small car by 2008.
Honda: This Japanese automaker ventured into India in the late nineties with the launch of its flagship model The City which was a runaway success and is still going strong. Known for its refinement, reliability, finish it came up with an SUV called the CR-V ,and a premium car Accord and its next generation car called the Civic which is doing quite well.The company plans to launch a small car called Jazz.
Toyota : This Japanese auto giant has to its credit the largest selling car in the world the Corolla. In India, it came up with the launch of an MUV called the qualis which was revamped to be known as the Innova.Also featuring in the Premium segment are a sedan called Camry and an SUV called Prado. In India it has a tie up with kirloskar motors and has its operations at Bangalore.
Tata Motors: The Indian company that has proven to be a leader in passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles is TATA.With many successful models like Indica,Indigo,Sumo,Safari,IndigoMarina catering to the needs of Indian public, the company has made a revolutionary statement that it would start the production of a car that costs only Rs.1 lakh, the most awaited from along time.But the reliability of the vehicles has been under scrutiny.
Volkswagen: This german automaker has its subsidiaries operating in India. First came Skoda and then Audi.Skoda has tasted success with Octavia and Laura, but its premium offering Superb could not boast of good sales. Audi has proven to be too expensive for Indian market.last month Volkswagen launched its premium sedan the Passat.and next in the line is either Tiguan or Touareg, both premium SUVs.
Mahindra & Mahindra: This Indian car maker very famous for its utility vehicles struck the chord with the launch of an SUV called Scorpio which was a runaway success and overtook its previous models namely Bolero.In a Jv with Renault of France it launched a sedan called Logan which is doing well.
Chevrolet : Chevrolet is a subsidiary if general motors USA known for its economy and features like interiors.etc;It has entered Indian market in early 21st century by launching a luxury sedan called the Optra and an MUV called Tavera. Tavera did quite well and it later came up with Aveo a mid size sedan and its hatchback version U-VA.
