Auto Cos eye exports to recompense sluggish growth

Similarly, Ford India also started exporting its popular hatchback Ford Figo in June last year, and raised its export volume to 15,402 units compared to the same time span from 4,882 units a year ago. The export value for the last four years suggest a strong correlation with domestic demand. Whenever the local market witnesses a sluggish growth, auto manufacturers intensify exporting their products and vice versa. According to car makers, by exporting their petrol models globally will benefit them, as per now the demand for petrol cars in India has dipped and customers are moving towards diesel cars in the country. India's largest domestic car maker and second largest car exporter, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Hyundai Motors India Ltd, also did not post strong growth.

Hyundai dispatched around 144,000 units from April to October, registering a growth of 1 percent whereas Maruti India registered a decline of 25% to 63,850 in comparison to last year. After the global economy faced a crisis following Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s collapse, European government in some key western markets offered incentives to car buyers to trade fuel cram cars for fuel efficient cars. This increases the demand for global car makers like Suzuki Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co., which made India a manufacturing hub for such vehicles. In the words of Ford's Boneham, currently company exports its models to 27 countries and has plans to add another half a dozen countries to the list by June next year. By exporting a high number of cars to newer locations or countries, auto makers are not just hoping for better capacity utilization, but also making benefits by making the most of sliding rupee against major currencies.