The high growth in the Indian economy has resulted in many foreign car manufacturers entering the Indian market. Rolls Royce, Bentley and Maybach are examples of the few high end automobile manufacturers to enter India in the recent years.
There were only a few handful of cars in the Indian market in the 1980s. Most of these were outdated models like Hindustan Motors Ambassador (which is still produced and sold). The only car with the latest technology then was the Maruti 800. It became very popular because of the low price, high fuel efficiency and good reliability. Since then the market has grown with over 20 manufacturers and hundreds of models and variants. The Maruti 800 is at the lower end of the price range costing approx 5,000 US dollars and Bugatti Veyron at the other with a price tag of over 2 Million US dollars.
The Indian automotive industry has also greatly matured.The Tata Indica was indigenously developed by Tata Motors. Another Indian manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra also came up with its own SUVs the Scorpio and the Bolero.These cars have proved very popular here and are also exported to the European markets.An electric car is also manufactured by a local company REVA.Tata Motors plans to produce the worlds first air powered in partnership with MDI of France.
The passenger vehicle sales in India crossed the one million mark in 2005. This segment grows at 10-15% annually. Around 85% of the cars sold in India are financed as against the global average of 70%. In neighbouring China,only 15-20% vehicles are financed. There are only three cars in India for 1000 people as compared to the other extreme 500 cars for 1000 people in the United States. Goldman Sachs has predicted that India will have the maximum number of cars on the planet by 2050 overtaking the United States.
The passenger vehicle sales in India crossed the one million mark in 2005. This segment grows at 10-15% annually. Around 85% of the cars sold in India are financed as against the global average of 70%. In neighbouring China,only 15-20% vehicles are financed. There are only three cars in India for 1000 people as compared to the other extreme 500 cars for 1000 people in the United States. Goldman Sachs has predicted that India will have the maximum number of cars on the planet by 2050 overtaking the United States.