Maruti Is Leading Exporter of Passenger Cars from India in First Half of the Current Fiscal
India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India has become the largest exporter of passenger cars from India in the first half of the ongoing fiscal. In the April-September period this fiscal, Maruti Suzuki India ( MSI) exported 57,300 units of passenger cars as against 54,008 units in the year-ago period, up 6 per cent, according to the latest data by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) on the other hand shipped 44,585 units as against 63,014 units in the yearago period, a decline of 29.25 per cent. The company is now behind Volkswagen and General Motors India in terms of export of passenger cars from India. During the first half of the fiscal, Volkswagen India exported 50,410 units at a growth of 16.92 per cent. It is now the second biggest exporter of passenger cars from India behind MSI. Last year, it had exported 43,114 units during the same period. Interestingly, General Motors (GM) which had on May 18 this year decided to stop selling its vehicles in India after struggling for over two decades to make a mark, is now the third biggest exporter of passenger cars from the country. In the first half of the fiscal, GM exported 45,222 units as against 30,613 units in the year-ago period, a growth of 47.72 per cent. The company exports vehicles from its manufacturing plant at Talegaon in Maharashtra. It has sold its first plant at Halol in Gujarat to MG Motor India, an arm of China's SAIC. Another US auto major, Ford also posted impressive growth in exports of passenger cars from India during the period. The company's overseas shipments stood at 42,412 units as against 31,467 units in the same period last fiscal, up 34.78 per cent making it the fifth biggest exporter from India. Nissan Motor India, which was the third biggest exporter last year saw its overseas shipments during the first half of the fiscal decline by 37.11 per cent to 30,872 units from 49,091 units in the same period last fiscal. It now occupies the sixth spot. MSI however lags behind Ford and Hyundai when it comes to export of overall passenger vehicles. Meanwhile MSI's compact sedan Dzire has overtaken Alto for the second month in a row to become the best selling model in the country. According to SIAM, MSI's new Dzire clocked sales of 31,427 units in September, more than 23,830 units of the Alto. In August, Dzire had beaten Alto for the first time clocking sales 26,140 units against 21,521 units of Alto. Alto had been the undisputed best selling model in India for over a decade. Six out of the top 10 selling passenger vehicle models in September were from the stable of Maruti Suzuki India (MSI). The remaining four models were from Hyundai Motor India and Renault India. Among the top 10 best selling models in September this year, MSI's premium hatchback Baleno came third with 16,238 units as against 10,623 units in the same month last year. The company's compact car Wagon R stood fourth with sales of 14,649 units. It was third in September 2016 with sales of 16,645 units. Rival Hyundai's hatchback Grand i10 was at fifth position last month with sales of 14,099 units. The model had sold 12,212 units in September last year. MSI's Compact SUV Vitara Brezza stood at sixth position with 13,268 units. It was at the ninth position in September last year with sales of 9,375 units. The company's Swift occupied the seventh spot with 13,193 units. It was third in the year-ago month with sales of 16,746 units. Hyundai's premium hatchback Elite i20 stood at eighth position last month with sale of 11,574 units, while its SUV Creta was placed ninth with sales of 9,292 units. Renault's Kwid completed the list at tenth position with sales of 9,099 units.