Volkswagen overtakes Maruti in car exports in Q1 of FY 17-18 and contributes to 14.80 percent of the total car exports from India.

2015 Maruti Baleno Sales
The Baleno is one of Maruti’s most exported cars

Volkswagen India has exported more cars than the country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, in the first quarter of FY 2017-18. The German automaker exported 26,740 cars as against 25,821 cars by Maruti in the said period and is currently the country’s third largest car exporter.

Volkswagen has contributed 14.8 percent to the total cars exported from India and it is the Vento that has a stable and strong demand. The company exports cars to 35 countries, Mexico being its largest market which contributes over 85 percent to the total exports.

While Maruti has recorded a slight growth rate of 0.27 percent, Nissan India has seen a fall of over 30 percent in its exports. Nissan exported 20,743 cars in Q1 of 2016-17 but exports for the Q1 of 2017-18 have fallen by over 6300 units. Q1 of 2017-18 saw Nissan export only 14,361 cars from India.

The Micra is the most exported car from Nissan and the reason why exports have seen a sharp fall is due to the shifting of the export base to France, where currently the fifth generation Micra is being manufactured. The automaker has also confirmed that they will not be launching the fifth generation Micra in India.

Exports of the KA+ to Europe and EcoSport to the US has brought Ford to the top spot in car exports for the Q1 of 2017-18. Ford exported 48,971 cars from India and posted a growth rate of 54 percent on a year-on-year basis. Hyundai now is the country’s second largest car exporter.

Labour rates and raw material costs are cheaper in India when compared to international markets and hence carmakers are able to export higher volumes by tweaking their strategies etc.

Volkswagen Overtakes Maruti

– Volkswagen overtakes Maruti in car exports in Q1 of FY 2017-18
– Volkswagen is now the country’s third largest car exporter
– Exports for the Volkswagen Vento continue to be stable and strong

2016 Volkswagen Vento Front View
Volkswagen is now the country’s third largest car exporter

Source – ETAuto.com