General Motors India did packup operations here but is thriving in the export business. Standing atop the list of most exported cars in H1 FY18 are Chevrolet Beat exports. Chevrolet Beat exports include left-hand drive (LHD) variants from its Talegaon facility, Pune, to a range of Central and South American
To put that in perspective, 45,222 units of Beat were exported for the first 6 months of the 2018 fiscal, up from the April-September FY17 period when 30,613 units were exported. The numbers are way above India’s top selling manufacturer Maruti Suzuki’s exports. Baleno is placed 7th with 18,869 units exported in April-September FY18, a decline of 18 per cent from 22,997 units exported in April-September FY17.
Volkswagen Vento exports stand at 41430 units, up from 34598 units exported in H1 FY17 at 19.74 percent. Hyundai Creta and Grand i10 remain at fifth and sixth place, respectively.
Nissan’s decision to shift base for Micra hatchback from India to France has contract exports by about 2/3rds. Nissan Micra had gained momentum as the most exported car from India in the early years but now finds itself in 10th place with exports reported at 13,599 units for H1 FY18, down 65.14 per cent from 39,017 units in H1 FY2017. Exports to European countries, the biggest market has been stopped.
Ford EcoSport has dropped from 1st to 3rd place with 39,935 units exported through April-September FY18, down by 2,419 units from H1 FY2017. This could be attributed to the impending launch of the Ford Ecosport facelift that will introduce the 3 cylinder 1.5 liter petrol engine generating 120 PS in India. Figo and Figo Aspire continue to serve Ford well with exports at 26,331 units (Figo) and 16,081 units (Figo Aspire). Figo variants are shipped to Europe.
For April-September 2017, overall automobile exports grew by 10.71 percent. Two and Three-Wheeler variants registered growth of 15.22 percent, and 19.42 percent, respectively. Exports of passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles declined by 1.34 percent, and 28.53 percent, respectively in H1 FY18 over the same period last year.
