Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford, Renault, Nissan challenging Maruti, Hyundai, Tata MotorsDepending on whom you ask or what you read, China has between 100 and 250 carmakers. Joint ventures with the global biggies dominate the top 10, think General Motors (GM), Volkswagen (VW), Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Hyundai, and a rash of domestic players makes up the rest of the pack. The sheer number of players may not come as a surprise considering China is the largest car market in the world, in 2010, 13.8 million units were sold. In Pic: Nissan 'SUNNY' sedan In Pic: All new Audi A6 The Indian car market is roughly a seventh of the Chinese one, and at last count, there were a little over 20 major players, mostly multinational, in the race with close to 40 brands. The difference: the top three are not global leaders by any yardstick. There's no Toyota, GM, VW, the global one-two-three, at the top of the India grid. Rather, there's Maruti, the affiliate of world No 9 Suzuki at pole position, followed by Hyundai Motors (No 8 globally) and home-grown manufacturer Tata Motors in third spot. What's more, the top three rather remarkably control almost 70% of the Indian car market, with the Detroit giants GM and Ford (globally No 2 and No 4, respectively) relegated to 6th and 7th position, Toyota at No 5 and VW at No 8. Much of this, of course, has to do with Suzuki's early entry into India, via a joint venture with the government in the early 1980s when the competition at that time was sparse and outdated. Ford, GM, Toyota and Honda began Indian operations over a decade ago but have met with limited success thanks largely to their top-down approach of first launching cars at the higher end of the market where margins are fatter but volumes slim. A situation in which global leaders are also-rans with market shares in single digits is unimaginable in most other parts of the world. But that situation may not hold for too long back home. For, even though growth in car sales fell by 15% in July to touch a two-year low, global auto majors are convinced about prospects in the long haul. Abdul Majeed, auto practice leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) expects the Indian car market to more than double to five million from 2.2 million units in five years. Depending on whom you ask or what you read, China has between 100 and 250 carmakers. Joint ventures with the global biggies dominate the top 10, think General Motors (GM), Volkswagen (VW), Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Hyundai, and a rash of domestic players makes up the rest of the pack. The sheer number of players may not come as a surprise considering China is the largest car market in the world, in 2010, 13.8 million units were sold. In Pic: Nissan 'SUNNY' sedan In Pic: All new Audi A6 The Indian car market is roughly a seventh of the Chinese one, and at last count, there were a little over 20 major players, mostly multinational, in the race with close to 40 brands. The difference: the top three are not global leaders by any yardstick. There's no Toyota, GM, VW, the global one-two-three, at the top of the India grid. Rather, there's Maruti, the affiliate of world No 9 Suzuki at pole position, followed by Hyundai Motors (No 8 globally) and home-grown manufacturer Tata Motors in third spot. What's more, the top three rather remarkably control almost 70% of the Indian car market, with the Detroit giants GM and Ford (globally No 2 and No 4, respectively) relegated to 6th and 7th position, Toyota at No 5 and VW at No 8. Much of this, of course, has to do with Suzuki's early entry into India, via a joint venture with the government in the early 1980s when the competition at that time was sparse and outdated. Ford, GM, Toyota and Honda began Indian operations over a decade ago but have met with limited success thanks largely to their top-down approach of first launching cars at the higher end of the market where margins are fatter but volumes slim. A situation in which global leaders are also-rans with market shares in single digits is unimaginable in most other parts of the world. But that situation may not hold for too long back home. For, even though growth in car sales fell by 15% in July to touch a two-year low, global auto majors are convinced about prospects in the long haul. Abdul Majeed, auto practice leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) expects the Indian car market to more than double to five million from 2.2 million units in five years.

Depending on whom you ask or what you read, China has between 100 and 250 carmakers. Joint ventures with the global biggies dominate the top 10, think General Motors (GM), Volkswagen (VW), Toyota, Ford, Nissan, Hyundai, and a rash of domestic players makes up the rest of the pack. The sheer number of players may not come as a surprise considering China is the largest car market in the world, in 2010, 13.8 million units were sold. 


In Pic: Nissan 'SUNNY' sedan 

In Pic: All new Audi A6 


The Indian car market is roughly a seventh of the Chinese one, and at last count, there were a little over 20 major players, mostly multinational, in the race with close to 40 brands. The difference: the top three are not global leaders by any yardstick. There's no Toyota, GM, VW, the global one-two-three, at the top of the India grid. Rather, there's Maruti, the affiliate of world No 9 Suzuki at pole position, followed by Hyundai Motors (No 8 globally) and home-grown manufacturerTata Motors in third spot. 

What's more, the top three rather remarkably control almost 70% of the Indian car market, with the Detroit giants GM and Ford (globally No 2 and No 4, respectively) relegated to 6th and 7th position, Toyotaat No 5 and VW at No 8. Much of this, of course, has to do with Suzuki's early entry into India, via a joint venture with the government in the early 1980s when the competition at that time was sparse and outdated. Ford, GM, Toyota and Honda began Indian operations over a decade ago but have met with limited success thanks largely to their top-down approach of first launching cars at the higher end of the market where margins are fatter but volumes slim. 

A situation in which global leaders are also-rans with market shares in single digits is unimaginable in most other parts of the world. 

But that situation may not hold for too long back home. For, even though growth in car sales fell by 15% in July to touch a two-year low, global auto majors are convinced about prospects in the long haul. Abdul Majeed, auto practice leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) expects the Indian car market to more than double to five million from 2.2 million units in five years. 


DEEPAK KUMAR
PGDM  3 rd Sem