AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY Contents 1) INTRODUCTION 2) HISTORY 3) OVERVIEW 4) AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 5) NEW CHALLENGES FACED BY INDIAN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IN THE NEW AGE 6) TOP AUTOMOBILE COMPANIES IN INDIA 7) SUPPLY CHAIN OF AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE GROWTH POTENTIAL YEARLY SALES 8) INDIAN AUTOMOBILE EXPORT MARKET 9) THE COMPETATIVE NATURE OF AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRIES 10) GLOBAL PRODUCTION OF MOTOR VEHICLES BY COUNTRY BY MANUFACTURER 11) TOP VEHICLE MANUGACTURING GROUP 12) SALES AND DISTRIBUTION NETWORK 13) PRODUCT AND SERVICE SEGMENTATION 14) MARKET CHARACTERISTICS 15) COMPANY RELATIONSHIPS 16) HONDA CURRENT MARKET POSITION MARKETING PROMOTION STRATEGY SWOT ANALYSIS ELECTRIC AND ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLES 17) CONCLUSION Introduction The automobile industry in India—the tenth largest in the world with an annual production of approximately 2 million units—is expected to become one of the major global automotive industries in the coming years. A number of domestic companies produce automobiles in India and the growing presence of multinational investment, too, has led to an increase in overall growth. Following the economic reforms of 1991 the Indian automotive industry has demonstrated sustained growth as a result of increased competitiveness and relaxed restrictions. The monthly sales of passenger cars in India exceed 100,000 units. The Automotive industry in India is one of the largest in the world and one of the fastest growing globally. India manufactures over 17.5 million vehicles (including 2 wheeled and 4 wheeled) and exports about 2.33 million every year. It is the world's second largest manufacturer of motorcycles, with annual sales exceeding 8.5 million in 2009. India's passenger car and commercial vehicle manufacturing industry is the seventh largest in the world, with an annual production of more than 3.7 million units in 2010. According to recent reports, India is set to overtake Brazil to become the sixth largest passenger vehicle producer in the world, growing 16-18 per cent to sell around three million units in the course of 2011-12. In 2009, India emerged as Asia's fourth largest exporter of passenger cars, behind Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. As of 2010, India is home to 40 million passenger vehicles and more than 3.7 million automotive vehicles were produced in India in 2010 (an increase of 33.9%), making the country the second fastest growing automobile market in the world. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, annual car sales are projected to increase up to 5 million vehicles by 2015 and more than 9 million by 2020. By 2050, the country is expected to top the world in car volumes with approximately 611 million vehicles on the nation's roads. An automobile, auto car, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally for the transport of people rather than goods. The term motorcar has also been used in the context of electrified rail systems to denote a car which functions as a small locomotive but also provides space for passengers and baggage. These locomotive cars were often used on suburban routes by both interurban and intercity railroad systems. There are approximately 600 million passenger cars worldwide (roughly one car per eleven people). Around the world, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road in 2007; the engines of these burns over a billion cubic meters (260 billion US gallons) of petrol/gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. The numbers are increasing rapidly, especially in China and India. The Automotive industry in India is one of the largest in the world and one of the fastest growing globally. India manufactures over 17.5 million vehicles (including 2 wheeled and 4 wheeled) and exports about 2.33 million every year. It is the world's second largest manufacturer of motorcycles, with annual sales exceeding 8.5 million in 2009. India's passenger car and commercial vehicle manufacturing industry is the seventh largest in the world, with an annual production of more than 3.7 million units in 2010. According to recent reports, India is set to overtake Brazil to become the sixth largest passenger vehicle producer in the world, growing 16-18 per cent to sell around three million units in the course of 2011-12. In 2009, India emerged as Asia's fourth largest exporter of passenger cars, behind Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. As of 2010, India is home to 40 million passenger vehicles and more than 3.7 million automotive vehicles were produced in India in 2010 (an increase of 33.9%), making the country the second fastest growing automobile market in the world. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, annual car sales are projected to increase up to 5 million vehicles by 2015 and more than 9 million by 2020. By 2050, the country is expected to top the world in car volumes with approximately 611 million vehicles on the nation's roads. A chunk of India's car manufacturing industry is based in and around Chennai, also known as the "Detroit of India" with the India operations of Ford, Hyundai, Renault and Nissan headquartered in the city and BMW having an assembly plant on the outskirts. Chennai accounts for 60 per cent of the country's automotive exports. Gurgaon and Manesar in Haryana are hubs where all of the Maruti Suzuki cars in India are manufactured. The Chakan corridor near Pune, Maharashtra is another vehicular production hub with companies like General Motors, Volkswagen, Skoda, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Motors, Mercedes Benz, Land Rover, Fiat and Force Motors having assembly plants in the area. Ahmedabad with the Tata Nano plant, Halol again with General Motors, Aurangabad with Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen, Kolkatta with Hindustan Motors, Noida with Honda and Bangalore with Toyota are some of the other automotive manufacturing regions around the country History In 1953, the government of India and the Indian private sector initiated manufacturing processes to help develop the automobile industry, which had emerged by the 1940s in a nascent form. Between 1970 to the economic liberalization of 1991, the automobile industry continued to grow at a slow pace due to the many government restrictions. The Indian auto industry is changing rapidly. During the last decade, many international auto manufacturers, either by themselves or in partnership with Indian companies, have started manufacturing activities in India. The ancillary industries have also grown in tandem. The quality of production in small- and medium-scale industries has improved to such an extent that they started exporting products to international manufacturers. These developments in the auto sector have given new confidence to everyone related to the auto industry and specifically to the government which resulted in the announcement of the Auto Policy 2006-2016 by the Ministry of Heavy Industries. According to the Auto Policy, the Indian auto sector is expected to grow to US$ 216 billion by 2016 and add 2.5 million new jobs to the economy. Every year two to three million people are expected to purchase new vehicles. Several million vehicles and components are expected to be exported to both developed and developing nations. To achieve these goals, it is important that the present GDP growth rate, which is more than 8 per cent, continues to remain at the same level for the next 8-10 years. The government is also giving some concessions to the auto industry. To realize the above growth predictions, it is important to overcome various challenges the industry is facing currently. Two of the foremost challenges are the spiraling cost of fuel and the paucity of highly skilled manpower. With a scintillating 2.3 million units produced in 2008 the Indian automobile industry bagged the position of being the ninth largest in the world. Following economic liberalization, Indian domestic automobile companies like Tata Motors Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra and Mahindra expanded their production and export operations in and across the country and since then the industry has only shown signs of growth. The automobile industry comprises of heavy vehicles (trucks, buses, tempos, and tractors), passenger cars, and two-wheelers. The Indian automobile industry seems to come a long way since the first car that was manufactured in Mumbai in 1898. The automobile sector today is one of the key sectors of the country contributing majorly to the economy of India. It directly and indirectly provides employment to over 10 million people in the country. The Indian automobile industry has a well established name globally being the second largest two wheeler market in the world, fourth largest commercial vehicle market in the world, and eleventh largest passenger car market in the world and expected to become the third largest automobile market in the world only behind USA. A recent research conducted by the global consultancy firm Deloitte says that at least one Indian automobile company will feature among the top six automobile companies that will dominate the car market by 2020. The Indian automobile industry proved to be in good shape last year even after the economic downturn. This was majorly due to the fact of renewed interest shown by global automobile players like Nissan Motors which consider India to be a potential market. As far as authorized dealer networks and service stations are concerned Maruti Suzuki is the most widespread. The other automobile companies are also showing rapid progression in this field. In the year 1769, a French engineer by the name of Nicolas J.