Japan-based car makers Nissan and Toyota have started the exports of their mid-sized cars manufactured in India. This is set to bring about a strategic change which aims at benefiting from the cost advantage and technological prowess of India. According to officials, Nissan aims to ship 50,000 units of Sunny sedan manufactured in India to the West in the next 12-18 months. The officials also hinted that the rival company Toyota will also export its sedan Etios to South Africa.
Other companies which are expected to join the bandwagon soon include Volkswagen, Ford and Renault. According to the industry experts, exporting the cars will make up for the slow pace of the Indian market and would also act as a blockade against imports, which have gone costlier by 25-30 per cent in recent months. French car manufacturer, Renault is looking at export volumes of nearly 25,000 units of its recent launch, Duster Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in the next 12-18 months, starting in October.
Likewise, Volkswagen is planning to manufacture left-hand-drive Vento units at its Indian plant to export to Western countries. The company, which already ships its locally manufactured units of Vento to South Africa and Malaysia, has now specifically asked its suppliers to source components needed for a left-hand-drive version. According to an anonymous official, it is aims to ship 8,000-10,000 left-hand-drive models by the year 2013.
Volkswagen India's spokesperson said, "Our export of the Vento to South Africa confirms that we are able to produce high-quality cars in India at competitive costs." He further added, "This also shows our potential to further extend our exports to other markets. We are looking at various opportunities in the future, also in left-hand drive markets." However, he did not reveal any information related to the target markets and figures.
According to sources, American car maker Ford Motors is expected to export its upcoming model EcoSport SUV from the country. According to the officials handling various projects for several multinational car manufacturers, more than 1,00,000 units of sedans and SUVs are expected to be shipped abroad in the next one year. These plans will only be flamed further by the depreciation of the Rupee, which went down to its record low on June 22, 2012.
