The Indian auto industry is one of the fastest growing auto industries worldwide. Fueled by rising demand and booming economic growth, the Indian auto industry has attracted major auto players from across the globe. Today, you will find a number of international car manufacturing industries that have opened one or more car manufacturing plants in India. Today, you will also find a large number of companies importing vehicles in order to meet the growing demand of the huge Indian market.
In this article, I will talk about the various aspects of cars in India and the history of the auto industry in India.
The first automobile traveled the roads of India in 1898. From this time until World War I, there were around 4,000 automobiles that were imported directly from foreign manufacturers into India. With the introduction of automobiles in the country, the demand for automobiles began to increase. This growing demand set the basic requirements of the Indian market and this is when dealers started bringing more vehicles into the country.
In 1942, Hindustan Motors was created, and in 1944, PAL, also known as Premier Autobackmobile, was established to make more cars in India. It was Premier Autobackmobile which was the first company to manufacture the first automobile in the year 1946 in India. The Hindustan Motors company concentrated more on auto parts and components and manufactured its first car in the year 1949.
Later the company Mahindra and Mahindra was established, which specialized in the manufacture of utility vehicles such as the American Jeep. Throughout the 1950s, there were only 7 dealerships that had managed to receive approval from the Indian government to manufacture and produce cars and other vehicles in India.
In the 1960s, the two-wheeler industry was established in India and this also led to the establishment of the three-wheeler industry. Although the 1970s did not see any major changes in the Indian auto industry, the 1990s gave rise to new models including Maruti Alto, Ford’s Ikon, Station Wagon etc. From this moment on, it can be said that the Indian car industry has gone from strength to strength.
India’s auto industry is one of the largest in the world today. Today, India manufactures more than 11 million two- and four-wheelers. Of these, about 1.5 million vehicles are exported to other countries every year.