Auto exports zoom 56% in FY04

Exports of Made in India vehicles went up by a whopping 56 per cent during the last fiscal as cars, commercial vehicles and two-wheelers continued to charm overseas buyers.

A total of 479,000 units were shipped during 2003-04 over 307,000 units in the previous year, data complied by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers showed.

In value terms, exports crossed the $1 billion mark.

Car exports surged by a massive 78.3 per cent to 125,000 units as Maruti Udyog Ltd posted a 59.4 per cent rise at 50,247 units.

Maruti's nearest rival Hyundai Motor India, which exports compact car Santro and Atos Prime, registered a hefty rise of 370 per cent at 42,115 units.

Ford Motor India, however, witnessed a 13 per cent decline at 24,000 units.

Indigenous carmaker Tata Motors, which has inked a deal with British automaker MG Rover to sell its premium small car Indica in the United Kingdom and Europe as City Rover, posted a huge 322.4 per cent growth at 8,895 units.

The commercial vehicle exports also climbed 40.5 per cent to 17,227 units.

While exports of medium and heavy commercial vehicles grew 43.8 per cent at 8,112 units, light commercial vehicle exports grew by 37.7 per cent to 9,115 units. M&H truck sales rose by 48.6 per cent at 4,169 units and M&H bus exports jumped 39.1 per cent at 3,943 units.

Exports of light trucks rose 33.6 per cent at 7,514 units while that of light buses by 61 per cent at 1,601 units during 2003-04.

Two-wheeler exports also grew by 47.2 per cent at 264,000 units as motorcycle and step-throughs registered a rise of 51.3 per cent at 187,000 units.

In contrast to the slowdown in domestic scooter sales, scooter and scooterette exports posted a 63.2 per cent rise at 53,148 units while its sibling mopeds saw a marginal 3.60 per cent growth to 24,234 units.

Domestic motorcycle market leader Hero Honda and Bajaj Auto posted 85.4 and 80.8 per cent growth to 39,254 units and 82,828 units, respectively.

Exports of the Chennai-based TVS Motor Co. grew 247.1 per cent to 23,921 units, but that of Yamaha Motor India skidded 27.7 per cent to 32,906 units.

Scooter exports of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India went up by 187.7 per cent at 31,414 units while Bajaj Auto posted a dip of 2.30 per cent at 7,382 units.

Exports of Kinetic Engineering rose 93.6 per cent at 1,210 units while its group company Kinetic Motor, which makes automatic scooters, suffered a loss of 52.2 per cent at 1,732 units. Majestic Auto shipped 2,050 units, a decline of 32.2 per cent.

Moped exports of TVS and Kinetic Engineering slipped 6.85 per cent and 71.4 per cent at 2,556 and 1,300 units, respectively. Majestic Auto, however, saw a rise of 26.6 per cent at 20,378 units.