A strong demand for ‘Made-in-India’ cars and two-wheelers in overseas markets drove automobile exports up by a whopping 68.2 per cent during the first five months of this fiscal. A total of 1,83,685 units were shipped during April-August 2003 over 1,09,193 units in the same period last year, according to data compiled by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Car exports went up by a robust 69.7 per cent to 43,988 units, with bulk of it coming from Maruti which posted a 147 per cent growth at 20,100 units. Hyundai Motor India clocked a 344.4 per cent jump to 10,084 units but Ford India suffered a 18.1 per cent drop to 12,111 units during the period under review. Tata Motors, which exports the compact car Indica, posted a 150 per cent rise to 1,675 units. In the commercial vehicle segment, exports grew by 13.2 per cent to 5,001 units. Medium and heavy buses and trucks recorded a 18.4 per cent growth to 2,221 units while that of light commercial vehicles went up by 9.4 per cent to 2,780 units.Exports of medium and heavy trucks rose by 5.85 per cent to 1,030 units while of that buses increased 32 per cent to 1,191 units. In the LCV category, truck exports rose by nearly one per cent to 2,185 units while that of light buses climbed 58.6 per cent to 595 units. Two-wheeler exports surged by 67.4 per cent to 1.06 lakh units as motorcycle sales abroad grew by 65.5 per cent to 75,635 units. Scooter and scooterette exports spiralled 109.2 per cent to 20,551 units, largely due to a 378 per cent growth by Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India at 12,056 units. Export of mopeds jumped by 27.1 per cent to 10,088 units. Exports of utility vehicles soared by 240 per cent to 1,705 units with Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra clocking a 430.2 and 164.6 per cent growth to 1,262 and 336 units respectively. Exports of three-wheelers went up by 79 per cent to 26,397 units during the period under review. While passenger carriers recorded a 79.2 per cent growth to 25,996 units, goods carriers witnessed a 70.6 per cent rise to 401 units.
