Indian carmakers may be absent from the Tokyo Motor Show but the buzz around the market is certainly not missing at the show, one of the biggest automobile extravaganza globally.
As the 40th edition of the show kicked off Wednesday, India clearly seemed to be the ‘market to watch out for’ with top honchos of the global automobile industry looking bullish on the market that is witnessing double digit growth rates just when developed markets fall flat.
?It is the future, a growing market and would be the main factor for business in the next 15-20 years,? said Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the board of management at European car major Volkswagen (VW). VW is setting up a factory in Maharashtra and Hackenberg said the company had plans to launch a series of new models in the country, including the ?Polo?, newly-unveiled concept up! and ?Tiguan? SUV.
Apart from VW, officials of Audi also said the luxury carmaker planned to strengthen its presence in India ?that held a big growth potential even for premium cars.?
?The Indian market for premium cars may be small now but we see a big growth potential in the coming years,? said Audi AG CEO Rupert Stadler.
Audi plans to increase its dealership in the country three-fold to 10 in the coming time from the existing three and is also looking to assemble more cars there, to bring down their costs and avoid high import duties. ?We have brought the A8 sedan and Q7 SUV through imports.?
The company has already started local production of its A6 sedan at group company Skoda?s Aurangabad plant and Stadler said it would also start local assembly of the A4 next year. Stuart McCullough, member of the board (sales and marketing) for Bentley, said the company expected the numbers from India to double in 2008.
(The travel for the story was sponsored by Honda Motors)