Ford Ecosport, a compact SUV, has beaten hatchback Nissan Micra to become the most exported vehicle from India during the April-September period of the current fiscal. Micra had pipped Hyundai i10 as India’s most exported passenger car in FY15.
During the first six months of FY16, the exports of Ecosport increased by 57.87% year-on-year to 40,676 units. Micra, which got pushed to the second slot exported 38,351 units during the same period, an increase of 14% y-o-y. The country’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, significantly increased the exports of its best seller entry level car Alto during the period with export volumes increasing 219% y-o-y to 33,627 units.
Cumulatively, though, Hyundai continued to maintain the top spot, followed by Maruti Suzuki.
Ford Ecosport made it debut in India in 2013 and was an instant hit with monthly volumes ranging between 4,500-5,000 units. After two years, Ecosport volumes in the domestic markets started decreasing. In the first six months of the current fiscal its volumes in the domestic market decreased by 23.29% y-o-y to 21498 units compared to a year ago period. The company then resorted to the strategy of increasing exports of the vehicle to countries like Italy, the UK, Spain, Portugal, Egypt, South Africa and Australia among others from its manufacturing capacities in India.
In FY14, Hyundai i10 was the most exported car from India but in the April-September period the vehicle registered a decrease of 27.04% y-o-y to 20,987 units.
An industry source told FE that Hyundai’s Turkey unit has started production of the i10 for European and other markets, which led to a steep decline in exports from India.
“The demand for Hyundai i10 and i20 was very high in the domestic market and the waiting period for these models was very long. As a result it was a conscious decision on the part of Hyundai to cut down on exports to make its products available in the domestic market,” said the source.
Hyundai still remains the largest exporter of vehicles with products like Grand i10, Elite i20, Xcent and Eon being exported from India. In the coming days the company is expected to export its recent offering Creta to foreign markets.
