Independence Day special: Top cars made in India and sold abroad

There’s nothing as cool as seeing a 'Made in India' logo on a product anywhere in the world. It shows how far we have come and how diverse our production industries are. Today manufacturers produce cars for export purposes from India and, in fact, produce certain cars in India just for exports purposes.

The Centre has been encouraging with its Make India Initiative and this along with relatively low labours costs, easy availability of raw materials and suppliers have made India one of the top export hubs globally.

Well, this is never more evident than in the auto industry. India has become one of the major exporters of cars to various countries. Some produce their entire supply of RHD models in India while others export both right and left hand drive cars from India. Here then is our list of top cars that are produced in India and sold abroad.

Jeep Compass
Its befitting that we begin with a car that has managed to put India on quite a few road maps across the world. We are talking about the Jeep Compass that was launched last two years ago. The FCA plant in Ranjangaon was retooled with a massive investment and today churns out the SUV in large numbers for RHD markets across the world. In fact, the success of the Compass is expected to be followed by the production of more entry-level models from the American automaker range.

Ford EcoSport, Figo and Freetsyle
As a part of the American automaker’s One Ford programme, they are producing global models in India. This list comprises the Figo, Freestyle and even the EcoSport. Actually, it’s the EcoSport that’s exported the most, going so far as to be sent all way to America where it is offered as entry-level model in their home market. The Figo and Freestyle are sold under different names and in some cases as CKD but everything comes from India.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno
It was Maruti Suzuki that put India on the global car map for exports and today they are one of the largest exporters of cars from the country. In fact, Suzuki has built a whole new plant in Gujarat mainly for the production of exports spec cars. Today, Maruti Suzuki exports everything from the Alto 800 all the way to the Baleno which is made entirely in India for export around the world including, believe it or not, Japan itself!

Renault Duster
The Renault/Dacia Duster is another car whose export achievements include production of the world’s RHD supply from India as well as exports to various markets from the Indian plant. The Indian arm of the French automaker also has tie-ups with major global suppliers and the export business from Chennai will increase over the next few years with more models rolling off the assembly lines.

Toyota Etios
The Etios twins are another set of cars that are produced majorly in India and sent around the world for export to various markets. The cars themselves were developed in India and today are a mainstay for the Japanese automaker in terms of volumes. 

Chevrolet Beat and Essentia
Chevy may have stepped out of the Indian market last year but they have not stopped producing car locally. The new Beat, Beat Activ and the Essentia Compact sedan are all produced in India and get exported in LHD and RHD guise across the world.