India-made cars gain traction in Japanese market

New Delhi, May 27 Maruti Suzuki and Honda Cars India have clocked a robust increase in exports to the Japanese market, reflecting the improving quality and acceptance of India-made cars in developed markets.

According to figures compiled by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), India’s car exports to Japan jumped to $616.45 million in the first nine months (April-December) of 2024-25, which represents a close to 3-fold jump over the $220.62 million worth exports in full financial year of 2023-24.

The Maruti Suzuki India is the biggest exporter its off-roader sport utility vehicle (SUV) Jimny to Japan. Mexico, Australia, and South Africa are currently the top four export markets for this car.

This is the second SUV after the Fronx that the company is exporting to its parent company in Japan. The company exports its Fronx SUVs to Japan from its Guajart plant with the consignments being shipped out from the Pipavav Port in the state.

Maruti launched the Jimny in India in June 2023 and started exporting it to various countries in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa from October 2023. While over 22,000 units of this five-door car were exported from India in 2023-24, the company had already exported over 38,000 units of the Jimny in the first nine months of 2024-25.

Honda Cars India exported 45,167 units of SUV Elevate during the first nine months of 2024-25, mainly to Japan, which is twice the number of sales of these vehicles in India. The company launched the car in Japan in the third week of March where it is being sold as the Honda WR-V. It is the company’s first made-in-India car to go on sale in Honda’s home market Japan.

The WR-V brand was discontinued in India in 2023. However, the moniker is in use globally. Export of the car had begun around December-January, and it was launched officially in March.

In the two-wheeler segment, Yamaha India also has plans to export its premium R15 bike model to Japan as the cost of manufacturing in India is much lower. This reflects India’s potential as auto manufacturing hub even for the advanced countries.

Overall, India’s car exports rose 15 per cent to 7,70,364 vehicles in FY23, outpacing the 2 per cent growth in domestic sales. Compact SUVs now constitute over 25 per cent of exports, with mid-sized passenger cars and utility vehicles also seeing strong demand. Industry players aim to increase the export share to 30 per cent within five years, according to a SIAM report.

This was the best ever annual performance driven by demand for global models being manufactured in India. With manufacturing quality improving, some companies have also commenced exporting to developed markets, according to a SIAM statement.

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