India’s Cars Are Going Global

How Maruti, Hyundai, And Nissan Fueled India’s Record Car Export Surge

By Shobha Mathur

What?

The hum of the engines and the loud horn piercing the silence of the waters signals the ship is ready to set sail on its voyage from the Mundra port in Gujarat. 

The shipment is transporting Maruti Suzuki and Toyota vehicles bound for export to Latin American and African markets. The port has seen a steady month-on-month spike in its automobile exports, particularly Maruti.

This isn’t surprising as the passenger vehicles of the Japanese carmaker have topped the list of the highest exported models in the pecking order of the country’s top car exporters, followed by Hyundai Motor India and Nissan India during FY2026. 

For Maruti, the compact Fronx and Jimny utility vehicles have been the frontrunners. For Hyundai, the Grand i10Nios and Verna have topped the volumes, while for another Japanese automaker, Nissan India, it is the Magnite compact SUV that is creating the ripples.

Overall, passenger vehicles recorded their highest-ever exports of 9.05 lakh in 2025-26, up 17.5% YoY from FY 2025. Demand remained steady across most markets, including the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, last year, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

The record-breaking exports of passenger vehicles have solidified India's role as a vital global manufacturing hub. Despite facing geopolitical headwinds and stiff competition from feature-heavy Chinese brands, 

Indian automakers like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, and Nissan are successfully capturing diverse overseas markets by offering highly competitive, value-packed small cars and compact SUVs.

Why? 

Rahul Bharti, senior executive officer, corporate affairs, Maruti Suzuki India, attributed the carmaker's success to its ability to manufacture world-class vehicles that can cater to diverse market needs. 

“Every market has its own diverse needs shaped by economics, geography and demography. An aspect that remains consistent, though, is customers’ expectation of a value-packed product, in terms of visual appeal, reliability, efficiency or features,” Bharti told The Core. 

From a customer perspective, there has been a clear shift. Vivek Sharma, director – automotive (India & Middle East) at GlobalData, told The Core that made-in-India vehicles were increasingly seen as practical, fuel-efficient, and dependable, rather than just low-cost alternatives. 

However, in some markets, they still trail competitors, particularly Chinese brands, in perceived premium quality and advanced features.

India today accounts for 6% to 7% of global passenger vehicle exports.  

India’s passenger vehicle exports are largely in the price range of $10,000 to $18,000, while China, Japan and South Korea's exports are pegged between $25000 to $50,000. Thailand, Indonesia and Mexico centre around higher valued pick-up trucks and large vehicle exports.

Sam Fiorani, VP-global vehicle forecasting, AutoForecast Solutions, believes that the lower cost of right-hand drive models produced in India enables these products to make excellent entry-level exports to South Africa, the UK, and Australia. 

Even as China tops the global rankings for passenger‑vehicle exports by volume and Germany by export value, India has climbed steadily up the global order over the past few years and is now the world’s 12th‑largest passenger‑vehicle exporter by volume. 

What Next? 

Maruti Suzuki has already indicated that the company’s focus in FY2027 is to sustain its export volumes achieved in FY2026. 

Looking ahead, FY27 projections point to passenger‑vehicle exports of 10 lakh units, assuming stable demand from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Japan. Maruti alone is expected to cross 4.3 lakh units, Som Kapoor, partner -Auto at EY India, told The Core. 

This growth is anchored by the Indian automakers’ focus on a limited set of global models and high localisation to stay cost‑competitive. The company designs vehicles for multi‑market homologation, and establishes competitiveness in pricing without sacrificing margins while ensuring scale, reliability and repeat acceptance in global markets.

“India may still trail global leaders in value terms, but by volume, it is firmly emerging as a consequential and increasingly indispensable global car‑export base,” said Kapoor.

Can this be impacted by geopolitical tensions?

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Rs 42.2 lakh crore

That’s the value of the assets the portfolio management services (PMS) industry managed in April 2026, according to a press note by the Association of Portfolio Managers in India (APMI). 

By The Numbers: The industry’s assets under management (AUM) grew 2.1% month on month, while net inflows rebounded sharply to Rs 25,088 crore after recording outflows in March.

APMI said inflows into PMS products jumped 27% in April to Rs 46,030 crore, reflecting renewed investor appetite for specialised investment strategies. The report also found rising interest in private markets. Unlisted equity assets surged 38.8% during the month, while unlisted debt grew 150.5%.

The Scoop: “Capital is no longer moving only towards traditional equity exposure, but increasingly towards specialised and diversified strategies across listed and unlisted markets,” said Vikas Khemani, board member at APMI. 

Khemani said wealthy investors are increasingly using PMS products for long-term portfolio diversification across public and private markets, rather than simply for short-term stock bets.

HDFC Bank's Governance Crisis Deepens

Shares of HDFC Bank fell as much as 2.6% to close at Rs 758.65 on Wednesday after The Indian Express reported the country's largest private lender made illegal payments of Rs 45 crore to a Maharashtra state road agency to attract large deposits, a practice prohibited under banking regulations.

The report added that CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan was aware of the payments, which were allegedly disguised as marketing spends.

The Shift: HDFC Bank denied wrongdoing and told Reuters that it "strongly rejects any assumptions of culpability based on selective material”.

Critical Moment: The news has once again put the spotlight back on alleged governance issues at the bank. Shares have fallen 9.5% since former chairman Atanu Chakraborty abruptly resigned in March, citing practices inconsistent with his personal values. A legal review commissioned by the bank has yet to find material lapses.

India’s Airlines Cut Flights

Air India will reduce domestic flights by 22% in June and July as surging jet fuel costs in the wake of the Iran war force the country's second-largest carrier to rationalise operations, Reuters reported. The airline said cuts were "driven by the sustained impact of high fuel prices," adding it would restore frequencies once conditions stabilise.

Overview: The reductions compound an already difficult year for Air India, which recently posted a record annual loss of more than $2 billion, hurt by high fuel costs, Pakistan's ban on Indian carriers from its airspace and a strong US dollar.

Setup: According to a report by The New Indian Express, IndiGo, which commands 63.3% of the domestic market, is also cutting services by up to 7% between June and August.

Together, the two carriers control around 90% of India's domestic aviation market, making the cuts a significant blow to air connectivity across the country.

Climbing Input Costs

The West Asia conflict has triggered the largest oil shock the world has seen so far, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz broadening the pressure to other input categories even as manufacturers already grapple with higher costs from critical inputs such as copper and aluminium. Crisil’s input-output ratio, based on the Wholesale Price Index, rose above 1.0 in April to 1.02 after staying below that level for 44 months in a row.

Flashpoint: The ratio was driven by a 6.2% month-on-month rise in input prices, while output prices increased a modest 0.7%. Input costs rose sharply due to higher energy prices, particularly for crude petroleum, natural gas and mineral oils. The last time the ratio had crossed the 1.0 mark was in March 2022 after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Forecast: With input costs expected to remain elevated even after the Strait reopens, rising costs are expected to percolate into consumer prices. Crisil has warned that CPI inflation, particularly core CPI, could witness upward pressure in the coming months.

Critics Blast SpaceX IPO

Critics attacked Elon Musk-owned SpaceX’s recent S-1 filing as an over-the-top promotional document filled with sci-fi vision rather than solid financial details.

Although Starlink, one of SpaceX’s three divisions, produced a $1.19 billion operating profit, it could not offset the company’s overall $1.94 billion operating loss in the first quarter of 2026, which came on $4.69 billion in total revenue. The AI division alone generated $2.47 billion in losses on just $818 million in revenue.

The Lead: Investors slammed the company for highlighting an enormous total addressable market driven mostly by speculative AI dreams like putting data centres in orbit, conquering the entire AI software world, and morphing SpaceX into an AI overlord, even as growth slows and losses balloon.

Many questioned whether SpaceX’s sky-high valuation of nearly $2 trillion matches today’s fundamentals or simply rides on Elon Musk’s ambitious narrative.

Setup: The viral backlash highlights a classic tension: bold long-term promises versus present-day financial pressures as SpaceX prepares for what could become the largest IPO ever.

India’s Rs 1.5 Lakh Crore DARPA Moment For Deep Tech

India’s Rs 1.5 Lakh Crore DARPA Moment For Deep Tech could reshape India’s R&D, startup funding and innovation economy. In this special episode of The Core Report, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Dr Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CEO of ANRF, on India’s biggest push yet to fund deep tech, research and development, and future technologies.

Can India build its own DARPA-style research engine? Can Rs 1.5 lakh crore help Indian startups, universities and private companies scale breakthrough technologies? And will this push help India compete in AI, 6G, space tech, health tech, biotechnology, energy transition, advanced manufacturing and deep tech innovation?

Dr Kalyanaraman explained how the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, the RDI scheme, TDB and BIRAC are backing companies and projects with patient capital, long-term debt, convertibles and blended finance.