A Study of Domestic Penetration and Export Potential of Premium Cars from India

India is a major player in the global automotive industry, leading in tractor manufacturing and ranking highly in two-wheeler, bus, and car production. Despite significant exports of compact cars, which dominate 30% of global sales, India lags in the production and export of large and premium cars, which represent 70% of the market. Compared to China, India sells far fewer premium cars, with China's weekly sales equaling India's annual sales. This disparity highlights the need for India to enhance its manufacturing capabilities in the premium car segment, leveraging its technological and software expertise. Achieving this requires policy reforms, ecosystem development, and addressing high tariffs that disproportionately affect larger cars. Learning from China's strategies could provide valuable insights for India to become a hub for premium car manufacturing.