India now world's fifth largest car manufacturer

Oct 11, 2016

With over 25.7 lakh cars manufactured in 2016 till date, India has overtaken South Korea to stand fifth in the list of world's largest carmakers. The countries which are ahead of India are Germany, Japan, the USA and China.

Last year, South Korea manufactured 45.5 lakh cars while India had produced 41.2 lakh.

Reports from the Korean market suggest that India could retain this spot next year as well, since the industry there is facing a slump, which has resulted in a dramatic fall in both its domestic and export markets.

This slump is attributed largely to the strike observed by the Hyundai -Kia labour unions that are demanding an increase in wages.

As a result, the market has faced a loss of production of more than one lakh vehicles, which amounts to approximately 2.23 trillion won (Rs 13 thousand crore), according to Reuters.

On the contrary, the auto sector in India constitutes almost seven per cent of the country's economy.

The automotive market here has witnessed a steady growth.

The 'Make In India' campaign has also helped the industry grow robustly, and will provide employment to a total of 2.5 crore citizens by the end of this year.

Source: Economic Times