16 Best Automobile Companies In India

The Indian automobile industry has come a long way since the country got independence in 1947. However, the initial years after independence were followed by Indian car brands such as Hindustan Motors ruling the streets. But all of that changed after foreign investors were permitted to enter the Indian automobile industry. Prominent international brands such as Suzuki tied up with Maruti and swept the market completely.

Fast forward to the present day, numerous national and international car brands are ruling the market. These brands are providing Indian customers with vehicles equipped with all the latest features and functionalities. As we already know, the Indian population is the second-largest in the world, meaning that the market for vehicles is also huge. This has enabled our automobile industry to become one of the fastest-growing industries in the country.

Unlike the earlier days, today, India has all sorts of vehicles from affordable to high-end, hatchbacks to SUVs, sedans to MPVs. Numbers suggest India produced around 4.06 million passenger vehicles in 2018-19, making it the 4^th largest car manufacturer in the world.

Currently, there are 300* million cars on Indian roads. This includes the names of some of the top automobile companies in India, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mahindra, Toyota, and many more. Let’s explore the list in detail given below, shall we?

Maruti Suzuki

There is no doubt in the fact that Maruti Suzuki is one of the best automobile companies in India as this is the only brand that holds up to 48% of the market share in the passenger car market in India. Whether it’s old or new cars, Indians consider Maruti as one of the most reliable car brands in India.

Furthermore, Maruti Suzuki is a very successful joint venture between the Maruti Udyog and the prominent automobile manufacturer from Japan we all know as Suzuki Motors. This brand is considered to be the best car company in India mainly because Maruti Suzuki has been in this business since the 1980s, making it easier for Indian customers to trust this brand when it comes to purchasing a car. Maruti Suzuki is now equipped with three massive car manufacturing plants in the country that manufactured over 1.6 million cars in the financial year of 2017-2018 with the help of auto parts manufacturers. I’ve also covered Japanese car auction sites to explore bulk buying or selling.

Tata Motors

Tata Motors is a subsidiary company of the giant Tata Group that initially made an entry in the passenger vehicle segment with Tata Sierra in 1991. This was further followed by the launch of the Tata Indica, which made Tata one of the top car brands in India.

However, Tata is one such automobile company that offers much more than just passenger cars, meaning one can get everything from trucks to buses, coaches, and other commercial vehicles. The Tata Group is rapidly evolving with its range of electric cars & trucks. Not just that, after electric cars, Tata Motors has strengthened its electric commercial vehicle range and became one of the leading electric truck brands in India.

It also owns other JLR, along with other automobile businesses globally.

Hyundai India

The 3rd-largest car company in India is Hyundai Motors, which launched its first vehicle named Hyundai Santro in India in 1998. Today, Hyundai is one of the most prominent Indian automobile companies that held up to 23.30% share of the Indian automobile market. Furthermore, Hyundai India is one of India’s biggest exporters to automobiles as they export their vehicles to many different countries in both African and Middle Eastern regions. However, when it comes to India, the Santro model from Hyundai struck the right chords in the hearts of the Indian population. This is because Santro was a vehicle that represented India in some way and was ideal for the newly rich middle-class population of the country. However, times have changed since then, and today Hyundai offers a wide range of vehicles, including i20, i10, Eon, Santro, Grand i10, Xcent, Elantra, Creta, Verna, and more.

Toyota Kirloskar

Toyota Kirloskar is another Indian subsidiary of the Japanese auto-giant Toyota that first entered the Indian market in 1997. Ever since Toyota has come a long way in India with a huge base of loyal customers who prefer Toyota because of the quality of the vehicles offered by the brand. Toyota Innova is one of the most well-known car models that put Toyota on the right trajectory towards growth in India and has been a dominant player in SUV segment vehicles in the country. As per the reports of the financial year 2017-2018, the brand had about 4.27% of the market share in the automobile industry of India. That’s not all, Toyota is considered one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Kia Motors

Kia India is an Indian subsidiary of the South Korean automotive giant Kia that began its operations in India in the year 2017. Kia India set up its first plant in the city of Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, where construction for a manufacturing facility began in a 536-acre of land. The brand entered into Indian automobile market with its car model called Kia Seltos, which has experienced quite a lot of success considering that Kia is the new kid in the block. Other than Seltos, Kia offers many other models, such as the Kia Sonet and Kia Carnival.

Skoda Auto India

Skoda Auto India is one of India’s most prominent & luxury car manufacturing companies that has managed to increase its fan following since its launch in 2002. The brand made an entry in India with Octavia, which was not very successful in the early days. However, with time Skoda got a better understanding of the Indian automobile market and soon came up with many other models such as the Rapid, Superb, Fabis, and Laura. These car models brought a lot of fame and fortune to the company, and eventually, Skoda became one of the most popular automobile sellers in the country. The manufacturing facility of Skoda is located near the city of Aurangabad. 

Mercedes Benz India

Initially entering the Indian auto industry in 1994, Mercedes Benz is one of India’s oldest & luxurious car manufacturing companies. The brand is a well-known subsidiary of the German Daimler AG, one of the biggest German automobile companies in the world. Over the years, Mercedes Benz has managed to generate amplified brand awareness & state-of-the-art electronics/automated features, all thanks to some of these automobile software development companies as an R&D partner. As a result, many Indian business-class populations & celebrities now own a Mercedes Benz vehicle, making it one of the well-known among all other German automakers in India. The manufacturing facility of Mercedes Benz is located in Pune, Maharashtra.

Volkswagen India

Volkswagen is one of the best-performing car manufacturing companies in India. The brand offers a good combination of performance, luxury & features at a good price. That’s not all, their cars like Polo is widely popular among the Indian audience.

Volkswagen India offers both mid-sized and small-sized cars that are ideally suited for the Indian roads that can be narrow and wide based on our region. Currently, the brand offers Taigun, Vento, T-Roc, Polo, & Polo GT. I’ve also covered a list of companies owned by Volkswagen.

Honda Cars India

Honda Cars Ltd. is another joint venture between the Indian company Siel Limited and the Japanese automobile leader Honda Motor Co Ltd. The brand made its entry into the Indian market in 1995. However, in the span of two to three decades that Honda has been operating in the country, the brand has brought forward some of the most amazing vehicles, including Honda City, Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Honda Brio, and Honda CR-V, among many others currently ruling the Indian market. In addition, Honda has put in a lot of effort to add its name to the list of the top 10 automobile companies in India.   

Renault India

Renault India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the French automotive company known as Renault S.A. The brand currently offers four different vehicles to Indian customers, including Duster, Kiger, Triber, and Kwid. However, it is fair to say the Renault Duster is the vehicle that brought Renault India on the map of the Indian automobile industry. Every vehicle sold by Renault India is manufactured in their manufacturing facility in Chennai. Earlier, the brand manufactured other models that include Lodgy, Fluence, Scala, Captur, and Pulse but Renault India had to stop manufacturing these vehicles for many different reasons.

Bajaj Auto Ltd.

Bajaj Auto Ltd. is the biggest 2-wheeler automotive company in India, with an effective presence in over seventy different countries across the world. Furthermore, Bajaj Auto Ltd. is the third-largest motorcycle manufacturer in Asia and the largest manufacturer of three-wheelers in the world. The brand specializes in manufacturing different types of vehicles in both the two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments. In addition, Bajaj Auto Ltd. is also one of the significant shareholders of KTM that is another fastest-growing motorcycle company in the world.

Hero MotoCorp Ltd.

Hero MotoCorp Ltd. was the largest two-wheeler manufacturer globally in 2002, and the brand has managed to retain that title for about 18 years. The brand has over ninety million happy customers using their motorcycles spread across many different countries worldwide. Hero MotoCorp Ltd. is mainly known for providing Indian customers with affordable motorcycles that deliver enhanced performance with excellent fuel economy. Currently, Hero MotoCorp Ltd. holds about 36% of the 2-wheeler market share in India, making it the 2nd top automobile company after Bajaj.

Mahindra And Mahindra

When it comes to supplying heavy-duty tractors to the farmers of the country where most of the people rely on agriculture, Mahindra And Mahindra tops the list of automobile manufacturing companies in India, specifically in that segment. However, Mahindra And Mahindra has a lot more offers than just tractors as the brand is also one of the largest SUV manufacturers in the country. Some of the most well-known vehicles manufactured by the brand include Mahindra Bolero, Mahindra Scorpio, Mahindra Thar, and Mahindra XUV 500, Mahindra XUV 700, and more.

TVS Motor Company Ltd.

TVS Motor Company Ltd. is another leading two-wheeler manufacturer in the country that has provided Indian customers with a wide range of two-wheelers over the years. This enabled TVS Motor Company Ltd. to become one of the popular automobile companies in the country. Furthermore, TVS Motor Company Ltd. has three different manufacturing facilities in India that are spread across different states from the north to the south of the country. Some of the most well-known 2-wheelers sold by the brand include TVS Ntorq, TVS Victor, TVS Apache, TVS XL 100, TVS Raider, and more.

Force Motors

Force Motors is one of the oldest brands in this list of car manufacturers in India. The brand was founded by N.K. Firodia in 1958.

The main vision of Force Motors was to deliver commercial transport to the Indian public at affordable pricing. However, Force Motors has come a long way since its inception by delivering some of the most well-known vehicles in the Indian automobile market. Some of these vehicles include Matador, Tempoi, Trax Cruser, Minidor, Traveller, and more.

Additionally, Force Motors is also known for manufacturing engines for Mercedes-Benz & Maruti-Suzuki.

Ashok Leyland

Owned by Hinduja Group, Ashok Leyland is one of the leading commercial (Trucks & Buses) manufacturing companies in India. The headquarters of Ashok Leyland is based in Chennai, and the brand is equipped with seven different manufacturing plants in India itself. The brand was founded in 1948 and became Ashok Leyland in 1955. Ashok Leyland is the 2nd largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in India, 3rd largest bus manufacturer in the world and the 10th largest manufacturer of trucks. Seeing different operations, the vehicle portfolio of Ashok Leyland is far more extensive than most car brands in India.

Our country has undergone some drastic changes over the years, which has also increased the car company names in India. However, these are some of the best car brands in India that also include many names from 2-wheeler & commercial space. Therefore, leverage this exhaustive list of all car brands and pay special attention to the top 10 car companies in India when buying any new vehicle, be it two-wheelers or three-wheelers, four-wheelers, or even bigger vehicles. This list will act as an exhaustive guide to help one make an informed decision for people looking forward to buying a new vehicle that is Made In India.

I also suggest listening to automobile podcasts to stay up-to-date in the Automobile industry.

FAQs

*Details are subject to change.

Updates:

• With a 50% jump in December sales, Tata Motors has outranked Hyundai India & ranked 2nd largest carmaker in India.
• Peugeot is going to enter the Indian automobile market. The company has been successfully running tests in different states.