There was a time when India used to collaborate with foreign auto manufacturers to produce cars.
By then, India had no sole auto manufacturing company that could make cars all on its own.
Over the years, the scenario has changed drastically, and today, India has numerous car manufacturing brands that make, compile, and produce cars all by themselves.
With that said, the Indian automobile industry is one of the fastest-growing and highly succeeding industries in the world.
Today, Auto giants collaborate with Indian car manufacturers. That is how the Indian auto industry has grown.
Nonetheless, as the auto industry grows, so do the car brands, and the Indian car brands are no exception.
Indian car brands have grown exponentially over the years. This brings the billion-dollar question: What are Indian car brands that exist today?
Similarly, what are the top-selling Indian car brands? Well, these questions demand a deep dive into the Indian car brands.
Let’s go ahead and analyze them step by step:
1. Tata Motors Limited
The Indian auto giant that tops the list of Indian car brands is Tata. This Indian car brand was manufactured back in the 40s (somewhere between 1942 and 45) as part of the Tata group’s initiatives.
Jamsetji Tata, who is the founder of the auto company, had $200 billion invested to lay his punches on the auto industry.
Today, Tata Motors is a leading car manufacturer not only in India but throughout the world.
With a staggering market share of 8%, Tata is all set to be a leading car manufacturer in Asia, following Ford India.
As per the reports of 2021, Tata Motors had a 60 Crore Indian Rupee ($7m) in revenue – which is by far the highest Year-over Revenue (YoY) of any automobile company in Asia.
Likewise, Tata Motors’ sales volume has increased by 20% over the last two years. Thus, Tata tops the list of Indian car brands.
2. Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
Mahindra’s thriving despite the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic was shocking. Since the essence of Mahindra & Mahindra Group was to assemble car parts, market gurus had guessed that it would drown in loss during the pandemic.
However, as a leading Indian car brand, Mahindra proved them wrong. Not only did it survive the pandemic, but Mahindra also became India’s second top-seller car brand.
Mahindra Auto Assemblage was first founded in 1947 as a flagship company. Over the years, it grew rapidly and became one of the top Indian Car Brands.
Today, Mahindra offers a wide variety of vehicles, from SUVs and minivans to sports cars, Suzuki, family cars, and even tractors.
Likewise, as the leading Indian Car Brand, Mahindra also offers construction equipment and essential car parts.
Here’s a brief look at the growth of Mahindra as the leading Indian Car Brand:
- Market Share: 8%
- Revenue: 107,904 Crore (INR)
- Sales Growth in the Last Two Years: 12%
- Market Capital: 70,000 Crore (INR)
- ROE: 14%
It is pertinent to mention here that as the largest Indian car brand, Mahindra is the only Indian auto company that offers such vast and heterogeneous products.
No other Indian car brand offers that many products and cars at the same time.
3. Hindustan Motors
If you scan through the old and classic Indian car brands, Hindustan Motors will certainly be a point to meet somewhere down the road.
Founded in 1942, Hindustan Motors is one of the tried and trusted Indian car brands today.
Prakash, the sitting CEO of the auto giant, recalls that before the inception of Maruti, Hindustan Motors was “one of the top and leading Indian car brands.”
With its headquarters located in the central city of India, Kolkata, Hindustan Motors shines among its competitors.
The company had a yearly revenue of 97 crores (INR) or $12m in 2021, with a record 16% increase in sales.
4. Bharat Benz
Bharat Benz is another top-selling Indian car brand today. Owned by the Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICVs), Bharat Benz is a partially owned subsidiary of a German auto brand.
It was one of the unattained dreams of Daimler AG to develop a car brand in India.
And it was in January 2011 that the dream was fulfilled. The Daimler group set the cornerstone of Bharat Bez in 2011.
Till then, the auto company has gone through many ups and downs. With Satyakam Arya being the Chief Operating Officer, Bharat Benz has over 3,000 employees today.
Though Bharat Benz hasn’t proved itself amongst Indian car enthusiasts yet, it is on its way to becoming the leading Indian car brand.
5. Force Motors
Founded in 1958, Force Motors is another known Indian car brand. Initially, it was founded by Dr. Abhay Firodia Group with the intention of compiling SUVs and other vehicles in India.
It is pertinent to mention that it was a time when India had very few car manufacturers that compiled cars in India.
As of the latest updates of December 2021, Force has over 10,000 employees and a staggering revenue of $280 million. This staggering translates into 20.13 INR.
6. Eicher
In the row of top Indian car brands, Eicher is another competing automaker. Founded in 1948, Eicher has a staggering revenue of $1.5 billion as of 2020.
This amount translates into 106.7 billion INR. Headquartered in New Delhi, Eicher manufactures mainly commercial vehicles, SUVs, and motorbikes.
Furthermore, Eicher is a flagship company of the Eicher Group. Over the last seven decades, it has been manufacturing trendy bikes and commercial vehicles in India, gaining widespread popularity throughout the region.
Siddharta Lal, who is the sitting CEO of Eicher, argues that the auto manufacturers “really struggled with survival throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
And Eicher is no exception in the global fight.” Nonetheless, the CEO is glad that they survived it and “made it through the pandemic.” With that said, Eicher continues its success as the leading Indian car brand.
7. Premier
Premier was founded in 1944 with the support and encouragement of the then-think tank, Sir Visvesvaraya.
Today, Premiere operates in 30 different countries, including Asian countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
With its headquarters located in Mumbai, Premiere successfully operates throughout India.
