India ahead of China in terms of exports
According to a Bloomberg report, India currently has an edge over China when it comes to car exports. The Indian car market, which is only one-fifth the size of the Chinese car market in terms of annual volumes, is emerging as a small car production hub for companies like Suzuki, Hyundai and Nissan. And because of this, India has managed to inch ahead of China this year, in terms of car exports.
According to figures released by SIAM, India's car exports between January-July this year stood at 229,809 units, an increase of 18% over the corresponding period in 2008. On the other hand, China's car exports for January-July 2009 stood at 164,800 units, a 60% decline over the year-ago period. Thailand exported 263,768 cars during January-July this year, a 43% decline over the figure reported for January-July 2008. Even South Korea's car exports for the first seven months of this year declined by 31%, at 1.12 million units.
According to analysts, car manufacturers are likely to favour India, rather than China, for setting up export bases because China requires carmakers to form joint ventures with local companies, while this isn't a limiting factor in India.