If it’s a small car, India is the place to be: global majors

There was absolute unanimity between global automobile industry majors like General Motors, Nissan and Fiat Spa, that India has become the laboratory of the world for small cars. The companies said it has become compulsory for anybody aspiring to be a small carmaker on the global scale, to be present in India.

'India is the powerhouse for small cars today,' said Dr Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer, Fiat Group. 'We are a small carmaker and India throws up new challenges in development of this segment for us.'

Fritz Henderson, President and COO, General Motors said that there will be growth in different segments of the small car industry and India with its focus on keeping costs low, is expanding the segment.

'In different markets there are different models that are the dominant brand in the small car segment,' Henderson said. 'India is a similar market but is much more active on the development front.'

Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Corp which is a late entrant in the Indian market promised to get aggressive in future. 'We will concentrate on producing new models here that are locally produced in the next few years,' said Shohei Kimura, Managing Director, Nissan Motor India. 'India is one of our focus markets and we have a massive expansion plan that will see us manufacturing diverse models.'