Its amazing how a single phone call can make your mind run somewhere and think of something totally irrelevant to the discussion that took place. When one of my friend who is currently in Denmark said that every time he steps out, he could spot quite a few Hyundai i10, i20 and Suzuki Alto cars on the roads, I was brimming with joy here as those cars should have been Made in India. I had this same feeling in me when I spotted and snapped an Atos Prime in Dubai (in picture). 
Not so long ago, the only cars worth mentioning made in our country were the Ambassador and Premier Padmini until Maruti came and broke their dominance with the little 800. It was not until the mid 90's our market opened up and liberalized the rules for foreign manufacturers to enter the country. Being a late entrant in allowing the foreign makers to come and manufacture their cars here, it's worth mentioning that we have made rapid strides in a short time on the way to become what we are currently.
It makes all of us feel proud and hold our head high when something positive about our country is said or written about. And that is exactly what is happening in the Auto Industry now across the globe and more so in Europe. Though car exports from India were done in minuscule numbers before , it was Hyundai which started this trend by making India it's small car export hub. The "Atos Prime" (rebadged Santro for export markets) has become a trendsetter of sorts by becoming the first car made in India to be exported in significant numbers followed by the i10 and i20. From then on, there was no looking back as Maruti-Suzuki followed suit with the new Alto (A-Star) and now Renault-Nissan is looking to expand this further by planning to shift it's small car "Micra" production from UK to India in 2010.
Frankly, cars like the i10, i20 and Alto have become so successful in Europe and other markets that the factories in India are not able to churn out enough of them. Also the high levels of quality with which these cars are made have made them equally competitive as their Japanese or German made counterparts and have given serious credentials to the "Made in India" tag. So much so that at the end of this year, India would have exported more number of cars than even China. Kudos to Hyundai and Maruti for completely changing the perception about Indian manufacturing and for giving the "Made in India" tag global acceptance and reach.
Its amazing how a single phone call can make your mind run somewhere and think of something totally irrelevant to the discussion that took place. When one of my friend who is currently in Denmark said that every time he steps out, he could spot quite a few Hyundai i10, i20 and Suzuki Alto cars on the roads, I was brimming with joy here as those cars should have been Made in India. I had this same feeling in me when I spotted and snapped an Atos Prime in Dubai (in picture).
Not so long ago, the only cars worth mentioning made in our country were the Ambassador and Premier Padmini until Maruti came and broke their dominance with the little 800. It was not until the mid 90's our market opened up and liberalized the rules for foreign manufacturers to enter the country. Being a late entrant in allowing the foreign makers to come and manufacture their cars here, it's worth mentioning that we have made rapid strides in a short time on the way to become what we are currently.
It makes all of us feel proud and hold our head high when something positive about our country is said or written about. And that is exactly what is happening in the Auto Industry now across the globe and more so in Europe. Though car exports from India were done in minuscule numbers before , it was Hyundai which started this trend by making India it's small car export hub. The "Atos Prime" (rebadged Santro for export markets) has become a trendsetter of sorts by becoming the first car made in India to be exported in significant numbers followed by the i10 and i20. From then on, there was no looking back as Maruti-Suzuki followed suit with the new Alto (A-Star) and now Renault-Nissan is looking to expand this further by planning to shift it's small car "Micra" production from UK to India in 2010.
Frankly, cars like the i10, i20 and Alto have become so successful in Europe and other markets that the factories in India are not able to churn out enough of them. Also the high levels of quality with which these cars are made have made them equally competitive as their Japanese or German made counterparts and have given serious credentials to the "Made in India" tag. So much so that at the end of this year, India would have exported more number of cars than even China. Kudos to Hyundai and Maruti for completely changing the perception about Indian manufacturing and for giving the "Made in India" tag global acceptance and reach.
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