The hum of the engines and the loud horn piercing the silence of the waters signals the ship is ready to set sail on its voyage from the Mundra port in Gujarat.

The shipment is transporting Maruti Suzuki and Toyota vehicles bound for export to Latin American and African markets. The port has seen a steady month-on-month spike in its automobile exports, particularly Maruti.

This isn’t surprising as the passenger vehicles of the Japanese carmaker have topped the list of the highest exported models in the pecking order of the country’s top car exporters, followed by Hyundai Motor India and Nissan India during FY2026.

For Maruti, the compact Fronx and Jimny utility vehicles have been the frontrunners, followed by the carmaker's small and mid-sized hatchbacks like the S-Presso, Swift, Dzire and Baleno.

For Hyundai, the Grand i10Nios and Verna have topped the volumes, while for another Japanese automaker, Nissan India, it is the Magnite compact SUV that is creating the ripples.

Overall, passenger vehicles recorded their highest-ever exports of 9.05 lakh in 2025-26, up 17.5% YoY over FY 2025. Demand remained steady across most markets, including the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, last year, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

The record-breaking exports of passenger vehicles have solidified India's role as a vital global manufacturing hub, despite facing geopolitical headwinds and stiff competition from feature-heavy Chinese brands.

Automakers like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, and Nissan are successfully capturing diverse overseas markets by offering highly competitive, value-packed small cars and entry SUVs.

Changing Preferences

Rahul Bharti, senior executive officer, corporate affairs, Maruti Suzuki India, attributed the carmaker's success to its ability to manufacture world-class vehicles that can cater to diverse market needs.

“Every market has its own diverse needs shaped by economics, geography and demography. An aspect that remains consistent though, is customers’ expectation of a value-packed product, in terms of visual appeal, reliability, efficiency or features,” Bharti told The Core.

In FY 26, Maruti’s exports rose over 34% to reach an all-time high of 4.47 lakh vehicles. Hyundai’s exports remained broadly steady in FY26, growing 16.4% YoY to 190,125 units, reinforcing India’s role as one of Hyundai’s most important export hubs outside South Korea.

Maruti’s share in passenger vehicle exports stood at 49%, while Hyundai pitched in with 21% and Nissan 9.1% during the last fiscal.

From a customer perspective, there has been a clear shift. Vivek Sharma, director – automotive (India & Middle East) at GlobalData, told The Core that made-in-India vehicles were increasingly seen as practical, fuel-efficient, and dependable, rather than just low-cost alternatives.

However, in some markets, they still trail competitors, particularly Chinese brands, in perceived premium quality and advanced features.

India today accounts for 6% to 7% of global passenger vehicle exports. In competitive positioning, these vehicles are primarily benchmarked against exports from Thailand, Indonesia, and increasingly China.

India’s passenger vehicle exports are largely in the price range of $10,000 to $18,000, while China, Japan and South Korea's exports are pegged between $25000 to $50,000. Thailand, Indonesia and Mexico centre around higher valued pick-up trucks and large vehicle exports.

Global passenger vehicle exports in CY2025 stood at about 20 million units, according to Sharma. Of this, China contributed 8 million units or 40%, Japan 20%, Indonesia about 2% to 3%, Thailand’s contribution was about 1 million units while Mexico pitched in with 15%.

The Models That Are Working

While Chinese automakers are gaining traction with fully-loaded vehicles, India’s advantage lies in cost efficiencies, proven powertrains, and lower total cost of ownership. This stems from the high localisation levels, low labour costs compared to most global markets, as well as the fuel economy of the made in India vehicle across powertrains.

Interestingly, while the Maruti Suzuki Jimny has not really sent the cash registers ringing in India compared to the Mahindra off-roaders Thar and Thar Roxx, it is particularly popular in Suzuki’s home market, Japan, along with the compact SUV Fronx. The Jimny is sold both in its three-door and five-door avatars globally.

“This is a strategic call the automaker makes,” Avik Chattopadhyay, co-founder of Expereal India told The Core, referring to the Jimny. “Even if the product does not do well in India, actually India might not be the main focus at all.”

Then there are products created for the Indian market that also find new markets because of their value proposition (read Fronx).

Maruti Suzuki exports for both Suzuki and Toyota. “This badge-engineering strategy has worked very well for the company; consequently, the numbers look better over the last few years compared to Hyundai,” added Chattopadhyay.

For Nissan, its export obligations have supported Indian operations for some time due to the Magnite's popularity in select markets across the world.

Suzuki and Toyota have a product sharing partnership under which they market rebadged models like the Fronx as the Toyota Taisor, and the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, as the rebadged Toyota Glanza to name a few.

Also, some Maruti products are sold under the Toyota badge in South African markets.

Maruti overtook Hyundai as the largest vehicle exporter since FY2022. Dhruv Joshi, research analyst at Mirae Asset Share Khan, said that while initially Maruti became a contract manufacturer for Suzuki cars made at its Gujarat plant, later it leveraged Suzuki’s brand name in the global markets, riding on the back of its small car dominance and Suzuki’s known car platforms and technology.

Traditionally, Peugeot, Fiat and Volkswagen’s smaller cars, that offer value propositions, are preferred in European markets because of their narrow streets and lanes. This trend is similar to the market demand in India.

Japan is again a small car market and therefore an important reason for Maruti to crack these export regions, according to Joshi.

Hyundai, which was the lead exporter from India till five years ago, has now discontinued production of most of its small cars in favour of its SUV portfolio.

The Grand i10Nios is the lone contender among the smaller hatchbacks of the automaker. Inability to take on the warhorses of Maruti in this segment has been a major challenge.

The mid-sized sedans like the Hyundai Aura and Verna have, however, been able to draw a strong clientele overseas, as has Nissan’s Sunny sedan.

Nissan, while failing to arrest slipping volumes in the domestic market due to frequent management rejigs and inability to freshen up its product portfolio speedily, has been languishing at the bottom of the pyramid in the domestic market.

To offset this slide, it has leveraged India successfully as an export hub due to the country’s inherent advantage of being a low-cost manufacturing location.

At present, the compact Magnite SUV is most sought after in export markets. The affordable MPV Gravite that was launched in February this year has also started exports, though figures remain in single digits. It is the first of Nissan’s three products to be rolled out under its renewed product offensive for the Indian market.

Boost To Right Hand Models

Sam Fiorani, VP-global vehicle forecasting, AutoForecast Solutions, believes that the lower cost of right-hand drive models produced in India enables these products to make excellent entry-level exports to South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Two Suzuki cars rank amongst the top ten models in South Africa, punctuating the effectiveness of this brand's plans. Showrooms in the United Kingdom are populated with models such as the eVitara and S-Cross, both imported from India, he added.

Even as China tops the global rankings for passenger‑vehicle exports by volume and Germany by export value, India has climbed steadily up the global order over the past few years and is now the world’s 12th‑largest passenger‑vehicle exporter by volume. While the country remains a value‑focused exporter of compact and mid‑segment cars rather than premium vehicles, its scale, consistency and momentum are accelerating.

Sustaining The Momentum

Maruti Suzuki has already indicated that the company’s focus in FY2027 is to sustain its export volumes achieved in FY2026.

Looking ahead, FY27 projections point to passenger‑vehicle exports of 10 lakh units, assuming stable demand from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Japan. Maruti alone is expected to cross 4.3 lakh units, Som Kapoor, partner -Auto at EY India, told The Core.

This growth is anchored by the Indian automakers’ focus on a limited set of global models and high localisation to stay cost‑competitive. The company designs vehicles for multi‑market homologation, and establishes competitiveness in pricing without sacrificing margins while ensuring scale, reliability and repeat acceptance in global markets.

“India may still trail global leaders in value terms, but by volume, it is firmly emerging as a consequential and increasingly indispensable global car‑export base,” said Kapoor.

A global need for affordable vehicles is raising the awareness of the quality cars coming from India. With the growing negative view of vehicles from China, vehicles from India should continue to be valued around the world, especially in right-hand drive markets.

GlobalData expects passenger vehicle exports from India to grow around 6% to 8% this year (CY2026), supported by market diversification, new product launches, and India’s growing role as a global manufacturing and export hub.

However, geopolitical tensions in West Asia have now emerged as a key variable for India’s export outlook. The region serves both as a major demand hub and a critical trade corridor, and ongoing disruptions are already translating into higher freight and insurance costs, longer transit times, and increased supply chain uncertainty.

Shipping rerouting and congestion across key maritime routes are extending delivery cycles and tying up working capital, impacting exporter efficiency.

Despite these near-term challenges, the medium-term outlook remains positive. “India continues to strengthen its position as a competitive export base, with light vehicle exports expected to reach 1 million units by CY2026 and 1.5 million units by CY2033,” said Sharma.