The Indian auto industry has grown quite vastly in the last few years, and more and more global brands have started venturing into our market. In fact, brands like Suzuki, Kia Motors, Jeep, Ford, and Hyundai among others have turned India into an export hub for some of their globally-renowned offerings. On the 74th Independence Day, we list down some of the top India-made cars that are exported from India.
Maruti Suzuki Baleno
Maruti Suzuki Baleno is exported to global markets like Japan, Indonesia and Europe
The Maruti Suzuki Baleno, globally sold as Suzuki Baleno, is one of the few India-made models that are exported to their home markets. It is manufactured only in India, by Maruti Suzuki, at the company's Sanand plant, and is exported to global markets in Asia (Japan and Indonesia) and Europe. The Baleno got a facelift last year and is built but is based on the same Heartec platform. The only engine on offer now is the 1.2-litre four-cylinder Dualjet petrol engine with SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) which is mated to a five-speed manual transmission as standard while a CVT automatic gearbox is optional.
Kia Seltos
The Kia Seltos is exported to 40 countries from India.
The Kia Seltos has been a blockbuster hit in the Indian market and has been garnering good interest in thee global market as well. India is alos onee of the export hubs for the Korean carmaker and the Kia Seltos is exported to as many as 40 countries from India. Kia Motors India is also planning to increase the production capacity of its Anantpur plant to meet the increasing demand for the Seltos in the domestic market as well as overseas. The Kia Seltos is available in 16 variants and gives buyers to choose just the right version for themselves. The car is powered by two petrol and one diesel engine options, which are part of the third generation Smartstream family of engines, all of which are BS6 compliant. Power on the Seltos comes from the 1.4-litre GDI turbo petrol that develops 138 bhp and 242 Nm of peak torque, and is paired with a 6-speed manual and 7-speed DCT automatic transmission. There's also the 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol that belts out 113 bhp and 144 Nm of peak torque, and is paired with a 6-speed manual and an IVT (Intelligent continuously variable transmission) automatic transmission. Lastly, the 1.5-litre VGT diesel produces 113 bhp and 250 Nm of torque, and is paired with a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.
Jeep Compass
Jeep currently exports the made-in-India Compass to RHD markets like - United Kingdom, Australia, Brunei, Japan and Thailand.
The Jeep Compass is the most popular offering from the Fiat Chrysler-owned American SUV manufacturer in India. Launched in early 2017, the Compass was Jeep's first Jeep model to be locally manufactured in India at the company's Ranjangaon plant. However, right at the time of the lunch, the company had announced that India will also become the export hub for all right-hand-drive (RHD) markets for the Jeep Compass. Jeep currently exports the made-in-India Compass to RHD markets like - United Kingdom, Australia, Brunei, Japan and Thailand. The India-spec model is available with two engine options - a 1.4-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged MultiAir petrol and a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged MultiJet diesel engine.
Ford EcoSport
Ford EcoSport is exported to markets like - South Africa, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia
Although the Ford EcoSport SUV was originally developed for the Brazilian market, India was one of the few new markets to manufacture the second-generation EcoSport, the model that is widely known today. The EcoSport is manufactured in India at Ford's Chennai plant and the initial export units were sent to the European market, in 2013. By 2015, the Ford EcoSport was being exported to markets like - South Africa, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia, and by 2017 the India-made SUV entered the United States, the brand's home market. In India, the EcoSport is currently available in three engine options - the new 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine from the dragon family, the tired and tested 1.5-litre diesel engine and award-winning 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine.
Tata Harrier
The Tata Harrier is exported to some of the Asian markets from India.
Tata Motors also exports the Harrier from India to some of the Asian markets. The SUV has been given an update recently which brought subtle updates in its styling along with a quite a few updates in the features department. It is now BS6 compliant and gets a panoramic sunroof, powered driver seats and new dual-tone alloy wheels among others. That said, the biggest update that it received is the automatic transmission which was missing when it was launched in 2018 and Tata Motors told us that they were working on it. Under the hood there's still the Fiat-sourced 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine. At 168 bhp it belts out about 30 bhp more while the torque remains the same at 350 Nm. It's mated to a brand new 6-speed automatic transmission sourced from Hyundai.
