Overall sales stood at 14.8 million vehicles in 2010, a 31 percent growth over 2009 and a 214 percent rise over 2000 when the figure was 4.7 million only. Increased volumes wouldn’t hold much value unless revenue grows at a similar pace. Cumulative domestic sales revenue of OEMs grew from $8.5 billion to $34 billion and the auto sector’s contribution to GDP doubled to six percent in 2010 from 2000. The boom in 2009-2010 has re-ignited confidence at SIAM that it will achieve the stated target of 16 percent of the total GDP in the Automotive Mission Plan 2016.

In 2000-2010, passenger vehicle sales grew at a CAGR of 13 percent. However, in 2008-10, growth was faster at 24.3 percent. During January-November 2010, the CV industry grew the fastest worldwide at 47 percent while the carmakers were second only to their Chinese counterparts who saw a cumulative growth of 38 percent, while Indian companies grew at 32 percent. For the quarter ended December 31, 2010, domestic car sales stood at 629,000, a 30 percent growth over 484,000 units during the year-earlier quarter. The key driving factors were good GDP growth, which is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, increasing consumer confidence and festival season buying. Going ahead, the auto industry is bullish but is bracing for a further rise in raw material prices and interest rates.

Last year, input costs prices saw a 7-10 percent impact on the material cost of the vehicle but “irrespective of the challenges, the industry is poised to grow at 15 percent at least during this year”, says Goenka. “Expecting a repeat performance of over 30 percent growth would be unrealistic,” he added.