Suzuki's Indian Sales Exceed Japan

Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Suzuki Motor Corp., Japan's second- largest minicar maker, sold more vehicles in India than its home market for the first time, twenty-five years after it entered the country.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., 54 percent owned by Suzuki, sold 336,758 cars, vans and sport-utility vehicles in the domestic market between April and September, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said today. That exceeded the preliminary 315,000 vehicles Suzuki sold in Japan in the same period, according to spokesman Takuma Mizuyoshi.

Source bloomberg

They believe that India has lot of potential for the future too. Especially if we consider stats:-
The passenger vehicle sales in India crossed the one million mark in 2005. This segment grows at 10-15% annually. Around 85% of the cars sold in India are financed by banks and other financial institutions as against the global average of 70%. In neighbouring China,only 15-20% vehicles are financed.
Still there are only three cars in India for 1000 people as compared to the other extreme 500 cars for 1000 people in the United States. Goldman Sachs has predicted that India will have the maximum number of cars on the planet by 2050 overtaking the United States.

Passenger car sales in the domestic market during September grew by 11.67 per cent to 1,05,822 units against 94,757 units in the corresponding month a year ago.
Commercial vehicles sales were marginally up at 42,770 units compared to 42,364 units in September 2006.

Now thats truly great for Maruti Suzuki and other Automobile companies. This inspite of the rise in the interest rates on automobile loans.

But the thing that scares the hell out of me is the congestion it would cause on the metropolitan roads. The city infrastructure like mumbai is just isn't up to the mark, the roads are in terrible shape and always jammed for good number of working hours during the day. The question is where would people drive so many cars ?? I mean all us have been through this situation where you have to reach some where urgent and you are stuck in a traffic jam for hours. I am seriously worried about the 1 lakh car that would just make the situation worst. I mean i am not against my dhobi coming in a car to collect the clothes for laundry... but imagine this would probably be like the reliance cell phone, everyone has one. (Thankfully the congestion in the network are still tolerable.)

Traffic chokes city, govt looks at congestion tax: It’s considered the fast route to decongest the streets of a metropolis. London has it, so does Stockholm and Singapore. Mumbai may be next. Five to seven years from now, motorists here may find themselves paying a price for the privilege of driving into the business districts such as Fort and Nariman Point. The state government has now asked a foreign consultancy undertaking a traffic survey of Mumbai, to examine the idea of imposing a vehicle congestion tax in the city. Congestion tax for business districts has been talked about for over a decade by planners, but it was only recently that the state took a decision to examine its viability. “Consultants Lea Associates of Canada have been asked to include it as part of their brief when they plan a transport model for the city,’’ sources said. Congestion tax works on the principle of taxing motorists so as to encourage public modes of transport like buses and trains in a city choked by traffic snarls and pollution levels. The tax on driving cars into commercial areas — it has been found worldwide — discourages undue use of private vehicles. The tax has been in use in Singapore for over three decades; in London it was introduced more recently.
Source: The Times of India, Mumbai, September 8, 2006.

Would congestion tax resolve the issue is debatable. Why cant we have better public transport, good roads and carpooling to name a few possible solutions.