When the Japanese came calling in the '80s

The 1980s saw a slew of Japanese brands enter the Indian market where their focus was on light commercial vehicles and two-wheelers. What was astonishing was the way Telco blew them away in the cargo space with their its 407 while in two-wheelers, Indian companies have more than held their own even after parting ways with Japanese counterparts. Murali Gopalan brings you some interesting nuggets from the past in this essay.

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The Eighties were an action-packed decade for the Indian automotive industry and in a sense heralded the first wave of reforms.

This was the time the Japanese entered the market with the focus being on two-wheelers and light commercial vehicles (LCVs). Suddenly, a host of new brands littered the landscape ranging from Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Kawasaki to Toyota, Mazda, Nissan and Mitsubishi. This was heady stuff in a market used to familiar homegrown brands such as Tata, Bajaj, Premier and Ambassador.

The mood was upbeat, especially in the two-wheeler space where alliances with local players were formed quickly. The TVS group, whose presence was confined to the moped till then, tied up with Suzuki for motorcycles while Hero, which was largely into bicycles, joined hands with Honda. Escorts, the manufacturers of Rajdoot, entered into a joint venture with Yamaha while Bajaj, the reigning scooter monarch, got into a technical agreement with Kawasaki.

In the LCV segment likewise, partnerships with local players became the order of the day with DCM Toyota, Eicher Mitsubishi, Allwyn Nissan and Swaraj Mazda. The mood was buoyant and the stage was set for an interesting tug-of-war with an established player like Telco.

All eyes were also on Suzuki which had emerged the favoured ally for the Centre in its small car project christened Maruti Udyog. The Japanese automaker also had a two-wheeler alliance with the TVS group but the stakes were a lot higher in the partnership with the Centre. After all, the Prime Minister's late son was keen on a small car project and it was Indira Gandhi's way of fulfilling Sanjay's dream.

Cost structures were key