Big Auto charts out revival route in hard local market

Foreign firms rush to bring in new models as rivals raise share in slowing market

- Ayaan Kartik

Several struggling foreign car manufacturers in India are working to revive their local businesses with new launches, after seeing sales either stagnate or decline consistently over the past three financial years, and well into the current fiscal as well.

Global brands in India's mass market such as Skoda-Volks-wagen, Honda Cars India, Renault and Nissan have committed to introduce more than a dozen new products cumulatively in the next two years to gain market share, according to company executives and announcements. Together, the four have only 5% share of the passenger vehicle market in India as of August 2025. The challenge: A slow-moving market, where passenger vehicle sales grew just 2% in FY25, and fell by 2.4% in April-August 2025.