Foreign car makers can now export cars to India from any country and not only from their home country, says the new government notification. This means that companies like Toyota can bring cars to India not only from Japan but also from other countries where it has its factories. However, the notification is applicable to only those cars that have minimum FOB value of $40,000 or approximately Rs. 19 lakh plus. These cars should also have a petrol engine of more than 3000cc or diesel engine of capacity more than 2.5L.
The new rule comes from the recent free trade pact signed between India and Thailand that allows carmakers to export cars from Thailand. Honda, Toyota, BMW, Audi and Porsche are likely to be benefitted with the new rule in India. However, according to the auto analysts, the new rule will not make much difference to the customers as the high-end customers may not really notice a discount of few thousand Rupees when they buy a car worth around Rs. 50 lakh.
“It was only logical for the government to make such an amendment. The objective is to give a level-playing field to all car manufacturers,” Ajay Sahai, director- general, Federation of Indian Export Organizations.
