I frequently visit South Africa as my daughter stays in Johannesburg. During my first visit way back in 2011, I was thrilled to see Tata Indica cars on roads. Later in 2016 and thereafter, number of Tata Indicas came down, which was understandable as Tatas had stopped producing it, focusing on new generation PVs. However, instead, I saw Mahindra MUVs and mini trucks, mainly Boleros, but not branded as Bolero. During my recent visits, while Mahindra’s small commercial vehicles are visible off and on, it’s more delightful to see their KUV, XUV 300 and XUV 700 competing with all international auto majors, including Chinese GWM and Cheryl that are now increasingly boosting their market share, thanks to their competitive pricing. I was also surprised to see “ Bolt”, a Bajaj offering, which is a two seater small car, even smaller than Nano that’s acquiring popularity with the locals, though this is not allowed on highways and expressways but only on internal roads.
It’s true that I Phone is now getting manufactured in India and many other leading brands have shifted/ are shifting manufacturing to India. But cars are visible and their make easily identifiable and the kind of pride our indigenous brands that compete against the best in the world, give when sighted on the roads in a foreign country is unmatched, unparalleled and inexplicable! I am told that several African cities have Indian bikes – Hero, Bajaj and TVS on their roads. And of course, let’s not forget that JLR ( Jaguar and Land Rover) brand belongs to Tata stable and these cars are counted amongst the most premium worldwide!
Congratulations Tata, Mahindra, Bajaj and two wheeler manufacturers! Maintain quality, regulate the price and bring India pride and export earnings! Other sectors can also take inspiration from their automobile brethren!
Arvind Arya blog 