10 failed car, bike brands that left India or shut business: GM, Datsun and more (2024)

FAQs

Which car brand failed in India? ›

Datsun. Nissan, the parent company of Datsun, had to terminate the brand of affordable cars after it failed to gain traction in India. Its lack of appealing features and poor construction quality were the primary causes of its collapse.

On 24 September 2020, Harley Davidson announced that it would discontinue its sales and manufacturing operations in India due to weak demand and sales. The move involves $75 million in restructuring costs, 70 layoffs and the closure of its Bawal plant in northern India.

The Datsun brand has pulled out of the Indian market and Nissan has announced that it will discontinue the brand globally due to a change of strategy. With it, we will see the Go, Go+ and Redigo taken out of showrooms for the new year 2023.

Why did Ford quit India? They had cited the high production cost due to extreme import restrictions as their reason for leaving India. After almost half a century, they have again departed from the fourth-largest auto market. The automobile giant announced their departure from the Indian market in September last year.

Maruti Suzuki is the No. 1 car company in India in terms of market share. Occupying more than 40% of the country's passenger car market, Maruti Suzuki is well-loved and respected throughout the country for its efficient, frugal, and affordable vehicles.

Once cherished by petrolheads in India, Mitsubishi faced challenges in competing with evolving car manufacturers and ceased selling passenger vehicles in the country in 2016. In the past, it offered popular models like the Lancer and Pajero in the country.

Ford. The competitive Indian market has become perilous for some brands. Ford is one classic example of it. Ford decided to exit the India in September 2021.

There were multiple reasons behind the downfall of this automaker. The prime reason was poor customer service. Also, the cars were priced a bit high and people got cheaper alternatives as the time went by. Therefore, Opel left India in 2006 and is the first one on our list of defunct automotive manufacturers in India.

Current auto brands are Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Baojun, and Wuling. Former GM automotive brands include LaSalle, McLaughlin, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Opel, Pontiac, Hummer, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall, Daewoo, and Holden. The Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, is the world headquarters of General Motors.

What was the biggest car flop? ›

The Ford Motor Company's Mercury brand and General Motors's Hummer, Pontiac, Saturn, and Oldsmobile brands have all been discontinued.

A lack of proper leadership, poor strategy, the wrong product portfolio and accumulated losses have been cited by numerous industry experts and pundits as the reasons why GM quit the Indian market.

Despite an ambitious launch, the company failed to create an impact because it could not deliver a value proposition for its customers. According to Sergius Barretto, automotive consultant and managing editor of Autocar India, the ill-fated brand remained fixated on the price of their portfolio.

The cars with Bharat Stage III petrol and Bharat Stage IV diesel are prohibited in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gautam Budh Nagar. BS 3 and 4 refer to emission standards set by the government to regulate the pollutants emitted by vehicles.

There are a few reasons why this may be the case. First, the Indian automotive market is currently dominated by small cars and sedans. The demand for SUVs and larger vehicles is on the rise, so Mazda may feel that there is not enough potential in the Indian market to justify investing in a manufacturing plant here.

So why did the Opel Astra fail in India? The reason is Popularity. It couldn't gather a good enough fanbase or hold as it had to compete with companies like Honda and Mitsubishi bringing City and Lancer respectively.